KABUL - Government officials from restive Helmand province in southern Afghanistan travelled all the way to the capital, Kabul, earlier this week to get their calls for more investment for development of the province heard.  Click here to view the photos of a conference on development of Helmand in Kabul

During a conference on development of Helmand held yesterday in Kabul, the Office of the Helmand Provincial Governor presented development project proposals to the potential donors, Government officials, private sector and intelligentsia.

“We presented a total of 77 development projects for Helmand Province to the donors during the conference so that they can make their funding commitments,” Dawood Ahmedi, the Helmand Provincial Spokesperson, told UNAMA, adding that the aim of the conference was to attract more funding and investment for the province.

The conference was organized by the office of Provincial Governor.

Governor Gulab Mangal told the donors that security had “significantly improved” in the province while “remarkable progresses had been made in all other sectors” including governance, health, education, agriculture, infrastructure and counter-narcotics.

“Peoples’ committees have been set up in seven districts of Helmand, which have tremendously helped in improvement of security in the Province,” said Governor Mangal.

The peoples’ committees – which advise the local administration in selection of development projects, appointment of local police commanders among other key decisions – are elected by the people of the respective areas.

Turning to education sector, the participants of the conference were told that as compared to 44 schools four years ago, there are 104 schools currently operating in the Province, with 121,000 students receiving primary and secondary education.

The “Food Zone Programme” has been a great success in alleviating poppy cultivation and promoting legal agriculture in the province, the participants were told.

According to the Afghanistan Opium Survey 2011 carried out by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), 1,602 hectares and 1,940 hectares of poppy-cultivated land in Helmand province were cleared of poppies in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

According to the Governor’s Office, an industrial park is under construction in the province where 62 factories producing agricultural products will be set up.

“We are trying to motivate the national investors to establish factories in the industrial parks of Helmand,” added Mr. Ahmadi.