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.