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FORMAL AND INFORMAL GOVERNANCE IN AFGHANISTAN

Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD)

Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP)

Decentralization and good governance

Instructor: Soparth Pongquan

Prepared by: Palwasha Tokhy Meranzai

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Table of Contents:

• Background information about afghan government

• Afghan views of governance• Institution• Policy making• Service delivery • Conclusion and Lessons learned• Recommendations

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Background information about afghan government

• Afghanistan is an Islamic Republic having three branches of the power (executive, legislative and judiciary) which are based on check balance. The executive power is led by elected president, consists cabinet, ministries, governors, provincial councils and military forces (ANSF, ANA).

• The main problem of Afghan government is capacity and corruption. • Afghan government does not have the capability or capacity to

govern and many government officials steal public money.• The good governance approach to stabilization and development in

Afghanistan has been failed.

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Afghan views of governance:• CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies) definition:

Governance has four sets or faces of public activities.

• So based on definition three types of government can be formed in Afghanistan. Formal, informal and illicit.

1.Making policies

2. Providing services

3. Building institutional

4. Managing networks

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•

• Formal governance are formed according to the constitutional of Afghanistan. They are under the rules and selected by people in a direct election.

• Informal governance which is performed by Jirga (a group of elders selected by people, with out formal election) Shura (Parliament, selected by formal election), Mullah (religious persons), Khan (influence persons) they work also under the law.

• The illicit bodies are formed illegally and they fight against the government.

Institutions Networks Policies Services

Formal national/sub nationalgovernment, ANSF,provincial council

political party election, rule oflaw, courts,parliament

health, reconstruction,education, justice

Informal jirga, shura, mullah,khan, NGOs, CDCs

patronage, tribalkin, ethnic kin, ulema

dispute resolution(jirga, shura, sharia)

CDCs, NGOs

Illicit local Taliban, localmilitia

Taliban, opiumsmugglers

dispute resolution(sharia, patronage),rule of man

employment,protection, religiouseducation

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1. Institutions

• In general more Afghans believe that both formal and informal institutions are doing a good job of governing but formal institutions are doing bit better than informal except in the justice sector because justice comes under the duty frame of formal institution.

• People do not feel sympathy for the illicit networks but are disappointed for the high level of corruption in the country and confidence about ability of informal institution.

• Most of the people are happy about the sub national government than national because they believe that sub national government is less corrupted.

• A strong majority of Afghans believe that religious leaders are society serving.

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2. Policy making

• There is strong support for democracy overall, but afghans view through democracy is different from western view for democracy.

• In the case of decision making Afghan people prefer to solve their problems through informal institutions because they are honest, accessible, fair, trusted, effective, prompt and accordance with local norms and values.

• The government also has realized that people support the decisions from Shura or Jirga than the central government that is why in the major cases they relay on placing Jirgas.

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3. Service delivery

• In the terms of service delivery people satisfaction is tend change from the region to the region. While the security is maintained in the central and Northern parts of Afghanistan, meanwhile the south is not happy about future and current situation. It is also related to the sub national government, as the people are more happy from the local government than the central or national.

• At the National level people satisfaction is different by service indicator. Overall people are happy with education and construction but not happy with health and justice. At the local level people are much satisfied about availability of most of services i.e electricity, water of irrigation and jobs. (but it again depend on the region)

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Conclusion and Lesson learned • So based on the topics discussed many afghan people are

optimistic about informal governance than formal, they believe that corruption is a problem at the national and provincial level than the local level and they think lower level government are doing good job.

• Most of Afghans turn to informal institutions for decision making or problems even when government system is available.

• People prefer to have corrupted government than the authority of illicit.

• Afghans want to have strong, capable, accessible government but the situation of Afghanistan has been change than the past years. If we compare it is good to have voted leaders by stealing the votes than coming into power by murdering or it is good to see warlords just change the face from murderer into the thief (corrupted)

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Recommendation • Afghanistan needs to build its capacity to serve its citizen effectively

and accountably, extend its authority throughout rule of laws or good governance standards.

• In the real afghan government should not living up to international expectations and western democracy view.

• Since people have more trust on informal institutions so these bodies should be form under the formal governance and empower various bodies of informal governance.

• Improve judiciary system to enhance trust of people. • Overall in Afghanistan the rule of the law and rule of the man are

walking side by side and rule of man has high support of the people. With the withdrawal of international forces there are possibilities to civil war or coming of the warlord into the power so the best for the international forces is to make the government capable to handle the governance.

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Reference: Robert D. Lamb, Center for Strategic and International Studies (2012) “Formal and informal governance in Afghaistan” pages1-23

Thank you