KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - As she prepares to end her 11-month posting tomorrow, Canada's top diplomat in Kandahar says she is most proud of the progress of the province's fledgling police and security forces.
Elissa Golberg, the Representative of Canada in Kandahar, says the Afghan National Police and the guards at Sarposa prison have shown the greatest advances since she arrived in Afghanistan.
Golberg says hundreds of police officers have completed an eight-week basic training course during her tenure.
She says the police are now much better at spotting makeshift bombs planted by the Taliban in the province's roads and culverts, which have been the scourge of coalition forces operating in Kandahar.
Despite the brazen jail break at Sarposa prison last June, which spilled hundreds of criminals into the streets of Kandahar city, Golberg says she is proud of the training and mentoring corrections officers have received.
Ken Lewis, formerly the senior trade commissioner in Beijing, replaces Golberg on Saturday as Canada's top representative in Kandahar.
