The European Union and government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are investing Rs 9.9 billion (~EUR 73m) on projects prioritised by communities in 12 districts under the Community-Driven Local Development (CDLD) Programme.
The news was announced on February 22 during the launching ceremony of the extension phase of the CDLD Programme with the participation of the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Pervez Khattak, the Ambassador of the European Union in Pakistan, Jean-François Cautain, Secretary Local Government, Syed Jamal-ud-Din Shah, Senior Minister for Local Government, Inayatullah Khan, Secretary Planning and Development Department, Zahir Shah, Director General of Local Government, Amir Latif, and the Executive Partner of Human Dynamics, Bernhard Hulla.
The CDLD programme is currently being implemented in nine districts. These include Buner, Chitral, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Haripur, Malakand, Nowshera, Shangla, and Swat. Three more districts will be added this year.
One of the main beneficiaries of the programme are the Village councils and the local government officers in the districts, who are being trained in developing and prioritising local plans to identify and approve community projects for funding and implementation in the areas of infrastructure, transport, energy, water and other areas.
‘’The CDLD programme of the provincial government, supported by the European Union, empowered communities to prioritise, execute, and own their local development projects,’’ said Mr. Khattak, reaffirming the strong satisfaction of the government with the implementation of the first phase of the programme in the six districts of the Malakand Division.
The Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan, Jean-François Cautain, also spoke on the occasion and reiterated the EU’s continued support to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa towards creating new development opportunities in the province.
The Executive partner of Human Dynamics, Bernhard Hulla, addressed the distinguished guests and gave a presentation on the challenges and expected outcomes before the technical assistance team.
‘’With the extension of the CDLD programme and the application of a community-led approach in forming local development, we put the decision-making process of what is necessary and vital for the community itself to six more districts of the KP province. Thus, our technical assistance, will now cover almost half of the province, which will bring a huge impact over a population of more than 10 million people, who are supposed to benefit from the project during the extension phase,’’ said Mr. Hulla.
A short film was produced for the extension launch and can be found by clicking here.