Survey finds improvement in municipal services in Afghanistan

AVA- The anti-corruption watchdog covered Bamiyan, Charikar, Gardiz, Herat, Jalalabad, Kabul, Kunduz, Mahmood raqi and Mazar-e-Sharif cities in the survey.
 
According to the report, satisfaction level with delivery of the municipal services has been reported at 56 percent while rating of services and governance has been at a similar level at 55 percent.
 
65 percent of the citizens thought that municipal services have improved over the last 12 months, the watchdog said in a report titled Citizen Report Card of Municipal Services 2017.
 
Charikar, Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif emerged as the top performers with a general rating of services at 68 percent, 64 percent and 63 percent respectively. Kabul city was placed among the lowest performers with a general rating of 47 percent, a three percent improvement since last year.
 
The survey report noted that standardization of private construction, providing bus stands, public access to information and drainage are good performing indicators in top three cities.
 
In cities in the bottom of the ranking, sanitation, solid waste management, and drainage remain a challenge, the report said.
 
“Public participation, access to information, accountability, and handling complaints are key components of governance that have largely been neglected in municipal governance in Afghanistan,” said Sayed Ikram Afzali, the executive director of Integrity Watch Afghanistan.
 
“Sheer focus on service delivery will divert attention from the much important area of reforms that can improve delivery of municipal services in a sustainable manner,” he added.