A house for a civil servant

Construction of a new township to house civil and military officials in Sharana, in the middle of Paktika province has begun. Construction of a new township to house civil and military officials in Sharana, in the middle of Paktika province has begun.
The town, spread over 654 jirib (313 acres) has been approved by the Ministry of Urban Development, and will house at least a 1,000 government personnel besides a number of tribal elders.
Muhibullah Samim, governor of the southeastern province, speaking at a function to inaugurate the construction work, said the province had been unable to attract competent people to government departments because there was no housing to suit their standards. “All Paktika residents live in a rural way. Everyone working with the government faced a lot of hardship. With the construction of this town, all the living problems of people who come to work in government departments in Paktika will be solved.” 
Sharana municipality is financing the building of 52 double-storey houses and five high-rise apartment buildings for civil servants.
The governor said the township would have “four big mosques, two high schools for boys and girls, 20 business centres, paved roads, electricity, clean water, entertainment parks and other essential facilities.”
According to him, housing was a main problem in recruiting competent professionals into the government. “The (new) town will play an important role in establishing good governance and efficient administration in Paktika.”
To prevent land sharks from making money through speculation in Sharana, the government has prohibited “selling and purchasing of the plots unless the owner receives documents from the government”, says Sharana Mayor, Muhammad Zahir.
Disputes over land titles are common in informal settlements that have sprung up in and around Afghan cities. There are many instances of squatters who have no legal ownership but have built a house with the support of a local commander. Local officials have not been able to evict the settlers and return the land to the legal claimants.
But for now government officials and traders in Paktika are happy. While the former are looking forward to bringing their families to live with them, Gulzada Hamidi, deputy head of the Paktika shopkeepers union says “the construction will be good for the economy and business.