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YA
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DEM
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MONTHLY REPORT
ADVANCING EFFECTIVE REFORMS FOR
CIVIC ACCOUNTABILITY
Cooperative Agreement 306-A-00-09-00522-00
September 2016
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 2
Prepared under USAID Cooperative Agreement No. 306-A-00-09-00522-00
Submitted to:
USAID/Afghanistan
Prepared by:
Democracy International, Inc.
Contractor:
Democracy International, Inc.
7600 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1010
Bethesda, MD 20814
Tel: 301-961-1660
www.democracyinternational.com
This report is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of
Democracy International, Inc. and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States
Government.
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 3
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 6
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Background ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Monthly highlights ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Programmatic Activities ................................................................................................................................................... 7
Component One: Improve Government Delivery of Selected Public Services ............................................. 7
Engagement with Ministries for Service Process Reform Effort ......................................................... 7
Ministry of Interior (Direct Support) ............................................................................................................. 7
Ministry of education (Indirect Support) .................................................................................................... 10
Component Two: Engage Afghan CSOs in Social Accountability for Improvement of Selected Public
Services .......................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Mobilization for CSOs’ Engagement............................................................................................................ 10
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 4
ACRONYMS
ACBAR Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief
ACSEN Afghanistan Civil Society Elections Network
A-EGP Afghanistan Effective Governance Program
AERCA Advancing Effective Reforms for Civic Accountability
AFCA Afghan Coordination Against Corruption
AIHRC Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission
ANJU Afghan National Journalists Union
AOAD Accessibility Organization for Afghan Disables
AYNO Afghanistan Youth National Organization
COP Chief of Party
CSO Civil Society Organization
DI Democracy International
ECW Empowerment Center for Women
ETWA Election Transparency Watch Organization of Afghanistan
FACT Federation of Afghanistan Craftsmen and Traders
FCCS Foundation for Culture and Civil Society
G2G Government-to-Government
HC Secretariat of the High Council on Anti-Corruption
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization
KM Kabul Municipality
MCIT Ministry of Communication and Information Technology
MCI Ministry of Commerce and Industry
MEC Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee
MoCIT Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 5
MoE Ministry of Education
MoF Ministry of Finance
MoI Ministry of Interior
MoMP Ministry of Mines and Petroleum
MoPH Ministry of Public Health
MoT Ministry of Transportation
MoU Memorandum of Understanding
NUG National Unity Government
PRD Population Registration Directorate
PR Public Relations
RFA Request for Applications
RFQ Request for Quotes
RCA Root Cause Analysis
SC Selection Committee
SMEs Small and Medium Enterprises
UNDP United Nations Development Program
USAID United States Agency for International Development
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
Beginning in January 2016, Democracy International (DI) initiated a new phase of the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) cooperative agreement no. 306-A-09-00522-00 called Advancing
Effective Reforms for Civic Accountability (AERCA). The objectives of AERCA are 1) to strengthen
Afghan civil society organizations’ ability to perform watchdog functions and to 2) support the
Government of Afghanistan to implement reforms that will combat corruption.
BACKGROUND
From May 2011 through December 2015, DI implemented USAID’s Afghanistan Electoral Reform and
Civic Advocacy Project, supporting an Afghan-led electoral reform process, specifically through support
to civil society, and conducting public opinion research on governance and elections topics.
During this period, the AERCA program facilitated an electoral reform effort among Afghan
stakeholders that fostered important dialogue and built the knowledge and advocacy capacity of civil
society to better advocate for reforms. Notably, DI supported the development of the Afghanistan Civil
Society Elections Network (ACSEN), a network of more than 150 civil society groups that has quickly
become a prominent voice of Afghan civil society. Through a small grants program, DI provided financial
and technical support to civil society organizations to implement civic education and advocacy training
activities at the national level and in districts throughout the country.
Through its research component, DI facilitated important research on electoral reform and developed
Afghan capacity to conduct future research and analysis on elections and political issues. The results and
conclusions of DI’s research have been disseminated to Afghan and international stakeholders for use in
policy and programmatic decision making and have garnered significant interest among these
stakeholders.
In January 2016, the AERCA project was renamed Advancing Effective Reforms for Civic Accountability,
demonstrating the project’s shift to focus on combatting corruption through improving public service
delivery. Under AERCA, DI will work with reform-minded individuals within government ministries to
pursue visible, tangible improvements to a few public services used regularly by Afghan citizens. At the
same time, DI will engage civil society actors to organize social accountability projects that go beyond
basic advocacy or oversight initiatives to include a full range of activities complementing and enhancing
existing governmental accountability practices.
MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS
In September 2016, the AERCA team continued to work with government and civil society partners to
initiate the launch of program activities. Under Component One, the Service Delivery Process
Improvement team visited the Federation of Afghan Craftsmen and Trader (FACT) and acquired their
inputs for reforming business licensing procedures at the Kabul Municipality (KM). The team also met
Population Registration Directorate (PRD) officials to discuss developing a website for the PRD. The
proposal review committee also started the review of proposals received in response to the Requests
for Quotes (RFQ) for IT Equipment and Data Entry Trainers for the Ministry of Education (MoE).
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 7
In the last week of September, DI held a workshop on “Root Cause Analysis” for the officials of KM,
MoE, and PRD; in addition to discussing relevant workshop topics, the results from the Customer
Satisfaction Survey conducted for the three organizations were also presented.
The second round of grants focusing on anticorruption and service delivery processes were selected to
11 civil society organizations (CSOs) while the first round grantees focused on government
accountability continue to follow-up and advocate for the commitments made by the National Unity
Government (NUG). In the month of September, CSOs implementing the accountability website small
grants met with several ministries and government institutions, including officials from the Chief
Executive’s Office, Central Passport Office, Kankor Examination Board, Provincial Council of Takhar
province, Governor’s Office of Kunduz province, Independent Election Commission, Ministry of Women
Affairs, and Ministry of Information and Culture.
PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES
COMPONENT ONE: IMPROVE GOVERNMENT DELIVERY OF SELECTED PUBLIC SERVICES
The objective of component one is to reduce corruption and improve the delivery of four priority public
services important to most Afghan citizens in a timeframe of one year.
ENGAGEMENT WITH MINISTRIES FOR SERVICE PROCESS REFORM EFFORT
MINISTRY OF INTERIOR (DIRECT SUPPORT)
Tazkera (National ID Card) During this month, the project team worked with PRD Working Group
members on the redesign of five service delivery processes:
Verification of identity
Issuance of new Tazkera
Replacement of new Tazkera
Correction of birth dates (age correction)
Change in residency
The PRD Working Group members sought to further clarify the structure and the number of personnel
needed for the newly designed processes as well as their current organizational structure.
The project team held several meetings with the PRD Working Group members to work on redesigning
and simplification of the “Replacement Tazkera,” “Age Correction and Change of Residence,” and
“Tazkera Verification” processes.
Additionally, the project team visited the PRD Kart-e-Parwan office site to assess the current situation
with their archives. The team sought the opinions of the current Archive Officers in order to put them
into perspective for purchasing the new archive shelving system. It became apparent during the visit that
the main challenges are a lack of space and personnel for this office. The team also met with the Archive
Manager of the e-Tazkera program and sought his opinion on structuring the new archive and PRD
complex.
The project team visited the PRD Complex along with the metal worker to meet with the PRD
Complex engineer and discuss the installation of the two new gates. PRD has not been able so far to
break down the walls where they are planning to install the new gates. A number of vendors with
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 8
disabilities have placed their shop booths behind the PRD wall and are not ready to remove them. PRD
has sought the help of the Police District in order to remove the shop booths, after which, the new
gates can be installed.
The AERCA team met with the director of the Asan Khedmat Office, Mr. Aryobee, and his Senior
Advisor, Mr. Popal. They briefed us about their plans and the progress of activities. Mr. Aryobee
expressed his interest in working closely with DI to expedite the process of service reform in Afghan
government ministries with the aim to combat corruption and improve services. They are particularly
interested in working with us jointly on the business licensing process that DI has already started with
the Kabul Municipality.
The project team sought guidance from the MoCIT on the development of a website for the PRD.
MoCIT provides this service for all government institutions using a common template, domain name,
and hosts the websites in the Ministry’s data center. Any departure from this arrangement must be
justified in writing and submitted for approval. PRD seeks an alternative hosting arrangement to better
serve its constituents. In advance of PRD’s website development, the project will assist PRD with this
justification.
On Wednesday, September 21st, DI organized a change management and preparedness workshop for
PRD, KM, and MoE senior and mid-level managers with the aim to introduce them to the concepts of
change management and best practices and mentally prepare them for implementing changes that are
necessary in their organizations.
In addition, on Wednesday, September 28th, DI organized a workshop on the topic of “Root Cause
Analysis” (RCA) for the senior and mid-level managers at PRD, KM, MoE, and Asan Khedmat. The aim
was to introduce the methodology of cause analysis as a problem-solving tool and as a step in the
process of the Service Delivery Improvement Model. The sessions of the workshop focused on the
importance of conducting the analysis and critical thinking based on facts and contributions from
multiple individuals before a solution is applied and put into practice.
During the workshop, the preliminary findings of the Customer Satisfaction and Feedback Survey were
shared with the participants. Based on the main findings, workshop participants identified some
institutional problems, applied the root analysis methodology, identified solutions, and prioritized them.
A total of19 people participated in the workshop (17 males and 2 females). At the end of the workshop,
it was agreed that the DI team will conduct sessions at each organization’s premises to further identify
and seek solutions to problems, and develop action plans for each solution.
Root Cause Analysis Workshop, DI Main Office, Kabul
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 9
DI is planning to hire a legal Advisor to assess and analyze the legal framework in PRD and KM to insure
smooth implementation of the improved services. The Legal Advisor will also provide technical
assistance in the process of reform implementation. The project team interviewed candidates for the
position of Legal Advisor and identified a highly qualified candidate for this role.
Driver’s License Due to a lack of political will in the Kabul Traffic Department leadership, the AERCA
project team in consultation with USAID, has decided to refrain from working with the mentioned
entity. However, there is opportunity for a potential last-mile assistance with the Passport Department.
Thus, discussions are underway to replace Kabul Traffic Department with the Passport Department.
KABUL MUNICIPALITY (DIRECT SUPPORT)
Small Business License The AERCA team visited the Federation of Afghan Craftsmen and Traders
(FACT), the largest guild representing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Kabul and Afghanistan as
a whole, and met with the heads of different unions of craftsmen and traders. In this meeting, the
business licensing process, and challenges and bottlenecks around the process, were discussed with the
heads of each union (e.g. garments traders, jewelry traders, beauty parlors, butchers, restaurant owners,
technicians, tailors, blacksmiths, etc.) to collect their inputs and feedback in an effort to inform the
reform process of the business licensing procedures currently underway with KM.
The team also conducted a Working Group meeting at KM to discuss the database requirements and
transparency and accountability issues around the collection of business license fees. In collaboration
with KM officials, the team also defined the attributes and logical framework for a pilot billing system, as
part of the AERCA intervention. Process improvements will be streamlined based on policies
incorporated into the billing application.
As part of the above effort, DI interviewed shortlisted candidates for the position of Application
Developer/Database Programmer in September. DI is planning to hire two Developers/Programmers to
design a web-based billing application for the business licensing section of KM.
Similarly, DI discussed with the members of the KM Working Group the environmental, health, and
hygiene aspects of getting a business permit. DI collected sufficient information necessary for the
reform.
The project team also met with the Market Management unit of KM and discussed the regulatory
framework for getting a business permit and different procedures for different categories of businesses.
Collection of Inputs and Feedback from Traders Union, FACT Office, Kabul
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 10
Additionally, the team met with Kabul Municipality’s Director of Revenue and a representative from UN
Habitat in order to discuss close coordination as both continue to provide support to KM.
The project teams met with the Director of e-Government at the Ministry of Communications and
Information Technology (MoCIT) to seek clarification on the required actions to obtain Internet access
for the 22 sub-district offices of KM. They also discussed using the Ministry’s data center for the
project’s work to equip the municipality’s sub-districts with a web-based business licensing application.
The project team was informed that the municipality needs to put together a concept proposal that
outlines the project’s objectives, an action plan, the specific needs from the Ministry, and submission to
MoCIT’s Minister. There will be a nominal chargeback fee which is consistent with typical government-
to-government (G2G) services. The project will assist KM in the preparation of the concept proposal.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (INDIRECT SUPPORT)
High School Certificate In response to a request by MoE, the team developed a Project Design
approach for CMIS. The approach articulates the responsibilities of DI and MoE, implementation
schedule, and a sustainability premise.
In September, DI’s review committee finished reviewing proposals received in response to the IT
Equipment and Data Entry Trainers RFQs to procure IT Equipment and provide Data Entry
Trainers/Operators for CMIS system of MoE. Due diligence included interviewing the shortlisted
vendors as well as visiting the premises of the recommended firms.
The AERCA team met with Mr. Abdul Wassay Arian, Director of Policy and Planning at MoE, and
discussed the requirements for an MoU to be signed between MoE and DI/USAID to formalize the
collaboration.
COMPONENT TWO: ENGAGE AFGHAN CSOS IN SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR
IMPROVEMENT OF SELECTED PUBLIC SERVICES
The objective of Component Two is to support the service reforms undertaken by the Afghan
government by involving civil society organizations (CSOs) for public accountability and outreach.
MOBILIZATION FOR CSOS’ ENGAGEMENT
Post Accountability Website Small Grants CSOs implementing these grants conducted meetings
with government entities and line ministries to follow-up and monitor NUG commitments as detailed
below.
Election Transparency Watch Organization of Afghanistan (ETWA)
Following the project to monitor the NUG pledges, ETWA met with Mohammad Nateqi as the
representative of the Chief Executive Officer on Monday, September 5th. The interview was aimed at
exploring Mr. Nateqi’s views regarding the commitments of the government, especially those of the
CEO regarding electoral reforms, indemnifying existing obstacles to this process, and examining
government political will.
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 11
Mr. Nateqi stated that the Office of the CEO is
committed to pursuing and implementing the NUG
agreement, especially those that relate to electoral
reform and holding of upcoming elections. He
considered the formation of the SERC an example of
progress toward visible electoral reform.
While they are expecting to have the new decree
issued by the President soon, he confirmed
disagreements exist between the CEO and President
that mainly revolve around distribution of electronic
identity cards, convening Loya Jirga to amend the
constitution, electoral reform, holding of next
parliamentary elections, and the issue of the
President sharing more authorities with the CEO.
“Negotiation and talks are ongoing to resolve such
disagreements,” he added.
In addition, ETWA met with Zarqa Yaftali, a
member of the Selection Committee (SC) on
Thursday, September 1st to follow up on the
NUG commitment to electoral reform and
obtain her perspective on the fate of the SC,
assess existing barricades to electoral reforms,
examine government’s political will for reform,
and track the progress made thus far.
Ms. Yaftali criticized the delay in the work of
the SC and stated that the consecutive
rejection of the president’s decrees by the
Parliament and inherent disagreements
between the CEO and President caused such a
delay.
Ms. Yaftali hoped there would be no legal
barricades to halt the work of the SC following the issuance of a new decree by the President.
According to her, the new committee will be composed of representatives from civil society
organizations in addition to representatives of the Supreme Court, the Afghanistan Independent Human
Rights Commission (AIHRC) and the Independent Commission for Overseeing the Implementation of
Constitution under the new decree.
Ms. Yaftali emphasized that change in the composition of electoral bodies is an essential element for
ensuring the stability and sustainability of the NUG. She noted such change is also reflected in the
Special Electoral Reform Commission proposal and considered a key government commitment to the
international community.
ETWA also arranged for a meeting with the Head of Central Passport Department in Kabul on
Saturday, September 3rd to track and monitor the status of a government pledge to extend electronic
passport timeline to 10 years. According to the information provided by the Head of the Passport
ETWA Conducts Meeting with Mr.
Mohammad Nateqi, Representative of the
Office of the Chief Executive of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan
ETWA Conducts Meeting with Ms. Zarqa Yaftali,
Member of the Selection Committee
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 12
Department, the process of distributing 10-year passports started in March 2016 based on international
standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the relevant conventions. Future
plans and reforms to standardize and simplify the passport distribution process were also discussed.
Similarly, ETWA met with Head of Provincial
Passport Department in Balkh province to monitor
whether distribution of 10-year passports
commenced and how the process is going in this
province. The meeting findings show this process
kicked off and applicants go through normal
procedures in place to get 10-year passports. This
department is active in providing required
information to applicants. The main problem is the
delay caused by submitting all required documents to
Kabul for verification and printing of passport. In
addition, ETWA met with Ms. Shakeeba Hashemi,
member of WJ Internal Security Committee, and
discussed the advantages and challenges before 10-year passport distribution, what MPs have done so far
to facilitate the process, how challenges can be overcome and what WJ future plan is to resolve existing
problems with obtaining a 10-year passport.
ETWA also met with Fahim Dashti, Executive Director of the Afghan National Journalists Union
(ANJU), to monitor the status of NUG commitment to electoral reforms on September 19th. Mr. Dashti
questioned the President’s will to implement electoral reforms and deplored the current condition of
this process. Acknowledging disagreement among the CEO and the President on electoral reforms, he
viewed rejection of relevant presidential decrees by the Parliament as the main reason for the delay in
the work of the selection committee.
ETWA started analyzing the finding of individual meetings which will be used to inform the next stage of
the project (public outreach sessions and radio round-tables).
Afghan Coordination Against Corruption
(AFCAC)
The AFCAC met with Jawed Rasouli, head of the
Kankor Examination Commission, on September 2nd to
discuss the gaps and issues in Kankor Exam process,
Kankor Examination administrative procedures, and
admission processes. During this meeting, Mr. Rasouli
indicated some major improvements such as establishing
a new database for the final results.
Empowerment Center for Women (ECW)
The ECW managed to establish coordination with
Governor’s office of Kunduz province in regards to follow up on the pledges of creation of an
agricultural university in Kunduz province. Coordination was established with provincial council of
Kunduz province.
ETWA Conducts Meeting with the Head of
Central Passport Department
AFCAC met with Jawed Rasouli, Head of
Kankor Examination Commission
AERCA MONTHLY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016 | 13
Foundation for Culture and Civil Society (FCCS) and Afghanistan Youth National
Organization (AYNO)
Mr. Timor Shah Hakimyar, Director of FCCS, and
Mr. Habiburahman Nang, Director of AYNO, met
with the Minister of Information and Culture H.E
Abdul Bari Jahani on August 28th. Interesting
conversations took place when the issue of
standardization of RTA and Bakhtar News Agency
was mentioned by the director of FCCS. During the
meeting it was noted that the minister and director
of Bakhtar News Agency were not aware of NUG
pledges regarding expected reforms in the ministry.
As a result of long discussions with the minister, an
agreement for a cooperation mechanism between
the ministry and FCCS was reached for capacity
development of ministry staff, and lobbying will be
followed up by FCCS with Administrative Reform
and Civil Servants Directorate.
The Accessibility Organization for Afghan Disables (AOAD)
AOAD met with 10 CSO members at the ACBAR office on September 20th to share information on the
two NUG promises by the President of Afghanistan for people with disabilities. The promises included
land distribution, special fund allocation, and comprehensive nationwide survey for people with
disabilities as further information to prepare for the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan in October
2016.
FCCS and AYNO Directors Meet with
Abdul Bari Jahani, Minister of Information
and Culture