1. The Municipality of Lashkar
Gah in Afghanistan migrates
from a pen-and-paper system
to a fully automated payroll
and human resources
database
Heaps of paper in Mohammad Umer
Khan’s desk are now replaced with a
computer and printer, enabling him
to complete a weeklong task in a few
hours.
Assisted by USAID’s Regional
Afghan Municipality Program for
Urban Populations (RAMP UP) –
South, the Lashkar Gah municipality
now has a fully automated database
integrating all human resource and
payroll functions. The automated
payroll system drastically reduces
the possibility of corruption and
eliminates previous delays in salary
payments for municipal employees.
Human resources and payroll staff
from the municipality received
capacity building training to ensure
employees are fully equipped to
independently manage the new
system.
BEFORE For 11 years, municipal finance manager, Mohammad
Umer Khan, spent more than a week preparing the salary payments
for municipal staff using a pen-and-paper system. With the old
system, it was not unusual to receive complaints on late payments in
the Municipality of Lashkar Gah.
AFTER Today, Mohammad Umer Khan needs only a few hours to
prepare the payroll and payments for staff, a task that had taken him
a week or more to complete prior to applying his training on the
automated database and using equipment provided by USAID
Lashkar Gah Implements Automated Payroll System
Photo:RAMPUP-SOUTHPhoto:RAMPUP-SOUTH

2. Residents of the
Municipality of Zaranj are
pleased to see blue fences
along the main streets.
The project provided jobs
to citizens, who believe
the fences will help reduce
vehicular accidents.
The “Shayasta Zaranj”
cleanliness and beautification
campaign completed fencing road
medians on five main streets in
the Municipality of Zaranj.
Supported by the USAID-funded
Regional Afghan Municipalities
Program for Urban Populations–
South, the project built and
installed 6,134 meters of steel
fences on streets in high-traffic
areas.
Abdul Karim, 25, an auto
mechanic, hopes people will start
being conscious of traffic rules,
saying the blue fences clearly
indicate that the roads are for
two-way traffic, and waspleased
that the project also provided jobs
to citizens. AFTER Steel fences protect tree saplings that the
municipality planted as part of the “Shayasta Zaranj”
campain. Citizens hope the fences will help reduce auto
accidents in the city.
Fencing Project Revitalizes Main
Streets in Zaranj
Photo:RAMPUP-SOUTH
BEFORE The street median along Muheet Zeest, a main
road in the Municipality of Zaranj.
Photo:RAMPUP-SOUTH

3. In a ceremony on February 7,
2012, Lashkar Gah Mayor
Mohammad Fazal Safi,
religious leaders, the head of
the municipal shura (council),
and key government officials
announced that a 40-stall
latrine facility was open for
public use. The public latrines
are at E-Millie bus station, in
one of the most densely
populated commercial areas in
Lashkar Gah. Built for both
women and men, they will
improve health and sanitation
conditions in the city.
Like many cities in southern Afghanistan, Lashkar Gah
lacks a sewage disposal system and has few public toilet
facilities, conditions that foster the transmission of air and
water-borne diseases. The Regional Afghan
Municipalities Program for Urban Populations (RAMP
UP)-South partnered with the municipality to address
sanitation issues and provide this critical public service.
In a Radio Television Afghanistan interview, the director
of the municipality shura urged citizens to support this
new municipal service that not only caters to individual
needs but provides municipal jobs to maintenance
workers and cleaners who manage the facility.
With 20 stalls each for males and females, the public
latrines are equipped with tissue paper and soap, and are
expected to serve 200 people daily. Users are charged
AFA 10 per use, which supplies municipal revenue for the
facility’s maintenance and upkeep.
Public Latrines Open in Lashkar Gah
Public latrines in Lashkar Gah’s E-Millie
bus station serve more than 200 male
and female passengers and transport
workers in one of the city’s most
densely populated commercial area.
The mayor of Lashkar Gah
stressed the proper use of
the latrines, which he said
is a municipal public
service that aims to
address health and
sanitation issues. He
emphasized that the
latrines are in an easily
accessible location and are
much-needed by the
public.
Photo:RAMPUP-SOUTH

4. Invoking the campaign name “Shayasta
Kandahar” or “Beautiful Kandahar,” the new
Kandahar Mayor, Zazi Mohammad Omar,
led the city’s cleanliness campaign by
participating in a city-wide clean-up event, as
part of the USAID funded RAMP UP-South
project goal to increase the effectiveness of
municipal governments to deliver needed
citizen services.
Organized by the Kandahar Press Club,
members of the city’s media launched a
street cleaning activity with the participation
of the mayor and more than 200 citizens.
Members of local youth groups and
municipal staff members joined the
Kandahar media in cleaning the streets of
trash and debris.
This cleanliness drive encouraged Kandahar
community members to use trash bins to
dispose of household and commercial
garbage. USAID/RAMP UP-South provided
the city with 250 large metal skips and 10
garbage removal vehicles that remove
garbage from the city to a landfill site.
The street clean-up was followed by a
broadcast of community members including
local religious leaders, women, and children,
voicing support for the cleanliness campaign
and encouraging citizen support. As part of
his inaugural address, the mayor of
Kandahar emphasized RAMP UP-South’s
program as part of his “Beautiful Kandahar”
platform.
Kandahar Mayor Zazi Mohammad
Omar (top right) leads the city
cleanliness campaign organized by
the Kandahar Press Club and
supported by USAID’s RAMP UP-
South project.
Kandahar City’s Solid Waste Management Program
Photo:KANDAHARPRESSCLUB

5. On January 18, 2012, the Mayor of Lashkar Gah,
Mohammad Fazal Safi, led a municipal survey
team to collect information from a local property
owner as part of a public awareness campaign to
generate support for the municipality’s parcel
registration program.
“Registering the parcels of land … will enable the
municipality to generate income that will revert
back to the citizens in the form of essential public
services,” the mayor told media representatives
covering the event. He cited the ongoing garbage
collection service in the city as an example of such
services.
Currently underway in Districts 1 and 2, the Parcel
Registration Program in Lashkar Gah is supported
by the USAID-funded Regional Afghan
Municipalities Program for Urban Populations
(RAMP UP)-South, which works with municipalities
in Southern Afghanistan to increase revenue
generation in order to enhance and sustain
economic growth. Teams of 20 surveyors visit
properties to interview landowners and measure
their parcels. The information is then entered into
the municipal database, and becomes an official
document for the landowner, certifying the property
has been surveyed. The data also serves as a
“blue notebook,” the owner’s record of the
assessed safayi tax he owes to the municipality
and the basis for his payment.
Landowner Mohibullah is pleased with the
municipality’s initiative. As he welcomed the
survey team to his home, he said, “This program is
useful for both the municipality and the citizens. As
a landowner myself, I would certainly register my
property for my own benefit.”
Mayor Mohammad Fasal Safi appeals to land owners to
register their property as he leads the survey team to
register land parcels in Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province.
Mayor Safi states that registering properties
will pave the way for the municipality to
collect safayi taxes, enabling it to generate
income to continue sustainable delivery of
essential services to the city’s residents.
Parcel Registration Rolls Out in Lashkar Gah
Photo:RAMPUP-SOUTH

6. Tribal leader Mohammad Dawood Gulzar tapes a
radio message encouraging citizens to pay taxes to
support municipal programs.
Pleased with municipal improvements in Qalat
that are supported by the Regional Afghan
Municipalities Program for Urban Populations-
South, tribal leaders went to the Voice of Qalat
radio station to participate in an on-air
discussion about municipal programs, their
importance, and what citizens can do to
sustain them.
Participants included Mohammed Rasol
Kochai, chairman of the Peace Council and
tribal leader of the Kochai Tribe; Mohammed
Dawood Gulzar, tribal leader of the Hotak
Tribe; Alhaj Hamidullah, tribal leader of the
Tokhi Tribe; and Salam Khan Hotak, tribal
leader of the Nasar Tribe. The leaders called
on citizens to support the Solid Waste
Management (SWM) and Parcel Registration
programs in Qalat.
The leaders lauded the “Shayasta” SWM
campaign for keeping the city clean and
improving citizens’ health. Alhaj Hamidullah of
the Tokhi Tribe urged property and business
owners to register their properties with the
municipality, emphasizing that revenues
generated by the municipality would benefit all
citizens.
Mohammad Dawood Gular of the Hotak Tribe
said he was happy to pay taxes now that
clean-up efforts were evident and ongoing in
Qalat.
Each tribal elder also taped a message, to be
aired on local radio stations, soliciting citizens’
support and cooperation in the municipality.
Tribal Leaders Promote Municipal
Programs in Qalat
Tribal leaders go on-air to
express their approval and
endorsement of the SWM and
Parcel Registration programs.
Photos:RAMPUP-SOUTH

7. Photos:RAMPUP-SOUTH
More than 200 religious leaders from Lashkar
Gah, Qalat, and Zaranj, members of the
shuras, government officials, and youth
representatives gathered at three meetings
hosted by the municipalities’ mayors to express
support for ongoing municipal solid waste
management (SWM) and parcel registration
programs implemented by the Regional Afghan
Municipalities Program for Urban Populations
(RAMP UP)-South. Addressing the citizens’
stated needs for regular waste collection, the
SWM program establishes an enhanced waste
collection and transportation system by
providing waste collection vehicles and
containers at the neighborhood, market, and
institution/office levels. The parcel registration
program contributes to creating new revenue
streams to continue providing capacity-building
and infrastructure to southern Afghanistan.
Trusted and respected leaders, the mullahs
expressed their commitment to the “Shayasta”
cleanliness campaign and parcel registration
program, pledging to disseminate outreach
messages during Friday prayers, the most-
attended community gatherings across the
country.
With media coverage by Radio Television
Afghanistan, Director of Hajj and Religious
Affairs Hajji Abdul Hamid led a delegation of
more than 100 mullahs in Lashkar Gah to pledge
their commitment to providing better services to
citizens. He added that the municipality’s ability to
deliver these services would continue to improve as
more revenue was generated from parcel
registration.
With the continued and enthusiastic support of the
mullahs and government officials, the outreach and
education campaigns will continue to promote the
SWM and parcel registration in the South.
Mullahs Support Municipal Programs
Mullahs gathered at meetings hosted by the mayors
of Lashkar Gah, Qalat and Zaranj. The religious
leaders asked for additional copies of outreach
campaign flyers for the SWM and parcel registration
programs to distribute at their mosques.
Malawi Nasser Ahmad, a religious elder,
says, “Promoting programs for the
welfare of our people is also part of our
work … and this is our city, too.”

8. The only female staff
member of USAID’s RAMP
UP-South project
established a platform to
bring together fellow
female broadcasters in
support of municipal
programs
After anchoring “Our City, Our Home,” a radio program
made possible by the Regional Afghan Municipalities
Program for Urban Populations (RAMP UP)-South, Ozra
Ahmady found her voice, as well as a platform to promote
citizen engagement in municipal services.
A journalism graduate from Kabul University, Ozra worked
part-time jobs in radio and television stations to pay for her
education. When she joined RAMP UP-South in her
hometown of Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, she
anchored a radio program for the women-run Radio Muska
dedicated to communicating municipal messages to
citizens. Ozra co-anchored segments with female members
of the shura (council) to reach out to home-bound women
in Helmand. She blazed the trail by inviting a famous
mullah, Ahmad Mukhtar from the Ministry of Haj and
Religious affairs for an interview about “Should men assist
their wives at home”. The program was a memorable public
broadcast segment in one of the most conservative, male-
dominated regions in Afghanistan.
Weeks after the last episode, 23-year old Ozra led a
workshop for women broadcasters to emphasize media’s
social responsibility and invoked their commitment to
support municipality-led programs. Learning about her
work, the governor of Helmand raised the possibility of
opening a press center, and to register a Women Journalist
Foundation by gathering women in Helmand Province and
provide them a space for a Women Press Center. Right
now Ozra is working on this project with 20 females who
are willing to be members of the foundation.
“Ozra’s work is a realization of her dream,” says Rashia
Boluch, a member of the Provincial Council of Helmand,
“Her work brought us all together.”
These days, Ozra’s work has expanded to other
municipalities in the South, where she does advocacy work
with women — particularly among women in media — and
leads outreach campaigns for RAMP UP-South projects.
Currently based at the Municipal Office of Lashkar Gah,
Ozra can claim a place in history as the first woman to
have worked in the municipality’s public office. Her fortitude
and determination to work in a traditionally male-dominated
field makes her a role model for every woman and girl in
Lashkar Gah.
“My work with RAMP UP-
South gave me the
opportunity to
demonstrate that we can
make things happen if we
work together.”
—Ozra Ahmady, gender outreach
advisor, RAMP UP-South, Lashkar
Gah
At Work, She Lives Her Dream

9. “I am grateful to the
municipality for this
garbage bin. It keeps
the flies away and
brings more
customers my way.
It’s my lucky
charm.”
—Haji Abdulrahim, fruit juice seller,
Lashkar Gah
A Lucky Charm
A municipal garbage bin
brings more customers
to a fruit juice seller on
a street corner in
Lashkar Gah.
PhotoCredit:USAID/RAMPUP-South
Every morning, Haji Abdulrahim sets up his hand-operated juic-
er machine at his usual spot on a street corner in Lashkar Gah,
the capital of Hilmand province. With a broad smile on his
bearded face, he sells fresh juice to shopkeepers and buyers in
the neighborhood. Today, next to his plastic chair and fruit rack
is a big blue garbage bin – a gift from the municipality that he
says brings him good luck.
Last month, with the help of the Regional Afghan Municipalities
Program for Urban Populations- South, the Municipality of
Lashkar Gah launched a Clean City campaign, distributing
3,500 garbage bins among shopkeepers and households along
the busiest streets in town as part of USAID’s larger initiative to
improve municipal service delivery to citizens in Southern Afg-
hanistan
“Now, people dispose of their garbage not in the street, but in
the blue bins. Then trucks come to empty the bins, and we
don’t have to worry what to do with our garbage,” this vendor
affirms.
Without the bin, Haji Abdulrahim had to leave his juicer unat-
tended every hour or so to look for a spot to dispose of the fruit
peelings, and the waste attracted flies and drove away custom-
ers. Now, this father of seven earns up to 400 Afghanis daily,
double the amount of what he used to earn before he was given
the garbage bin.
Sitting comfortably beside his goods, Haji Abdulrahim notes
happily that there are no longer flies hovering over his fruits.
“Not that I miss them,” he laughs rapping gently on the blue
plastic bin.
October 22, 2011