Reforms Reaching Rural Afghanistan
July 23, 2007 - When twenty-five year old Ms. Farzana campaigned for a seat at Provincial Council in Takhar Province in September 2005, she wanted to bring a revolution to a system she felt had failed to deliver services and good governance in her province.
Two years later, much has improved in rural Afghanistan. Local governing bodies such as the Provincial Council and Community Development Councils are elected and fully functional.
The role of women has changed dramatically. Ms. Farzana and other elected women now have a voice in matters that affect them and their communities. “At the time, it was difficult to convince my conservative constituency that women can have the same talent and competency as men,” she said. Today, one-quarter of the seats in the Provincial Councils are held by women.
Takhar Province is located in northeastern Afghanistan with a population of around 850,000. The administrative affairs of the Province are run under the auspices of the Provincial Governor and through 16 district chiefs.
Mr. Khowja Ghulam Ghoas Abobakar, the Governor of the Province, said the reforms are starting to trickle down to the local level. “I have noticed improvement in most areas at the provincial level. Many government positions have been filled through the ongoing public administration reform process, which is a major achievement.” The heads of the provincial health and rural departments have been recruited through the Afghanistan Independent Civil Service Commission’s merit-based appointment program.
Bank Support
The World Bank has supported a series of five operations to support Afghanistan’s efforts to establish a transparent, well-functioning public administration leading to better use of public resources. In fact, International Development Association’s (IDA) first post-conflict grant to Afghanistan in 2002 was a US$10 million emergency project to enable the transparent flow of donor funds through the Government’s budget. Three budget support operations, during 2004 – 2006, have also included important benchmarks in the area of public administration.
“Much has been achieved in the past five years: officials are being paid regularly, ministries have been reorganized, and merit principles have been introduced,” says Ranjana Mukherjee, World Bank Senior Public Sector Specialist. “Equally, the rebuilding agenda ahead is enormously challenging. The Government needs to strengthen its reach outside of Kabul, while improving accountability at all levels. It also needs to reduce its dependence on donors for both aid and the capacity to manage.”
While achievements abound, many problems remain. Governor Abobakar said key challenges in Takhar include access to electricity, quality education and health services. Recruiting qualified staff is also difficult.
He also said there are concerns about uncoordinated aid, especially from the external budget, and particularly from the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). For instance, the Provincial Education Director, Mohammad Yaqoob said schools are built by the PRT and then handed over to the Government to run – without any consideration for recurrent budgets.
After many years of war and conflict, these sorts of tensions are not unusual for newly developing institutions. However, the obvious enthusiasm and commitment of all involved, as well as their willingness to work together, bodes well for the future of this corner of Afghanistan.
RSS