Consultations on priority projects launched

Kabul: A third round of sub-national consultation on provincial priority projects for each of the 34 provinces has been launched in the capital Kabul, a senior advisor to President Hamid Karzai said.

In their opening remarks Hosted and facilitated by the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) Director Popal, Deputy Director Karimi and Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) official Wahid Waissi welcomed participants to the round-table discussion.

Kabul, Wardak, Kapisa and Logar governors joined the discussion on Saturday with representatives from the governors office, the provincial council, the Provincial Directorates of Health, Education, Agriculture and Rural Development and Transport (roads) as well as line ministry representatives from each of the sectors.

Other key officials from ministry planning departments also attended the consultation hosted and facilitated by the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) and the Capacity Development Programme (CDP).

Over the next nine days, representatives from all provinces will meet to confer on projects in the four sectors. The round table discussion would further consolidate the priorities of the people through the sub-national consultations, said the office of the senior economic advisor to the president.

In a press statement issued here on Sunday, the office hoped the discussion would encourage focus on relevant procedures and responsibilities during the next phase of the ANDS: implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

This opportunity to contribute to the formation of an effective development strategy with the active participation and representation of Afghan citizens was welcomed by participants, the statement concluded.