By Chris Kilgore
July 4, 2011

Kabul, Afghanistan Mayor Muhammad Younus Nowandish addressed the Conference of Mayors about the problems facing his city as a result of rapid urbanization. He has been very active in rebuilding the infrastructure of the city, despite dealing with extremely limited resources. He is considered by many to be a model of the future Afghan politician.

Nowandish began his remarks by expressing his deep appreciation for the American soldiers and civil servants currently in Afghanistan “fighting for lasting peace and security for the people of Afghanistan.” He also acknowledged those Americans who have lost their lives in the country, fighting for democracy and peace.

Discussing the immense challenges that Kabul faces, the mayor demonstrated the difficulties of extremely rapid urbanization. In 2002, Kabul had 1.2 million residents; in the nine years since, the population has exploded more than threefold to five million residents. In the early 2000s, the city planned its infrastructure for around 1.5 million residents, not foreseeing the huge and sudden growth in population.

Nowandish discussed how this unplanned population growth has caused numerous problems for the city’s infrastructure. In response to the unplanned growth, the mayor initiated a program in which young Afghan engineers would be sent to Japan to receive training so they could come back and help the city rebuild its infrastructure.

He has done all of this with extremely limited resources. Nowandish mentioned that his resource budget is approximately 30 million U.S. dollars for five million people — an extremely small amount by U.S. standards.

He also discussed the importance of increased employment and better business opportunities for young people in order to keep them from joining the insurgency. He is increasingly relying on private sector investment and entrepreneurial activities to grow the economy of Kabul. He made clear that political stability relies on economic stability.

Nowandish received substantial applause from the audience after informing the Conference that the role of women in the Kabul leadership has been markedly improved. Improving the place of women in Kabul’s society has been a hallmark of Nowandish’s time as mayor.

Near the end of his remarks, Nowandish made a direct request to the U.S. Congress to continue its assistance to Kabul and Afghanistan as a whole. He said, “U.S. assistance…is key to long term peace and stability in Afghanistan, the region, and the world.”

After finishing his speech, the mayor presented the U.S. Conference of Mayors with a gift—a handmade carpet that reads “Kabul Municipality 2010.” Conference President Burnsville (MN) Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz expressed appreciation to Nowandish for the wonderful gift and eye-opening remarks.