KANDAHAR (Pajhwok): Revenue of the Kandahar City’s municipality jumped 85 percent this year compared to last year’s returns, resulting in increased reconstruction activities.
Zamarai Sargand, the Kandahar City municipality spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News the municipality collected over 433 million afghanis revenue this year compared to last year’s only 45 million afs, showing a 85 percent increase.
He linked the significant surge in revenue to transparency in the tax collection process and recovery of debts, fines and past years’ arrears.
The revenue was generated from cleanliness charges, rents of municipality properties, parks’ tickets, contracts, the rents of telecom companies’ antennas, advertisement boards, permits, ownership documents, rents from roadside vendors and recovery of unpaid taxes, he said.
He said with the increase in revenue, reconstruction projects have also been increased.
During the 1401 solar year, more than 202.8 million afghanis were spent on dozens of reconstruction projects such as construction of retaining walls, canals, repair of 4,500 square meters road, construction of footpaths and the Shikar Poor gate road.
Sargand said about 10,000 laborers worked on the mentioned projects and some of them remained engaged in ongoing schemes.
Currently more than 10 tn small projects and seven big projects are in progress in the city and important among the projects was the construction of a road in Yakh Karez area with sewage canals on both its sides, which would cost about 112 million afs, he said.
The projects which could not be completed this year would cost over 266 million afs, he said.
The municipality plans to implement dozens of more projects in the near future and thousands of laborers will be hired for their implementation, Sargand added.
He said: “The cost of next year’s projects has not been estimated yet, but they will be carried out according to people’s demands.”
Sargand did not provide information about this year’s revenues of the municipalities of Spin Boldak, Arghandab, Maiwand, Zheri, Panjwai, Daman, Shah Wali Kot, Dand and Khakrez districts, but said they offered services to people in line with their incomes.
Kandahar City residents admire services provided by the municipality, but they are complaining about high taxes.
Mohammad Akram, a resident of the seventh district of Kandahar city, said: “The cleanliness fee of the municipality was about 1,000 or 1,200 afs, but it has been increased to 5000 and 6000 afs, which people cannot afford”.
Shamsullah, a resident of fourth district of Kandahar city, said previously the municipality would not charge money on its signboards or would charge a meager amount of 400 or 500 afs annually, but now the charges had been increased to 4,000 afs and 5,000 afs annually.
About the municipality spokesman’s claim that taxes had not been increased, he said, the municipality collected taxed based on a regulation of capital Kabul.
He said many people in the past defaulted on taxes for years and they were fined and now they pay their taxes and fines in installments.
Officials of the municipality say taxes after being collected are spent on development projects in all 15 districts of Kandahar city and they are ready for accountability.
aw/ma
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