GARDEZ (SW): A number of Paktia Provincial Council members and Residents of Gardez expressed their concern about the non-completion of the Gardez-Pattan road, the construction of which began three years ago, but has not been completed yet.
Officials at Paktia informed that the money for the construction of the road had been paid to a private construction company; however, its construction has not been completed yet.
Some residents of Gardez and a number of the members of the PPC accused the local authorities and the officials of the construction company for embezzlement saying that the money has been paid to Niazmand Shirzad Company, however, the construction of the road has not been completed yet.
Al-Amir Bahramzai, a member of PPC told Salam Watandar that the money was paid to Niazmand Shirzad Company three years ago, however; so far only 10% of the road work has been completed. According to Bahramzai, the Niazmand Shirzad Company and the Ministry of Public Works have embezzled the public fund.
A number of Paktia civil society activists also criticized the government for not paying attention to the concern of the people of Paktia and urged the government to put pressure on the officials of Niazmand Shirzad Company to build this road as soon as possible.
However, Niaz Mohammad, the director of Niazmand Shirzad Company told Salam Watandar that due to a memorandum signed between the Ministry of Public Works and the Niazmand Shirzad Company, their demands were not respected; hence the construction of this road has been halted.
According to Niaz Mohammad, part of the road has been constructed a while ago, but it has been damaged over time due to non-maintenance.
Shamim Khan Katawazi, the governor of Paktia, said that before he was appointed as the governor of Paktia, the contract of this project was awarded to Niazmand Shirzad Company and 50% of the fund had also been paid to them. The Niazmand Shirzad Company has been asked to resume the work on this road, the governor added.
“We have asked the authorities of this company several times and told to resume their work, and have warned them that the government will hold you accountable for each dollar spent on this road, and if their work is not according to standard they will be obliged to rebuild the road from scratch”, the governor added.
The Gardez-Pattan road is 80 km long, passing through 9 districts, connecting Gardez, the center of Paktia province to border district of Danditan.
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