Afstan: Problems with getting reconstruction to the people

Our aid personnel have a hard time going anywhere, except with heavy army protection.

Canadian diplomats and aid organizers in southern Afghanistan have been under tight, government-imposed travel restrictions ever since diplomat Glyn Berry was killed in a roadside bomb attack in January — and the constraints appear to be hampering reconstruction efforts.

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay has acknowledged the limits and is trying to get them eased.

“We are working as effectively and efficiently as possible to free up any restrictions that stand in the way of development, that stand in the way of the progress being made,” Mr. MacKay said following a recent speech to diplomats...

The question of how much reconstruction is taking place in southern Afghanistan, and how effective those efforts have been, are among the main political lines of attack by opponents of the war. Critics complain the mission has been all fighting and no aid.

Last week, the Senate committee on security and defence heard how the army has been trolling Ottawa, attempting to get already-approved Canadian reconstruction money spent on projects that are sitting in limbo...

But officials charged with delivering millions of dollars in Canadian aid are rarely allowed to venture beyond the heavily fortified compounds of the Kandahar airfield and the nearby provincial reconstruction team (PRT) base, which is located within Kandahar city itself.

Instead, local Afghan officials are often required to present themselves at the PRT to discuss projects.

When officials do get outside the base, it's usually as part of heavily-armed military convoys that Canadian contractors who are working on reconstruction say offer little opportunity for interaction with locals...

International Cooperation Minister Josee Verner is, no coincidence I am sure, paying a surprise visit to Afstan.