Local Governance in Afghanistan: A View from the Ground

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Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit 2011 aid in state-building 8 and the role of Community Development Councils (CDCs). 9 In synthesising the research, Nixon reviewed local government institutions and the nature of Afghanistan’s “government of relationships.” 10 The present research builds on this work to examine developments that have occurred since then. These have included the formation of the ministry-level Independent Directorate of Local Government (IDLG) in 2007, agreement on a Policy for Subnational Governance in 2010, and drafting of laws related to the operation of provincial, district, village and municipal councils in 2010. Development in Afghanistan has for a large part been based on the assumption that introducing a public administration and democratic elections based on Western models would allow Afghanistan to move forward as an autonomous and sovereign state able to effectively manage its own affairs. This is not what has happened. Insecurity has increased, as has corruption. The democratic process has been subject to massive vote rigging, and abuses of power are widespread. The relationship between the president and international donors has become increasingly brittle and fractious. The likely decline in aid flows following the proposed international military withdrawal in 2014 raises serious questions about the sustainability of many existing programmes. While substantial resources and effort have been applied to the development of central government structures, local government has not received nearly the same level of attention. However what goes on at the local level is of vital importance; indeed, in many respects it is the whole point of government since it is where the benefits of security and services provided by the state directly impact on its population. It is through provincial and district organisation that planning, service delivery, security and justice delivery take place. It is also at these tiers that representative bodies have an important role in contributing to the planning process, monitoring activities and ensuring the government is held accountable for its actions. Local government is thus the interface between people and central government. While it has received a measure of attention, initiatives in support of local government have tended to be piecemeal, lacked universality and been short-term in vision. This paper draws attention to the considerable achievements that have been made as well as some areas of concern. Through the presentation of its evidence, it proposes a cluster of related policy changes that could enhance the effectiveness of local government, improve service delivery and increase the credibility of the state. This paper is structured as follows: Section 2 outlines the methodology and conceptual framework of the research. The four following chapters outline the research findings organised according to themes of Government, Security and Justice, Service Delivery, and Representation. Section 7 examines policy implications of the evidence presented for the centralised state, local government issues, corruption and the role of donors, leading to a summary of policy options. Annex I includes descriptions of the six research provinces. 8 Hamish Nixon, “Aiding the State International Assistance and the Statebuilding Paradox in Afghanistan” (Kabul: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, 2007). 9 Hamish Nixon, “The Changing Face of Local Governance Community Development Councils in Afghanistan” (Kabul: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, 2008). 10 Hamish Nixon, “Subnational State-Building in Afghanistan” (Kabul: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, 2008). Local Governance in Afghanistan: A View from the Ground 9
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit 2011 2. The Research Project 2.1 Research objectives and methodology Research objectives: The research has been designed, as the title indicates, to examine what is happening on the ground in Afghanistan. Its primary objective is to better understand the progression of local government. In doing so, it examines the nature of formal administrative structures, along with their interactions with informal governance mechanisms at the local level. This analysis then provides the basis for a discussion of policy. At a time when unprecedented levels of resources have been flowing into Afghanistan, the ultimate aim is to contribute information that will help improve the structure and performance of local governance. Conceptual framework: The IDLG Subnational Governance Policy 11 can be interpreted as describing two distinct systems of governance. The first is one of state organisation and administration structured around local government officials and line departments. The second relates to elected bodies at the provincial, district and village levels, the powers and roles of which are yet to be formalised in law. At present these features vary significantly across different provinces and are supplemented by the influence of informal powerholders and local elites. The Policy also demonstrates the government’s desire to maintain a strong measure of central influence—firstly, by monopolising control over appointments and, secondly, by ensuring that officials report directly to the central government in the form of line ministries or the president’s office. This complex and sometimes inconsistent document is thus caught between a pressure to improve efficiency by decentralising responsibilities on the one hand and fear of the loss of control this might bring on the other. To investigate the institutional framework of local governance in Afghanistan, the research splits provincial and district institutions into four major vertical lines of control (see Figure I). Vertical I consists of the offices of the provincial governor and the district governor, both of which draw their authority from the office of the president. As heads of the provincial and district administrations, all administrative decisions taken at the provincial and district levels respectively should ideally have the sanction of the provincial and district governors. Vertical II consists of the provincial and district line departments or representatives of central ministries. Line departments have important service and justice delivery functions and, as shall be seen, tend to function as self-contained units with little collaboration between them. It is also worth noting that not all central ministries maintain offices or personnel at the district level. 12 Vertical III is composed of representative institutions including provincial councils, District Development Assemblies under the National Area-Based Development Programme, District Community Councils under the Afghanistan Social Outreach Program (ASOP) and other district shuras, Clusters and Community Development Councils (CDCs) formed under the National Solidarity Programme (NSP). The final vertical consists of non-state actors, informal powerholders and others key actors in political and social mobilisation. These include Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), nongovernmental organisations, political parties, local commanders, members of ulema shuras (councils of clerics), maliks (community representatives) and arbabs (leaders/landlords). This vertical also includes newly emerging civil society organisations and broadcasting institutions that exist mainly in provincial capitals. The aim of this institutional map is to present a generalised picture of local government at the provincial, district and village levels. The four verticals are not necessarily mutually exclusive and stakeholders may overlap across two or more of them. In each province, responsibilities for planning, budgeting and service and justice delivery may lie with one or more stakeholders represented along each row. The division of responsibility and flow of accountability between the institutions along each vertical are similarly variable, especially among formal government structures. Understanding how these different stakeholders interact therefore forms a central feature of the study. 11 “Executive Summary: Sub-national Governance Policy” (Kabul: Independent Directorate of Local Government, 2010). 12 Line departments commonly present in districts are: Ministry of Interior, Huqooq, Saranwali, Qazi, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Health, MRRD, MAIL and Ministry of Finance. Local Governance in Afghanistan: A View from the Ground 10
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