Background and objectives:

Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan and an important regional centre. The population has doubled over the past five years due to the return of refugees, the influx of IDPs as a result of drought and conflict and urban migration. Kandahar’s stability and security is threatened due the insurgency in the province and the lack of development in the city. The goal of the programme is to make Kandahar stable and secure with the capacity to provide self-sustainable service delivery, through partnerships developed with its stakeholders and institutionalised citizen friendly participatory governance mechanisms.

An additional goal is to develop the capacity of National Ministries of Urban Development and Interior, to promote policies of decentralized urban governance and service delivery throughout the country. The programme has four main components: governance, sustainability, and service delivery and facilitating policy environment.

Activities:
The main activities include:

• Assisting Kandahar and Spinboldak municipalities to be citizen-friendly, to practice good governance and reciprocally to benefit from the trust and confidence of its citizens.
• Assisting the municipalities in establishing a good revenue generation and management system leading to self-sustainability.
• Assisting the municipalities to improve service delivery to residents and develop capacities for their improved maintenance and operation.
• Improving urban sector management at the central level.

Results:

• Established 65 new Community Development Councils (CDCs).
• Prepared request for proposal for the water supply component.
• Recruited local project staff.
• Organized meetings with stakeholders.
• Conducted a first training for engineers of the municipality, MUD and UN-HABITAT.
• Procured necessary engineering equipment and an armoured vehicle.