The Town of Colonie might not have the same culture, landscape or problems that the country of Afghanistan faces, but officials from that faraway land hope they can learn something here all the same.
Elected officials from Afghanistan recently made a stop in Colonie on their tour of the United States to learn from the town’s governmental and structural processes. They arrived Sunday, April 21, and will depart Thursday, April 25.
Two mayors, a member of parliament, the director of the Ministry of Counternarcotics and their interpreters are on a 21-day tour of the United States in hopes of gaining knowledge of local, state and federal government in order to help sustain and build their own economy and government. The visitors, three of which were women, were invited to the country under the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, arranged by the Meridian International Center.
Diane Conroy-LaCivita, the executive director of the International Center of the Capital Region, Inc. and the visitors’ Colonie tour guide, said Colonie was chosen for a stop on their tour because it was a good example of a suburban perspective. While part of the tour includes visiting Washington, D.C., and New York City, the visitors are also looking at the New York State Museum, the City of Troy and examining Colonie’s planning and building processes with town Director of Planning and Economic Development Joe LaCivita.
“What they’re trying to do is gather so much information … and adopt some of these processes to attract businesses (to their country),” LaCivita said.
Over the past two years, officials from six different countries, including Romania and Mexico, have visited Colonie under the program, LaCivita said.
“People are very interested in visiting New York state because we have so much going on … based upon our nanoscience level, education, theme of transparency, accountability, same sex marriage, fracking issues, environmental issues. The good, the bad and the ugly,” Conroy-LaCivita said.
One of the main components of the American tour is to highlight some governmental and economic processes that the Afghanistan government officials can bring back to their country.
“We have some wonderful examples to show them of how you can create municipalities and councils … that it can be democratic and participatory and people pay taxes,” Conroy-LaCivita said. “All of these things that we don’t think that much about … infrastructure, sewer department and a planning department. They have an opportunity to create a tremendous community.”
The Afghan officials said it was their first time in the United States, and so far they had learned about the budgetary challenges the country faces.
“So far our program is focused on the public sector and budgeting and finance … it will really help us to take this experience to our country in order to build a sustainable and accountable process in government in our own departments,” Director of the Ministry of Counternarcotics Sumaya Shaheen said.
Shaheen said her country’s national revenue covers only 70 percent of its budget, and there is a 30 percent deficit.
“We need to sustain a system in order to decrease the deficit of the budget … it has a direct effect on the economy of our country and government,” she said.
Shaheen added that while Afghanistan is leaving “30 years of dark time,” the country has “tried a lot to sustain a good government and to work for the development of the country.” All of the officials said they were grateful for the help given by the United States and are concerned about what will happen in 2014, when the U.S. will hand over all responsibilities to Afghanistan.
“Please do not leave the Afghan people alone after 2014 … we will be good partners … we need your assistance and friendship,” parliament member Lailoma Wali Hakami said through interpreter Mohammad Faieq Zarif.
Mayor of Kandahar City Mohammad Omer said the country is working towards eliminating corruption. Kandahar City is where the Taliban was founded.
“We know it’s a big problem in Afghanistan,” Omer said through an interpreter. “We’re working towards a peace deal with our enemies and I humbly believe peace is foreseeable.”
Mayor of Markazi Behsood Qamar said much like herself, many women “don’t want to lose the freedoms and achievements they have.”
“The majority of Afghan people actually want peace, they don’t want to continue the war and also democracy has gotten some roots in Afghanistan,” Qamar said through an interpreter. “The people of Afghanistan don’t want to go to the dark period of the Taliban.”