Some ministries impeding Laghman development: Governor

KABUL (Pajhwok): Abdul Jabbar Naeemi, the governor of eastern Laghman province, has accused some ministries of not cooperating in addressing public problems.

In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, he asked the central government to pay more attention to the development of Laghman in line with public demands.

He said the provincial government had written to the central government regarding its needs and priorities but some ministries did not cooperate with it in meeting public demands and delayed the process for months.

Four years back, he recalled, some development projects were approved for the province and initial work was also launched. But the projects could not be completed due to the non-cooperative attitude of some ministries.

Without naming any ministry, the governor complained no attention had been paid to priority development projects. The ministries did not issue orders as per information provided by his government.

Naeemi claimed one ministry produced documents regarding development projects in Laghman at a cabinet meeting without the consent of the provincial government.

He stressed all information and papers must be shared with the provincial government before being placed before the Council of Ministers.

No progress had been made on six major demands of the provincial government, including improvement of security, work on development projects, an end to land-grab and ending meddling in appointments.

Over the past 14 months, Naeemi said, he had been asking security institutions to conduct major clearing operations in Laghman against militants but no attention had been paid to his pleas.

He warned the security situation was not good in the county, leaving a negative impact on major projects. “The people of Laghman often ask security organs to establish bases in the province, a demand that has gone unheeded.”

Alingar, Alishang, Dawaltshah and Badish districts were faced with immense security threats that effected good governance and development, the governor continued.

In addition, he acknowledged, security on the 40 kilometres Kabul-Jalalabad highway passing through Laghman was unstable and the central government had been asked repeatedly to improve the situation.

Security forces in Laghman had rendered sacrifices and prevented devastating explosion, he said, seeking credit for them. However, security threats had increased in the recent past, he added, seeking help from the central government.

Land-grab is another major issue, according to Naeemi, who admitted huge swaths of government lands had been usurped by a handful of individuals having strong connections. The practice has impeded progress on some development projects in the province.

“Mafia groups using fake ownership documents are involved in land-grab. But the government and people of Laghman are determined to reclaim state lands from grabbers,” Naeemi remarked.

He requested the central authority to increase the power of governors and consult them on major issues. Ministries should be advised to resolve problems of provinces and act on their suggestions, he concluded.

nh/mud

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