20 April 2010 - The Nangarhar Provincial Council has started publishing a six-page newspaper for effective information dissemination in successfully fighting corruption and in promoting development.

Nasratullah Nasrat Arsalayee, chairman of the 19-member Council, said the main objectives of publishing the newspaper – Wolesi Hindara or the Mirror of People – are to encourage good governance, reconciliation and infrastructure development and to fight corruption.

“The main focus (of the newspaper) at the moment will be to inform government staff and communities about our efforts to curb rampant corruption,” said Mr Arsalayee, who is “100 per cent sure” he will achieve his objectives.

The Council, which gets Afs 30,000 (US$ 600) for per quarter from the Government to publish just four issues annually, already plans to increase its publication to a monthly basis with additional funding from Council members.

“It costs us Afs 20,000 (US$ 400) to bring out an issue with 1,000 copies,” he said.

The 30-year-old Council Chair, possibly the youngest elected Provincial Council chief in the country, also claimed that Nangarhar is the only province in Afghanistan to publish such a newspaper.

The previous Provincial Council of Nangarhar did publish a few issues of the magazine with the same name, but only intermittently.

The first issue of this tabloid-size newspaper that prints in Pashto language in colour, has on its first page the profile of all 19 Council members (including five female members). The second page has a poem on honesty and serving people by the popular Pashtun poet Qiamuddin Khadim.

One of the articles by a Council member is also critical of international military forces, claiming “they don’t obey Afghan and international laws.” Another article on women’s rights has tips for daughters-in-law to deal with – and maintain good relations – their mothers-in-law.

Since the election of the Council was announced in December last year, following the August 2009 polls, it has been engaging with the local media and the communities, through elders, so as to disseminate information about its works.

During a UNAMA-organized workshop last year, the previous Council members had prepared a handover note for the new Council, advising the latter to engage more with the media and to stay united.

“People’s expectations are very high. There are a lot of people with problems visiting our office everyday. They think I am the Government and I can do everything,” said Mr Arsalayee, adding that the Council’s intervention in resolving land disputes has been successful.

He, however, admits there are enormous obstacles in dealing with corruption.

By Tilak Pokharel and Shafiqullah Waak, UNAMA