The United Nations Development Program supports the Government of Afghanistan’s efforts through the Afghanistan Sub-national Governance Program (ASGP) to better manage governing institutions at the sub-national (i.e. provincial and district) level. The goal of the ASGP is to provide quality public services to citizens.

The ASGP works closely with two government organizations that are well placed to reform the sub-national governance system. These organizations are:

• The Independent Directorate for Local Governance (IDLG).
• The Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC).

CIDA’s funding helps support the following activities as part of this program:

• Clarifying the functions and roles of the central government and its agencies by drafting laws and regulations that will govern them.
• Providing technical assistance that will allow sub-national governmental offices to operate more efficiently.
• Training and mentoring sub-national civil servants in areas such as administration, project management, accounting, and reporting.

The Afghanistan Sub-national Governance Program has achieved the following significant results to date in the following areas:

The Independent Directorate for Local Governance (IDLG)

• The IDLG’s ability to internally audit government offices was strengthened with the introduction of financial management and audit manuals, as well as the appointment of 84 internal auditors who examined offices belonging to 12 provincial governors, 11 district governors, and 11 provincial municipalities.

The Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC)

• More than 5,000 civil servants, including more than 450 women, received basic training in administration, project management, accounting, and reporting in 23 new ASGP-supported civil servant provincial training centres in 2009.
• More than 6,000 performance appraisals of civil servants at the sub-national level were completed, reaching nearly eight per cent of civil servants in total.
• Nearly 50 university graduates were trained to become part of the civil service in the southern region (14 of whom were in Kandahar).

Public Administration Reform Implementation

• More than 14,000 people were appointed as civil servants at the sub-national level in 2009; more than 1,000 of these (or seven percent) were women, an increase of two percent over the previous year.

New Programs and Manuals

• With the introduction of provincial manuals in 10 provinces, and district manuals in 96 districts, civil servants were able to reduce the backlog of public grievances against provincial and district governments by eight to 15 percent.
• Revenue improvement action planning and solid waste management programs that were introduced by ASGP in 2009 in 12 provincial and six district communities resulted in an increase in municipal revenues from 18 to 46 percent when compared to 2008.

Public Communications Unit

• A Public Communications Unit was established at the Kandahar Provincial Governor’s Office under the ASGP, and a provincial communications outreach program was put in place.
• A communications strategy tailored to the particular needs of Kandahar province was also established.

The key results of ASGP in 2010 were:

• Approval of SNG policy; drafting of six new critical laws; and identification of gaps for amendment in existing laws.
• PGO and partners have improved knowledge about sub-national governance policies and enhanced skills for the performance of their functions; including provinces begin to take lead in development within their boundaries.
• Provincial Strategic Plans and provincial profiles developed in Heart and Balkh and initiated in five more provinces, which will allow for longer term development planning at the provincial level.
• Line ministries and agencies monitored and evaluated.
• Provincial Councils conduct public outreach.
• Revenues increased in provincial municipalities, including in 13 municipalities where increases ranged from 2% to 247%.
• Visible improvements in municipal service delivery, including procedures for solid waste management and guidelines on municipal-school committees.

• United Nations Development Programme