NDI-Afghanistan Implements Successful Provincial Councils Program

NDI-Afghanistan is implementing a USAID-funded local governance program in 19 provinces throughout the country. Oren Ipp, Head of Programs for the NDI-Afghanistan office, and Mohammad Nabi Atiq, Senior Program Manager for the Provincial Council program, sat down recently with John Johnson, NDI’s worldwide Director of Governance Programs, to discuss their experiences managing the program.

John Johnson: By way of introduction, can you describe NDI’s local governance program in Afghanistan?

Oren Ipp: Our program is designed to support provincial councils’ ability to fulfill their legal mandates. The program approach was to help build skills for councilors, but more importantly, to provide them the opportunities to put those skills into practice.

Provincial councils were established in Afghanistan as a result of the 2005 provincial council and parliamentary elections. These councils are the only elected bodies at the provincial level to voice people’s concerns, advise local stakeholders on provincial development processes and monitor development projects among other mandates.

While the Provincial Council Law does not provide the councils much authority and is vague on their responsibilities, it does outline one area that we believed would be a constructive entry point for assistance: helping the councils to contribute to the drafting of Provincial Development Plans. We designed a pilot program for seven provinces, which we then expanded to 15; NDI’s program now reaches 420 councilors in 19 provinces (of 34 provinces nationwide).
The program is divided into four distinct phases, in which NDI assists the councilors to:

1. identify and prioritize the challenges and problems facing their respective provinces; this is a “listening” exercise.
2. evaluate ongoing development projects at the provincial level; this is a “monitoring” exercise to help the councilors identify the progress being made to address the aforementioned challenges.
3. draft their own development proposals for submission to the provincial development process.
4. communicate their proposals to ensure the proposals are incorporated into the final provincial development plans.

The program is designed to help the councilors establish a regular cycle of good governance.

JJ: How has NDI’s relationship with the provincial councils worked in practice?

Mohammad Nabi Atiq: Because we were asking the councils to participate in numerous activities and produce quite a lot of documents, we knew that we could not expect the entire council to be involved in each. We therefore decided to have one “driver” from each council, which we called a rapporteur; this was also important for us because it gave us one person on the council as our primary contact. Each phase of the program is launched with a training workshop in Kabul for the rapporteurs, designed to provide them with the required skills and knowledge to carry out activities during a particular phase. The gatherings also provide an opportunity for councilors and staff to share their experiences and challenges. In this way, training is only a small part of the program: councilors spend most of the time putting into practice those skills acquired in the trainings in Kabul. As a result, we are able to provide each council a tailored program, respond to specific needs as they arise, and maintain the flexibility necessary to program in very different political environments.

We are able to reach 19 provinces through our seven regional centers, allowing NDI to provide very hands-on support to the councils. The provincial council team in Kabul oversees activities in the provinces; staff travel frequently to provide additional support and training where necessary.

JJ: What are the main challenges you face in implementing the program?

Nabi: Candidates for the 2005 provincial council elections launched their campaigns without a clear understanding of what provincial councils were supposed to do. In fact, the Provincial Council Law only came out six weeks before the election! This meant that most councilors assumed office with little knowledge of their mandates or roles and responsibilities as provincial councilors. Many are illiterate and had no experience – after all, none had ever been councilors before.

Managing this program has also been a challenge. We have regional program staff based in six offices outside Kabul, conducting activities in 19 provinces simultaneously. This would be a challenge anywhere, but in Afghanistan, given the difficulties with security, logistics and communication, we cannot travel as frequently or easily as we would like, making managing the program even more difficult.

JJ: What impact has the Provincial Council Program had to date?

Oren: We designed the program in such as way as to make answering this question relatively easy. We set out benchmarks for each phase and for the program as a whole. Three of the seven development proposals drafted by the councils in the pilot program were incorporated in their entirety into the official submission of the provincial government to the national development process; elements of the remaining proposals were taken into consideration by the relevant provincial authorities. The PC program was not just an abstract exercise in governance; the councilor’s work was used formally in the governing process. We are only in Phase III of the current expanded program, but hope to have similar results in the coming months.

That not all of the proposals were taken in their entirety was not a sign that the program failed in those provinces. In the 15 provinces, each council produced a list of the five priority problems and possible solutions that were derived from each of the dozen or so activities (public forums, stakeholder meetings, local shura roundtables). The councils also wrote reports for each public hearing they held in their provinces. Finally, all seven of the councils in the pilot program drafted a proposal for submission to the government. This step in particular was well above our expectations when we began the program.

For first time-councilors, many of whom have little or no education, literacy skills or experience with democratic governance, these achievements are significant. More importantly, by participating in the program, the councilors have not been only practicing: they have been governing.

JJ: What are some keys to the success of the program?

Oren: First, we came up with a simple design. This meant that it was easy to explain to our partners—avoiding complex notions of democracy, governance or the like—and relatively straightforward for us to oversee. The concept of “linked phases” was also important in that each phase was self contained and that our partners had to complete the preceding phase in order to move on to the next.

By conducting a pilot program, we were able to learn from our experience, identify new areas of assistance and ensure that we were providing a program that had an impact. By taking a break between programs, we had the time and resources to review and improve the program before launching the expanded program. For example, in the expanded program we added the module on monitoring, which the councilors had told us repeatedly was an area they wanted assistance.

JJ: With a program of this size, how did you balance the needs of each individual council?

Oren: We made the decision early that we would provide more in-depth assistance to fewer councils. This meant using our regional staff more effectively, and allowing us to remain flexible and respond to the needs of each council. Similarly, because the benchmarks are clear, we know at any given time how the program is progressing, and where we need to pay more attention or dedicate more resources. One of the most significant keys to success was that the program resonated with our partners and provided them very practical assistance in carrying out their mandates.

Nabi: Another major factor in our success was the fact that we were able to develop a standard program for all 15 provinces, but also built in the flexibility to accommodate requests from the councils as well as changing political developments. For example, the provincial council in Herat asked NDI to support their annual meeting with stakeholders and citizens. This was a two-day affair for over 200 people – although we had not anticipated such an event, it was within the parameters of the program and we were able to support the activity.

Similarly, we recently expanded the program to an additional four provinces and were able to design a smaller version of the program based on what the councils had already done on their own. We have been able to adjust the program to the needs of the councils, rather than trying to fit them into a rigid program structure.

Final Thoughts

Oren: I think it’s crucial to examine the context in which local governance is taking place, rather than trying simply to apply a parliamentary framework to the local level. Local councils are generally smaller and less experienced than their national counterparts, and closer to their constituents; this has a significant impact on their approach and outlook on addressing the needs of their communities. It should, therefore, also have an impact on our approach to programming. Much of what we do with the National Assembly simply wouldn’t resonate at the provincial level.