The Shaky Road to Accountability

Critical pillar of Mine development

2011-12-18T10:42:00.003+04:30

Afghanistan is set to open up its mining sector big time for foreign private investment. Time may be ripe for foreign investment to help the state generate revenues for its operations and obligations; however the current capacities of the ministry of mines remain dwarfed by bothersome margin. The Mining sector bears a huge potential for the development of Afghanistan provided it is developed well, properly inspected and audited

Afghanistan’s mining sector has been recipient of huge fund and technical assistance from the World Bank and other international donors to improve capacity at the ministry of mine. The major focus is on how to enhance tendering process and contract concession but there is so much more to mining then just that.

True Afghanistan is a baby among the mine rich countries and there is no doubt that Mr. Wahidullah Shahrani the minister of mines has initiated work for national mining policy, capacity development and five year business plan to encourage investment. Among the issues that require urgent attention are the Inspection, Audit, Labor Standards, Work Standards, and stricter Safety Standard.

Inspection of mining operation is very critical. Afghanistan has awarded about 110 small, medium and big contracts. The Qara Zaghan Gold Contract brings 26% royalty for the state which is very high rate. On paper the contract is very good but there is a need to upgrade current inspection capacity in the MoM in order to reduce the risk of manipulation of books and records as well as evasion of tax.

This can be done in different ways. The number of inspectors at the Ministry of Mines is currently insufficient and it can be easily increased. Further training will enhance existing skills. The country can ill-afford to see its mining sector develop at faster pace than the acquisition of appropriate capacity to ensure safety and Environment Standards, Labor Standards and Work Standards to name few. Good inspection capacity will ensure accurate revenue flow to the national treasury which is often quoted to be the raison d'être for opening the mining sector for private investors. If contract is not implemented and monitored as per the terms of the contract , reports not placed in public domain then the mining sector will not only fail to develop the responsible ways but it may also attract predators to invest in the sector and exploit mine in technically unprofessional manner and avoid lawful obligations. It is of immense importance that the inspection in the ministry of mine is developed adequately to measure up to its responsibility.

Rebuilding Afghanistan

2011-12-17T14:21:00.002+04:30

Rebuilding Afghanistan, a set on Flickr.

See our Story through Pictures!

Courtroom and Judges

2011-12-16T14:23:00.003+04:30

Experts and people have two opinions and visions regarding the Courtroom and Judges in Afghanistan. First the overall procedures of the courtroom from the legitimacy point of view is observed, and secondly, based on the social effectiveness of the decisions taken by the courts.

The proceeding of the trials according to the view of the experts have been illicit, the rules of the proceedings with in term of fair judgment in the decisions have not been promising. Relationships, power, money (bribe) are the top priority and has special place as long as the decisions of the orders are concerned.

The civil and criminal files in contrast with the law have been kept for long time. Very few open trials in the courts take place due to either lack of integrity or weakness of the judges in conducting of the trials. It is tried that the trials and decisions take place in closed doors, and after the issue of the order, the finger print of the plaintiff is put on the document. Since the orders that have been taken are injustice, the cases and files are circulating in the three courts, and have been kept for unknown period.

The reflection of these illicit acts has declined the trust of the people towards the legitimacy of the trials, and that is the main reason that people solve their civil cases in the local communities.

Seeing the Numbers

2011-12-11T10:09:00.000+04:30

One can argue that one of the most important processes a citizen can get involve in is the making of its national budget. To be able to decide where money goes, how it is being used, where the priorities are, is a powerful tool to influence resource distribution and access to public services. Access to information in Afghanistan is bureaucratic and difficult. When confronted with an information requests, many civil servants ask “why do you want to know? This information is for the government, what do you want with it?”

The role of citizens in the governance process is still not identified. Civil Servant positions are seen as prestigious and a mark of status. Although mid and high level officials might have a wider social awareness; low level civil servants, which have higher interaction with the population, see themselves as enforcers of government interests rather than servants to civilians.

The Ministry of Finance is one of the few examples where access to information is increasing and much is being done to improve budget transparency. To have access to information is however not enough. Citizens need to make use of the information available and hold institutions accountable. Budget provincial hearings are for the first time feasible and civil society organizations need to make use of this opportunity to bring more transparency into the financial management systems in Afghanistan. Citizens’ Budget Report is now available but it needs citizens and media to move that knowledge from latent to active.

Citizens' Hope in Anti-Corruption

2011-11-29T12:49:00.002+04:30

We wish we could say that being a citizen is enough to be taken serious. We wish we could say that Afghans believe that they are stronger than corruption. We wish we could say that corruption is decreasing. Sadly we cannot. When we go to villages, the stories that welcome us are those of abuse of power, nepotism and monopoly of resources. We are told how the nephew of a district governor got the latest PRT contract from a proposal he drafted in 30 minutes while having tea. We are told how members of parliament exchange aid projects for votes. Most discouraging of it all, we are told that there is nothing anyone can do to change the status quo.

But is the situation that gloomy or are there rays of hope? Despite feeling dis-empowered and small, most people want to have access to public services. They want to be part of the decision-making; they want to be included in their own development process. The desire is there but the space to bring change is elusive. The popular perception is that money and power are needed to be heard and few believe that their voice alone can make a difference.

Social associations, civil society, academia, youth groups and private sector, to mention a few, are actors that keep fighting for anti-corruption, that keep gathering the voices we all hear but that seldom get represented. We push for accountability, we ask for transparency and although we still struggle to be let in through the government’s doors; many more opportunities exist today than before. For the first time in Afghan history, civil society representatives are part of Afghanistan’s standing committees and the Joint Monitoring Evaluation Committee. For the first time, the Government’s Accountability and Transparency National Priority Plan got rejected. For the first time, space is being created for civil society to participate in upper level policy making.

The opportunity to change the status quo is here and although it is a steep curve and a hazardous climb, civil society and citizens alike, need to unite and get better at fighting corruption. We might lack some knowledge, some capacity but we have what others don’t. The desire to change that which harms us in our everyday life: corruption.

Gem Expectations

2011-11-15T14:15:00.000+04:30

It is a ray of hope, an end to a long tunnel and a source of dispute. It is said that valuable things are hard to come by but worth waiting for. Our treasures are buried, at times thousands of meters underneath our very own feet, and all it takes to access them are the three M: Money, Machinery and Men. Afghanistan however does not have all of it yet. Contract after contract are being signed to generate more and more money to the state but are we strong enough to control it? To manage it? To turn every opportunity into gold rather than a curse that could follow us for centuries to come?

The problem with dreams is that we tend to expect the optimal and in a society where rumours spin into conspiracies; the realm of misunderstandings and abuse of power, information and resources, expands. When your main worry is about your next meal, it is normal that one wishes that the rich minerals underneath one’s feet will pay for the new livestock, house and life. Dreams separate from reality can however cause more harm than good as it creates an endless wish-list for all the things that one might be missing in life. Lack of transparency in the extractive industries causes clashes and misunderstandings between civil society, citizens, private sector and the government. Where no information is available, unfulfilled expectations and hopes can develop into severe mistrust.

Afghanistan is supposed to generate billions from its mines, yet the government is still very young and mining contracts are many. Citizens can play a large role in assuring that environmental and social fragments are not harmed by mining investment but the foundation of this role lies in trust, which is severely lacking. Citizens do not trust the government to be fair, just or honest. The government does not trust citizens to be knowledgeable, valuable or useful. Both say to have facts and few join hands.

The government expects to make billions out of the sector. Citizens expect schools, roads, clinics and employment but the true question is; how are these expectations going to be fulfilled if the most important actors in making this dream come true do not work as partners?

Aid Effectiveness in Afghanistan

2011-09-14T12:43:00.001+04:30

News stories tell of the cost of war; they highlight the life of western soldiers, the young western recruiters, the lost western marines, the lost tax payers’ money but talk seldom about the loss of income, life, future and opportunities for the people who have to live in the middle of the war. When people look at the effort that has been put into Afghanistan, one cannot help but ask – why did it not work? Why is it that after 52 billion dollars, Afghanistan is still in such a dire condition? Why should more money be spent in a country that cannot get itself out of continuous endless wars?

An answer that many like to give is because in Afghanistan, it is not about building on each year of investment but about doing the first year over and over again. Beautiful schools and clinics that get constructed in remote mountainous areas to serve the poor, fall with the change of seasons as poor quality material rotten and degrade. But why do they fall after 20 million dollar investment? The Afghan government states that corruption exists amongst donors as 77% of aid goes outside the government, while others raise concerns over the Afghan government as it is considered to be crippled by corruption. Many civil society organisations have stressed the need for coordination, ownership and prioritisation in order to make aid more effective in Afghanistan but many of the aid decisions are still based on political priorities rather than the needs of the Afghan people.

Contracts and project details remain unknown, making it very difficult for citizens to hold implementers, government and donors accountable. The provincial authorities seldom have complete information on what is suppose to be delivered in their own territory. They know there are projects, they know the objective but seldom the details, making it really hard for them to monitor and control whether what is being constructed is actually what was planned or whether corruption has infected the process. It would be easy to say that the only problem in the accountability mechanism is that people are excluded from their own development process or that there was not enough information or that there was a lack of government capacity but the truth is far more complex. The truth of why aid in Afghanistan still has a far way to go before it becomes effective, includes powerbrokers, traditional governance mechanisms, external/international pull factors and criminality amongst several other factors, but maybe the biggest problem of it all, is that leading actors look outside themselves for solutions to the problems they themselves are part of.

Corruption In Afghanistan

2011-09-13T10:30:00.006+04:30

Afghanistan - a country that is known for so many things. Most of these are related to endless wars, conflict, suicide bombers, destruction, poverty and death; few stories describe the beauty of this country. The poetry, the astonishingly high mountains, the turquoise glass that brings the ocean closer to a landlocked country and, above anything else, the voices of the people are often not heard. Like most countries in the world, the social tissue lives on the gestures average people extend to their neighbours, colleagues, friends and common strangers. But what is it that people talk about when they sit for tea and break Naan? Security of course, Family naturally, and increasingly so: Corruption

Afghanistan is considered to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world, only after Somalia and Burma. Yet, compared to these two countries and the vast majority of the world, it is also one of the highest recipients of foreign aid and assistance. The international community has helped Afghanistan with money and expertise for over ten years, yet the country is 158 in the Human Development Index for 2011 and scores the lowest of any Asian, Latin American or European Country. Around 550 children die every day of preventable causes and one woman dies every 30 minutes due to pregnancy related complications which could be avoided if proper health care education and services were available. Although Afghanistan has fought hard to achieve development, public service delivery faces many challenges, including corruption. According to our own survey, we can see that one in seven adults have to pay a bribe to acquire a public service and one billion dollars was taken in bribes from average citizens in 2009.

When people talk about corruption in Afghanistan, they think about the millions of dollars that are smuggled to Dubai, they think about Kabul Bank, they think about the rich who become richer, they think about the golden boy who got promoted but few people think about the average farmer who earns 500 USD a year and how that will impact his household of 7.What are the stories of average Afghans? How does corruption impact their everyday life? How does corruption limit the life of people?