USAID/OTI Afghanistan Field Report
March 2002
Program Description
USAID/OTI's program goal is to support the process of recovery, rehabilitation and political development in post-conflict Afghanistan. Working with a number of local and international partners, OTI has begun a program to build citizen confidence in the progress of political development, empower citizens to address basic community needs, and build an alliance between legitimate government structures and citizens. In addition OTI supports efforts to increase news and information about the Loya Jirga process and to strengthen independent media. OTI's estimated budget for FY2002 is $16,500,000.
Country Situation
Despite an on-going humanitarian crisis that has been exacerbated by difficult winter conditions and two large earthquakes during March, there appears to be a strong sense of hope among the Afghan people in the wake of the Taliban retreat in November 2001. The international community, through the UN's Special Mission for Afghanistan (UNSMA), acted quickly to fill the power vacuum and help map out a transition to democratic rule. During intensive talks in Bonn in December, Afghanistan's four main political groups (The Northern Alliance, the Pakistan-based Peshawar Front, the Iran-backed Cyprus Group, and the Rome Process representing former King Zahir Shah) signed a phased protocol known as The Bonn Agreement that established a broad-based transitional government (The Afghanistan Interim Administration -- AIA). The Pashtun tribal leader Hamid Karzai was appointed head of the interim power-sharing council that consists of twenty-eight ministries. Additional provisions include an international peacekeeping force to stabilize the capital city Kabul and the establishment of a commission tasked with convening a Loya Jirga to address Afghanistan's political process and future.
The Loya Jirga (Grand Council) is a forum unique to Afghanistan at which representatives from each of the ethnic groups meet together to settle national affairs. The Loya Jirga, which will be held in June 2002, will be the first to include women. During the following 18 months a new constitution will be drafted and national elections will be held to determine Afghanistan's political future. The Loya Jirga is being planned against the backdrop of serious humanitarian needs, a severe drought, two recent earthquakes, rampant warlordism, severe ethnic strains in the cabinet of the interim government, and a continued coalition military operations against Taliban and al Qaeda remnants.
During March the approximately 4,500 strong peacekeeping force continued to patrol in Kabul under the UN-mandated International Security Force (ISAF). In part due to the high visibility of ISAF, Kabul remains calm and the multinational force's efforts to work on visible municipal improvements have helped to create a sense of progress and stability. To date, the peacekeeping presence remains limited to Kabul and despite requests from the Afghanistan Interim Authority to the international community, it continues to appear unlikely that ISAF's mandate will be broadened to include other urban centers in the country. Given the AIA's difficulties in extending its reach across Afghanistan, the lack of peacekeepers outside of Kabul has left other parts of the country potentially vulnerable to human rights abuses and sporadic fighting between rival factions who are vying for regional control. In addition, the killing of the interim government's Tourism and Aviation Minister in February and concerns about the King's safety, serve as a stark reminder that Afghanistan's political future is tenuous at best.
OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
Due to the complex operating environment, OTI has focused its efforts on enhancing the capacity of the interim Afghan government to address immediate reconstruction and stabilization needs.
OTI signed the following small grants during the current reporting period:
- French Afghan NGO AINA, to support a mobile cinema project and 10 teams to show Afghan-produced films related to the Bonn Agreement.
- Minister of Foreign Affairs for the provision of essential equipment to support its operations and 220 employees.
- Radio Afghanistan for the purchase of short-wave transmitter air time to increase radio broadcast coverage nation-wide.
- Kabul Teacher's Training College to rehabilitate the main building at the facility to include ceiling, windows and doors.
In addition to these small grants, OTI signed a six month contract with the organization RONCO to provide an increased operational and programming capacity for USAID in general. It is expected that RONCO will be in operation by early April. As reported in February, Internews continues to build its nine month program that is being funded by a $1 million grant from OTI. This transitional media development program has three components that include:
- Hands-on broadcast journalism training;
- Equipment upgrades and technical support for radio stations; and
- Media advocacy for policy and regulatory development.
As part of this grant package, in March Internews provided two weeks of specialized training to the Afghan Media Resource Center in Peshawar, Pakistan, and will do further journalist training for covering the Loya Jirga.
B. Grants Activity Summary
| Media |
14 |
$2,194,087 |
| Good Governance |
4 |
$671,040 |
| Civil Society |
6 |
$199,246 |
| Community Infrastructure |
3 |
$196,727 |
| Total |
27 |
$3,261,100 |
C. Indicators of Success
Despite on-going security concerns, OTI shifted its operation from Islamabad to Kabul and continued to fund a number of visible, high impact projects identified as priorities by the interim government and by local communities within Kabul and in two other major urban centers (Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif). Through the scaling up of IOM's programmatic capacity and the signing of the RONCO contract, there was a marked increase in OTI's budget and operational capacity. As a result, OTI is able to quickly fund a variety of strategic projects in different parts of the country.
As OTI phases out its initial projects under IOM's Afghan Emergency Information Project (AEIP), key outputs include:
- 30,000 radios distributed for Afghan IDPs and refugees
- Production and broadcast of a daily humanitarian bulletin in Dari and Pashto
- Enhanced capacity for Voice of America to cover and broadcast local news and information in Dari and Pashto
NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES
OTI continues to build the management infrastructure of its two key operational mechanisms: a SWIFT contract awarded to RONCO that puts in place a broad operational platform for the entire USAID effort in Afghanistan and a cooperative agreement with the International Organization of Migration (IOM) to provide funding for community identified, small scale reconstruction work in a number of key areas provinces across Afghanistan. Also, OTI remains focussed on potential initiatives in the field of media, particularly centered on the need for better information dissemination across the country in the run up to the June 2002 Loya Jirga.
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