Intellectuals Necessary Part of City’s Fiber

Since my appointment as Mayor of Kabul one and a half years ago, it has always been a priority for me to meet with an array of academics, economists and researchers.

Their opinions help me to form a better understanding of what the city lacks and how to create better service delivery for its citizens.

Deliberating with my learned friends has been stimulating, but I began to see a need for an established platform from which the cream of Kabul’s intellectuals could operate.

Kabul Municipality therefore held a meeting on 15 June 2011 to establish the Council of Experts.

These experts will identify growing tendencies and patterns in Kabul society. They will also flag problems in areas of the city of which we’ve been oblivious.

The continuous influx of people to Kabul worries me. Kabul is home to 5 million people of which 3.8 million poured into the city over the last 8 years. At the moment there is no way to control the population boom.

This is because villages in the provinces do not have adequate infrastructures or employment opportunities. The persistent drought is also forcing people to pull up the anchor to come to Kabul. Even returnee refugees prefer to stay here. “

Prof. Panjshiri, a lecturer at Kabul University, said the eyes of the world are constantly on Kabul.  He advised that if Kabul wants to become a reputable city, procedures need to be developed and put into place. It would be disastrous if returnee refugees continue to come to Kabul. The city will explode.

He continued by saying that the government has been unable to come up with solutions, and it was only Kabul Municipality that was paying attention to this issue.

I’ve also noticed that the public are not adhering to the Municipality’s building rules and regulations. People are putting up new buildings that are far too high.

The Head of Kabul Polytechnic University, Mr. Ezatullah Hamid, said he would help Kabul Municipality by sending Polytechnic engineers out in the field to educate the public in correct building procedures.

Corruption keeps on eroding our systems and is a huge obstacle to overcome while rebuilding Kabul. Asif Rahimi, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock said he would help the Municipality to fight corruption. Transparency and accountability is still lacking.

Kabul’s needs lie close to my heart. By setting up this Council we have a working mechanism in place that will lead to a well managed city cherishing the rich past of old Kabul, yet striving to build an environmentally sound and technologically advanced future metropolis.  

The Council of Experts will meet again on 27 July 2011.