Islamic Republic of Afghanistan‚وانین و... · GIRoA Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ... In addition, a Presidential Decree (farman ) was issued in March 2010

Anti-corruption Strategic Plan

2011 – 2013

December 2010

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption

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STRATEGIC PLAN

2011-2013

December 27, 2010

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption (HOO)

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Table of Contents

Acronyms..............................................................................................................................................4

Message from the Director General ....................................................................................................6

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .........................................................................................................................7

1.INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................10

Legal Standing.................................................................................................................................10

Mission and Vision..........................................................................................................................11

HOO’s Overall Objectives ...............................................................................................................11

2. AFGHANISTAN’S ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENDA ..............................................................................13

Afghanistan’s Approach to Fighting Corruption.............................................................................13

Achievements of the HOO to Date .................................................................................................14

Problems Confronting the HOO......................................................................................................15

Future Opportunities and Challenges ............................................................................................15

3. STRATEGIC GOALS AND APPROACHES ...........................................................................................17

3.1 Policy and Oversight .................................................................................................................18

a. Oversight and Anticorruption Support ..............................................................................18

b. Complaints Management and Review ...............................................................................20

c. Case Investigation and Coordination .................................................................................22

d. Prevention ..........................................................................................................................24

e. Media and Community Relations.......................................................................................26

f. Strategy, Planning and Policy .............................................................................................28

3.2 Operations ................................................................................................................................30

a. Asset Registration and Verification....................................................................................30

b. Regional Operations...........................................................................................................32

c. Research and Evaluation ....................................................................................................32

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d. Finance & Administration, Information Technology and Logistics ....................................33

e. Human Resources...............................................................................................................34

f. Capacity Building ................................................................................................................35

3.3 Overall Management................................................................................................................36

a. Internal Audit .....................................................................................................................36

b. Chief of Staff and Donor Relations.....................................................................................36

c. Legal Advisers .....................................................................................................................37

4. STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES...........................................................................................38

Organizational Restructuring..........................................................................................................38

Sequencing of Activities..................................................................................................................39

Personnel ........................................................................................................................................39

Resources........................................................................................................................................40

Coordination with Other Government Institutions........................................................................40

Coordination with Donors ..............................................................................................................40

5. HOO ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY................................................................................41

Monitoring and Evaluation Committee..........................................................................................41

Annual Reporting............................................................................................................................41

Website Updates ............................................................................................................................41

Public Posting of Asset Declarations ..............................................................................................41

6. PERFORMANCE MONITORING .......................................................................................................42

Annex: Implementation Matrix (page 43- 59) ...................................................................................43

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Acronyms

AGO Attorney General’s Office

ANDS Afghanistan National Development Strategy

AREU Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit

ARTF Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund

CAO Control and Audit Office

CSA Central Statistics Agency

CSO Civil Society Organizations

FIU Financial Intelligence Unit

GIRoA Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

HOO High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption

IARCSC Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission

IDLG Independent Directorate for Local Governance

IDR Integrity Development Review

IP Integrity Promotion

IWA Integrity Watch Afghanistan

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

MAIL Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock

MCTF Major Crimes Task Force

MEC Monitoring and Evaluation Committee

MoE Ministry of Education

MoF Ministry of Finance

MoFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs

MoI Ministry of Interior

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MoJ Ministry of Justice

MOU Memoranda of Understanding

NACS National Anti-corruption Strategy

NDS National Directorate of Security

NGOs Non- Governmental Organizations

PSA Public Service Announcements

SC Supreme Court

SIU Sensitive Investigations Unit

ToT Training of Trainers

UNCAC United Nations Convention Against Corruption

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

USAID United States Agency for International Development

VCA Vulnerability to Corruption Assessment

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Message from the Director General

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The High Office of Oversight (HOO) was established in 2008 as the highest authority in the

Government of Afghanistan to coordinate and oversee the implementation of the National Anti-

Corruption Strategy. Based on this mandate and additional authority delegated to it in 2010 by the

President, the HOO now is the institution that registers complaints, conducts preliminary

investigations and refers cases about corruption to the Attorney General’s Office for further

investigation and prosecution; registers and verifies the financial asset declarations of government

officials; simplifies government administrative procedures along with relevant institutions to

reduce opportunities for corruption; provides expert assistance to government ministries and

departments to develop their own anti-corruption action plans and oversees and monitors their

efforts; and promotes public education and awareness about corruption and anti-corruption

programs. Overall, the HOO is the principal coordinative body across all of the major government

institutions charged with reducing corruption.

This three-year Strategic Plan (2011-2013) benefits from the HOO’s first two years of operation

and international best practice in implementing a “whole-of-government” approach to controlling

corruption. This Plan emphasizes three objectives:

• Pursue a multi-pronged approach to dealing with the problem of corruption in Afghanistan.

This means operating with all agencies of government at national and local levels;

interacting with civil society, the mass media and the private sector; and applying a range

of techniques – involving enforcement, prevention and public education tools.

• Strengthen staff capacity and professionalism. The HOO is faced with a very sensitive and

challenging assignment, but with few qualified professionals and minimal resources. The

Plan promotes a major effort to strengthen technical capacity and professionalism of the

staff.

• Focus on achieving anti-corruption impacts. The Plan encourages the accomplishment of

early successes, even if small and incremental. By itself, the HOO can make some headway

in the fight against corruption, but it is only when all key anti-corruption institutions are

working together cooperatively that major results will be achieved. This Plan seeks to

establish the foundations for this cooperative approach.

This Strategic Plan presents the major functions that the HOO is responsible for implementing,

strategic goals within each functional area, and specific activities meant to accomplish these goals.

A timeframe against these activities is also presented, as well as anticipated outcomes. Three

major functional areas are identified: Policy and oversight, operations, and overall management

functions. Within the policy and oversight function, the HOO’s strategic goals include:

• Oversight and anti-corruption support – with the goals of providing expert technical

assistance to government ministries and departments to help them develop effective anti-

corruption action plans, and monitor and oversee the implementation of those plans in

terms of satisfying the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS).

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• Complaint management and review – with the principal goal of increasing the number of

citizen complaints about corruption registered and reviewed for further action.

• Case investigation and coordination – with the goals of improving the provisional

investigation of corruption cases, referring valid cases to the Attorney General’s Office for

further investigation and prosecution, and tracking cases to ensure proper follow-up is

conducted.

• Prevention – with the primary goals of designing and implementing simplified

administrative procedures to reduce opportunities for corruption in close coordination

with host government institutions.

• Media and community relations – with the goals of establishing and implementing a

Communications Strategy for the HOO, increasing public awareness about corruption and

the government’s anti-corruption program, and engaging more civil society involvement in

the program.

• Strategy, planning and policy – with the goals of generating new anti-corruption policy

options for government consideration and coordinating with other government anti-

corruption institutions and donors.

The operations function has the following strategic goals:

• Asset registration and verification – with the primary goals of registering asset declarations

of all high ranking officials, conducting professional verification of those declarations,

referring detected irregularities to the Attorney General’s Office, and making all results

publicly available.

• Regional operations – with the principal goals of implementing regional offices of the HOO

that collect citizen complaints about government corruption and investigate these

complaints.

• Research and evaluation – with the principal goals of collecting and evaluating corruption

research and best practice.

• Human resources and technical capacity development – with the goals of improving

recruitment outcomes, and strengthening the quality and professionalism of HOO technical

staff through training and disseminating training capabilities in other government

institutions.

• Administrative capacity building – with the primary goals of strengthening HOO

administrative, financial, accounting, and information technology capabilities.

The overall management function of the HOO includes the following goals:

• Internal audit – with the goal of conducting productive internal audits that strengthens

HOO operations.

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• Chief of Staff’s Office and donor relations – with the goal of providing management and

clerical support to Director General and maintaining positive coordination with the donor

community.

• Legal advisers -- with the goal of providing legal advice and consultations to the HOO

leadership on legal aspects in the fight against corruption.

As with any government anti-corruption institution, it is essential for the HOO to operate in an

open, transparent and accountable fashion. The HOO’s actions and performance are held

accountable in several ways: through the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, annual reporting,

independent audits, and performance monitoring. It maintains transparency through frequent

website updates, regular public dialogues, increasing involvement of civil society in complaint

review panels, and public postings of asset declarations and citizen complaint tracking.

The success of this Strategic Plan is heavily dependent on several factors. The HOO’s experience to

date suggests the need for a major realignment of functions and departments to fulfill new

mandates of the agency, such as preliminary investigation of corruption cases. Appropriate

sequencing of activities, involving effective coordination and cooperation with other government

anti-corruption institutions, is essential to achieving meaningful outcomes. Effective staff

recruiting and training of personnel is another key element necessary for success of the Plan. As

well, continued support from international donors is necessary for their technical assistance as

well as to ensure continued adequate resources to support the HOO’s operations.

Lastly, the success of the HOO over the next three year will be judged in terms of the Plan’s

performance indicators. These include such outcomes as significant improvements in the anti-

corruption legal framework, positive results of audits of the HOO, improvements in citizen

awareness about corruption and how to exercise one’s rights to oppose corruption, positive public

attitudes toward HOO activities, and increases in the number of citizen complaints registered,

number of regional complaints resolved, number of referrals for investigation and prosecution,

number of prosecutions, number of asset declaration irregularities detected and referred for

investigation, and number of sanctions issued for noncompliance with declaration registration.

These results will be reported on an annual basis and open for public scrutiny.

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1. INTRODUCTION

Corruption in Afghanistan is a significant and growing problem that challenges national and sub-

national governance, security, development, economic growth and state-building objectives. It is a

pervasive problem that exists in many government institutions, at national and sub-national levels,

and within administrative and political functions. Insufficient controls and enforcement are in

place to prevent or deter these corrupt practices. Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by

diverting funds intended for providing basic services, promotes inequality and discourages foreign

investment.

Thirty years of conflict have weakened state institutions and their ability to govern effectively. It

has led to a culture of impunity and lack of respect for the rule of law. Under these circumstances,

corrupt practices have become strongly entrenched and widespread, leaving substantial

discretionary power to civil servants at all levels, making abuse of power and position

commonplace, and reducing government’s legitimacy in the eyes of citizens.

Legal Standing

Recognizing the need to address this pervasive problem, the Afghan government, since the Bonn

Conference in 2001 and with the support of the international community and donor countries, has

put in place a number of agencies and commissions, in the executive, legislative and judicial

branches to address the challenges that undermine governmental integrity. The most significant of

these has been the establishment of the High Office of Oversight (HOO) in late 2008. The basis for

the establishment of the HOO is the National Strategy for Anti-corruption and Administrative

Reform, together with the Law on Combating Corruption and Overseeing the Implementation of

the Anti-corruption Strategy. This law was enacted to implement the provisions of Article 7, Article

75 (item 3), and Article 142 of the Afghan Constitution. The establishment of the HOO also

fulfilled, in large part, the Government’s commitment to set up an independent body to oversee

and coordinate implementation of the Government’s anti-corruption policies, per Article 6 of the

United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).

In addition, a Presidential Decree (farman) was issued in March 2010 that delegated more

authority to the HOO, to conduct preliminary investigations of corruption complaints. This decree

also ordered the Ministry of Interior to cooperate with the HOO by assigning judicial police who

will assist in these preliminary investigations, indicated that the HOO should refer cases where a

corruption crime was identified to the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) for further

investigation and prosecution, and ordered the HOO to implement several commitments made at

the London and Kabul International Conferences on Afghanistan (28 January 2010 and 20 July

2010, respectively). An Executive Order of the President (hukum), also issued in early 2010,

directed the HOO to review and amend the Penal Code to enhance penalties for administrative

corruption (in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice), simplify administrative procedures of

government, review and monitor anti-corruption priorities of government ministries and other

major departments, and work with the Ministry of Finance to reduce corruption in the customs

service. Finally, in late 2010, a revised Law on Administrative Corruption was being drafted and

reviewed to update the mandate and coordination mechanisms of the HOO.

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Mission and Vision

The HOO is the highest authority coordinating and overseeing the implementation of the National

Anti-corruption Strategy and implementing administrative procedural reforms to combat

corruption. Its mission is to lead, coordinate and support national efforts and policy development

to combat corruption effectively. More specifically, the HOO has a mandate to:

• Register and conduct preliminary investigation of complaints from citizens about alleged

administrative corruption and refer cases where a crime was identified to the Attorney

General’s Office.

• Collect, register and verify data on the financial assets of a specified list of government

officials and to make the results open and transparent.

• Identify major vulnerabilities to corruption in ministries and departments of government,

and design and implement reforms in cooperation with these institutions to simplify

administrative procedures and reduce the opportunities for corruption.

• Support government ministries and independent budgetary agencies in developing

meaningful anti-corruption action plans and monitor and oversee their performance in

implementing those plans.

• Develop cooperative relationships with civil society, the mass media and private sector

organizations to promote public education and awareness about the problem of corruption

and the legal rights of citizens to oppose corruption.

In conducting all of these mandated activities, the HOO depends on strong and active cooperation

and information sharing with other government institutions that are also charged with anti-

corruption objectives. These agencies include the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Attorney

General’s Office, Control and Audit Office, Financial Intelligence Unit, the Civil Service Commission,

and others.

HOO’s Overall Objectives

Overall, HOO’s Strategic Plan is motivated by three principal objectives:

• Pursue a multi-pronged approach. International best practice finds that the most

successful anti-corruption programs are multi-dimensional – they operate across different

agencies of government, across many functions, at national and local levels, involving civil

society, the private sector and the mass media, and using a range of tools to initiate

reforms, impose control mechanisms, generate transparency, and promote integrity. Such

multi-pronged programs involve the three basic anti-corruption pillars: Enforcement,

The HOO’s Vision Statement

A national state with the highest standards of integrity based on the principles of efficiency,

transparency and accountability in the public domain.

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prevention, and public education. Using this methodology, the HOO Strategic Plan is truly

framed as a “whole-of-government” approach with many points of entry to address the

corruption problem.

• Strengthen staff capacity and professionalism. The only way that the HOO will be able to

achieve its mandate is to raise the technical capacity and professionalism of its staff,

develop consistent standards and procedures to accomplish tasks, and take advantage of

international best practices while adapting these approaches to the Afghan context. As a

relatively new institution, the HOO and its supportive partners need to mobilize resources

to ensure that the most qualified staff are recruited and maintained for HOO positions and

that effective training programs are implemented to bring all staff to a high level of

competence.

• Focus on achieving anti-corruption impacts. While it is well-known that achieving anti-

corruption goals takes intensive work and extended time, government, the general public

and international partners are often impatient and want to see at least some visible results

of anti-corruption programs in the short term. This Strategic Plan, while laying out the

framework for an anti-corruption agency that will benefit the Afghan state for the long-run,

also understands the need to demonstrate early successes. But given the HOO’s limited

enforcement mandate, it is not reasonable to expect the HOO, by itself, to “fry the big fish”

or produce major declines in the Transparency International index. However, with effective

coordination among all the key government institutions responsible for the national anti-

corruption program, important results can be achieved – increased numbers of officials can

be prosecuted for corruption, government administrative procedures can be simplified to

eliminate corruption vulnerabilities, and increased numbers of officials submitting false

asset declarations can be sanctioned or fired, for example. The Plan’s performance

indicators are geared toward monitoring such anti-corruption results and outcomes, not

only simple inputs or outputs.

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2. AFGHANISTAN’S ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENDA

Afghanistan’s efforts to create a strong state where good governance and rule of law prevail are

undermined by corruption and allegations of corruption that erode public confidence. At the heart

of the problem, grand corruption is perpetuated by six key drivers which combine to produce illicit

wealth: (i) seizure of natural wealth; (ii) subversion of public finance, particularly the customs and

tariff regime; (iii) smuggling; (iv) forced appropriations of public land and other assets; (v)

contracting for delivery of goods and services; and most significantly, (vi) the production,

processing, and trafficking of narcotics. These six drivers lead to pressures for both outright sale of

public office and abuse of office to protect illicit interests and criminal forces.1

Additional factors are viewed as promoting and magnifying petty or administrative corruption.

These include, for example, excessively complicated and bureaucratic procedures for service

delivery, inadequate laws and regulations, limited public administration capacity at the national

and sub-national levels, insufficiently trained and underpaid government staff, undue interference

of influential powers in the work of government agencies, lack of attention and leadership to

implement the National Anti-Corruption Strategy by ministries and other institutions, and an

insufficient system of auditing and oversight.

Afghanistan’s Approach to Fighting Corruption

To address these problems, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) is

committed to a “whole-of-government” approach to fighting corruption. The National Anti-

Corruption Strategy (NACS) and Afghanistan’s National Development Strategy (ANDS), finalized in

2008, embody this approach. In a comprehensive fashion, the NACS pinpoints and analyzes

different types of corruption which impact various sectors and state institutions, and discusses the

causes and underlying factors that facilitate the problem. It identifies a wide, but potent, range of

administrative, legislative, regulatory, financial, social, and political factors that contribute to the

corruption problem evident in Afghan public service delivery institutions.

The NACS also provides a broad collection of anticorruption strategies targeting reforms on a

sector-by-sector basis and presents recommendations to address corruption in administrative

transactions, the judicial system, public finance and budgets, inspections and audits, narcotics and

smuggling, land and property, health, forestry, mines, transport, employment, and in many others

domains. Implementation of the recommendations and proposals of the NACS for administrative

reform and procedural simplification are the primary responsibility of each government ministry

and institution as indicated in the NACS.

While the HOO is the primary institution responsible for coordinating and overseeing the

implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, it has a limited mandate when it comes

to enforcement. The HOO depends heavily on inter-institutional agreements of coordination and

collaboration with other agencies of government to implement and follow-through on the

Strategy’s recommendations to accomplish anti-corruption goals.

1 From Afghanistan: The London Conference, Presentation of the Afghan Delegation to the London International

Conference on Afghanistan, 28 January 2010.

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Achievements of the HOO to Date

Since March 2010, the activities of HOO have progressed on several fronts with the ultimate goal

to reduce and control corruption in Afghanistan. Following are the most prominent outcomes to

date:

• A revised HOO Law and Audit Law have been drafted and referred to the Cabinet for

approval.

Concerning the HOO Law: The scope of the current HOO Law is confined to presenting the

HOO’s oversight function. The revised law describes HOO’s broader mission and supports

the execution of its new powers and mandates based on the March 2010 Presidential

hukum and farman. The new law authorizes HOO staff to act as “judicial officers” in

conducting preliminary investigations of corruption-related offenses. It gives the HOO

powers to investigate, review and document complaints and reports related to corruption,

with the assistance of judicial police from the Ministry of Interior to support preliminary

investigations into cases of corruption.

The revision of the law also authorizes the HOO to review Afghan laws and regulations

related to corruption for their compliance with the United Nations Convention Against

Corruption (UNCAC). The new law also establishes a legal basis for HOO monitoring and

evaluating the living standards of public officials (civilian and military) for possible

discrepancies and illicit enrichment. The law also envisages that potential perpetrators

shall be referred to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) for prosecution.

Concerning the Audit Law: The new Audit Law identifies new powers for the Control and

Audit Office to prepare and approve audit plans, and conduct audits. The revision requires

the Office to sign protocols with friendly countries and international organizations to

obtain technical assistance that will enhance procedures, facilitate information exchanges,

build capacity and standardize the work of the office. The new law will ensure observance

of international audit standards and annual publication of audit reports on the Office’s

website.

• Several high visibility administrative processes that are particularly vulnerable to corrupt

practices have been simplified, including the billing system for electricity, the electronic

filing of court document and cases, vehicle registration, and the issuance of passports.

Simplification of two other processes – construction permitting and small business

permitting – is currently under way.

• Out of 644 complaints received from the public, 109 were deemed to relate to corruption

offenses. Thirteen of these have undergone preliminary investigation by the HOO and were

referred to the Attorney General’s Office; 47 were reviewed and referred to other

government institutions to find remedies; and 49 cases are still under preliminary

investigation by the HOO.

• Financial asset declarations were received and registered from 1905 government officials;

96 of these declarations have been published in Anis-Daily, a national newspaper. Based on

the HOO’s asset declaration policy, additional declarations will be published in the future.

In total, 17 declarations -- 12 from the heads of independent agencies and 5 from cabinet

ministers -- have been administratively verified, paving the way for full verification in the

near future.

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• Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) for coordination of efforts and exchange of

information have been drafted with several key government institutions or are under

discussion (e.g. with MCTF, ANDS, SIU, AGO and COA). One MOU with the Ministry of the

Interior has already been implemented and four judicial police officers have been seconded

to the HOO to support preliminary investigations of complaints. Based on another MOU

with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank, the HOO can acquire

information and intelligence analysis on financial accounts and bank transactions by public

officials and their family members within and outside Afghanistan. This MOU serves a very

critical purpose: enabling the HOO to investigate the asset declarations of public officials

once the verification process has started. This data can also be useful to investigations of

alleged corruption offenses by the Case Investigations Department of the HOO.

Problems Confronting the HOO

Many factors have hampered the HOO’s capacity to fulfill its objectives, including the following:

• Inadequate capacity and experience of staff recruited through the civil service.

• Anticipation that increased numbers of citizen complaints about corruption as a result of

heavily promoted public awareness campaigns may raise public expectations about redress

of grievances beyond the capacity of the HOO to review and investigate the complaints.

• Lack of effective coordination and inter-agency collaboration in the fight against

corruption.

• Inadequate capacity of ministries and institutions to implement their anti-corruption action

plans and the national anti-corruption strategy.

Future Opportunities and Challenges

Looking to the future, the HOO is faced with many challenges, as well as opportunities, to improve

its operations and its results. These include:

• Implementing this strategic plan effectively to achieve Afghanistan’s “whole-of-

government” approach to fighting corruption as embodied in the National Anti-Corruption

Strategy.

• Reorganizing HOO functions, organizational structure, and staffing to better accomplish its

goals, and eliminating overlaps in responsibility among departments.

• Reallocating personnel and developing more specific job descriptions to coincide with this

strategic plan and the reorganization.

• Conducting extensive capacity training of HOO staff to build professionalization of the

organization and specialized roles within each department.

• Implementing effective coordination, action, and oversight with all other government anti-

corruption institutions.

• Engaging civil society actively in the work and objectives of the HOO to fight corruption

throughout Afghanistan and to build public trust.

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• Developing and implementing a “managing for results” indicator system for the HOO to

demonstrate performance outcomes and hold the whole-of-government accountable for

transparency and achieving anti-corruption objectives.

• Reforming internal management functions and building internal capacity to support the

work of HOO departments and guide the organization as it increases in size and capacity.

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Asset

Registration &

Verification

Case

Investigation &

Coordination

Complaint

Management

& Review

Research and

Monitoring &

Evaluation

Media and

Community

Relations

Prevention Regional

Outreach

Oversight &

Anticorruption

Support

Policy & Oversight Operations

Director-GeneralChief of Staff & Donor Relations

Legal Advisers

Internal Audit

Strategy,

Planning &

Policy

Finance &

Administration

Information

Technology

Unit

Human

Resources &

Capacity

Development

Asset

Registration &

Verification

Case

Investigation &

Coordination

Complaint

Management

& Review

Research and

Monitoring &

Evaluation

Media and

Community

Relations

Prevention Regional

Outreach

Oversight &

Anticorruption

Support

Policy & Oversight Operations

Director-GeneralChief of Staff & Donor Relations

Legal Advisers

Internal Audit

Strategy,

Planning &

Policy

Finance &

Administration

Information

Technology

Unit

Human

Resources &

Capacity

Development

3. STRATEGIC GOALS AND APPROACHES

The HOO’s strategic goals are framed in terms of the organization’s mandated functions,

approaches and activities that have worked well in the past, an analysis of where problems have

been encountered, and a vision of future needs and opportunities. The goals presented in this

section are also based upon ideas generated by current HOO managers who have had experience

implementing these functions and activities since 2008, as well international best practice.

The HOO is mandated to coordinate anti-corruption activities with other government institutions,

as well as implement discrete anti-corruption functions itself. These are presented in the diagram

and discussed below.

• The HOO performs several policy and oversight functions: collecting and responding to

public complaints about corruption in Kabul and from regional offices; conducting

preliminary investigations of alleged corruption cases;2 referring these cases to the

appropriate authorities and coordinating with them to ensure proper follow-through;

working with other government institutions to simplify administrative processes that may

be vulnerable to corruption; engaging the media and other communication channels to

increase public awareness about corruption; reaching out to civil society to educate the

public on their legal rights and to promote trust; providing technical assistance to

2 Prior to the March 2010 Presidential Decree (farman), the HOO could only provide oversight and had no power or

authority to conduct preliminary investigation, document cases or collect evidence.

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ministries and major government departments to design and implement their own anti-

corruption action plans and then to monitor their performance; and conducting strategy,

planning and policy functions to assure that the agency is properly focused.

• The HOO performs operations functions as well: collecting and verifying financial asset

declarations from government officials; conducting research on trends in corruption

experiences; finance and accounting; administration of regional offices; human resources

and training; and information technology and logistics.

• Lastly, the HOO’s senior management oversees management functions including overall

administrative activities, coordination with donors, assessment of needed legal reforms,

and internal audits.

The following discussion of each key function includes a description of the function, achievements

to date, challenges encountered, and strategic goals and implementing activities. A timeline for

conducting these activities is presented in the Appendix. For all functions, activities under this

Strategic Plan include developing detailed annual action plans, job descriptions for all staff, and

manuals and standards guides for all sub-functions.

3.1 Policy and Oversight

a. Oversight and Anticorruption Support

This HOO department combines three related functions that are key to HOO’s central mandate:

• Providing oversight to the implementation of the NACS by Government ministries and

institutions

• Offering technical support to government institutions to help them develop effective anti-

corruption action plans, and

• Monitoring the implementation of those plans over time and report on them to the public,

Parliament and the President.

There are over 50 ministries and institutions that need consulting assistance from this unit to

develop meaningful action plans that take into account international best practice and can be

implemented to achieve maximum impact. Earlier in 2010, the Presidential Executive Order No.

987 required every independent budget entity, ministries and institutions to identify three priority

anti-corruption actions, but to be truly effective, additional expert help is required to develop

comprehensive and workable plans of action. This unit also conducts oversight assessments of

complaints emanating at the provincial level and responds to requests from the Cabinet of

Ministers to perform anti-corruption assessments. They report detected problems to the HOO

Director General and the External Coordination section in Kabul through a Deputy Director

General. Government ministries and independent budgetary agencies have not always been able

to comply and fulfill their responsibilities towards NACS. To address this, the HOO has conducted

many orientation trainings to educate the ministries’ and independent agencies’ staff and raise

their awareness of their responsibilities towards the NACS.

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Achievements to date:

The Government of Afghanistan has directed over 50 ministries and agencies to identify their

three highest anti-corruption priorities. HOO is responsible for reviewing these documents to see

that they are acceptable and conform to the requirements. While HOO has provided some

assistance to date to improve the quality of these plans, technical support to improve the quality

of the ministries’ plans and their implementation are a high priority for HOO.

Challenges:

Recruiting qualified staff and deploying them is a serious challenge. To provide technical anti-

corruption consulting support to other agencies of government, HOO staff need to be well-versed

in international best practice and initiatives to combat corruption that have worked in other

countries. Ideally, they will have received training at well-regarded institutions, such as the

Malaysia Anti-Corruption Academy.

Goals Proposed Activities

1. Ensure effective

implementation of NACS by

government ministries and

institutions

• Conduct trainings for the staff of government

institutions orienting them to the NACS and their

responsibilities for implementing it

• Help government ministries and institutions to identify

their roles and responsibilities envisaged in the NACS

• Provide consistent oversight to the implementation of

the NACS by government institutions

• Produce regular reports on achievements and progress

in the implementation of the NACS

2. Provide consistent guidance

to government institutions on

developing Action Plans

• Develop a template and approach to guide technical

consulting for agency Action Plans and oversee

progress of the implementation of action plans

• Conduct training on the use of Integrity Development

Reviews (IDR) as self-assessment tools to commence

the Action Planning process

• Conduct training on how to use existing “Vulnerability

to Corruption Assessments” (VCA) to begin the process

of Action Plan design

3. Monitor and report on Action

Plan performance

• Collect data on Action Plan performance indicators and

submit annual reports on results

4. Train qualified staff to

provide the services required

• Send several staff to receive intensive training at an

international center of excellence, such as the

Malaysia Anti-Corruption Academy

• Conduct continuous training on international best

practices

20

b. Complaints Management and Review

The HOO is tasked with accepting, recording, analyzing and following up all complaints about

alleged corruption received from citizens. The HOO Law guarantees anonymity to all complainants.

Functions include the following:

1. Receive complaints from citizens about alleged corruption through several channels,

primarily through 37 complaint boxes placed in Ministries, face-to-face interviews at the

HOO headquarters, a telephone hotline, emails, and from media reports.

2. Register all complaints in a database.

3. Review each complaint by committee to identify if corruption is potentially involved or if

the complaint deals with a non-corruption offense. If a non-corruption offense, pass the

complaint to the appropriate government agency and/or provide feedback to the citizen.

4. If the complaint is deemed to involve a corruption offense, gather additional evidence from

the complainant and send the complaint file to the Case Investigations Department for

preliminary investigation.

Staffing allocation for the department is currently set at 33, but only 15 people are currently on

board. Eight of these staff have some legal background.


• Over the past 7 months (since March 10, 2010 – the beginning of the Afghan year), 109

complaints of alleged corruption were passed to the Case Investigations Department.

a. Over 200 complaints were collected in complaint boxes. Only 13 of these were

deemed to deal with corruption offenses.

b. Over 295 complaints were collected in face-to-face interviews and about 103 of

these were deemed to deal with corruption offenses.

c. Over 149 complaints were collected on the hotline and 24 were seen to be

corruption offenses.

• Complaint boxes and a telephone hotline were activated, a database for registering

complaints was developed, a public awareness campaign was initiated on TV announcing

the hotline countrywide, billboards and flyers were used to publicize the hotline as well,

and professional capacity building training was conducted for the staff on a variety of

topics, including legal issues concerning corruption offenses.

Challenges:

• Not all staff are well-prepared for their jobs. On average, the Complaints Management

Department conducts three internal training sessions per month to build capacity, but this

is not sufficient.

• Resources, including office space, are insufficient.

• The hotline appears to be popular but it is not currently toll-free around the country.

21

Goals Proposed Actions

1. Deal with complaints more effectively • Recruit lawyers for the Analysis Section who

have appropriate skills

• Increase professional training for staff

• Develop MOUs with complaint departments

in other ministries and agencies

• Establish, support and implement an

improved complaints management

mechanism involving CSOs in the fight

against corruption

• Scan complaint forms into database

• Provide for greater security and

confidentiality for complainants

• Develop and publicize a formal HOO policy

on confidentiality

• Track trends in complaints over time and

report on them

2. Establish whistleblower protection laws to

encourage more knowledgeable complaints

• Provide support for drafting such a law and

designing mechanisms for implementing it,

based on international best practices

• Develop a Whistleblower Section within the

Complaints Management Department and

recruit qualified staff

• Conduct public awareness campaigns to

encourage whistleblowing

3. Attract more support and trust from the

public

• Improve mechanisms for complaints

reception, hotline system, complaint boxes,

whistleblowers, face-to-face interviews, etc.

• Conduct public awareness campaigns about

registering complaints and provide success

stories of how complaints are handled

• Ensure that there is adequately trained staff

to deal with increased number of

complaints

4. Establish a task force to deal with

emergency complaints and institutionalize

Complaint Review Committees

• Assign more highly qualified legal staff to

address complaints about bribery and other

obvious corruption offenses

• Institutionalize Complaint Review

Committees

• Develop procedures to collect evidence

more rapidly and pass to Case

Investigations Department

22

c. Case Investigation and Coordination

The Case Investigation and Coordination Department is responsible for reviewing cases referred by

the Complaints Department to determine whether or not there are elements of fraud and/or

corruption involved. The Department also receives cases from other agencies for investigation,

and follows up on cases referred to the Attorney General’s office for further investigation and

prosecution.

HOO has set a goal of investigating 200 cases per year over the next three years. This number

refers to Kabul cases only. The office would require additional staff resources to take on cases in

the provinces.

In the past seven months, this department has received 109 complaints from the Complaints

Department as the hotline and other complaint operations have expanded. 13 of these cases have

been sent to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). 47 cases have been reviewed, investigated and

referred to other relevant agencies. 49 remain under HOO investigation. The work is expanding

and more and better trained staff are needed. The Department is in particular need of a capable

Case Tracking Officer to oversee the cumulative caseload and assure that cases receive proper

attention.

The Department receives many types of cases. They are registered and reviewed by the Director,

who assigns each case to a team of two investigators. The investigators study the case and the

documents, visit the ministries and other related institutions to conduct interviews, and write a

recommendation regarding each case. The Director General of HOO sends the case

recommendation to the concerned ministry; the ministries are required to respond to the case

recommendation. If the investigators find no corruption, the case is closed; if they find corruption,

they cite the article of the State Penal Code that is violated and the case is referred to a special

unit of the AGO. The departmental director reviews the details and recommendations of every

case to provide oversight and quality control. The Department follows up each month with the

AGO regarding the status of cases referred in writing or by visiting staff in the AGO. Due to the

diversity of cases received – some of which require much more investigative expertise than others

– it can take the Department significant time to review a case and write recommendations. The

HOO cannot investigate some cases on time due to their distance from Kabul.

According to the HOO law and the Presidential decree, the AGO and ministries should report back

to the HOO providing feedback on cases referred by the HOO. This has turned out to be a difficult

process as HOO does not always receive the required cooperation.

The Department currently has 21 investigators, some of whom are highly experienced former

prosecutors; others are much less experienced. The investigators work in teams of two, usually

with a more experienced investigator acting as mentor for a newer employee. Most of the

investigators are lawyers trained in Sharia law. They get practical, though not formal, training

when they join HOO.


• Case Investigations has received 242 cases in the past twelve months; 109 from the

Complaints Management Department and the rest from other agencies; some have been

referred to the AGO or other agencies for follow-up, while some are still under

23

investigation at the HOO. According to a new internal regulation which came into force in

October 2010, all complaints in the future will be channeled through the Complaints

Management Department.

• It is a priority to make arrests in bribery cases. Since March 2010, 4 persons have been

arrested from within the police department, the AGO, and the Ministry of Agriculture,

Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). These have been difficult, sensitive, and dangerous

operations. All 4 have been prosecuted.

• Many merchants have received millions of dollars in loans and letters-of-credit from the

National Bank of Afghanistan and have not repaid the loans. The cases were investigated

by the HOO and referred to the AGO resulting in legal action to claim the collateral assets

backing up the loans. The court proceedings are in progress regarding criminal prosecution

and recovery of assets.

Challenges:

• The HOO faces serious challenges and problems coordinating its work with ministries and

agencies of the GIRoA. Often, the HOO experiences resistance and lack of cooperation in its

investigations.

• It is imperative to improve the skills of HOO investigators to increase output.

• The HOO cannot attract the most experienced investigators due to low salaries.


1. Improve investigation expertise • Provide basic and advanced investigations

training for HOO investigators

• Develop mentoring relationships between

HOO investigators and those from the

Ministry of Interior and Attorney General’s

Office

• Conduct common training for HOO

investigators and their counterparts in the

AGO so they develop a common

understanding of investigations and similar

approaches across government agencies

• Engage complaints and case tracking staff in

the investigations training

2. Make investigations a major part of the

HOO regional expansion

Emphasize complaints and investigations in

the regional expansion plans

3. Make it a high priority to improve

cooperation with ministries and agencies

• Develop the MOUs and operational

procedures for cooperation

• Conduct cross-training of HOO, AGO, CAO,

Supreme Court, MoI, and Major Crimes

Task Force on investigations tasks

• Make the National Data Base Center

operational among HOO, MOI, AGO, SC,

MoJ, etc.

24

• Track cases brought up by COA and refer

them to AGO and other relevant institutions

4. Ensure confidentiality of information Develop procedures to assure the integrity of

investigation information and limit access to

protect confidential and sensitive information

5. Monitor outcomes of referred cases Establish and implement a mechanism to

monitor and obtain regular updates on the

status of corruption cases referred to other

agencies, including the AGO

6. Strengthen IT training and support

regarding investigations

Improve the IT system, network, software, and

training to make investigations more efficient

d. Prevention

Afghan citizens face daily challenges and pressures that involve corrupt transactions, often of a

petty or administrative nature. An anti-corruption priority for the HOO is to help ministries and

agencies streamline public services, decrease waiting times, and eliminate opportunities for

administrative corruption by simplifying procedures for services, modifying procedures, and

amending laws and regulations that create opportunities for the payment of illegal fees and

kickbacks. Based on HOO’s review of corruption-vulnerable procedures, undertaken in

cooperation with GIRoA ministries and agencies, HOO also suggests necessary legal revisions to

the AGO and the Ministry of Justice and follows up on these recommendations. The HOO

prevention unit will also work with the Legal Adviser unit in studying, analyzing and evaluating

laws and regulations to identify potential vulnerabilities to corruption, as well as compliance with

the UNCAC, and suggesting necessary amendments of the laws to the Ministry of Justice.

The Prevention Department is authorized 19 staff on the Tashkiel but only has 9 professional

employees. 5 of the 8 positions needed to conduct simplification activities are currently filled; 4 of

the 11 positions to conduct legal revision are filled. It has been particularly difficult to get qualified

staff for legal revision despite several recruitment efforts.


Though there were some delays in hiring and training staff, the Prevention Department has

undertaken research and realized achievements in the following areas: computerized vehicle

registration, electricity billing, computerizing more than half a million court documents, business

and merchant licenses, mapping the issuance of construction permits, pension payment

procedures, passports and identification cards, drivers’ licenses, the Procurement Law, guidelines

for unnecessary charges regarding marriages, the draft Anti-Corruption Law, draft anti-corruption

provisions to strengthen the State Penal Code and making the code compliant with the UN

Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), and guidelines regarding the use of police vehicles.

For example, seven agencies participated in the work to reform processes related to marriage

licenses. Two additional examples highlight how the delivery of public services has been

streamlined to eliminate opportunities for corrupt transactions, reducing the number of offices

25

and bureaucrats involved, reducing the number of days required to obtain the service, and

reducing the cost of the service.

• Vehicle Registration: Previously, it was necessary to go to 51 places to register a vehicle

and it took from one to two months. Now, applicants must implement only four steps and

it takes a maximum of 3 days. Previously, citizens were required to pay brokers up to $400.

Today, the total official fee for registration is about $150. HOO worked with the MOI and

others to revise the procedures, pilot the new process, and publicize the changes to the

public through press conferences and the media. HOO continues to monitor these new

procedures.

• Passports: The previous procedure to obtain a passport that took two weeks and cost up to

4000 Afs (about $89) has been reduced to two days and now costs 850 Afs for a valid one

year passport and 2500 Afs (about $46) for a three year passport.

In all instances, the Department coordinated its work with and involved the targeted institutions in

the piloting of the reformed activities.

HOO’s Prevention Department applies the following methodology: mapping and analysis of

current procedures, including the identification of corruption vulnerabilities; design of new

procedures; piloting the simplified procedures; revisions based on the pilot; formalizing the

revised procedures; monitoring implementation; and making recommendations for legal or other

reforms in support of and to protect the improved systems.

Challenges:

• The process of institutional reform at various levels in government agencies has been

sluggish.

• Ministries and independent agencies generally lack capacity in the areas of simplification of

procedures and legislative reform.

• Relevant institutions cannot provide efficient oversight (monitoring and evaluation) of the

implementation of reforms and simplification projects.

• Donors have failed to provide sufficient support to the HOO in hiring a simplification

expert.

• Lack of resources and low incentives have hampered HOO’s capacity to recruit national and

international experts.

To supplement HOO’s work to simplify procedures and eliminate corruption, the Prevention

Department has had some success working with NGOs through grants to simplify construction

permits. The HOO wants to expand these opportunities in the future to supplement their scarce

resources.


1. Improve the analysis of government

procedures and quality of the revised

systems

Conduct general training for staff on the

mapping, analysis, and simplification of

business and service procedures

2. Conduct training in priority areas where

there are vulnerabilities to corruption and

• Identify key areas, for example, customs, the

verification of education credentials, Hadj

26

e. Media and Community Relations

The Media and Community Relations Department plays an important role in communicating with

citizens about the negative consequences of corruption and the Afghan government’s program

against corruption, as well as creating greater awareness about citizen’s rights and how to exercise

them. This unit also engages networks of civil society organizations (CSOs) to assist the

government in fighting corruption and educating citizens. This department works closely with the

mass media and other media, as well as CSOs and think tanks, to promote effective and broad

public outreach. They also have an outreach function to traditional institutions, such as mosques,

to spread messages about anti-corruption.

The media plays an important role in disseminating anti-corruption messages and educating the

public, as well as disseminating information on government achievements in this area which form

the basis for public perceptions of corruption. In addition, CSO networks reach out to the public

directly and can serve as a trusted channel of information about coruption and government

programs. UNDP, USAID and other donors already provide grants to CSOs to support public

work with responsible departments and

agencies to simplify/modify processes

procedures, and municipal laws and

regulations, and conduct training for staff

• Conduct agreed upon administrative

simplification programs with responsible

departments/agencies, for example, with the

customs service

3. Generate improved coordination with

ministries and agencies

• Cross-train staff regarding the analysis and

simplification of procedures; build a team in

priority ministries and agencies to promote

simplification

• Develop MOUs with cooperating agencies,

especially with the Independent

Administrative Reform and Civil Service

Commission (IARCSC)

4. Improve the action plan for the Prevention

Department to better link the number and

substance of interventions with available

staff resources

Develop an improved action plan focusing on

corruption prevention, simplification of

business procedures, and legislative reform

matters

5. Complete the hiring of qualified staff Develop position descriptions and conduct

recruitment

6. Analyze the adequacy of the legal

framework to reduce corruption and

comply with UNCAC (in coordination with

the Legal Adviser unit)

� Conduct an analysis of key aspects of the

Afghan legal framework. Start with an

analysis of the Penal Code and Public

Procurement Law.

� Oversee laws, regulations and standards

related to the production, import, sale and

supply of low quality products for corrupt

practices and refer violators to law

enforcement agencies

27

awareness and education activities concerning corruption. The HOO can work with these networks

to enhance their technical proficiency and information. CSOs can also serve as a sounding board

for the Government’s anti-corruption policies and measures. Furthermore, civil society networks

can be promoted to encourage citizen use of the HOO complaint mechanism.


The HOO has been active in working with the media and developing other public outreach

channels. A publication called “Qanooniat” is produced; the most recent issue contained 52 pages

and had a print run of about 1,000. To date, 7 issues have been published, which primarily go to

government institutions and embassies. They have also filmed about 35 interviews between the

Director General and the media, produced one short documentary about anti-corruption issues,

and produced 6 public service announcements (PSA). The HOO’s official website was designed and

implemented and content is kept relatively up-to-date. In addition to working directly with media,

there is an outreach component that works primarily with the Ministry of Religious Affairs. There

are 165,000 mosques around Afghanistan. The Ministry of Religious Affairs has begun adding anti-

corruption messages to be announced after Friday prayers. In addition, the HOO has initiated a

dialogue with the Ministry of Education to find ways to weave anti-corruption messages into the

country’s formal school curriculum. Meetings with civil society organizations have been conducted

to find ways to work together to expand the HOO’s outreach programs.

Challenges:

The HOO’s Media Unit currently has 8 staff in place; five additional positions need to be filled. The

HOO needs competent journalists and translators, but it has been difficult to hire qualified

individuals within the salary limitations of the HOO. The unit also needs better transportation,

cameras, studios and other facilities, such as access to faster internet and suitable space for

operations. Perhaps most importantly, they need funding to permit them to carry out more

vigorous media and outreach campaigns, and to enhance their anti-corruption messaging. The unit

does not get free media time on government or private television or radio. In terms of developing

community relations, this is a new area for the HOO; a new staff to work with CSOs would need to

be recruited and a clear action plan developed.


1. Increase HOO’s outreach

capacity

• Develop a new Communications Strategy for HOO

• Identify funding to increase the number of public

service announcements (PSAs)

• Initiate one press conference approximately every

two weeks

• Produce one press release on a strategic topic each

month.

• Hold roundtable discussions on radio and television

with religious leaders, civil society representatives,

government officials, etc.

2. Improve staff capacity Establish public awareness teams which go to individual

ministries to raise awareness of anti-corruption

programs and activities, along with other training to

28

improve journalistic coverage, outreach strategies, etc.

3. Enhance public dialogues

and promote civic education

about corruption

• Reach out to traditional Afghan institutions like jirgas

and shuras in rural areas.

• Hold workshops to improve HOO’s networking with

media groups

• Enhance dialogue with civil society groups.

4. Engage civil society groups • Work with CSO grantees – train them to understand

HOO’s perspectives on fighting corruption and to

reach out to increase public awareness with a

consistent message

• Engage CSOs to encourage citizens to make

complaints about corruption through the HOO

mechanisms

5. Improve facilities and

technologies

Increase office space, improve internet capacity, add

better studio facilities, improve other resources, etc.

f. Strategy, Planning and Policy

HOO is mandated to advise the President and Parliament on the country’s anti-corruption

initiatives. This HOO unit will report directly to the Director General and will develop analyses,

explain strategic alternatives and implications, and make policy recommendations for Parliament

and the President to consider on future policy directions to strengthen anti-corruption efforts in

Afghanistan. This unit will also generate reports and policy options to guide inter-institutional

coordination on anti-corruption programming. In this regard, it will perform the important

function of guiding anti-corruption policies using a whole-of-government approach that is

evidence-based, dynamic and holistic. It will draw upon the HOO’s research function as well.

In addition, this unit will be responsible for updating and revising the HOO’s Strategic Plan in

future years, providing guidance for implementation of the plan, and support in developing the

HOO’s Annual Report.


1. Clearly elaborate roles and

missions of each HOO

department

• Based on this Strategic Plan, define and distinguish the

roles and responsibilities of each HOO department

• Oversee the development by each department of

departmental manuals and guidelines that clearly define

the department’s mission

• Oversee the development by each department of

detailed work plans and budgets based upon this

Strategic Plan

2. Recruit and train Strategy,

Planning and Policy staff to be

capable of conducting quality

policy analyses and

developing/promoting

• Develop appropriate position descriptions

• Work with donors to get training in international best

practices

29

strategic options

3. Assess legal and inter-

institutional coordination

needs and requirements of the

HOO (in coordination with the

Legal Adviser unit)

• Conduct a study to assess HOO’s needs for functional

coordination across government institutions, as well as

information sharing needs, and the extent to which they

are already implemented. Make recommendations to

improve the situation.

• Finalize inter-institutional protocols with all key

government institutions

• Review HOO’s legal mandate and consider strengthening

its legal framework, and its political and financial

independence

4. Implement and chair two

coordination working groups –

for donors and for government

anti-corruption institutions

• Implement and chair a Donors Working Group to address

coordination of assistance and gaps in support

• Implement and chair the Anti-Corruption Institutions

Working Group to coordinate and oversee efforts in

Prevention, Operations, and Oversight throughout the

Afghan government

5. Analyze corruption surveys,

vulnerability assessments and

other studies to identify

priority policy implications (for

example, laws, decrees,

regulations, programs that

need to be changed, reformed

and implemented)

• Review existing research on corruption in Afghanistan

and develop a prioritized set of policy reforms (in

coordination with the Research and Evaluation unit)

6. Produce and publish annual

report of the HOO

Analyze progress by HOO departments in implementing the

strategic plan. Produce and publish annual report, focusing

on achievements and challenges.

30

3.2 Operations

a. Asset Registration and Verification

The Asset Registration Department of the HOO is responsible for registration, publication and

verification of asset declarations of approximately 3500 Government officials. Based on Article 154

of the Constitution, the President, Vice Presidents, members of the cabinet, members of the

Supreme Court, and the attorney general are subject to asset declaration. Similarly, in accordance

with Article 12 of the HOO Law, all deputy ministers, advisers to the President, members of

parliament, ambassadors, and other key officials are required to declare their assets to the HOO.

To implement Article 154 of the Constitution and Article 12 of the HOO Law, the Asset Registration

Department has developed declaration forms for officials to record their assets. These forms are

intended to be updated on an annual basis. There are currently no penalties for failure to submit a

declaration, however, sanctions for false asset declaration have been drafted and will be included

in the revised State Penal Code.

In addition to recording declarations, the department is tasked with making the declarations

public. The publication of declarations is intended to allow for citizen comment, as well as

feedback and transmission of information on the truthfulness of the declaration’s data. This can

help the department later in the verification process.

The HOO is also mandated to verify every asset declaration by public officials. This will be done in

several ways. First, administrative verification ensures that an asset declaration form is properly

completed and there are no gaps and blanks, that is, no missing data, signatures, ID card numbers,

stamps or other elements that could cause confusion when full verification is conducted in the

future. Second, once an official submits declarations for multiple years, the HOO will be able to

compare the newest declaration with the previous year’s to detect illicit enrichment and

irregularities in the level of income and assets. Third, declarations can be verified against tax,

bank, property and other records. This requires the cooperation of many national and

international counterparts, including financial and law enforcement institutions.

Currently, the Asset Registration Department consists of 9 staff members, 6 of which are technical

staff and 3 administrative employees. The department works closely with international and

national counterparts, in particular with UNODC.


To date, the department has collected 1905 asset declarations in total. These declarations have

been registered in a database. Ninety-six asset declarations belonging to high ranking officials have

been published in local newspapers. The declarations of 5 ministers and 12 heads of independent

agencies were recently administratively verified, fulfilling one of the benchmarks of the

Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) for 2010.

Challenges:

The registration and verification of officials’ assets is a new practice for Afghanistan; thus, various

factors have challenged the work of the department. Out of a total of 21 staff envisaged in its

structure (Tashkiel), the department has only been able to hire 9 employees, due to limitations,

31

including low salaries. The department’s current staff largely lacks required skills and professional

training to effectively accomplish their duties. Additionally, many government officials have either

been reluctant or slow in submitting declarations or providing additional information. Effective

and consistent guidelines on how to conduct asset verification have yet to be established. As well,

rigorous verification of the declarations requires access to information held by other government

and international institutions; coordination agreements have been signed with FIU, NDS and

others.


1. Improved coordination with relevant

institutions for verification purposes

• Develop MoUs (with MAIL, Supreme Court,

municipalities, MoFA , FIU, IDLG, MOF, etc)

2. Improved publication of declarations • Develop an asset publication policy

• Upload declarations to website

• Publish declarations in media

3. Improved electronic declarations • Develop online application

• Conduct outreach and trainings for public

officials

4. Improved database system

• Strengthen the current server

• Conduct training in database management

5. Improved outreach and education for

public officials and general population

• Conduct training sessions and workshops to

ensure that officials understand their

obligation to submit declarations and how to

do it

• Conduct workshops for citizens to describe

the reasons for declarations and how the

HOO processes them

6. Develop clear and adequate verification

procedures

• Develop procedures manual, conduct

training of staff and ensure coordination

with other agencies to obtain information

• Conduct professionalization training for

department staff

• Verify the declarations of all government

officials. Compare and analyze new annual

asset declarations with that of previous

years to detect irregularities and illicit

enrichment

7. Seek additional sanctions and penal

provisions to be able to enforce

compliance with declaration submissions

Draft and propose new penal provisions that

gives HOO the authority to enforce

compliance with asset declaration submissions

8. Support efforts to initiate the recovery of

stolen assets

Look into best international practices and

adapt them to Afghanistan context

9. Seek reliable annual updates of asset

declarations by officials

Conduct public awareness programs to

promote filing of new declarations by each

government official on an annual basis

32

b. Regional Operations

Afghan citizens are confronted with corruption at the provincial and district levels every day. Such

experiences undermine government legitimacy and are drivers of insurgency. The GIRoA has made

it a priority for HOO to reach out to the local level to provide citizens with the means to register

their complaints about alleged corruption, find redress for these complaints, and promote active

public education and awareness about these problems, citizen rights, and how to exercise them.

Currently, it is very inefficient, time consuming, and costly for HOO headquarters in Kabul to

continually send missions to the field to pursue corruption complaints at the provincial and district

levels. As a result, the HOO plans to establish pilot regional offices in Herat, Khandahar, Balkh and

Nangarhar provinces to serve as complaint offices and Provincial Committees for Redress.

Traditional justice approaches, using customary leaders, is one model being considered for how

these offices would be structured and operate to gain the trust and confidence of citizens. This

department will administer the regional offices.


1. Develop one or more models by which

regional offices can be structured and

processes implemented

• Conduct research, fully design and compare

alternate models for regional offices

2. Conduct discussions with regional

authorities and customary leaders in

several pilot locations to gain their trust

and agreement to establish HOO branch

offices

• Delegations from HOO will visit with local

authorities to get commitments

• Identify potential office space

3. Develop detailed plans and implement

branch offices

• In coordination with the Complaints

Management Department, implement 2

alternate models in these pilot offices,

develop plans, identify staff, train staff, and

implement offices

4. Monitor and evaluate branch office

operations

• Collect data on office performance and

compare pilot locations

5. Plan and implement additional branch

offices based on evaluation of alternate

models

• Implement additional offices based upon

lessons learned in pilot branches

c. Research and Evaluation

This HOO research function is essential to building and maintaining the HOO’s status as the

primary coordinator of Afghanistan’s anti-corruption efforts. This department will not only gather

and review corruption studies and surveys conducted by other agencies of government,

international donors, and think tanks, but it will also gather key information from other units in

the HOO and government ministries and departments on progress, achievements and challenges

encountered in implementing anti-corruption activities. It will also consider and integrate

international best practice into its research products. This department will integrate this

information, write reports, supply this information to the Strategy, Planning and Policy Unit of the

HOO, and make the information publicly available on the HOO website and through other

33

channels in order to make policy decisions and take actions based on the best, evidence-based

information available.

Where there are important gaps in research, this unit will recommend that particular studies and

analyses are conducted. They can seek funding from donors and/or foundations to conduct the

research themselves or identify qualified external sources to conduct the research. In addition, this

research unit will collect data on the HOO’s Strategic Plan performance indicators throughout the

year and thereby monitor implementation of the Strategic Plan and report on a quarterly and

annual basis.

MOUs will be signed with government and non-governmental organizations, for example, the

Central Statistics Agency (CSA), Control and Audit Office (CAO), Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA),

Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) and other research think thanks and

international organizations, to ensure the free exchange of data for research and analysis

purposes. In addition, contacts will be established with groups in different parts of the country to

gather updated data and baseline information. The HOO research team will visit government

offices in the center, provinces and districts to hear first-hand the peoples’ complaints and analyze

and identify problems and deficiencies.


1. Collect, review and evaluate

recent research and

international best practice on

corruption in Afghanistan

• Develop MOUs with governmental and non-

governmental organizations to exchange information

• Write reports that feed into policy and operational

decisions

2. Monitor HOO’s Strategic Plan

implementation

• Establish contacts with government and non-government

organizations at all levels to collect information on

performance indicators

• Collect and analyze data on performance indicators and

report quarterly and annually

d. Finance & Administration, Information Technology and Logistics

These essential administrative functions – finance and accounting, procurement, budget, and IT

and logistics support – are supported by about 30 staff: logistics and procurement (15); finance

and budget (10); and IT (5). This department is also responsible for maintenance of the HOO

buildings, utilities, transportation fleet, and construction of the new building. In recognition of the

importance of these support functions, international donors, including USAID, UNDP, UNODC, the

Asia Foundation, and others have made some generous investments in HOO.

Achievements to Date:

With limited resources, this unit has managed the start-up and creation of HOO logistics,

procurement, and communications components over the past two years. This includes managing

the five facilities that currently house the HOO staff. The department has purchased vehicles,

furniture, computers, and established the operational base for the office. The department is also

managing construction of the wall around the new property.

34

Challenges:

• Afghan procurement laws were copied from other countries and are not consistent with

the Afghan context. Moreover, they are cumbersome and in need of revision.

• There are insufficient staff and some are not fully trained.

• Office space is not adequate for the current or expected future staff.

• Staff need training in budgeting, accounting, and financial reporting.

• Lack of effective guidelines in the country to utilize and disburse fuel for vehicles.

• Lack of an organized storage system to maintain materials.

• Noncompliance with systems.


1. Improve administrative capacity in the

HOO

Conduct training in procurement and logistics

2. Improve financial management Conduct training in financial management,

budgeting, and reporting; and establish

internationally recognized standards

3. Improved information technology • Conduct a review of IT requirements across

all functions and prioritize key needs

• Improve connectivity and add missing

equipment

• Provide IT training for staff

• With donor support, design and implement

high priority IT systems, especially those that

will help in information sharing, asset

verification, and increased accountability

and transparency

4. Support the opening of 4 HOO regional

offices

• Identify office space

• Recruit and train personnel

• Introduce the regional offices through the

national and provincial governments

• Link the regional offices to HOO

headquarters via internet and other

administrative systems

5. Standardize administrative procedures

throughout HOO

Conduct staff training throughout all HOO

departments to clarify and standardize

administrative procedures

e. Human Resources

The role of the Human Resources unit is to support HOO recruitment. HOO has approximately 270

of the more than 400 employees authorized on the Tashkiel. Positions are established based on

responsibilities and a GIRoA pay grade system, though salaries are low. The allowable positions

include positions for regional offices (approximately 15 staff in each). Staff are hired through a

competitive process; positions are announced publicly for 15 days and there are terms of

reference for each position. Resumes are collected and screened; the top candidates are called for

35

interviews. At least 4 candidates are interviewed for each position. Candidates are interviewed by

a review panel involving the director of the relevant department, a representative of the Civil

Service Commission, and the Human Resources director. It takes about 20 days to hire a new staff

member.

Challenges:

Staff have received training from the Civil Service Commission in English and computer skills, but

more training is needed. The IT skills of general HOO staff and the IT staff need attention. Training

in budgeting, accounting, financial management, reporting, contracts and procurement should be

a priority, as well as in the technical/legal aspects of anti-corruption work (investigations, asset

declarations, verification, etc.).


1. Generate sufficient and qualified HOO

staff

• Conduct a Human Resources Assessment that

identifies current and needed skills, and new

position descriptions, that is consistent with

this HOO Strategic Plan

• Develop a staffing plan based on the goals

and objectives of each department

2. Reorganize the HOO To be consistent with this Strategic Plan, HOO

will reorganize its functional units and develop

new job/position descriptions to best achieve

organizational goals

3. Improve the recruitment outcomes • Work with the Civil Service Commission and

international donors to enhance recruiting

outcomes

• Establish an annual performance review

process

f. Capacity Building

Across the board, HOO recognizes the need to greatly improve the technical capacity and

professionalism of its staff and to reorganize the HOO functionally to better achieve organizational

objectives, improve performance, interagency accountability, and efficiency. The Capacity Building

Unit is a major element in achieving these goals. Capacity development support needs to be

provided both to HOO staff and to the staff of government ministries and institutions. Initially,

HOO will train several of its own staff to be “senior trainers.” These trainers will then provide

training of trainer (TOT) program for government ministries and institutions so that they will have

internal trainers capable of conducting Integrity Promotion (IP) programs on a regular basis. The IP

programs will cover anti-corruption principles, morals, ethics, good governance, transparency and

accountability, and integrity concepts – on a very practical level. As well, consideration is being

given to include a religious elder in each of these training sessions. Every session would start with

the religious elder who can shed light on the importance of honesty, integrity, morals, ethics, and

sins and rewards from an Islamic sharia and religious perspective. It is believed that participants

will be more receptive to the subsequent training.

36


1. Strengthen the Capacity

Building Unit to conduct

training within HOO and for

other government

institutions

• Build capacity of the training unit within HOO to train

trainers in other ministries and departments, especially

related to anti-corruption, ethics and integrity

standards, and asset declaration submissions

2. Increase professionalization of

mid- and lower-level staff

• Develop a comprehensive training plan for the HOO and

implement the plan

• Focus effort on developing procedures manuals and

conducting training for mid- and low-level staff to

increase their capacity and efficiency

• Send key technical staff for training at anti-corruption

academies such as the one in Malaysia

3.3 Overall Management

a. Internal Audit

The role of the internal audit unit is to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of HOO operations,

oversee the execution of the HOO budget and reliability of financial reporting, and determine the

HOO’s compliance with laws and regulations. Currently, the unit has 10 employees, including

administrative staff. With the advent of regional offices, the responsibilities of the internal audit

unit will grow, as will its staff.


1. Recruit and train sufficient and qualified

staff

• Identify position descriptions and recruit

adequately trained personnel for the audit

unit

• Develop and implement a training plan for

internal auditors

2. Conduct more financial and performance

audits

• Establish an annual schedule for audits

• Report to Director General on audit results

and follow-through on recommendations to

improve HOO performance & effectiveness

• Provide regular audit reports on the HOO’s

performance to the CAO

b. Chief of Staff and Donor Relations

The office of the Chief of Staff will provide overall management and administrative support to the

Director General of HOO. In addition it will maintain the HOO’s communications with external

bodies, including government ministries and institutions, and donors and partner organizations.

The Chief of Staff’s office will also ensure circulation of decisions by the minister’s council in

connection to HOO’s work and activities and other communications that relate to the HOO’s

mandate. Overall, the Chief of Staff will ensure effective coordination of the work across all HOO

37

departments, so that activities are implemented efficiently and lessons learned by each

department are disseminated to all the others.


1. Improve communications within the HOO

and with external entities

• Develop regular communications with

external government bodies and with

donors

• Develop regular approaches within the HOO

to communicate policy and new laws and

regulations

2. Strengthen coordination of activities

within HOO

Support coordination of activities across

departments and functions, to improve

sharing of information and lessons learned

c. Legal Advisers

The Legal Adviser unit will provide legal guidance to senior HOO leadership on such matters as

legal reform and simplification of procedures. This unit will take active part in the development of

laws, regulations, MoUs, bills and other legislation and will provide legal input and advice in the

development of anti-corruption policies and interventions.

The Legal Adviser unit will also assume responsibility for review of relevant HOO laws, procedures,

codes of conduct, manuals and terms of reference for consistency with Afghanistan’s laws and the

strategic goals of the HOO. This unit will work closely with the legislative department of the MoJ,

providing follow-up and legal advice on the implementation of legislative reform. It will also

provide support to the Capacity Building Department in designing training programs that describe

Afghanistan’s anti-corruption legal framework.


1. Improve legal guidance • Review and provide guidance on legal

reforms and simplification procedures

• Support drafting of laws and regulations

2. Support HOO’s legal training programs Coordinate with HOO’s Capacity Development

unit in designing legal training modules

38

4. STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES

Successful implementation of the HOO’s strategic goals and activities depends on improvements in

several important areas that will provide a solid foundation for progress on anti-corruption

initiatives.

Organizational Restructuring

Changes in mandate and mission, as well as strategic goals, necessitate modification to the HOO’s

organization structure to make it consistent with the needs for action. Two Deputy Directors are

envisioned and several new functions have been added to the earlier organization chart. The new

organization is presented below.

This organizational restructuring groups key policy and oversight, operations, overall management

functions in a logical fashion that will support information sharing and achievement of mission

goals.

Director-General

Chief of Staff &

Donor Relations

Research &

Evaluation

Media &

Community

Relations

Human Resources

& Capacity

Development

Case Investigation

& Coordination

Complaint

Management

Deputy Director-

General (Operations)

Deputy Director-

General (Policy &

Oversight)

Internal Audit

Oversight & Anti-

corruption

Support

Finance &

Administration

(and Accounting)

Information

Technology (Unit)

Regional

Operations

Prevention Asset Registration

& Verification

Strategy, Planning

& Policy

Legal Advisers

39

• Under “Policy and Oversight” falls major functions of the HOO – recording and reviewing

citizen complaints about corruption, conducting preliminary investigations and referring

valid cases to other agencies for follow-through, designing and implementing reformed

administrative procedures for corruption-vulnerable functions in coordination with other

government ministries and independent institutions, and working with civil society groups

and the media to promote public awareness of government anti-corruption programs and

how to exercise citizen rights when confronted with corruption. In addition, technical

assistance will be provided to other government institutions to help them design and

implement effective anti-corruption action plans. The HOO will also monitor their

implementation of these action plans and report to the public, Parliament and the

President on progress, based on a recent presidential decree.

• Under “Operations,” the HOO will record and verify financial assets of government

officials, and manage HOO operations at sub-national levels through branch offices to

accept citizen complaints and seek redress of grievances. It will also conduct and gather

research on corruption trends, monitor HOO performance in relation to its Strategic Plan,

and ensure effective financial and administrative functions, including finance and

accounting, human resources management, capacity development of HOO technical and

administrative staff, and provision of administrative and finance support to HOO outreach

operation at the regional levels.

• Included under “Overall Management” is general HOO coordination through a Chief of

Staff, maintaining effective donor relations, conducting reliable internal audits, and

providing HOO-wide legal guidance.

Sequencing of Activities

The HOO has established an ambitious strategic framework involving goals and activities across

the entire organization. Within the Afghan government and the international community,

expectations for the national anticorruption program and the HOO’s performance are very high.

Given the limitations of personnel and resources, it is critical to sequence activities over the course

of the Strategic Plan period to facilitate effective and realistic performance. The Implementation

Matrix in the Annex identifies priorities for the various activities planned in the Strategic Plan. Such

sequencing of activities will involve extensive coordination and management by the Chief of Staff,

Deputy Directors and the cooperating government institutions.

Personnel

The HOO is both understaffed and undertrained. A Human Resources Assessment will be

conducted soon after this Strategic Plan is approved to bring personnel needs into line with the

reorganization of HOO functions and the planned activities. It will analyze staffing requirements

for each of the functional areas, produce position descriptions, match current staff against these

positions, identify new recruiting needs, and assess training needs to strengthen the staff’s

technical capacity to accomplish their missions. Implementing the recommendations of this

Human Resources Assessment will be a high priority item on the HOO’s agenda. Assistance from

the Civil Service Commission will be sought. As well, each department will be responsible for

developing a standards and procedures handbook for its staff to ensure consistency and

productivity in achieving organizational objectives.

40

Resources

Given current and anticipated staffing levels, the HOO has insufficient office space, computer

equipment and internet access. A new building to house the HOO has been approved and the site

has been identified, but insufficient funding is available to start construction at this time. Based

on this Strategic Plan and the Human Resources Assessment, the HOO will estimate its budget

requirements on an annual basis to realistically achieve its mission. Additional government and

donor support will be required to ensure that the HOO has the resources it needs. At the same

time, the HOO understands that it must earn the trust and confidence of the government, donors

and the general public by accomplishing and communicating results in the fight against corruption

in order to request and receive adequate funding and resources.

Coordination with Other Government Institutions

To accomplish its mandate as coordinator of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, the HOO must

develop fully operational inter-institutional protocols of cooperation with several government

agencies that play important roles in Afghanistan’s anti-corruption program. At least two MOU are

already implemented (with the Ministry of Interior and the Financial Intelligence Unit of the

Central Bank), more MoUs are prepared and shared with relevant agencies, including the Attorney

General’s Office, Civil Society Forum, Major Crimes Task Force, and Sensitive Investigations Unit,

and others are only in draft stages and need to be formalized and put into force. If these MOUs are

not implemented, the HOO will not be able to conduct its activities effectively and the country’s

anti-corruption strategy may not achieve meaningful outcomes.

Coordination with Donors

Improved coordination between the HOO and donors is essential to enhance the capacity of HOO

personnel and procedures, and pursue its strategic goals over the next few years. To help guide

donor assistance in line with this Strategic Plan, the HOO will participate in all relevant donor anti-

corruption working groups to emphasize the nature of support required. As well, the HOO will

draft requests for support to the various donors to identify gaps in current assistance and how the

HOO can use such support to promote accomplishment of its strategic goals.

41

5. HOO ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

It is essential for all anti-corruption agencies, such as the HOO, to be transparent in their actions

and accountable to the public for their performance. This is because anti-corruption agencies are

often vulnerable to being discredited by the opponents of “clean government.” All channels

should be exercised to ensure openness in the HOO’s operations and decisions. In addition,

independent audits of the HOO’s financial management and performance should be conducted

regularly and made public to hold the organization up to the highest standards. Several initiatives

are currently available to maximize HOO’s accountability and transparency.

Monitoring and Evaluation Committee

Both the London and Kabul conferences and the Presidential Decree (farman) of March 2010

mandated the establishment of an Afghan-international committee of experts to set benchmarks

for Afghanistan’s anti-corruption institutions, including the HOO, and monitor and evaluate the

performance of these institutions in achieving targeted goals. The goals and activities, as well as

the performance indicators, identified in this Strategic Plan can serve as a meaningful framework

for the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) in assessing the HOO’s success in

implementing its mandate.

Annual Reporting

The March 2010 decree (farman) also directed the HOO to report to the public, the President and

the Parliament on its performance against objectives on an annual basis. This reporting will

demonstrate the HOO’s effectiveness in transforming its actions into anti-corruption results that

are measurable and meaningful.

Website Updates

The HOO is committed to providing significant and up-to-date anti-corruption information to the

public via its website. Information will be posted to describe the government’s and the HOO’s anti-

corruption programs and their outcomes. As well, information will be posted to upgrade the

public’s awareness of the negative consequences of corruption, citizens’ legal rights when

confronted with corruption, and ways to exercise those rights. The goal is to enhance openness

and transparency about government activities and citizen options related to anti-corruption

programs.

Public Posting of Asset Declarations

The March 2010 farman also requires the HOO to publish the financial assets declarations of public

officials that it collects every year. This data base will be posted on the HOO website and will be

published in the mass media as well.

42

6. PERFORMANCE MONITORING

Over the course of this Strategic Plan, the HOO will regularly monitor its performance in

accomplishing its goals. Data on performance indicators will be collected, analyzed and presented

in the HOO’s Annual Reports to the public, Parliament and the President, as well as in quarterly

reports and on its website. Separating the functions of developing the Strategic Plan and its

indicators from the measurement of HOO performance is critical to ensuring independence of the

monitoring function. Thus, while the Strategy, Planning and Policy Department support Plan

development, the Research Department will conduct the monitoring of the Plan’s implementation.

Success in achieving targets on these indicators will be measured by the results of HOO activities

and its coordinating government institutions. Focus is always on achieving significant and

measurable anti-corruption impacts, and the indicators presented below seek to measure

outcomes rather than the activities which produced them.

Performance Indicator Target

Legal framework reformed and upgraded New laws enacted and put into

force

Increase in number of citizen complaints about corruption

referred to the Attorney General’s Office for investigation

and prosecution

10% increase in referrals on an

annual basis

Increase in number of prosecutions as a result of HOO-

referred complaints

10% increase in prosecutions

annually

Increase in number of asset declarations in which

misstatements or irregularities are detected as a result of

the verification process

10% increase in detection of

irregularities annually

Increase in number of false declarations that are followed

up by administrative and/or criminal sanctions

10% increase in sanctions

annually

Reduced number of citizen corruption complaints about

government administrative services as a result of HOO

corruption preventive support

10% decrease in citizen

complaints about targeted

administrative services annually

Increase corruption detected in other institutions as a result

of HOO-supported anti-corruption action plans

10% increase in detected

corruption annually

Increase in citizen awareness about corruption 10% increase in citizen awareness

annually

Increase in number of citizens who evaluate the HOO and its

work positively

10% increase in positive citizen

evaluations of the HOO annually

Increase in number of citizens whose corruption complaints

are resolved by HOO’s regional branches

10% increase in regional citizen

complaints resolved annually

HOO demonstrates reliable operational capabilities Independent audits and/or

annual reporting on performance

indicators indicate effective

capacity

43

Annex: Implementation Matrix

Timeframe

Strategic Goals

Activities 2011 2012 2013

Expected Outcomes

1. Policy and Oversight

a. Oversight and anticorruption support

Send several staff to receive

intensive training at an international

center of excellence such as the

Malaysia Anti-Corruption Academy

1. Recruit and train

qualified staff to provide

the services required

Conduct continuous training on

international best practices

Qualified and professional staff are

developed to provide anti-corruption

consulting services to other ministries

Develop a template and general

approach to guide technical

consulting for agency Action Plans

and oversee progress of the

implementation of action plans

Conduct training on the use of

Integrity Development Reviews

(IDR) as self-assessment tools to

commence the Action Planning

process

2. Provide consistent

guidance to government

institutions on

developing Action Plans

Conduct training on how to use

existing “Vulnerability to

Corruption Assessments” (VCA) to

begin the process of Action Plan

design

More government institutions have high

quality anti-corruption action plans

developed and implemented

3. Monitor and report on

Action Plans

Collect data on Action Plan

performance indicators and submit

annual reports on results

Action Plan performance improves from

year to year

44

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

b. Complaints management and review

Recruit lawyers for the Analysis

Section who have appropriate skills

Increase professional training for

staff

Develop MOUs with complaint

departments in other ministries and

agencies

Establish and support an improved

complaints management

mechanism involving CSOs in the

fight against corruption. Assess

complaints quickly and refer

potential corruption cases to the

Case Investigations Department.

Scan complaint forms into database

on regular basis

Develop and publicize a formal HOO

policy on confidentiality; Provide for

greater security and confidentiality

for complainant

1. Deal with complaints

more effectively

Track trends in complaints over

time and report on them

A larger number of complaints are

processed and referred for further

investigation and prosecution

Transparency in performance is lifted

and citizens trust is built

Complaint are officially registered and

systematically processed

Risks and potential threats to

complainants are minimized and

prevented

2. Establish whistleblower

protection laws to

encourage more

knowledgeable

Provide support for drafting such a

law and designing mechanisms for

implementing it, based on


More informed complaints about

government abuse are registered

45

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

Develop a Whistleblower Section

within the Complaints Management

Department and recruit qualified

staff

complaints

Conduct public awareness

campaigns to encourage whistle-

blowing

Improve mechanisms for complaints

reception; hotline system,

complaint boxes, whistleblowers,

face-to-face interviews, etc.

Advocate for measures to

strengthen complainant protection

and confidentially.

Conduct public awareness

campaigns about registering

complaints and provide success

stories of how complaints are

handled

3. Attract more support

and trust from the public

Ensure that there is adequately

trained staff to deal with increased

number of complaints

More relevant corruption-related

complaints are elicited from the public,

based on increased levels of public

confidence in the HOO

Assign more highly qualified legal

staff to address complaints about

bribery and other obvious

corruption offenses

4. Establish a task force to

deal with emergency

complaints and

institutionalize

Complaint Review

Committees

Institutionalize Complaint Review

Committees

More rapid turnaround provided to

serious complaints, especially in bribery

cases,

46

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

Develop procedures to collect

evidence more rapidly and pass to

Case Investigations Department

c. Case investigation and coordination

Provide basic and advanced

investigations training for HOO

investigators

Develop mentoring relationships

between HOO investigators and

those from the MoI, AGO and CAO

Conduct common training for HOO

investigators and their counterparts

in the AGO so they develop a

common understanding of

investigations and similar

approaches across government

agencies

1. Improve investigation

expertise

Engage complaints and case-

tracking staff in the investigations

training

More investigations result in case

referrals for prosecution

2. Make investigations a

major part of the HOO

regional expansion

Emphasize complaints and

investigations in the regional

expansion plans

Regional HOO offices are fully prepared

to conduct investigations of complaints

at a local level

Develop the MOUs and operational

procedures for cooperation

3. Make it a high priority

to improve cooperation

with Ministries and

agencies

Conduct cross-training of HOO,

AGO, CAO, SC, MoI, and Major

Crimes Task Force on investigations

Coordination with other relevant

government institutions are formalized

and put into practice

47

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

tasks

Make the National Data Base Center

operational among HOO, MOI, AGO,

SC, MoJ, etc.

4. Ensure confidentiality of

information

Develop procedures to assure the

integrity of investigation

information and limit access to

protect confidential and sensitive

information

Confidentiality mechanisms are enacted

5. Monitor outcome of

referred cases

Establish and implement a

mechanism to monitor and obtain

regular updates on the status of

corruption cases referred to other

agencies, including the AGO

Case referrals receive greater attention

by agencies conducting investigations

and prosecutions

6. Strengthen IT training

and support regarding

investigations

Improve the IT system, network,

software, and training to make

investigations more efficient

IT systems for investigations are online

d. Prevention

1. Improve the analysis of

government procedures

and quality of the revised

systems

Conduct general training on the

mapping, analysis, and

simplification of business and

service procedures for staff

Qualified and professional staff are

developed to simplify government

procedures

Identify key areas, for example,

customs, the verification of

education credentials, Hadj

procedures, pension schemes, and

municipal laws and regulations, and

conduct training for staff

Specialized training to simplify

procedures in high risk areas is

conducted

2. Conduct training in

important priority areas

where there are

vulnerabilities to

corruption and work

with responsible

departments and Conduct agreed upon Simplification programs result in

48

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

agencies to

simplify/modify

processes

administrative simplification

programs with responsible

departments/agencies, for example,

with the customs service.

reduced opportunities for corruption

Cross-train staff regarding the

analysis and simplification of

procedures; build a team in priority

ministries and agencies to promote

simplification

3. Generate improved

coordination with

ministries and agencies

Develop MOUs with cooperating

agencies

Cooperative relations are developed

with other ministries and government

departments

4. Improve the action plan

for the Prevention

Department to better

link the number and

substance of

interventions with

available staff resources

Develop an improved action plan

focusing on corruption prevention;

simplification of business

procedures and legislative reform

matters

Planning results in completion of more

prevention activities

5. Complete the hiring of

qualified staff

Develop position descriptions and

conduct recruitment

Department staff are fully recruited

Conduct an analysis of key aspects

of the Afghan legal framework. Start

with an analysis of the Penal Code

and Public Procurement Law.

6. Analyze the adequacy of

the legal framework to

reduce corruption and

comply with UNCAC

Oversee laws, regulations and

standards related to the production,

import, sale and supply of low

quality products for corrupt

practices and refer violators to law

Afghan legal framework is enhanced

with fewer loopholes and anti-

corruption deficiencies

The import and supply of low quality

fuel and other materials are

considerably reduced

49

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

enforcement agencies

e. Media and community relations

Develop a new Communications

Strategy for HOO

Identify funding to increase the

number of Public Service

Announcements (PSAs)

Initiate one press conference

approximately every two weeks

Produce one press release on a

strategic topic each month. Print

and publish regular progress

reports, brochures and magazines

to keep citizens aware of HOO

achievements and progress in the

fight against corruption

1. Increase HOO’s

outreach capacity

Hold roundtable discussions on

radio and television with religious

leaders, civil society

representatives, government

officials, etc.

More of the public – and specially

targeted groups - are reached by HOO’s

anti-corruption messages

2. Improve staff capacity Establish public awareness teams

which go to individual ministries to

raise awareness of anti-corruption

programs and activities, along with

other training to improve

journalistic coverage, outreach

strategies, etc.

Anti-corruption outreach to ministries

results in improved Action Plans

3. Enhance public Reach out to traditional Afghan Increased public awareness of anti-

50

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

institutions like jirgas and shuras in

rural areas

Hold workshops to improve HOO’s

networking with media groups

dialogues and promote

civic education about

corruption

Enhance dialogue with civil society

groups

corruption topics

Work with CSO grantees – train

them to understand HOO’s

perspectives on fighting corruption

and to reach out to increase public

awareness with a consistent

message

4. Engage civil society

groups

Engage CSOs to encourage citizens

to make complaints about

corruption through the HOO

mechanisms

Increased number of citizens register

their complaints with the HOO

5. Improve facilities and

technologies

Increase office space, improve

internet capacity, add better studio

facilities, and improve other

resources, etc.

Professional quality facilities are

available to conduct HOO work

efficiently

f. Strategy, Planning and Policy

Based on this Strategic Plan, define

and distinguish the roles and

responsibilities of each HOO

department

1. Clearly elaborate roles

and missions of each

HOO department

Oversee the development by each

department of departmental

manuals and guidelines that clearly

define the department’s mission

The HOO’s organization structure is

strengthened and implemented

51

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

Oversee the development by each

department of detailed work plans

and budgets based upon this

Strategic Plan

Develop appropriate position

descriptions


Strategy, Planning and

Policy staff to be capable

of conducting quality

policy analyses and

developing/promoting

strategic options

Work with donors to get training in


Department staff is trained and

qualified to conduct tasks

3. Assess legal and inter-

institutional coordination

needs and requirements

of the HOO

� Conduct a study to assess HOO’s

needs for functional coordination

across government institutions, as

well as information sharing needs,

and the extent to which they are

already implemented. Make

recommendations to improve the

situation.

� Finalize inter-institutional

protocols with all key government

institutions

� Review HOO’s legal mandate and

consider strengthening its legal

framework and its political and

financial independence.

Inter-institutional coordination is

implemented effectively in practice

4. Implement and chair

two coordination

working groups – for

Implement and chair a Donors

Working Group to address

coordination of assistance and gaps

HOO chairs groups that support inter-

institutional coordination goals and

donor assistance goals

52

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

in support donors and for

government anti-

corruption institutions

Implement and chair the Anti-

Corruption Institutions Working

Group to coordinate and oversee

efforts in Prevention, Operations,

and Oversight throughout the

Afghan government

5. Analyze corruption

surveys, vulnerability

assessments and other

studies to identify

priority policy

implications (for

example, laws, decrees,

regulations, programs

that need to be

changed/reformed/imple

mented)

Review existing research on

corruption in Afghanistan and

develop a prioritized set of policy

reforms

New policy directions are identified as

needed

6. Publish annual analysis

of the implementation of

the HOO’s strategic plan

Analyze progress by HOO

departments in implementing the

strategic plan. Produce and publish

annual performance and

achievement report

Citizens get update reports on the

performance of each government

ministry and institution

53

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

2. Operations

a. Asset registration and verification

1. Improved coordination

with relevant institutions

for verification purposes

Develop MoUs (with MAIL, SC,

MoFA , FIU, IDLG, MOF,

Municipality, etc)

Coordination with other relevant

government institutions are formalized

and put into practice

Develop an asset publication policy

Upload declarations to website

2. Improved publication of

declarations

Publish declarations in media

Public access to declarations is freely

available

Develop online application 3. Improved electronic

declarations Conduct outreach and trainings for

public officials

Improved systems for officially

recording declarations are available

Strengthen the current server 4. Improved database

system

Conduct training in database

management

Database services are fully available to

improve efficiency

Conduct training sessions and

workshops to ensure that officials

understand their obligation to

submit declarations and how to do

it

5. Improved outreach and

education for public

officials and general

population

Conduct workshops for citizens to

describe the reasons for

declarations and how the HOO

processes them.

Officials are fully aware of their

responsibilities to declare and citizens

are fully aware of the purpose of

declarations

People provide useful feedbacks and

input for verification of declarations

Develop procedures manual,

conduct training of staff and ensure

coordination with other agencies to

obtain information

6. Develop clear and

adequate verification

procedures

Conduct professionalization training

for department staff

Adequate verification of declarations is

put into practice

54

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

Verify the declarations of all

government officials. Compare and

analyze new annual asset

declarations with that of previous

years to detect irregularities and

illicit enrichment.

7. Seek additional

sanctions and penal

provisions to be able to

enforce compliance with

declaration submissions

Draft and propose new penal

provisions that gives HOO the

authority to enforce compliance

with asset declaration submissions

Sanctions for noncompliance with asset

declaration laws are put into effect

8. Support efforts to

initiate the recovery of

stolen assets

Look into best international

practices and adapt them to

Afghanistan context

Initial steps to recover stolen assets are

put into place

9. Seek reliable annual

updates of asset

declarations by officials

Conduct public awareness programs

to promote filing of new

declarations by each government

official on annual basis

High percentage of officials submit asset

declarations on annual basis

b. Regional operations

1. Develop one or more

models by which

regional offices can be

structured and processes

implemented

Conduct research, fully design and

compare alternate models for

regional offices

Alternative approaches for regional

operations are identified

2. Develop detailed plans

and implement branch

Decide to implement 2 alternate

models in these pilot offices,

Regional operations in several locations

are implemented

55

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

offices develop plans, identify staff, train

staff, and implement offices

3. Monitor and evaluate

branch office operations

Collect data on office performance

and compare pilot locations

Regional operations achieve high

performance standards

Delegations from HOO will visit with

local authorities to get

commitments

4. Conduct discussions

with regional authorities,

CSOs and customary

leaders to promote

transparency in the fight

against corruption

Hold meetings twice a month with

effective circles

Cooperative relations are developed

with local officials in selected regions

People’s confidence is enhanced and

they are involved in the decision making

processes

5. Plan and implement

additional branch offices

based on evaluation of

alternate models

Implement additional offices based

upon lessons learned in pilot

branches

Additional regional offices are

implemented

c. Research and evaluation

Develop MOUs with governmental

and non-governmental

organizations to exchange

information

1. Collect, review and

evaluate recent research

and international best

practice on corruption in

Afghanistan Write reports that feed into policy

and operational decisions

Available research on corruption in

Afghanistan and effective anti-

corruption techniques are accessed and

used by the HOO and other Afghan anti-

corruption institutions

Establish contacts with government

and non-government organizations

at all levels to collect information on

performance indicators

2. Monitor HOO’s Strategic

Plan implementation

Collect and analyze data on

performance indicators and report

quarterly and annually

HOO performance is strong in achieving

goals and targets in its Strategic Plan

56

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

d. Finance and Administration (Finance and accounting, outreach administration, and information technology and logistics)

1. Improve administrative

capacity in the HOO

Conduct training in procurement

and logistics

HOO administrative performance is

strengthened

2. Improve financial

management

Conduct training in financial

management, budgeting, and

reporting; and establish

internationally recognized standards

HOO financial performance is

strengthened as demonstrated by

independent audits

Conduct a review of IT requirements

across all functions and prioritize

key needs

Improve connectivity and add

missing equipment

Provide IT training for staff

3. Improved information

technology

With donor support, design and

implement high priority IT systems,

especially those that will help in

information sharing, asset

verification, and increased

accountability and transparency

IT needs are fully met

Identify office space

Recruit and train personnel

Introduce the regional offices

through the national and provincial

governments

4. Support the opening of

4 HOO regional offices

Link the regional offices to HOO

headquarters via internet and other

administrative systems

Administrative and logistical

requirements of regional offices are

satisfied

5. Standardize

administrative

Conduct staff training throughout all

HOO departments to clarify and

Administrative procedures are

harmonized throughout the HOO

57

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

procedures throughout

HOO

standardize administrative

procedures

e. Human resources

Conduct a Human Resources

Assessment that identifies current

and needed skills, and new position

descriptions, that is consistent with

this HOO Strategic Plan

1. Generate sufficient and

qualified HOO staff

Develop a staffing plan based on the

goals and objectives of each

department

HOO staffing needs are assessed and

recommendations implemented

2. Reorganize the HOO To be consistent with this Strategic

Plan, HOO will reorganize its

functional units and develop new

job/position descriptions to best

achieve organizational goals

HOO organizational structure is

improved and established

Work with the Civil Service

Commission and international

donors to enhance recruiting

outcomes

3. Improve the recruitment

outcomes

Establish an annual performance

review process

Recruitment is effectively carried out

across all departments

f. Capacity development

1. Strengthen the Capacity

Building Unit to conduct

training within HOO and to

other government

institutions

Build capacity of the training unit

within HOO to train trainers in other

ministries and departments,

especially related to anti-

corruption; ethics and integrity

standards, and asset declaration

Training capacity of the HOO is

increased

58

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

submissions

Develop a comprehensive training

plan for the HOO and implement

the plan

Focus effort on developing

procedures manuals and conducting

training for mid- and low-level staff

to increase their capacity and

efficiency

2. Increase

professionalization of mid-

and lower-level staff

Send key technical staff for training

at anti-corruption academies such

as the one in Malaysia

Training plan is implemented effectively

and staff at all levels have greater

capacity to perform HOO functions

3. Overall Management

a. Internal Audit

Identify position descriptions and

recruit adequately trained

personnel for the audit unit


sufficient and qualified

staff

Develop and implement a training

plan for internal auditors

Establish an annual schedule for

audits

2. Conduct more financial

and performance

audits in the centre

and provincial levels

Report to Director General on audit

results and follow-through on

recommendations to improve HOO

performance and effectiveness

Internal auditing results support

progressive improvements in HOO

operations

59

Timeframe

Strategic Goals


Expected Outcomes

b. Chief of Staff and donor relations

Develop regular communications

with external government bodies

and with donors

1. Improve

communications within

the HOO and with

external entities Develop regular approaches within

the HOO to communicate policy

and new laws and regulations

2. Strengthen coordination

of activities within

HOO

Support coordination of activities

across departments and functions,

to improve sharing of information

and lessons learned

Improved coordination across all HOO

departments and functions

c. Legal advisers

Review and provide guidance on

legal reforms and simplification

procedures

1. Improve legal guidance

Support drafting of laws and

regulations

2. Support HOO’s legal

training programs

Coordinate with HOO’s Capacity

Development unit in designing legal

training modules

Improved legal guidance to strengthen

the legislative framework for the HOO

Documents

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan‚وانین و... · GIRoA Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ... In addition, a Presidential Decree (farman ) was issued in March 2010