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USAID/OTI Afghanistan Field Report

June 2003

Program Description

USAID/OTI’s program goal is to support the process of recovery, rehabilitation and political development in post-conflict Afghanistan. Working with local and international partners, USAID/OTI's program is building citizen confidence in the progress of political development, empowering citizens to address basic community needs, and building an alliance between legitimate government structures and citizens. In addition, USAID/OTI supports efforts to strengthen independent media. USAID/OTI's budget for FY2002 was approximately $27 million. USAID/OTI's budget for FY2003 is currently estimated at $16 million. USAID/OTI expects to phase out of its program following elections in June 2004.

USAID/OTI’s overall program strategy is to help the Afghan government to function outside Kabul by planning and implementing projects guided by community priorities, and by creating and/or strengthening linkages among the national, provincial, and district governments. USAID/OTI is also improving the communication infrastructure and implementing a comprehensive media strategy. USAID/OTI’s projects strengthen economic recovery by improving essential commercial and public infrastructure, reestablishing the relationships and routines that give communities cohesiveness, contributing to sustainable stability and recovery by establishing links between the community and governmental authorities, and building connections between the provinces and Kabul. USAID/OTI Afghanistan's main implementing partners are the International Organization for Migration–Afghanistan Transition Initiative (IOM-ATI), Ronco (a U.S. contractor), and Internews. Projects are funded in 26 provinces of the country.

Country Situation

The security situation around the country remains a serious impediment to national reconstruction. Addressing the UN Security Council, Jean-Marie Guehenno, head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping said, "The prevailing insecurity poses a threat of derailing the constitutional and electoral processes." In early June, WFP suspended programs in 4 provinces, affecting 1.3 million people.

While it is challenging to implement projects because of the lack of security in certain areas, ATI is implementing a strategy for working in insecure environments. This is primarily done through working with local partners who are willing to assume the risk—and who are generally well-connected in the areas they have chosen to work in. While this will quite possibly lead to corruption issues in some instances, the alternative would be to just stop working completely in those areas—and the people who would suffer would be those least responsible for the insecurity.

On June 6, a suicide bomber driving a taxi killed 4 German peacekeepers as they were proceeding by bus to the airport to return back to Germany. Another 39 were wounded. One Afghan bystander was killed. The investigation is ongoing.

An important TISA (Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan) development during June was President Karzai signing two decrees which approve the functions and authority of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission. The Afghan government is severely bloated as the result of having too-long served as a source of patronage. The primary role of this commission is to rationalize both the number of ministries - many of which have overlapping responsibilities - and to rationalize the number of employees each ministry employs. In theory, cutting the number of employees per ministry will make it possible to raise the salaries of those who remain on the job (salaries currently range between $30-50/month, when they are paid).

The DDR process (disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration) has been pushed back to possibly begin in late July in the provinces of Kunduz, Paktya, Bamyan, Balkh, Kandahar and Kabul; Initially, beneficiaries would include 1,000 would-be ex-combatants from each province. The reason for the delay in beginning the process was the decision that DDR could not move forward until the reform of the Ministry of Defense is complete. No firm date has been set for the completion of this process. Whenever this starts, ATI will participate in the reintegration component through the inclusion of another criterion in the bidding process: percentage of official ex-combatants to be hired as part of the project.

In what has been called a blow against freedom of the press, two journalists were arrested in June and charged with violating the provision of the press code that prohibits topics that "offend Islam." The weekly newspaper where the journalists were employed has been banned from further publication. It is unclear who instigated the arrest procedure, but the order came from the attorney general’s office. The controversial article, entitled "Holy Fascism," was critical of some Afghan politicians who also head religious factions. The article complained about lack of progress in the Muslim world, and called for a secular government in Afghanistan. President Karzai ordered the journalists released on bail.

Changes for the US Army Civil Affairs Task Force
OTI has enjoyed a good working relationship with the Coalition-Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force (CJCMOTF) since arriving in-country in January 2002. The Army Civil Affairs soldiers are the primary personnel in the CJCMOTF and Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) where USAID staff reside when in the field. The PRTs authorize the OTI field staff's visit—or residence in the case of the USAID Field Program Officers—and provide security and transport. CJCMOTF has its own source of reconstruction funds (OHDACA) and OTI works to coordinate between the CJCMOTF and the OTI small grants programs.

In the past month there have been big changes at CJCMOTF:

• A new command team has arrived.
• The current Civil Affairs teams are returning home.
• CJCMOTF, once a neighbor to the U.S. Embassy has moved to Bagram Air Base (a 45-minute drive from Kabul—making project, PRT and field travel coordination difficult for OTI.

OHDACA reconstruction projects will continue, at least until the end of the fiscal year. It remains to be seen how Iraq may affect Afghanistan’s OHDACA funding but there is a lively debate about the continuance of it. There are those that strongly believe that the DOD should not be funding community impact projects except in the most remote or unsafe areas of Afghanistan where other assistance has not arrived or where NGOs cannot travel safely. Others in the DOD debate think that OHDACA funding should stop after this year, having served its initial purpose of providing quick project money for Coalition Forces immediately after their arrival. In the meantime, close coordination between the military and the assistance community is critical to the success of all players.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs)
Currently there are three PRTs: Bamiyan, Gardez, and Kunduz. (USAID has Field Program Officers posted to Gardez, Bamiyan, Kunduz and Kandahar. Additional staff are expected to arrive within the coming month.) The 4th PRT is scheduled to open in Mazar-e Sharif in late July, headed by the British and making this the first non-U.S. PRT. Later this summer, New Zealand is scheduled to take command of the Bamiyan PRT. US Civil Affairs soldiers will leave both Mazar and Bamiyan once all OHDACA projects are wrapped up. It remains unresolved if USAID will have a field representative in the British and New Zealand PRTs, or whether these PRTs will support USG staff when in the field. The next PRT will be set up in Jalalabad, scheduled for sometime late August or September. Kandahar will follow. Herat and Parwan will be home to the last PRTs.

A PRT Ministerial Steering Committee/Group, appointed by President Karzai, met for the first time in June and has appointed ministerial staff to work with the PRTs. A PRT Policy Committee has also been named to provide policy direction to donors, the military, and the assistance community.

USAID/OTI Highlights

The Public Information Unit Incorporated Into the Office of the President—This unit was formed four months ago, with a grant of $80,000, to fill the information gap regarding what the TISA and the international community were accomplishing in terms of reconstruction. This has been done through weekly press conferences on specific reconstruction issues during which appropriate Afghan government and international representatives participate as part of the panel. Journalists and other interested individuals always fill the large hall—and many, many questions are asked. The information is then spread through local radio and print. The unit has produced numerous reconstruction-related stories which are also distributed to local media outlets. They have also recently finished the development of a website which is linked to the government web site, and on which all available reconstruction-related information is posted. This information was supplemented by a small library containing all available published information related to reconstruction.

This unit was originally part of the UN aid coordination unit. In June, after discussions between USAID and the president's spokesperson, the decision was taken to incorporate this unit into the president's fledgling media team, based at the Presidential Palace. While the unit will continue to focus on reconstruction, given that this is President Karzai’s oft-stated principal objective, it will also assume the function of assisting the president in his outreach efforts, taking advantage of the group of media specialists who have been trained during the unit’s period of operation. The USAID/OTI-hired media advisor, who has been instrumental in setting up this unit, will continue working with the entirety of the president's media apparatus to help create a unified media team that will greatly assist the president in getting his messages out to the nation and the international community.

The Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) Trains Journalists in Jalalabad—IWPR conducted the first of a planned series of regional trainings which started in Jalalabad. Attendees included seven journalists from Internews’ planned radio station in Jalalabad, five from the government news agency (Bakhtar), and nine from independent newspapers. More than 30 journalists were turned away, demonstrating the thirst for journalism training in Afghanistan. IWPR promised to return.

Most of the attendees were complete novices, with no exposure to international standards of journalism. They were clearly enthusiastic about having the training led by two Afghans, and excited to be using training materials in Pashtu that featured actual IWPR stories about Afghanistan. All participants completed a story during the five-day training, and most were of high enough quality to be published on IWPR's Afghanistan Recovery Report.

The provincial director of the Department of Information and Culture was extremely supportive of IWPR’s practical approach to training, saying, "Journalists here think facts are what float on the surface of the water." Although he had only come to the first day's session to learn more about what IWPR is doing, he remained to give a very effective address to the participants about the role of journalism in democracy. He returned early from a trip to Pakistan in order to be at the closing session and had the following word to say. "Five days ago I came here and was happy to see this workshop happening, but today my happiness is doubled. Today I see something new in your faces. Your faces have clarity. You have learned something and you are happy."

Two equally successful workshops were also held in Logar for both radio and print journalists.

Conflict Resolution Training in Ghazni Province—Working with Afghan partner Sanayee Development Foundation who received a grant of $73,000, USAID/OTI is funding a series of conflict resolution workshops to take place in 12 provinces. The workshops target key local leadership and focus on causes of conflict and ways to resolve conflict peacefully. One such workshop took place in Ghazni. At first the provincial governor was not convinced that this was something of value. However, as the 8 day workshop neared its end, he was so enthusiastic that he insisted that President Karzai come to the closing ceremony so that he could hear testimonials from the participants. Unfortunately, a security situation prevented the president from attending, but nonetheless the participants left with clear resolve to incorporate the ideas and strategies they had learned into their daily lives, especially in their roles as community leaders.

System for Allocating Radio Frequencies for Independent Radio Stations On Track—USAID/OTI partner Internews has three radio stations about to come on stream: Jalalabad, Logar, and Bamiyan. Equipment is in place, staff have been trained, and licenses have been issued by the Ministry of Information and Culture. All that remained was the issuance of radio frequencies by the Ministry of Communication, a process that was being stalled by the Minister of Communication's request that provincial governors had to write letters authorizing an independent provincial radio station. In June, this requirement was waived by the minister who explained that he had requested these letters due to a bureaucratic procedure lingering from past governments, and also to ensure that there would not be interference by the provincial government. The bureaucratic procedure no longer exists, and he decided that it's up to the board of the would-be radio station to work out political issues at the provincial level. All three stations should be operational sometime in July.

Other good news on the independent radio front is that the Minister of Communication has agreed to try to come up with a more flexible system for the payment of fees for the allocation and use of radio frequencies. Working with USAID-sponsored advisors (Dot.gov), a computerized system had been put in place that charged a flat fee for the frequency, followed by an annual fee. Given that the majority of the stations that Internews is working to set up will, at least initially, face financial viability issues, this system—which was geared more for commercial stations—would pose possibly insurmountable financial burdens on fledgling stations. Internews is currently working with ministry staff to come up with a fee structure that takes into account the financial reality of each station, taking into account the developmental function they also serve.

USAID/OTI Projects Completed During the Reporting Period

• Training of 6 TV talk show moderators in Kabul.
• 2 primary schools in Kamary Village (for boys and girls), Kabul Province.
• Channel protection in Sorobi Town, Kabul Province.
• Culverts in Mehterlam, Laghman Province.
• Kotai Toor Bridge, Laghman Province.
• Protection Wall for Jogi Bridge, Laghman Province.
• 3 schools in Badghis Province.
• Karbar bridge, Herat Province.
• Herat / Sabzak Pass, Herat Province.

Program Impact Reports

Tendering Procedure Serves As A Training Tool
Transparent, inclusive, and functional tendering procedures are rare in Afghanistan where baksheesh and family relations normally count for more than winning a competitive bidding based on the merits of the proposal. The ATI methodology ensures that tendering procedures are implemented according to internationally accepted standards and not local politics. This is an important learning process for the national NGOs and contractors that participate, and especially for the government representatives who attend the various stages in which they participate as voting members of the tendering committee.

The stages are the invitation to bid, distribution of tenders and explanation of works - often including site visits - public tender openings, and award of contract by the tender committee. Each stage must be orchestrated carefully to avoid the numerous accusations that tend to accompany the awarding of grants. ATI never enters this process without participation from the local government, particularly with the Ministry of Rural Reconstruction and Development (MRRD).

At the end of May, 2003, eight projects from three different provinces totaling about a half million dollars were tendered in Kandahar in close consultation and cooperation with the MRRD, the Ministry of Planning (MoP), and the Ministry of Education. Organizations suggested by ATI, MRRD, MoP, and UN organizations were invited to tender. Open tenders are often used but were not in this instance because the projects were in extremely dangerous locations and implementers had to have good track records with the international community and the local government to ensure quality work where daily monitoring is impossible. In both Uruzgan and Zabul, military operations are ongoing and foreigners have been executed. This invitation to tender, explanation of works and the tender opening were held in the conference room of MoP. The government officials opened the conference and stated their support for the projects and the role they had in project identification and will have during the monitoring component. After the technical explanation, the tenders were distributed.

After the government opened the meeting, each tender was opened and read publicly. After conclusion of this, the organizations were excused and the tendering committee convened. The committee contained ATI staff and the government representatives from Kandahar, Uruzgan, and Zabul. The technical and financial information from each tender was reviewed as was the previous work history of each contractor. Although the government representatives were initially apprehensive about commenting to avoid accusations of underhanded dealing, when they realized that all information was being collected and graded according to standardized methodologies, their participation increased. They greatly appreciated that they would leave the office with a bid analysis explaining how the conclusions were reached. They had not done this before.

Parts of this methodology are being used by NEEP (the National Emergency Employment Program) which is being managed by MRRD and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The transparent and effective tendering and contracting procedures of ATI, developed over years by OTI, IOM, and other partners in various countries throughout the world, is helping to increase the credibility of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan by making baksheesh a much less effective tool for securing government contracts.

Bridge Serves as an Economic Link

Attah Mohammad and Friends. Photo by USAID/OTI

"It is really a very good thing that you are fixing this bridge!" yelled Attah Mohamad, competing with the noise of his truck's engine. Only 29 years old, Attah Mohamad already owns two trucks, and regularly drives one of them from Archi district, where he lives, to Kunduz City, the center of this northern province. The Alchin bridge is located 7 km from Kunduz City, on the main road leading to the Afghan/Tajik border. The road is also the only way between Kunduz City and the three districts located in the north of the province, including Archi. The $46,000 rehabilitation of the 200-meter long bridge, which is in very poor shape from years of no maintenance, is considered one of the top priorities by local authorities.

Attah Mohamad was very enthusiastic when talking with the ATI engineer and those of the local contractor. "Not only does my business depend on this bridge, but also the economy of all of Archi district. I hope you will make a good job here!" His truck was full of wheat harvested in Archi fields, to be sold in Kunduz City. It will come back loaded with different items that will later be found in Archi's main bazaar. After posing proudly with his colleagues for a picture in front of his truck, Attah Mohamad left to continue his journey to Kunduz City, playing his part in the economic recovery of Afghanistan.

Kunduz Teacher's Training Institute Re-Opens

To the delight of Kunduz residents, the Teacher Training Institute has re-opened its doors to more than 200 students.

Students of the Kunduz Teacher Training Institute. Photo by USAID/OTI

The institute, one of six national training institutes, suffered devastating damage during the 24 years of war but was re-built in record time with a USAID/OTI grant of $64,000. The Institute was built in 1954 and provided science, social science and literature teachers' training. It was first bombed during the Russian invasion in 1983 and again during the 1990s. During the rehabilitation, eighteen severely damaged classrooms were repaired; ten restrooms were built; fresh walls were constructed; and a new roof installed along with windows, doors, and a septic tank. Over 200 local men were hired to rebuild the institute. Twenty professors will teach there and an additional 15-20 administrative staff will be hired from the Kunduz area.

Enrollment is expected to reach over 600 students soon. Male students attend classes on the first floor while the second floor is reserved for women students. Once trained, they will become primary and middle school teachers. During a tour of the new classrooms, the women students were asked why they wanted to be teachers. One student quickly replied that "Afghanistan will continue to suffer and fight unless children are educated. To go to school means there is hope. I always wanted to be a teacher so that our children would know we believe in them. And we cannot cure Afghanistan of its problems unless girls are educated also - so there must be female teachers to serve as models for the girls."

Land Protected from Flooding
This $27,000 flood protection project began in the middle of December and is designed to save the land of the communities of Doab and Kanzie, about an hour from Kandahar City. These communities are subject to periodic drought, but are also at extreme risk from flooding and subsequent land erosion when the rains are good, as they were this year, for the first time in 8 years. Loss of land is a serious issue in this agricultural area. The work that has already been completed has saved many acres of arable land. Numerous houses that have been built along the river - but unfortunately the project is currently suspended due to the high volume of water flowing through the Arghasan, Duray, and Tarnak rivers. Numerous grateful villagers have come to the office of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (ATI's principal government partner in the provinces) and to the ATI office to give thanks for the efforts that have already been made, and to stress that they are looking forward to continuing their work on the flood protection project when the level of the rivers decrease.

Rebuilding Community Linkages Through Light
"It is not only light" said Haji Yunus from Do Dari Village, in the Kahmard District of Bamyan Province.

Opening of Micro-Hydropower Plant. Villagers and Staff of MRRD. Photo by USAID/OTI.

"This is a symbol of our return to our homes." He made this declaration in the presence of other elders when they met for the first time with the representatives of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and ATI. In 2000, the fighting against Taliban factions in the province was so intense and devastating that up to 98% of the population fled, dispersing throughout the country or to Pakistan or Iran, leaving behind their homes and most of their possessions.

Since the collapse of the Taliban, the former residents of Bamyan have slowly been returning. Now that they are gathered again after so many years, the people of Do Dari feel like strangers in there own village. As one step toward re-establishing their lives, the elders of Do Dari requested electricity, something that many of them had become accustomed to in Iran and Pakistan. The installation of a small, $15,000 hydro-power turbine in unused water mills allows the production of enough electricity to provide light for about a hundred families. (Most wheat grinding for the family is now being done by small diesel mills.) The very low electric bills paid by each family every month - to be used for maintenance costs - allows everyone to benefit from the power station, even the poorest. The constant monitoring of the station involves every one in the village-and together they are working to install a boiler so that everyone has hot water at any time. Through such communal efforts, the links between the members of the community are being revived.

Students Takes First Steps to Start University Radio Station in Herat In preparation to begin broadcasting from their own university station, journalism students - both young men and women - are learning to use new computers and radio recording and editing software purchased by an OTI grant to Media Action International (MAI) one of USAID/OTI's media partners. The new computer media training center has just opened in the journalism school at Herat University. The journalism department director is enthusiastic that "These computers bring our department into the 21st century and will help these journalism students become the most professional in the country!"

Male and female students have general computer training classes two mornings a week. In the afternoons, specialized training is geared toward print or broadcast. Students will soon be publishing the second issue of their magazine, "The Youth Voice" on their new computers at the center.

Students have located a small building to be renovated into the new radio station. Soundproofing of the broadcast studio is finished. All that remains is the arrival of an FM transmitter and the studio equipment.

In addition to beginning a student magazine and radio station, Herat journalism students have joined other university journalism students in Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif to form a National Journalism Students Association. The students are developing a code of conduct and constitution for the association also.

Working to Build Linkages and Community Involvement
Toward the end of the last year, ATI Maimana organized an assessment mission together with local authorities (Rural Development, Irrigation, Roads, and the Office of the Governor) to visit possible projects sites identified as a priority by the accompanying local authorities. One of the stops was Gorzad Village where they have wanted to build a dam for over 100 years. Such a dam would benefit over 20,000 families in the district, and provide water for the irrigation of over 15,000 hectares of land. Even more important, a dam would help regulate and control annual flooding.

The team went again in the spring when the weather conditions were more favorable for a technical assessment. This time they also met the district governor and other district representatives who came along to Gorzad Village. Somehow, word had spread and the team was met by practically the entire population of all the neighboring villages, hundreds and hundreds of people, all interested to know if the dam was indeed going to be built. Everybody wanted to talk, to explain how important the dam is. The ATI representatives explained that for the project to be approved, a community contribution would be a vital factor - and requested the group to come forward with ideas. Quiet. Then a village elder decided to speak out, "We have been waiting and hoping for this dam for such a long time. It is not that we do not want to contribute. Do not misunderstand our silence. It's just that we are ashamed that we are so poor that we cannot make a serious, significant contribution. All we can offer is labor. You will need probably many workers for such a big project, maybe this can be our contribution. We have some skilled labor as well, but all the unskilled labor that you need. Do not worry about it, this will be our task."

As of this writing, government officials continue to negotiate with the communities in order to develop a project that can be presented to ATI - a project that will be a demonstration of ATI's philosophy of the absolute necessity of engaging local government and communities in the process, thus creating both community / government linkages and assisting the communities to develop their own communities.

Kindergarten Achieves Objective: Women Continuing Their Studies
As is well-known, during the time of the Taliban, female education suffered a crippling blow, including at the university level. Women who were in university had to drop out. Those of age to begin their university studies were forced to stay at home. Many of these women married and now have children. As the result of a $10,000 grant for the renovation and equipping of the kindergarten at the University of Kabul, more than 50 women have been able to either begin their studies or continue where they left off. Since the newly-renovated kindergarten reopened in May, the number of children has increased from 40 to over 100.

NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES

During the month of July, 2003, USAID/OTI will:

• Officially open Kabul's FM Radio Arman, the Herat University Radio Station, and Jalalabad's first independent radio station;
• Continue to support the constitutional education process;
• Continue the process of encouraging the development of independent radio stations throughout the country, while continuing to support state radio stations;
• Continue the process of closing out the projects of partner Ronco whose contract closes in early Sep-tember.