Two Nangarhar districts undergo national-level assessment

Representatives from Afghanistan’s Independent Directorate of Local Governance performed a field assessment at Nangarhar Bati Kot and Kuz Kunar District Centers to implement the District Delivery Program April 23 -27.

The DDP is a national program that involves an IDLG team from Kabul who travel to districts across Afghanistan and discusses local needs with district sub-governors, extension representatives and community leaders, said Ricky Majette, United States Agency for International Development general development officer from Raleigh, N.C.

The purpose of the DDP isn’t necessarily to construct new buildings, but rather to optimize service delivery to the people, said Dr. Mohammad Shafiq, IDLG team lead.

“We want to effectively utilize the resources that are available,” he said.

Bati Kot and Kuz Kunar are the sixth and seventh districts in Nangarhar to undergo the DDP. Majette saidboth districts have unique circumstances which make them particularly receptive to the benefits a program like the DDP offers.

Bati Kot’s outgoing district sub-governor, Hajji Niamatullah Noorzai, has created a 15-year plan outlining his vision for development and growth in Bati Kot. His ambitious strategy includes building the district’s infrastructure, particularly roads and electricity. Then, once a strong economic foundation is established, he plans on attracting investors to create at least five food-production factories in the district, capitalizing on the district’s strong agricultural foundation.

As for Kuz Kunar, the local provincial reconstruction team has assisted them in their preparation for their DDP since early January, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Nangarhar PRT commander from Dallas.

“Kuz Kunar has many of the elements that we want to empower, many of the elements that we want to encourage among other districts,” Anderson said. “It has a strong (District Development Assembly) under a respected leader, a district sub-governor who’s willing to work and get out of his office and meet with constituents, and the right level of engagement between the people and the government.”

Even considering the two districts’ advanced capabilities, they still face problems.

Security issues in Bati Kot are the main concern driving down economic growth, Noorzai said.

“Security is a very big problem for us,” he said. “Most of the residents in this part of Afghanistan go to other countries to start businesses or find job opportunities.”

The main issue facing Kuz Kunar is the lack of improved roads, said outgoing Sub-Gov. Hajji Abdul Qayum. Beyond that, the district mainly needs renovation of old structures to effectively meet the needs of the people.

While still a relatively new process, the DDP is already producing benefits for the people of Afghanistan and connecting them to their government, said Majette.

“The DDP is working, and hopefully other districts are paying attention and want to be a part of such a process,” Majetter said.

“People will trust the government more than they used to because of the DDP,” said Qayum. “Before, there was corruption. Now, there’s order.”

Hajji Niamatullah Noorzai, Bati Kot's outgoing district sub-governor, left, and Dr. Mohammad Shafiq, Independent Directorate of Local Governance District Delivery Program team lead, right, discuss the district's strategic goals during their DDP field assessment at the district center April 25.

Government officials and tribal elders gather at the Bati Kot District Center, Afghanistan, April 25 to discuss their District Delivery Program assessment.

A Kuz Kunar elder voices his concerns with Dr. Mohammad Shafiq, Independent Directorate of Local Governance District Delivery Program team lead, center, and Mohammad Naim, Kuz Kunar's Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development extension representative, right, during the district's DDP field assessment April 27.

District Delivery Program fills gaps in Kama government institutions

Representatives from Afghanistan’s Independent Directorate of Local Governance performed a field assessment of Nangarhar’s Kama District in order to implement the District Delivery Program there, April 10-12.

The DDP is a relatively new process by which Kabul conducts an in-depth examination of a district’s needs and creates a plan to ensure local government institutions receive the funding and manning they need to fulfill the needs of their people, said Mouhsen Habib, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team provincial governance and development officer from Lake Forest, Calif.

The DDP process consists of five steps, said Dr. Mohammad Shafiq, the IDLG team lead sent to Kama. As part of the first step, the IDLG contingent conducted their ground assessment with Kama representatives.

“We don’t know what problems you have,” Safiq told district representatives as he explained the DDP process. “You are running this program. You are at the forefront.”

With the ground assessment complete, the team now has 10 business days to compile a report of their findings. After the report is completed, they will fill any vacancies the government has, engage in capacity building sessions to increase government competency, and fund both small projects, such as buying furniture and office supplies, and large projects, like building schools and other structures a district identifies as a need.

Kama is the fifth district in Nangarhar to undergo a DDP. However, it IDLG ranked it as the most advanced district in all of Nangarhar. Their current service delivery and advanced agriculture infrastructure both make it uniquely suited to the types of services a DDP can provide said Shafiq.

The district’s subgovernor, Engineer Muhamman Turav, wasn’t surprised to hear Kama ranked so high on IDLG’s scale. He related an anecdote about former Afghan President Mohammad Daoud Khan dubbing the district “Little America” in the 70s, a title they proudly embrace to this day.

Despite its advanced capacity to govern, Kama still faces many diverse, difficult challenges.

“Of course, you have many problems,” Shafiq told Kama officials. “I can’t promise we’ll solve 100 percent of them; however, we will try. I can promise to bring all of your issues back to Kabul with me.”

Issues identified by the Kama officials included building eight schools, improving three roads and holding a capacity-building workshop for members of the government, among other requests all coupled with the number of citizens who would be affected by the improvements.

Provincial Governor Gul Agha Sherzai and his deputy governor, Mohammad Gardewal, both expressed their commitment to ensuring the DDP helps their people out. Sherzai said he was dissatisfied with government officials who weren’t connected to the people of Nangarhar, and that he would hold his officials accountable.
With the support provided by the DDP, Sherzai continued, there was no reason for members of the government to fail at providing services.

“I’ll fire directors who can’t do their work and bring in people who can,” he warned.

The biggest success of the DDP is it connects the people to their district, provincial and national governments to a level rarely seen in Afghanistan, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Nangarhar PRT commander from Dallas.

“I am thrilled at the commitment shown by government representatives at all levels throughout the DDP process,” Anderson said. “The district officials were well-prepared with their facts and figures, the provincial administration threw its full weight behind it, and the team from Kabul was incredibly receptive and professional. The government in Kabul is truly listening to the needs of the farmers and merchants.

"When we arrived in country, DDP had more skeptics than champions, yet the government has made it into a functioning process,” Anderson continued. “It's programs like this that demonstrate the small steps through which the Afghan government is building itself."

Dr. Mohammad Shafiq, left, Independent Directorate of Local Governance team lead, discusses the District Delivery Program with Kama District Subgovernor Engineer Muhamman Turav, right, at the district center, April 11. Shafiq's team will take Turav's concerns back to Kabul to procure funding required to solve his district's issues.

Nangarhar Governor Gul Agha Sherzai, center, briefs administration officials on his expectations for the Kama District Delivery Program at his palace, April 10. The DDP is a relatively new program aimed at connecting the national government of Afghanistan to constituents at the lowest level.

Dr. Mohammad Shafiq, Independent Directorate of Local Governance team lead, briefs Kama officials on the priority lists they assembled at the district center, April 12. These priority lists will be used to create a comprehensive strategy for Kama's future service delivery.

Nangarhar's Newly-appointed deputy governor, Mohammad Gardewal chairs his first provincial administrative.

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Nangarhar's newly-appointed deputy

governor, Mohammad Gardewal, chaired his first provincial administrative

meeting at the governor's house March 31.

Some of the topics raised included the need for a strategic plan in the

province, currency issues and proposed government contracts.

The weekly meeting is nominally designed to discuss contracts, explained

Lt. Col. Brian Panton, from Silver Spring, Md., lead civil affairs

officer, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team.

The most pressing matter is the provincial government still lacked a

comprehensive plan for the next budgetary year.

"We don't have a plan, so we're confused and lost," said Dr. Allah Dad,

Nangarhar's education line director. "This is a big problem. We need to

fix it."

Sayed Qayas, the economic line director, said one of the difficulties

preventing the province from creating a unified plan was a lack of

communication between government officials and outside donors.

"We need to create better coordination between international

organizations, non-governmental organizations and the government," Qayas

said.

Gardewal signalled his commitment to tackling the strategic plan head-on

by instructing his line directors to compile all their documentation

relevant to a provincial plan, then he scheduled a meeting in April to

begin debate and discussion solely on the province's resources and

goals.

Another topic of contention was the unwillingness of citizens in the

province, particularly in the capital city of Jalalabad, to using the

official currency of the country, the Afghani. The assembled

representatives all agreed that this reluctance by their constituents

undermined economic prosperity in the region.

Proposed solutions to the currency problem ranged from better messaging

to the people of Nangarhar to potential criminal penalties for using

other nations' money. Gardewal tasked officials to draft solutions prior

to the next administrative meeting to increase use of the Afghani.

Finally, the group voted on government contracts. Panton said, Officials

were particularly cautious about being good stewards of their limited

budget, outright denying one of the five contracts discussed for being

too costly and necessitating lower prices on two contracts before

approving them.

While many aspects of the government in Nangarhar still need work, the

administrative meeting is an area that has seen encouraging strides

toward proficiency, Panton said.

"There has been significant improvement over the years, and I can see

improvements continuing to take place," said Panton.

The newly-appointed deputy governor of Nangarhar, Mohammad Gardewal, addresses his line directors during his first administrative meeting at the governor's house March 31. The administrative meeting gives government representatives an opportunity to discuss the issues they face and vote on pending government contracts.

Nangarhar province's line directors and deputy governor met at the governor's house March 31 for their weekly administrative meeting.