Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 27/4/2012 Developing Sector Strategies and Options to Support the Sector OUTPUT 2: Institutional Development for the Rural Water Sector Commissioned by World Bank- MRRD Afghanistan Rural Water Sector This report has been commissioned by the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development MRRD for the Rural Water and Sanitation Sector (RWSS) project, and specifically for the work package “Developing sector strategies and options to support the sector”. Financial support for the study was provided by AusAid and the World Bank. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the World Bank Group. SIM- SpA Afghanistan Branch in Kabul provided all the necessary logistic and administrative support. Prepared by SOCIETÀ ITALIANA DI MONITORAGGIO (SIM SpA) in joint venture with S.W.S. For questions or comments concerning any aspect of the survey and this report please contact: SIM S.p.A. Afghanistan Branch Tel: +93 (0) 202202043 E-Mail: Sim.Afghanistan@Sim-Spa.It Skype:Sim.Afghanistan; Head Office: Via Ticino 6, 00152, Rome, Italy © MINISTRY OF RURAL REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT (MRRD) OF AFGHANISTAN. August, 2012 Picture: ©2008 Vrinda Dar, Badakhshan Province Acknowledgements We are grateful for the assistance provided by all RWSS stakeholders in Afghanistan, for giving us access to all available data and information, in sharing with us their concerns, successes, challenges, lessons learned and good practices in the rural water sector. In particular the support from and discussions held with His Excellency Wais Ahmad Barmak, Minister of MRRD, Eng. Ghulam Qader, Executive Director of the Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Programme at MRRD, and Eng. Safi who have shared valuable experiences and visions, helping us to make our study authentic and sound in its analysis and conclusions. Special thanks also goes to Mr. Srinivas Podipireddy, Sr. Water and Sanitation Specialist, at World Bank, and to all staff of MRRD for facilitating contact with other stakeholders, including other ministries, NGOs and the private sector. Thanks also goes to all those who commented on the draft reports, especially MRRD and the World Bank. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 2 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector A F G H A N I S TA N R U R A L WAT E R S E C T O R Developing sector strategies and options to support the sector Institutional Development for the Rural Water Sector Table of Contents Acronyms........................................................................................................................................................ 6 1. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... 7 2. Objectives and Methodology of the Study .......................................................................... 13 2.1. Objectives ........................................................................................................................................ 13 2.2. Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 14 3. Rural WASH Sector in Afghanistan: The Present Context .................................................... 17 3.1. Availability of and access to water resources in rural Afghanistan ................................................. 17 3.2. Current rural WASH institutional framework .................................................................................. 19 3.2.1. Main features of the current Rural WASH Institutional Framework........................................... 19 3.2.2. Current Rural WASH Decision Makers......................................................................................... 20 3.2.3. Current Division of Responsibilities amongst WASH Decision Makers ....................................... 30 3.2.4. Current Rural WASH actors ......................................................................................................... 31 3.2.5. Rural WASH Policies and Strategies ............................................................................................ 32 3.2.6. Rural WASH Programmes ............................................................................................................ 37 3.2.7. Monitoring and Evaluation in Current Rural WASH Programmes ............................................... 45 4. Assessment of Current Rural WASH Institutional Structures and Processes....................... 48 4.1. Achievements .................................................................................................................................. 48 4.2. Goals Ahead ..................................................................................................................................... 49 4.2.1. Expanding Access to Safe Water ................................................................................................. 49 4.2.2. Participated policy making and planning .................................................................................... 49 4.2.3. Engaging women in all WASH decisions ...................................................................................... 50 4.2.4. Improving Subsidiarity amongst Institutions............................................................................... 51 4.2.5. Making Informed Choices based on Monitoring and Evaluation Results ................................... 53 4.2.6. Enhancing Competence and Capacity of WASH Actors............................................................... 54 5. Strategy Recommendations for Improving Rural WASH Management ............................... 56 5.1. Improve Programming ..................................................................................................................... 57 5.1.1. Decentralize Planning and Service Delivery ................................................................................ 57 5.1.2. Establish Management Information Systems for Well Informed Planning ................................. 61 5.1.3. Ensure regular monitoring of Water Quality ............................................................................... 62 5.1.4. Consider Operations and Maintenance in all rural water projects ............................................. 68 5.1.5. Integrate sanitation and hygiene promotion in water projects .................................................. 70 5.2. Improve Programme Implementation............................................................................................. 72 5.2.1. Ensure project adherence to WASH Policy 2010......................................................................... 72 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 3 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 5.2.2. Role shift of RuWatSIP from “provider” to “facilitator” .............................................................. 72 5.2.3. Work in close partnership with community CDCs and DDAs ...................................................... 73 5.2.4. Consider gendered spaces and traditional patterns of water collection .................................... 74 5.2.5. Improve cooperation with the private sector ............................................................................. 75 5.2.6. Train staff at sub-national governance levels.............................................................................. 77 5.2.7. Set standards and rules for selecting suppliers and sub-contractors ......................................... 79 5.2.8. Harmonize Standards and Procedures ........................................................................................ 80 6. Proposed Rural WASH Governance Models ........................................................................ 81 6.1. Revising Work Flow Models to facilitate the implementation of recommendations ..................... 81 6.1.1. Decentralised Decision making ................................................................................................... 83 6.1.2. More Outsourcing to the private sector...................................................................................... 87 6.1.3. Active Community Engagement .................................................................................................. 90 6.1.4. Decentralized Fund Disbursements............................................................................................. 93 6.1.5. As you decentralize, reinforce standards and evaluation processes .......................................... 94 6.2. Proposed Long-Term Rural WASH Governance Model ................................................................... 97 6.3. Proposed Short-Term Rural Wash Governance Model ................................................................... 98 7. Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 100 7.1. Stakeholder roles and responsibilities ........................................................................................... 100 7.2. Institutional framework in the rural water sector ......................................................................... 110 7.3. Policy Assessment .......................................................................................................................... 110 7.4. Capacity Assessment ..................................................................................................................... 111 7.5. Resources and actions for a decentralized O&M model ............................................................... 112 7.6. Rural WASH Management Models ................................................................................................ 112 8. Annexure ........................................................................................................................... 114 8.1. Annex 1. SWOT analysis for three institutional framework options ............................................. 114 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 4 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector List of Figures Figure 1 – Decision makers: Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework 21 Figure 2 - Legend of colours and shapes utilised in the Flow Charts 21 Figure 3 - RWSSID Organogram 24 Figure 4 - RuWatSIP Organogram 25 Figure 5 – Provincial Rural Rehabilitation and Development Department Organogram 27 Figure 6 - Community-Led Development Department Organisational Structure 29 Figure 7 - Rural WASH division of roles and responsibilities (Current) 30 Figure 8 – Actors - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework 31 Figure 9 – Policies and Programmes - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework 32 Figure 10 - The Fund Flow Process followed in the ARTF Project 39 Figure 11 - Organisational structure of the CDCs at the village level 43 Figure 12 - Evaluation - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework 46 Figure 13 - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework 47 Figure 14 - Graphic representation of the relationship between Goals Ahead and Recommendations 57 Figure 15 - Rural WASH division of roles and responsibilities (Long-Term and Short-Term) 60 Figure 16 - Evaluation - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework 65 Figure 17 - Evaluation - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance 65 Figure 18 – Evaluation Long-Term Rural WASH Governance - process and outputs 67 Figure 19 - Main Features of the Proposed Rural WASH Governance Models 82 Figure 20-Decision makers in the Current Rural WASH Governance 85 Figure 21 - Decision makers- Long-Term Rural WASH Governance 85 Figure 22 - Decision makers - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance 86 Figure 23 - Actors - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance 88 Figure 24 - Actors - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance 89 Figure 25 - Policies and Programmes - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance 91 Figure 26 - Policies and Programmes - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance 92 Figure 27 - Long-Term Rural WASH Fund Flow Process 93 Figure 28 - Short-Term Rural WASH Fund Flow Process 93 Figure 29 – Evaluation - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance- process and outputs 95 Figure 30 - Evaluation - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance 96 Figure 31 - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance 98 Figure 32 - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance 99 Figure 33 - Table of WASH Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities 102 Figure 34 - From Assessment to Proposed Governance Models 113 Figure 35 - SWOT Table - Option 1 114 Figure 36 - SWOT Table - Option 2 115 Figure 37 - SWOT Table - Option 3 115 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 5 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Acronyms AIRD Afghanistan Institute for Rural NABDP National Area Based Development Development Programme ANDS Afghanistan National Development NORAD Norwegian Development Agency Strategy AREDP Afghanistan Rural Enterprise NRAP National Rural Access Programme Development Program Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund NSP National Solidarity Program ARTF Build-Own-Operate-Transfer ODF Open Defecation Free BOOT Bills of Quantity O&M Operation and maintenance BoQ Central Authority for Water Supply and PCM Project Cycle Management Sanitation CAWSS Community Development Council PIU Project Implementation Unit Community-driven development PMU Provincial Management Unit CDC Community Development Plan PPM Provincial Project Manager CDD Community Led Development PPP Public Private Partnership Department CDP Community led Total Sanitation PRRD Provincial Rural Rehabilitation and Development CLDD District Development Assembly Rural Rehabilitation Department CLTS District Rural Rehabilitation RRD Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Department Irrigation Program DDA Facilitating Partner RuWatSIP Rural water supply and sanitation DRRD Geographic Information System Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Department FP Government of Afghanistan RWSS Self Help Group GIS Litres per capita per day RWSSID Support Organization GOA Millennium Development Goals Sector-wide approach LPCD Management Information System SHG Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats MDG Ministry of Education SO Technical Support Unit MIS Ministry of Finance SWAP Water, Sanitation and Hygiene MoE Ministry of Public Health SWOT Water and Sanitation MOF Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Water and Sanitation Group Development MoPH Monitoring and evaluation TSU Water User Associations MRRD Non-government organization WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Area Based Development Watsan Water and Sanitation Programme M&E Monitoring and evaluation WSG Water and Sanitation Group NGO Non-government organization WUA Water User Associations Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 6 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 1. Executive Summary This report is the output of a study, commissioned by the World Bank, and conducted by the consultant of SIM, Italy, with the aim of recommending, to the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), viable institutional framework options for the rural water sector in Afghanistan. The objective of this study is “to develop a deeper understanding of the development needs of Afghanistan’s rural water sector and to recommend actions to improve the sector and its agencies’ performance to deliver services to the communities using the CDD (Community Driven Development) approach”. The report is expected to directly benefit the Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Department (RWSSID) and the Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Programme (RuWatSIP) in ensuring that interventions in the rural water and sanitation sector are efficient and effective. In this study, we have: • examined the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in the rural water sector, • reviewed institutional systems existing in the rural water sector, • assessed gaps, strengths and lessons learned from previous and ongoing projects; • held consultations with donor agencies, implementing agencies (non-government and private sector), MRRD department and program teams (especially RWSSIP, NABDP and NSP). On the basis of the above activities, we have drafted the present report where we: • illustrate the present context of the rural WASH (Water Supply, sanitation and hygiene) sector in Afghanistan; (Section 3) • assess the current rural WASH institutional structures and processes; (Section 4) • formulate recommendations for improving rural WASH management; (Section 5) • propose new models for improved institutional governance at national, regional, provincial and local levels so as to facilitate the implementation of recommendations; (Section 6) • compare and summarize the current and the proposed subdivision of responsibilities amongst rural WASH stakeholders. (Section 7) By applying the rural WASH models we propose in this report, we expect rural WASH governance in Afghanistan to improve in the following: i) integrated and participated policy making; ii) planning, implementing and monitoring the rural WASH promotion programmes and projects; iii) operation and maintenance in RWSS (rural water supply and sanitation) projects; iv) water quality control; v) provision of technical backstop; vi) monitoring and evaluation of WASH governance; vii) capacity building and knowledge management The priorities of this study have included, among others: i) capitalizing synergies with ongoing projects and programs like NSP and NABDP so as to make best use of available successful delivery mechanisms; ii) an analysis of the ongoing and future role of external agencies like UNICEF, specific NGOs, etc. as strategic WASH partners for some operational components; Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 7 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector iii) promoting women’s participation in water quality monitoring, O&M, etc. to ensure greater project sustainability. In this report we have considered RuWatSIP as the lead entity for all initiatives in the rural water sector since RWSSID and RuWatSIP are largely merged into one organisational structure in terms of resources, staff, management responsibilities, etc. Rural WASH Context. According to the National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA)-2008, approx. a quarter of the Afghan population living in rural areas has access to safe water, the lowest in the world. And only 5% of the population nationwide has access to safe sanitation facilities. The Afghanistan Human Development Report 2011 projects that by 2025, the amount of water available per capita in Afghanistan will have declined by approximately 36% as compared to 2004. Major obstacles to the delivery of clean water and improved sanitation, as stated in the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), include the lack of institutional capacity, quality building materials and spare parts, management information systems, coordination among partners, monitoring and evaluation, low demand for sanitation, gender barrier and inefficient community mobilization and participation. MRRD mandate and strategic intent. In order to better tackle challenges in the rural water sector, the Ministry for Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) of the Afghan government developed a WASH policy in 2010. The objective of this policy is to improve access to safe water and sanitation for more than three quarters of the Afghan population living in rural areas. In order to achieve this objective, MRRD has been strengthening the capacities of its national and sub-national teams in (i) managing and implementing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects; and (ii) decentralising supervision and implementation of rural water projects so that the development processes in the water sector are increasingly community led and owned. Over the past decade, MRRD has made great leaps forward in terms of developing, sharing and promoting policies, strategies, standards and technical manuals among WASH actors, in an effort to harmonise interventions and strengthen the impact of sector specific programmes and projects on the lives of rural populations. MRRD’s five-year Strategic Intent of 2010 clearly expresses MRRD’s commitment to improve the quality of its services while establishing itself as a leader in policy-making for the rural development sector. As part of this Strategic Intent, MRRD plans to focus its efforts around two outcomes: (i) contributing to poverty alleviation through the delivery of a comprehensive package of services; (ii) creating an enabling environment for sustainable rural development. Women’s needs, environment protection, disaster management, conflict mitigation are the cross cutting issues. MRRD policy and programmes. One of the main policies developed by MRRD for the rural water sector is the Rural WASH policy 2010 that aims at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through (i) improving access of the rural population to a sufficient quantity and potable quality of drinking water by 2020 respectively; (ii) making all villages/rural communities in the country 100% Open Defecation Free (ODF) and fully sanitised by 2020. MRRD implements six major programmes: National Solidarity Programme (NSP); National Area-Based Development Programme (NABDP); Rural Water Supply, Sanitation & Irrigation Programme (RuWatSIP); National Rural Access Programme (NRAP); Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Program (AREDP); and Afghanistan Institute for Rural Development (AIRD). MRRD’s national programs (NABDP, NSP) that implement development projects, in the rural areas of provinces, are mainly managed though their separate central and provincial/regional offices with very low involvement of the PRRD (Provincial Rural Rehabilitation and Development Department) which officially has the leading and supervisory role in implementing programs in the provinces. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 8 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector RWSS project funded by the World Bank. Many non-government organisations have been implementing water projects for improving access to safe water and sanitation among rural communities. Many donors and development agencies also implement community-based projects in partnership with MRRD, CDCs (Community Development Councils) established through NSP (National Solidarity programme), DDAs (District Development Authority) established through National Area Based Development Programme (NABDP). The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) project, funded by the World Bank through ARTF (Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund), was implemented by RWSSID from 2005 to 2009. The primary beneficiaries of this project were the rural people in selected districts of eight provinces in Afghanistan who lacked access to safe water and to adequate drinking water facilities. Current Institutional framework in the rural water sector. In Afghanistan, two Ministries work in the water supply (drinking water) sector: the Ministry for Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) that is responsible for water supply scheme constructions, sanitation and hygiene education and the Ministry of Public Health that is responsible for water quality monitoring, surveillance, water quality database management and hygiene education. MRRD has two main institutional settings for the rural water sector: a Programme Implementation Unit (PIU) responsible for managing the implementation of RWSS projects, and one department (RWSSID- the Rural Water & Sanitation Department), responsible for policy formulation, sector development and coordination, regulation and monitoring. RWSSID is responsible for implementing the Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Programme (RuWatSIP) in the country. The Provincial rural rehabilitation department (PRRD) is the second tier administrative unit of MRRD based at the provincial level and is usually located in the provincial capital. There are many non-state actors (including the private sector) who contribute to the development of the WASH sector in Afghanistan, both in the urban and rural areas. Assessment of current rural WASH institutional structures and processes. Section 3 provides a brief overview on the current availability of and access to water for rural communities in Afghanistan and on the current institutional framework in the rural water sector. It briefly describes the programmes, the organogram and the functions of MRRD departments that work in the rural water sector. Section 4 elaborates the current achievements and future goals in the rural WASH sector that were based on an assessment of (i) the critical issues that the rural WASH sector faces in Afghanistan, and (ii) the policies, programmes, and current institutional structures and processes shared in Section 3. The assessment was conducted through a process of asking “what worked well and why” and “what did not work well and why” in the existing context of the rural WASH sector. The sub-section on “Goals Ahead” addresses the main gaps that emerged from the assessment and provides clues, “on how things could be done better”. This sub-section further guides the formulation of strategy recommendations and the development of the rural WASH governance models shared in the successive sections of the report. Other considerations that have informed these assessments include issues emerging from our consultations with key WASH actors consulted during the study, lessons learned from programmes and projects, sectors of cooperation and growth in rural WASH, the socio-political situation in the country and the cooperation strategies of the international community. The Goals ahead include expanding access to safe water, participated policy making and planning, improving subsidiarity amongst institutions, making informed choices based on monitoring and evaluation results, and enhancing competence and capacity of WASH actors. Strategy recommendations for improving rural WASH management. After assessing the critical issues that the rural WASH sector faces in Afghanistan and in consultation with key stakeholders, we prepared strategy recommendations aimed at improving rural WASH governance and management in Afghanistan. In Section 5, we have provided the applicable and sustainable ‘recommendations and strategies’ on key institutional issues Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 9 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector for the development of the WASH sector. Set in the context of policies, programmes and strategies developed by the Afghan government for the rural water sector, this section aims at articulating strategy guidelines that will need to be adopted for ensuring sustainable interventions in the rural water sector. These recommendations directly address the issues identified in “Goals Ahead” (See Section 4) which were identified through the analysis of the strengths, gaps and lessons learned in the existing programmes and in the current institutional framework. These strategies include: • Improve Programming through decentralized planning and service delivery, establishing management information systems for well informed planning, ensuring regular monitoring of water quality, consider operations and maintenance in all rural water projects, and integrate sanitation and hygiene promotion in water projects • Improve Programme Implementation through project adherence to WASH policy 2010, role shift of RuWatSIP from “provider” to “facilitator”, working in close partnership with community CDCs and DDAs, considering gendered spaces and traditional patterns of water collection, improving cooperation with the private sector, training staff at sub-national governance levels, setting standards and rules for selecting suppliers and sub-contractors, harmonizing standards and procedures Proposed rural WASH governance models. In order to facilitate the implementation of recommendations shared in Section 5, we propose new models, in Section 6, for the distribution of Workflow amongst the rural WASH actors for improved institutional governance at national, regional, provincial and local levels. By applying these models, we expect that rural WASH governance in Afghanistan will improve in the following management areas: • integrated and participated integrated policy making, • planning and implementing the rural WASH programmes; • monitoring and evaluation of WASH governance • operation and maintenance in RWSS projects; • provision of technical backstop, • water quality control • capacity building and knowledge management In order to facilitate the understanding of these models and comparisons among current and proposed governance models, we have developed flow charts, tables and figures that graphically represent the newly proposed subdivisions of roles and responsibilities amongst the key actors and the subdivision of the work flow. In the Section on “Conclusions” we have compared and summarized, in a table, the current and the proposed subdivision of responsibilities amongst rural WASH stakeholders. The long-term WASH governance model proposed here intends to facilitate the ongoing process of bringing to an end the current phase of emergency interventions based on external support, where international agencies, be it NGOs, donors, or international community, often tend to substitute the government in service delivery responsibilities, and giving back the major planning and service delivery responsibilities to the Afghan Government. Since transferring of competences from external donors to the Afghan Government and from a Kabul-centred approach to a decentralized approach requires structures and capacities that are still inadequate at decentralized levels, a number of intermediary steps will have to be taken for ensuring that decentralization of responsibilities is gradual and sustained. Sustainable interventions in the rural water sector need a decentralised institutional framework, where responsibilities and authority are increasingly delegated Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 10 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector to sub-national levels of rural WASH governance, where the community leads project implementation and post project O&M and where roles and responsibilities of the different tiers of governance are clearly understood and agreed by all stakeholders. A preliminary elaboration of these models was shared in a workshop organised by RuWatSIP in Kabul end March 2012. 1 The workshop participants conducted a SWOT analysis. The three options and related SWOT analysis are shared in Annex 1. Based on feedbacks from workshop participants, MRRD and the World Bank, the consultant developed short-term and long-term rural WASH Governance models that can realistically build on the current institutional structure and processes and support the rural water sector in Afghanistan in a sustainable and effective manner. Delegation of authority from the centre to the provincial and district levels requires a number of organizational and knowledge transfer activities that take time. Therefore, a number of intermediary steps are required before the proposed model is fully operational. We forecast that the long-term model will be fully operational in around 10 years. So, in order to facilitate the passage to the proposed model, we have designed a short-term model for an intermediary step that can become operational in 5 years, provided recommendations given in section 5 are implemented. Conclusions. Interactions with the MRRD staff, local and international NGOs, and the international community, combined with data analysis, have greatly helped in understanding the central issues of the rural water sector and in developing the rural WASH governance models for sustainable programme delivery. Lessons learned by key WASH actors in the country, the proven effectiveness of current institutional structures and frameworks, the local capacity strengths and gaps, current government and donor strategies and existing policy frameworks have informed the recommendations presented in this report. A clear definition and division of stakeholder roles and responsibilities is the foundation block of good governance. At present, there is a general lack of clarity in the division of roles and responsibilities among stakeholders in the rural water sector – government departments, international community, civil society, community and the private sector. In MRRD, there is also a confused convergence of departments and programmes, often donor triggered and reinforced. These are fundamental obstacles to institution building in the rural water sector in Afghanistan. This lack of clarity is aggravated, on the one hand, by the absence/ inadequacy of government departments to manage national rural water programmes, and on the other, by the existence of donor programme teams that are authorised to implement projects autonomously. Through a summarised and comparative table, we have illustrated the current and proposed division of stakeholder roles and responsibilities, and the reasons why we believe this change is required. This proposed division of roles and responsibilities has been integrated in the recommended rural WASH governance model. This division of responsibilities we propose requires three fundamental processes of evolution in rural WASH management in Afghanistan: • Process 1: From a protagonism of Foreign Aid to a protagonism of the Afghan Government; • Process 2: From centralization in Kabul to decentralisation at sub-national levels • Process 3: From government as an implementer to the government as a facilitator and arbitrator and the private sector and community as implementers The proposed rural WASH governance models do not require the establishment of new structures but require greater decentralisation of existing processes, greater delegation of authority and responsibility, clearer 1 See Annex 1 for the SWOT analysis conducted by the workshop participants Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 11 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector divisions of responsibilities, greater integration of lessons learned, targeted capacity building, building on the current achievements and strengths and addressing the current gaps. Decentralization, where processes and decisions are led and owned by the community and where water governance is delegated to sub-national tiers of governance, can ensure the sustainability and long term impact of all interventions. This decentralisation process must be strengthened by targeted capacity building at all levels of WASH governance and the devolution of powers in adherence to the objectives of the WASH policy 2010 and the change management process proposed in the MRRD Strategic Intent of 2010. The considerations and recommendations in the report do not claim to be exhaustive but provide an insight into the building blocks, in terms of stakeholder roles and responsibilities, steps, measures, processes and models that can help MRRD in paving the way for an accountable, transparent, efficient and effective long- term improvement in the access of rural communities to safe water and sanitation and improved health. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 12 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 2. Objectives and Methodology of the Study 2.1. Objectives This report is the output of a study, commissioned by the World Bank, and conducted by the consultant of SIM, Italy, with the aim of recommending, to the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), viable institutional framework options for the rural water sector in Afghanistan. The objective of this study is “to develop a deeper understanding of the development needs of Afghanistan’s rural water sector and to recommend actions to improve the sector and its agencies’ performance to deliver services to the communities using the CDD (Community Driven Development) approach”. This report is expected to directly benefit the Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Department (RWSSID) and the Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Programme (RuWatSIP) in ensuring that interventions in the rural water and sanitation sector are efficient and effective. In this study, we have: • examined the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in the rural water sector, • reviewed institutional systems existing in the rural water sector, • assessed gaps, strengths and lessons learned from previous and ongoing projects; • held consultations with donor agencies, implementing agencies (non-government and private sector), MRRD department and program teams (especially RWSSIP, NABDP and NSP). On the basis of the above activities, we have drafted the present report where we: • illustrate the present context of the rural WASH sector in Afghanistan; (Section 3) • assess the current rural WASH institutional structures and processes; (Section 4) • formulate recommendations for improving rural WASH management; (Section 5) • propose new models for improved institutional governance at national, regional, provincial and local levels so as to facilitate the implementation of recommendations; (Section 6). • compare and summarize the current and the proposed subdivision of responsibilities amongst rural WASH stakeholders. (Section 7) By applying the rural WASH models we propose in this report, we expect that rural WASH governance in Afghanistan will improve in the following: • integrated and participated policy making, • planning, implementing and monitoring the rural water, sanitation and hygiene promotion programmes and projects; • operation and maintenance in RWSS (rural water supply and sanitation) projects; • water quality control • provision of technical backstop, • monitoring and evaluation of WASH governance • capacity building and knowledge management Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 13 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector The priorities of this study have included, among others: • capitalizing synergies with ongoing projects and programs like NSP and NABDP so as to make best use of available successful delivery mechanisms; • an analysis of the ongoing and future role of external agencies like UNICEF, specific NGOs, etc. as strategic WASH partners for some operational components; • promoting women’s participation in water quality monitoring, O&M, etc. to ensure greater project sustainability. In this report, we have considered RuWatSIP as the lead entity for all initiatives in the rural water sector since RWSSID and RuWatSIP are largely merged into one organisational structure in terms of resources, staff, management responsibilities, etc. 2.2. Methodology This report is based on an in-depth analysis of the available secondary data, including in-country strategies, sector-specific policies, project documents, evaluations, lessons learned, reports and related documents published by the Afghan government (specifically MRRD), the international and donor community, research organisations and the civil society. In order to capture lessons learned and ascertain the impact of existing programmes and projects on rural communities, the consultant conducted rounds of consultations and meetings with the major WASH actors in Afghanistan including relevant government agencies, donors, local and international non-government organisations and the international community. Albeit limited by the absence of a centralised data/document management system, the consultant has reviewed a number of sector-specific documents and publications. However, the absence of a centralised knowledge management system has restricted the depth of analysis of rural water programmes, existing institutional structures and processes, and has limited the details shared in the proposed options and institutional models. A very limited number of lessons learned and good practices were captured from other Ministries/departments that support and/or impact the WASH sector, for e.g., the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, Geological Survey of Afghanistan, Ministries of Mines, Education, Public Health, and Agriculture and Irrigation. It has not been possible to collect or cross check Information from the field, especially at sub-national levels of WASH governance. Limited availability of information, on budgets and on the current staff strength of MRRD departments, has impeded the consultant from estimating staff numbers and related human resource budgets required for the recommended models of governance. Through a review of lessons learned documents shared by key actors, we have been able to gain a basic understanding of the challenges and strengths of the local private sector in providing WASH services/facilities. It must be noted, at the outset, that the integrated WASH approach, including safe sanitation and hygiene promotion, is a fundamental pre-requisite of all recommendations presented in this report. Section 3 of this report presents the current context of the rural WASH sector in Afghanistan. After giving a brief overview on the current availability of and access to water for rural communities in Afghanistan, the section goes on to describe the current institutional framework in the rural water sector. It briefly describes the programmes, the organogram and the functions of MRRD (Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development) departments that work in the rural water sector. The existing interrelationships, among decision makers and actors, have been discussed within the context of policies and programmes that impact Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 14 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector the rural water sector in Afghanistan. In order to facilitate a good understanding of the current institutional context of rural WASH governance and make comparisons possible between the existing institutional structures and processes and those recommended in the later sections of the report, we have prepared flow charts that graphically represent the subdivisions of roles and responsibilities among the key rural WASH actors and the subdivisions of the Work Flow. In Section 4, we have elaborated the current achievements and future goals in the rural WASH sector that were based on an assessment of (i) the critical issues that the rural WASH sector faces in Afghanistan, and (ii) the policies, programmes, and current institutional structures and processes shared in Section 3. The assessment was conducted through a process of asking “what worked well and why” and “what did not work well and why” in the existing context of the rural WASH sector. The sub-section on “Goals Ahead” addresses the main gaps that emerged from the assessment and provides clues, “on how things could be done better”. This sub-section further guides the formulation of strategy recommendations and the development of the rural WASH governance models shared in the successive sections of the report. Other considerations that have informed these assessments include issues emerging from our consultations with key WASH actors consulted during the study, lessons learned from programmes and projects, sectors of cooperation and growth in rural WASH, the socio-political situation in the country and the cooperation strategies of the international community. After assessing the critical issues that the rural WASH sector faces in Afghanistan and in consultation with key stakeholders, we prepared strategy recommendations aimed at improving rural WASH governance and management in Afghanistan. In Section 5, we have provided the applicable and sustainable ‘recommendations and strategies’ on key institutional issues for the development of the WASH sector. Set in the context of policies, programmes and strategies developed by the Afghan government for the rural water sector, this section aims at articulating strategy guidelines that will need to be adopted for ensuring sustainable interventions in the rural water sector. These recommendations directly address the issues identified in “Goals Ahead” (See Section 4) which were identified through the analysis of the strengths, gaps and lessons learned in the existing programmes and in the current institutional framework. In Section 6, In order to facilitate the implementation of recommendations shared in Section 5, in this section, we propose new models of Work Flow distribution among the Rural WASH Actors for improved institutional governance at national, regional, provincial and local levels. By applying these models, we expect that the rural WASH governance in Afghanistan will improve rural WASH management. In order to facilitate the understanding of these models and comparisons among current and proposed governance models, we have developed flow charts, tables and figures that graphically represent the newly proposed subdivisions of roles and responsibilities amongst the key actors as well as the subdivision of the Work Flow. A preliminary elaboration of these models was shared in a workshop organised by RuWatSIP in Kabul end March 2012. The workshop participants conducted a SWOT analysis 2 of three possible institutional framework options and discussed the same. Based on feedbacks from the workshop participants, the MRRD and the World Bank, the consultant developed short-term and long-term rural WASH Governance models that can realistically build on the current institutional structure and processes and support the rural water sector in Afghanistan in a sustainable and effective manner over a 10 year period. Section 7 on “Conclusions”, summarizes some of the key assessments and recommendations that have been shared in the earlier sections of the report. It also compares and summarizes, in a table, the current and the 2 See Annex 1 for the SWOT analysis conducted by the workshop participants Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 15 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector proposed subdivision of responsibilities amongst rural WASH stakeholders. The assessments presented in Section 4 have helped us in formulating the recommendations that we share in Section 5 and in developing the rural WASH governance model illustrated in Section 6. This process, illustrated in the Figure 34 - From Assessment to Proposed Governance Models, helps us understand the analytical and logical process we followed in our study and how assessments (Sections 4), strategy recommendations (Section 5) and governance models (Section 6) are interrelated. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 16 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 3. Rural WASH Sector in Afghanistan: The Present Context This section presents the current context of the rural WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) sector in Afghanistan. After giving a brief overview on the current availability of and access to water for rural communities in Afghanistan, the section goes on to describe the current institutional framework in the rural water sector. It briefly describes the programmes, the organogram and functions of MRRD (Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development) departments that work in the rural water sector. The existing interrelationships, among decision makers and actors, have been discussed within the context of policies and programmes that impact the rural water sector in Afghanistan. In order to facilitate a good understanding of the current institutional context of rural WASH governance and to make comparisons possible between the existing institutional structures and processes and those recommended in the later sections of the report, we have prepared flow charts that graphically represent the subdivisions of roles and responsibilities among the key rural WASH actors and the subdivisions of the Work Flow. Later, in Section 6 on “Proposed Rural WASH Governance Models”, we propose a re-organisation of responsibilities and Work Flow among rural WASH actors, so as to address the present challenges and issues affecting service delivery in the rural water sector and to improve the efficiency of WASH governance in Afghanistan. In Section 7 on “Conclusions”, we have further compared and summarized, through a table, the current and the proposed subdivision of responsibilities amongst rural WASH stakeholders. (see Figure 33 - Table of WASH Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities). 3.1. Availability of and access to water resources in rural Afghanistan After three decades of conflict and political instability, Afghanistan was, and remains, one of the poorest and longest suffering countries among the member states of the World Bank. According to the 2011 Human Development Index, Afghanistan is ranked 172 among 187 countries. The 2011 Afghanistan Human Development Report (HDR), focusing on the water sector, states that although there have been encouraging advances in accessibility to health services and the reduction of the under-5 and maternal mortality rates over the last decade, 36% of the population is still unable to obtain the means to satisfy their basic subsistence needs and that an estimated 36% of Afghans (from an income-based perspective) are still poor. 3 It emphasizes that water security is integral to human development and prospects for peace in Afghanistan. According to the report, “indicators suggest that Afghanistan is not a water-scarce country” and that the country “possesses an estimated overall surface water availability of 2,775 cubic metres per capita per year. The Human Development Report considers the country as endowed with sufficient water to meet domestic, agricultural, industrial and environmental needs although it remains burdened by constraints that limit the capacity to make full use of these potentially available resources. It further states that “relatively significant amounts of water available in the country hide important variations within and across river and sub-river basins. With 140 cubic metres per capita, the country has the lowest water storage capacity in the region.” 4 3 As per the new multidimensional poverty index “of the United Nations Development Programme that provides a more nuanced perspective on poverty and is based on deprivation in three main areas: health, education and standard of living, 84% of Afghan households are poor.”, pg. 3, Afghanistan Human Development Report 2011 4 See Afghanistan Human Development Report 2011 (The Forgotten Front: Water Security and the Crisis in Sanitation) Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 17 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector The HDR shares its concern that population growth, economic development and improved standards of living will be the main drivers of water scarcity in the coming decades and that as the national economy grows, demand for water for domestic uses, agriculture and industry will increase. It further projects that by 2025, the amount of water available per capita in Afghanistan will have declined by approximately 36% as compared to 2004. According to the HDR, major challenges faced by the Water Sector in Afghanistan include shortages in skilled human resources, lack of reliable data and information, inexperienced local private sector, and weak capacity to enforce legislations and conduct systematic monitoring that relies on well- established performance indicators. Priority issues identified in the report include addressing the data and information gap, stimulating public awareness on safe water, sanitation and hygiene, developing capacity for action including support to local institutions, improving water supply and promoting soil and water conservation, supporting water sector reform, and enhancing aid to the water sector. As per the National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) of 2008, 74% (18.5m) of the 25 million Afghans lived in rural areas. Only around 27% of rural Afghanistan has access to safe water, the lowest in the world, and only 5% nationwide has access to safe sanitation facilities. 5 For the rural areas, sanitation coverage is estimated at only 1%. As per UNICEF estimates, approx. 50,000 children die annually from diarrhoeal diseases alone, mortality rates among children under 5 being as high as 25%. 75%-80% of the population does not have access to piped supplies of safe water and 84% have no sanitary toilets. 6 According to the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), major obstacles to the delivery of clean water and improved sanitation include the lack of institutional capacity, quality building materials and spare parts, management information systems, coordination among partners, monitoring and evaluation, low demand for sanitation, gender barrier and inefficient community mobilization and participation. The WASH Policy, published by MRRD, in 2010 states “Despite investments of over US$ 200 million and construction of approximately 100,000 water points since 2002, around 16 million people in Afghanistan’s rural areas still live without access to safe water. Approximately, 30% water points in different parts of the country are dysfunctional due to drying of water sources; lowering of water tables; damage from natural disasters; mechanical problems, poor quality of construction materials and equipment; lack of standardisation and oversight; poor operation and maintenance services; coordination issues with the private sector; the lack of community ownership largely resulting from the top-down approach in designing and implementing projects as well as low awareness on the direct relationship between health and safe water and safe sanitation. These challenges highlight the need to make hygiene promotion an integral part of water supply and sanitation services.” Although the history of water supply and sanitation efforts in Afghanistan shows that NGOs have largely been facilitating the provision of water and sanitation facilities and services, MRRD has been taking an increasingly proactive leadership role as well as firm steps in developing the water and sanitation sector, coordinating efforts of sector stakeholders, developing a rural WASH policy in 2009, harmonising technical standards, building technical capacities among concerned staff, and applying lessons learned from previous experiences. In collaboration with the Hygiene Education Technical Working Group (coordinated by MRRD), MRRD has also developed the Hygiene Education Policy for the country in 2007 that has contributed to hygiene promotion becoming an integral part of WASH programmes implemented by several agencies. The 5 National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA)-2008, Central Statistics Office, Afghanistan 6 UNICEF Internal Assignment Report on the Water Sector in Afghanistan, June 2011; UNHCR-MRRD Watsan Programme Evaluation, July 2007 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 18 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Policy focuses on hygiene behaviour related to collection, storage and use of water, washing hands and proper use of sanitary facilities at household, community and school level. Also the Water Sector Group coordinated by RWSSIP is currently developing an O&M strategy for the rural water sector. It is indispensable that we recognize the way individuals, communities and institutions choose to govern their water resources has a profound impact on livelihoods, human development and environmental sustainability. And that water programs can be effective only when gender concerns are addressed and active community participation is promoted in project design, implementation and post project management. Water governance involves a range of political, social, economic and administrative systems designed to develop and manage water resources and the delivery of water services, and requires participatory decision-making. Therefore, improving water supply and sanitation services involves wide ranging dimensions including policy, institutional, financial, technical, managerial, political and socio- economic aspects, each of which has a bearing on the delivery of the final service to the customers. 3.2. Current rural WASH institutional framework While in this section, we describe the current rural WASH institutional structures and processes, in Section 4, we will illustrate what has been achieved in the rural WASH sector and what goals still need to be accomplished. In order to facilitate the understanding of the main institutional structures, processes and actors, we have developed graphic illustrations below. The single figure that synthesizes and integrates the various graphic illustrations into one whole process is Figure 13 - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework. We will reach this overall representation of the current institutional structure, firstly through an introduction of decision makers and the other actors, followed by programmes and policies and then finally the M&E process. 3.2.1. Main features of the current Rural WASH Institutional Framework The institutional framework in Afghanistan is still characterized by an emergency approach to interventions that depends on external support and international agencies, be it NGOs, donors or the international community, that tend to take up typical government roles in service delivery responsibilities. Since donors want to directly track the utilisation and impact of their funds, they continue to fund specific programmes or projects, implemented through the government or directly through local communities. However, international agencies (supported by government policies) are gradually handing over these responsibilities to the Afghan Government. The Afghan Government, in cooperation with the international community, is formulating policies and strategies, improving programme and project coherence with policies, and harmonizing standards and procedures. However, donors still fund programmes that are in line with their strategies, guidelines, standards and procedures. This determines staff recruitment, team composition, how teams function, their responsibilities and the degree of power devolution to sub-national levels. Each donor still pays its programme staff well above the government salary scales. NSP, RuWatSIP, NABDP are some examples of such successful donor programmes. Specific programme units that are established only for specific time bound programmes usually get dismantled when the programme ends, thus making it very difficult for Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 19 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector MRRD for retain competent human resources or maintain the structures and resources created by earlier funding. 7 It is important to note that continuing an “emergency approach” for too long could jeopardise building a long term sustainable approach to WASH management. It is crucial that fund support to MRRD targets the strengthening of government structures and processes and not just specific programme implementation. 3.2.2. Current Rural WASH Decision Makers The Figure 1 below illustrates the current decision makers in the rural WASH sector and the workflow process in terms of decisions they take and documents they produce. Decision makers Other stakeholders • MRRD • International Donor Community • RWSSID/RuWatSIP • NGOs • Regional RuWatSIP • Private Sector • PRRDs • Communities • DRRD • CDCs/DDAs In the governance hierarchy, MRRD is the highest and final decision maker in all issues related to rural development at the national level. As illustrated below in Figure 1 on rural WASH decision makers, MRRD manages the RWSSID department and the RuWatSIP programme. In consultation with the key WASH actors, RWSSID/RuWatSIP develops WASH programmes that adhere to the policies drafted by MRRD. These programmes provide the wider framework for rural WASH interventions in terms of selection of communities, technical and implementation modalities, coordination with sub-national government structures, etc., within which community based projects are identified and designed. Where RuWatSIP regional staff is competent, they directly assist communities (in close consultation and cooperation with CDCs wherever they exist) in identifying projects. They also prepare the preliminary project design and submit it to headquarters in Kabul. Otherwise, the RuWatSIP engineer teams from Kabul, in collaboration with their regional offices, survey, design and check viability of water projects at the province, district and community levels. Once RuWatSIP approves the project, it either selects the sub-contractor (private sector and sometimes NGOs) or disburses the funds to the CDCs for implementation. The contract is approved and signed by the MRRD Minister. Such projects are generally funded by international agencies. At the village level, it is the Community Development Councils (CDCs) that monitor these projects. 7 For instance, the RWSSID (Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Department) and its RuWatSIP (Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Programme) programme are one structural identity, thus risking to undermine the legitimacy and authority of an MRRD department. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 20 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector MRRD National Rural WASH Policy RWSSID/ RuWatSIP National Rural WASH Programmes RuWatSIP Regional offices Community WASH project proposal WASH Project survey, design and viability check Approved Community WASH project documents MRRD contract approval Implementation of Rural WASH projects Figure 1 – Decision makers: Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework The Figure 2 below represents the legend of colours and shapes, utilised in all the graphic illustrations presented in this report. The actors, decision makers, processes, sub-processes, decisions and documents are distinguishable by shapes. The governance levels - national, sub-national, local/ community - are distinguishable by colours. Since Monitoring and Evaluation is an important activity, it is also distinguished by a colour. You are advised to consult this legend in order to understand the interrelationships among structures, processes, actors, decisions at the different governance levels in all figures illustrated in this report. Figure 2 - Legend of colours and shapes utilised in the Flow Charts RWSSID and RuWatSIP The Rural Water & Sanitation Department of MRRD (RWSSID) is responsible for implementing the rural water supply, sanitation and irrigation programme (RuWatSIP) in the country. An Executive Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 21 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Director leads the programme. RWSSID supports the development and strengthening of a private sector and civil society that are competent to serve rural areas in terms of support to water engineering and maintenance training. Currently, RWSSID comprises only one programme, the Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Programme. This programme aims at: (i) providing rural communities with sustainable access to potable water sources and sanitation; (ii) strengthening capacities of rural communities for service delivery, operation and maintenance, and the sustainable use of water supply and sanitation facilities; (iii) improving public hygiene and environmental sanitation. Earlier RWSS projects and programs implemented by MRRD followed a centralized and top down approach (all decisions were taken in Kabul) causing delays in implementation and removing responsibility at lower tiers. Now, MRRD has put into place a decentralised model that permits provincial offices, where capable, to design projects, to develop bills of quantities and to implement the project through CDCs. This model could be strengthened as part of the change management process. 8 RuWatSIP is the only programme in MRRD where, since 2010, all civil servants and programme (contracted) staff work together from the same office in a mentorship and knowledge sharing work culture. At present, 121 staff members (53 contracted and 68 civil servants) are integrated into the RuWatSIP with the aim of improving capacity of civil servants and ensuring timely delivery of services. For instance, the water quality laboratory of RuWatSIP is managed by civil servants. The knowledge and experience exchanged among them has produced positive results in terms of capacity development and achievement of programme objectives. Since 2009 onwards, 99% of the projects have been implemented by CDCs and DDAs, as in NSP. Only contract agreements are brought to Kabul for the approval of the MRRD Minister. Some RuWatSIP technical staff (depending on project requirements) is also based in the regional offices based in provincial headquarters, often within the PRRD offices, in order to assist and build capacities of PRRD staff in surveys, designs and project implementation. 9 Currently, in provinces where RuWatSIP projects are being implemented, technical staff is either based in the province or in RuWatSIP regional offices that cover more than one province. Although RuWatSIP has been outsourcing direct service delivery to NGOs and the private sector in order to assist communities in implementing water supply projects, it is also increasingly partnering directly with CDCs for implementation. The RuWatSIP comprises specialised units (engineering, hygiene education, water quality testing, etc.) managed by civil service staff. Higher-qualified contract staff provides continuous mentorship and support to the civil service staff. As per information provided by the Minister’s office, the Engineering Department of RuWatSIP has standardised the design and technical specifications for water supply, sanitation and hygiene and developed related technical manuals, policies and strategies. Water quality standards are being developed and are soon expected to be finalised. 8 See ToRs of the consultancy “Afghanistan Rural Water Sector - ToR for Developing Sector Strategies and Options to Support the Sector”, 2011 9 Information provided by RWSSIP, February 2012 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 22 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector The RuWatSIP is also finalising a sanitation strategy, guidelines for CLTS (Community Led Total Sanitation), an O&M strategy based on field data and lessons learned. In fact, the sanitation strategy is being finalised based on RuWatSIP”s pilot experience in Herat. New government positions include an O&M unit. The RuWatSIP also has a competent and equipped hydrogeology team capable of conducting geophysical testing of deep wells before drilling.. RuWATSIP, through UNICEF support, has started a geophysical unit and now conducts geophysical surveys before drilling any well, especially deep boreholes. UNICEF has also provided RuWatSIP with geophysical tools and equipment and capacity building opportunities for concerned staff to undertake cost effective groundwater exploration for proper water supply and development activities The RuWatSIP conducts monthly coordination meetings with all NGOs and develops sector strategies and guidelines in cooperation with technical members of the Water Sector group (WSG). When required, the RuWatSIP staff also taps into the expertise of UNICEF, DACCAR and other sector- specific organisations, particularly for capacity building. These units liaise with the PRRDs at the province level. Water and/or sanitation facilities funded by RuWatSIP are integrated with community mobilization, health and hygiene education, and training on repair and maintenance so as to maximise health benefits and ensure sustainability. 10 10 Information provided by RWSSIP, February 2012 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 23 (provided by RWSSIP, February 2012) MRRD Minister Deputy Minister Responsible for RWSSIP, NRAP, NSP, Deputy Minister Programmes NABD, AR EDP programmes (Admin and Finance) Rural Water Supply, Responsible for RWSS Programme Procurement Sanitation and Irrigation Human Resources Finance Department •R esponsible for HR issues, • Financial approvals-payments- Policy Advisor disbursements, •Approves procurement proposals Administration & Logistics Executive Sanitation and Water and Design and Project Secretary Reporting Hygiene Education Material Quality Engineering Implementation 2 Information and 2 Admin Staff 6 Sanitation and Hygiene 3 Laboratory 5 Project Reporting Staff Technicians Education Staff Implementation Staff Figure 3 - RWSSID Organogram Figure 4 - RuWatSIP Organogram (provided by RWSSIP, February 2012) Provincial Rural Rehabilitation and Development Department PRRD (Provincial Rural Rehabilitation and Development) department is the second tier administrative unit of MRRD based at the provincial level. PRRD is usually located in the provincial capital. It is mandated to support and implement the MRRD mandate and strategic objectives at the provincial level, with specific focus on establishment of linkage with rural communities, community development, incorporating community needs and problems in MRRD development plans, survey and designing of new projects in rural areas, M&E of projects implemented in rural areas and leading and supervising MRRD national programs in the province. As per the norm, PRRD must have district based staff- two Social Workers in each district- who work for community mobilization, enhancing of MRRD linkage with community, incorporating community needs and priority with MRRD and to support MRRD’s field activities. PRRD’s role also includes facilitating contractual agreements with CDCs/construction partners, monitoring project progress, and providing technical support as and when needed. MRRD’s national programs (NABDP, NSP) that implement development projects in the provinces are mainly manage though their separate central and provincial/regional offices with very low involvement of the PRRD which officially has the leading and supervisory role concerning implementation of the programs in the provinces. Although PRRD is the most important contributor to development programs, there is inadequate coordination between PRRD and MRRD programs. Apart from supporting the implementation of national programs, PRRD does not implement development projects on its own; hence its service delivery is very limited. Their contribution is rather limited to some social projects like response to disasters, and distribution of humanitarian assistance at the request of donor agencies. In many provinces, PRRD lacks sufficient capacity, staff and resources (for ex. vehicles), to adequately support MRRD operations in the provinces (such as field survey, project designation and implementation, leadership to MRRD’s national programs, M&E of development projects, community development and linkage with community, etc.). In fact, MRRD programmes like NSP, NABDP, and RuWatSIP have their own staff at the provincial levels that sometimes also provide technical assistance to PRRD. If MRRD expands programme implementation in provinces, PRRDs will need to strengthen their staff numbers, competence, skills mix and logistic support. In the ARTF-World Bank funded 7.65 million RWSS project, PRRDs role was essentially to facilitate contractual agreements with CDCs/construction partners, monitor progress, and provide technical support as and when needed. Wherever PRRDs took the lead and worked without Support Organisations, they have conducted health education and sanitation in addition to the above responsibilities. However, construction supervision and overall monitoring of the progress and processes remained weak in these provinces due to restricted staff mobility and numbers. Illustrated below is the ideal organogram for the PRRDs in all 34 provinces. Not all PRRDs are able to recruit and fill in all the job positions, either because of the lack of local availability of competent staff or because of lack of budget. 11 11 Final Report- Preparation of Proposal for Follow On project for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation", MRRD, December 2009 Figure 5 – Provincial Rural Rehabilitation and Development Department Organogram (provided by RWSSIP, February 2012) PRRD in 34 provinces Executive Secretary Head of Program Units Procurement Manager Finance manager Engineering Social Service manager Development Manager Contract Inventory staff Management Staff Finance Staff Cashier Water Supply Civil Engineer Development Engineer Social Affair Affair Admin Development Hygiene and Social Affair Education Affair Technology Maintenance and Journalist Service transport Development Mechanic Water Affair Supply Social Affair Cleaners Guards Driver Community Community Drilling Mechanic Mobiliser Mobiliser Community Led Development Department (CLDD) The Community Led Development Department of the MRRD works closely, at the national and provincial levels, with all MRRD programmes and departments that have community development components. The goal of CLDD is to enhance Community-Led Development through coordinating development activities for greater impact, facilitating participatory development and capacity building of local institutions (CDCs and DDAs) such that they become responsible actors and lead their development. The CLDD operates in MRRD framework to achieve the objectives of: • participating in the formulation of MRRD community development’s concept, strategy and policy, • developing and facilitating the implementation of an effective management system, rational regulatory and support structures to harmonize relationships between CLDD central, provincial and district levels; • developing community development activities coordination mechanisms jointly with MRRD programmes to create synergies for greater impact and to improve the harmonization of development interventions; • promoting participatory development, facilitating community empowerment and capacity building of CDCs and DDAs for them to be able to lead community development initiatives at the local level, guide communities to address their priority needs, ensure a local ownership and provide sustainability of the project activities. The CLDD is expected to perform the following functions: 12 • participation in developing and implementing MRRD community development strategy and policy; • developing and implementing community development activities and coordination mechanisms in cooperation with MRRD programmes/departments; • establishing the CLDD information system to enhance information sharing and exchange process with MRRD programmes and departments; • facilitating establishment, capacity building and institutionalisation of CDCs and DDAs in cooperation with the programmes and AIRD; • advocating cooperation with CDCs and DDAs as development gateways; • facilitating gender mainstreaming and broadening women's participation at all levels of decision- making; • promoting community participated and led processes at all stages of project implementation, including community-based monitoring; • advocating for better economic and social opportunities for rural communities. MRRD’s intent is to be present in the country through the Social Workers who are operating within the CLDD structure at the district level. The main objective of the Social Workers is to implement the CLDD regulatory, coordination and facilitation functions at the district level, to provide increased support to CDCs and DDAs and to empower rural communities. 1212 CLDD ToRs, internal MRRD document developed in 2011 Figure 6 - Community-Led Development Department Organisational Structure (CLDD ToRs, Internal MRRD Document Developed In 2011) 3.2.3. Current Division of Responsibilities amongst WASH Decision Makers The table below illustrates the current division of responsibilities amongst the different tiers of rural WASH governance. The table enlists other responsibilities of WASH decision makers besides those illustrated in Figure 1 – Decision makers: Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework. As we see in the table below, decision making in the rural water sector is largely centralised in Kabul, whether it be policy formulation, overall supervision, project design, contract and financial approvals, or evaluation and compliance checks. It is MRRD that approves contracts and directly disburses funds to CDCs/DDAs or sub-contractors. Although the MRRD Minister signs the contracts, it is the RuWatSIP that leads on most responsibilities like developing the wash programmes, strategies, manuals and guidelines as well as designing and evaluating projects. In carrying out these responsibilities, RuWatSIP is supported by its regional offices. At present, the PRRD has a very small role to play in the rural water sector, while CDCs or DDAs are the community based groups that identify and monitor the project in cooperation with the regional or Kabul offices of RuWatSIP. This table has also been developed for the proposed short-term and long-term division of roles and responsibilities among WASH decision makers (See also Stakeholder roles and responsibilities) Current Rural Wash division of roles and responsibilities Activity MRRD RuWatSIP RuWatSIP PRRD DDA/CDC Kabul Regional Office Policy Formulation √ Develop National WASH Action Framework Develop WASH Programmes √ Develop Strategies, Manuals, Standards, Guidelines, √ Checklists Overall Supervision √ √ Develop Registers of pre-selected contractors, suppliers and mechanics Project Identification √ √ √ Project Implementation √ Project conception, design and preparation √ √ Contracting √ Technical Sanctions √ Financial Approvals √ Fund Disbursements √ O&M and collecting related funds √ Evaluation, quality control and compliance checks √ √ Monitor on-ground implementation and post- √ √ √ project Figure 7 - Rural WASH division of roles and responsibilities (Current) Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 3.2.4. Current Rural WASH actors Figure 8 below illustrates the key rural WASH actors who are involved in the decision making and the consultation processes in MRRD. As we see below, the main policy and programme documents are produced through a consultation process with various WASH actors – concerned MRRD departments at the sub-national levels, donors, NGOs (both international and national) and other non-state actors. Although CDCs and DDAs are not decision makers, they identify the projects and monitor implementation in collaboration with the regional or central office teams of RuWatSIP. Depending on the size of the water project and the number of villages it serves, many donors, international implementing agencies and RuWatSIP implement rural water projects directly through CDCs or DDAs. As we mentioned earlier, RuWatSIP develops the WASH programmes, checks project viability, approves it, designs and surveys the projects and then submits it directly to MRRD for contract approval. MRRD Consultations Donors NGOs National Rural WASH Policy Other non-state actors RWSSID/ PRRD RuWatSIP Consultations CDCs / DDAs National Rural WASH Programme RuWatSIP Regional offices Community WASH Project WASH project survey, design and proposal viability check Approved Community WASH Project project documents Implementers (CDCs, DDAs, NGOs, Private Sector) MRRD contract approval Implementation of Rural WASH projects Figure 8 – Actors - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 31 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 3.2.5. Rural WASH Policies and Strategies Over the past decade, MRRD has gradually enhanced its competence in developing policies, strategies, standards and technical manuals, and has made great efforts to standardize interventions, achieve quality standards and improve the lives of rural populations. Figure 9 below illustrates the main consultation processes that are facilitated by MRRD decision makers in order to develop rural WASH policies and programmes. At the national level, MRRD leads the consultations with key WASH actors like donors, NGOs and other non-state actors, in order to develop national policies, including the National rural WASH policy. RuWatSIP leads the consultations, with the same WASH actors, at the national level to develop WASH strategies, programmes and manuals (hygiene promotion, O&M, sanitation). Similar smaller scale consultations are facilitated by the regional offices of RuWatSIP at the provincial and community levels in order to identify projects at the village level. MRRD Consultations Donors NGOs National Rural WASH Policy Other non-state actors Consultations RWSSID/ PRRD RuWatSIP CDCs / DDAs National Community WASH project RuWatSIP Rural WASH proposal Regional Programme offices WASH Project survey, design and viability check Approved Community WASH project documents Figure 9 – Policies and Programmes - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 32 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector The Afghanistan National Rural Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Policy 2010 is MRRD’s vital contribution to the rural WASH sector. It aims at achieving sustainable coverage in water and sanitation by 2020 and also seeks to address issues related to health and education, as these impact the overall WASH outcomes. The WASH Policy advocates environment protection through the conservation of water sources, adapting to climate changes through the preservation and improvement of catchment areas, with a focus on recharging ground water. It also advocates for disaster risk reduction through the construction of water and sanitation facilities that are resistant to natural disasters such as drought, floods, landslides and earthquakes. MRRD proposes to achieve these objectives by developing internal organisational capacity, implementing a sector- wide approach over time and coordinating with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) as its strategic partners. Framed in the context of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), which proposes to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2020, the WASH policy aims at (i) improving access of the rural population to a sufficient quantity and potable quality of drinking water from 27% to 50% in 2013, and 70% to 100% in 2015 and 2020 respectively; (ii) making all villages/rural communities in the country 100% Open Defecation Free (ODF) and fully sanitised by 2020 and 50% and 70% by 2013 and 2015 respectively. 13 The Water Law passed in 2009 adopted integrated water resources management and river basin management, through multi-stakeholder platforms, as the core approaches to water resource management in Afghanistan. However, if water conservation and efficient use is to become part of the daily life of people, it needs greater participation from people and requires change in behaviour and attitudes among communities. Local institutions, such as District development Assemblies (DDAs), Community Development Councils (CDCs), Water User associations (WUA) and irrigation associations, established in recent years, are recognised as relevant platforms and entry points for conducting awareness building, ensuring that plans are effectively implemented and projects efficiently managed. 14 ANDS strategy for the water sector The Afghanistan government, through its National Development Strategy (ANDS) of 2005, placed top priority for the provision of safe water and sanitation, intending to improve coverage in all provinces by 2013. The ANDS strategic vision and goal for the water sector is to “manage and develop water resources in the country so as to reduce poverty, increase sustainable economic and social development and improve the quality of life for all Afghans, and ensure an adequate supply of water for future generations.”According to the ANDS, rural development would have been enhanced for “90% of villages through provision of safe drinking water, sanitation (50%) and small scale irrigation (47%) by the end of 2010.” 15 Major obstacles to the delivery of clean water and improved sanitation, as identified in ANDS, can be considered valid observations even today. 16 • Lack of institutional capacity: this includes limited local technical expertise and reliance on inappropriate technology that lead to inefficient allocation of time and resources; shortages of skilled personnel in provincial departments; lack of capacity at provincial and national levels for 13 “Halving, by 2020, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation”, is one of the targets set by the Afghanistan government as part of its objectives to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 14 See Afghanistan Human Development Report 2011 (The Forgotten Front: Water Security and the Crisis in Sanitation) 15 Afghanistan National Development Strategy (2008- 2013) 16 Afghanistan Human Development Report 2011 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 33 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector monitoring water quality that hampers progress; flight of expertise from provincial departments to non-governmental organizations and the private sector where pay scales are higher; • Lack of quality building materials and spare parts: the lack of spare parts impacts on the sustainability of the water system infrastructure. It is estimated that 30% to 50% of the water- points in the country are not being used because of poor maintenance and the lack of quality construction materials and equipment; • Lack of management information systems: lack of tracking and a uniform database across the country has often led to incoherence or duplications in development efforts (for e.g. some villages have more water points than they require, while others have none at all); • Lack of coordination among partners: lack of coordination among non-government organizations, donors, government and provincial reconstruction teams has contributed to duplication in projects and a less balanced distribution of aid; • Lack of monitoring and evaluation: implementing agencies have independent evaluation systems for programmes and projects but there are no sector wide monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, targets and indicators that ensure synergy of efforts; • Low demand for sanitation: absence of social marketing, limited hygiene education and the lack of awareness campaigns that link sanitation and health has contributed to low community demand; • Poverty barrier: the poor, especially those living in remote rural areas, have experienced more insecurity and lack the purchasing power and capacity necessary to upgrade infrastructure and gain access to safe water and sanitation; • Gender barrier: although women are more likely than men to experience the impact of poor sanitation and their participation is critical to decision-making on water security, social practices impact women’s access to and involvement in safe water and sanitation services and facilities; • Inefficient community mobilization and participation: insufficient investment in, and lack of awareness on the benefits of, participatory processes of design, implementation and follow-up phases in water and sanitation projects constitutes a major hurdle to sustainable programmes and projects. Rural Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Policy 2010 The Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Department (RWSSID) of MRRD led the participatory development of a National Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Policy for Afghanistan in 2009. The WASH policy was developed and agreed among MRRD, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Public health, and major national and international WASH actors.17 It replaces the earlier national rural water supply and sanitation policy framework adopted by MRRD in September 2004. The policy acknowledges the Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Programme (RuWatSIP) and the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) as the major vehicles of water supply and sanitation coverage in Afghanistan. As part of Afghanistan’s commitment to achieving the MDG targets by 2020, the WASH Policy presents a roadmap for improving the quality of life of people in rural areas through: 17 The Water Law passed by the Afghan government in 2009 states that the “development, storage, use, control, and conservation of the water resources of the country will be guided by the national water policy and strategy and environmental protection with regard to the provisions of this law.” Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 34 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector • improving access to safe water (25 litres per capita per day - LPCD) from 27% to 50% in 2014, and 70% to 100% in 2016 and 2020 respectively; • improving potable quality of drinking water (WHO standards); • making all villages/rural communities in the country 100% ODF free and fully sanitised by 2020; and 50% and 70% by 2014 and 2016 respectively by empowering communities to (i) improve existing traditional latrines to become safe, hygienic, (ii) ensure user privacy, (iii) to make new latrines as models of safe sanitation in households, schools and clinics; (iv) undertake safe disposal of solid and liquid wastes; • providing hygiene education with appropriate follow-up activities in schools, households and communities for sustained behaviour change and adoption of safe hygiene practices. In line with the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), the WASH Policy advocates for a shift from the current approach involving multiple programmes and projects to enhanced focus and investment in sector-wide programs (SWAPs) through strengthened institutions at various levels and the capacity building of local level institutions such as the Provincial Rural Rehabilitation Departments (PRRD) so that an effective transition to sector wide planning and functioning is facilitated. This would involve the creation of a database, improving internal governance, making strategic and balanced investment, facilitating coordination, ensuring transparency, maintaining smooth information flow, building capacity to help improve sector efficiency and functioning, and coordinated strengthening among sector institutions and MRRD departments and programmes, such as RuWatSIP, Afghanistan Institute of Rural Development (AIRD), NSP, and the National Area Based Development Programme (NABDP). The policy suggests a multi-pronged strategy, with people and communities in the lead role, for achieving the goals of universal sustainable coverage in water and sanitation in the country. The policy further aims at contributing to aid effectiveness in the sector by streamlining investments such that the health benefits of water and sanitation services to people are optimised over the long- term. The policy document includes WASH standards and guidelines and identifies five policy principles to achieve the goal of universal sustainable coverage in water and sanitation: (i) community participation in decision-making, planning, design and service delivery, ensuring ownership and sustainability at the community level; (ii) partial capital cost sharing and 100% operation and maintenance responsibility by the community for all water facilities; (iii) gender mainstreaming to ensure social equity and justice; (iv) protecting human rights (safety, security, privacy and dignity); (v) protecting the environment by conserving water sources, adapting to climatic changes through the preservation and improvement of catchment areas, with a focus on recharging ground water. The policy proposes a strategic focus on hygiene awareness and education in schools, community groups, and women’s groups, including, capacity development, especially for O&M, strengthening the private sector, and M&E system for strategic learning and corrective action. At the national level, the WASH policy aims to further strengthen its ongoing partnerships with multilateral and bilateral agencies, including the UN agencies, particularly UNICEF, through donor dialogue on critical issues of importance, including Operation and Maintenance, quality and sustainability of services, emergency services and lasting hygiene and sanitation behaviour change at Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 35 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector the household and community level. Although the policy shares its concern on CDC capacity to guarantee equitable services to all, it acknowledges that their active involvement in the identification, implementation and monitoring of water projects has resulted in local ownership of processes with relatively much better results, as compared to more centralised approaches used in the past. The WASH Policy also shares concerns on the lack of adequate capacity and infrastructure (for e.g. water testing labs) for monitoring water quality at provincial and national levels. It recognizes that the effectiveness of water quality monitoring is challenged by low staff capacity and that the efficiency of time and resource allocation is limited by technical expertise; less attention to indigenous water recharge systems, and the use of inappropriate technology. Further, the WASH policy emphasizes the need to make coordination between various stakeholders, including communities, non-government organisations (NGOs), donors, line ministries, and other implementing partners more effective in order to prioritise investments and cross learning. MRRD Strategic Intent 2010 The five-year Strategic Intent 2010, of the MRRD, expresses the Ministry’s commitment to improve the quality of its services while establishing itself as a leader in policy-making for the rural development sector. As part of this Strategic Intent, MRRD plans to focus its efforts around two outcomes: (i) contributing to poverty alleviation through the delivery of a comprehensive package of services; and (ii) creating an enabling environment for sustainable rural development. Women’s needs, environment protection, disaster management, conflict mitigation are the cross cutting issues of the Strategic intent. As part of its First Strategic Focus Area of “Rural infrastructure and Economic Development”, MRRD intends leading, in partnership with relevant stakeholders, the design of a national rural development policy that will establish a comprehensive framework for all rural development interventions. MRRD also intends to unify and harmonize norms and standards for all infrastructure projects of a certain kind regardless of the programme under which they are being implemented. Quality Control will continue to be mainstreamed at all stages of project design and implementation. MRRD will follow a two-pronged approach for enhancing communities’ ownership over infrastructure assets: (i) increasing investment in building community capacity to maintain assets, and (ii) promoting traditional community-based maintenance systems for infrastructures that require labour intensive work. As part of its Second Strategic Focus Area of “Local Governance”, one of MRRD’s main objectives is to strengthen the Community Development Councils (CDCs) and District Development Assemblies (DDAs) as governance bodies and work in close collaboration with them as development gateways for delivering development at the grass roots levels. It recommends that all ministries contributing to rural development also avail of CDCs and DDAs, thus enhancing resource efficiency and cost- effectiveness. The document clearly states that these institutions are envisioned as the long-term national delivery mechanisms for partners involved in rural development, with a view to streamlining development processes, increasing cost-effectiveness and promoting consistency in the way development actors interact with communities. As per the Strategic Intent, the objective of MRRD is to empower communities in promoting grassroots democracy and delivering rural development. MRRD intends to establish DDAs and CDCs in all districts and communities not yet covered and further strengthen DDA and CDC capacity through additional training on participatory planning and project implementation. The document acknowledges that by building, in an inclusive manner, on the level of Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 36 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector investment and a proven successful approach, the Government can achieve its sub-national governance objectives and better respond to the needs of the people it is serving. As part of the third Strategic Focus Area of “Rural Development Policy and Planning”, the institutional mainstay of MRRD will continue to be advocacy, design and delivery of national programmes. Under this Focus Area, the objectives of MRRD would be (i) to develop and advocate for policies that provide comprehensive and equitable response to poverty challenges in rural areas; and (ii) to strengthen the planning processes by reinforcing the links between sub-national planning and national planning mechanisms. As part of its Fourth Strategic Focus Area of “Institutional and Sectoral Strengthening”, MRRD will, through empowerment of the Provincial Rural Rehabilitation Department, decentralise so as to directly manage funds and projects and oversee community-based contracting. The document recognises government’s engagement in a decentralisation process and its commitment to making all efforts to remain a leading ministry that promotes the devolution of power to provinces. Under this Focus Area, the objectives of MRRD would be to (i) strengthen some of MRRD’s functions (policy and planning, centralised MIS, strengthen AIRD, decentralise), thereby increasing its efficiency, programme quality and cost-effectiveness, (ii) enhance MRRD’s ownership by reinforcing partnerships with the international community; and (iii) enhance the coherence of the rural development sector in order to maximise MRRD’s impact. As part of its Fifth Strategic Focus Area of “Human Capital Development”, MRRD objectives include (i) improving the quality of services delivered by MRRD through capacity development of staff and partners; and (ii) providing awareness, skills and knowledge to individuals and communities so they can lead their own development. 3.2.6. Rural WASH Programmes ARTF funded RWSS project The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) project funded by the World Bank through the ARTF (Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund) was implemented by the RWSSID from 2005 to 2009. The objectives of the project were twofold: (i) improving the health of rural communities in Afghanistan by increasing awareness through integration of health and hygiene education and providing safe and sustainable water supply and sanitation services; (ii) strengthening and build the capacity of government (central and provincial) in developing the sector and that of NGOs, the private sector and the communities in order to scale up provision of sustainable water supply and sanitation facilities. The primary beneficiaries of the project were the rural population in identified districts of eight selected provinces in Afghanistan who lacked access to safe and adequate drinking water facilities. The World Bank funded ARTF project design took into consideration early experiences of NSP and opted for the use of Community Development Councils (CDC) for service delivery wherever these existed as well as the formation of Water Supply and Sanitation User Committees (WSSUC) in the absence of CDCs. It partnered with Support Organisations (SOs) in 4 provinces to provide the required technical and facilitation support to CDCs and worked with PRRDs in four provinces (supported by dedicated staff of Project Officers –Technical and Social and 2 Assistants). RuWatSIP streamlined Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 37 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector procurement procedures and mobilised its other units (hygiene, sanitation, training, and technical, MIS) to respond to project needs. The project further aimed at strengthening the capacity of RWSSID so that it could lead sector development and do away with multiple Project Implementation Units (PIUs)––i.e. a PIU per funding agency––in the sector. During project implementation, RWSSID faced the challenge of balancing the need to make reforms in the water sector versus the urgency of delivering water points, the latter often being prevented by cumbersome internal processes and procedures. Some of the lessons learned from this project include: 18 • Multiple programmes and projects marked by the involvement of several donors and implementing agencies with diverse technologies and programmes, and delayed capacity building among government staff, led to the duplication of projects and impacted on accountability, and equitable resource allocation. Parallel programming among RuWatSIP and NSP also affected community expectations and the quality of community participation in hygiene and sanitation programmes; • Integrated delivery of WASH services and scaling them up is highly relevant for Afghanistan. However, unless the capacity of Government and other institutions is built to operate effectively and the decentralization approach continues to be strengthened, scaling-up will not be feasible. The demonstrated success of community-based maintenance systems under the project also needs to be consolidated and scaled up. Absence of an MIS and lack of reliable data at appraisal meant that baseline values for the key indicators were not available. This created difficulty in measuring outcomes and impacts; • Technical capacity needs to be further enhanced in the sector. MRRD is yet to develop its capacity in technical areas such as geophysical investigations, water quality monitoring, and disinfection of water sources. While MRRD is expected to make these efforts, strategies and technical capacity on key sector issues such as developing a database on sector indicators, geophysical investigations to locate ground water sources, procuring quality hand pumps, monitoring water quality, disinfecting water sources, and designing complex piped schemes must be developed through strategic partnerships with and sustained funding by donors/ other major WASH actors. Standard capacity building across the board and at all governance levels is vital to face the challenge of high turnover among senior programme staff; • Limited decentralisation at the province level. PRRDs do not have procurement or payment authority and their role has been limited to technical support, monitoring, to some extent capacity building and certification of completion of projects. This poses great limitations for PRRDs to emerge as decentralised units to manage projects at their level; • Conflict between emergency and long-term sustainability. The conflict between sustainability and the need to provide services quickly to the provinces was difficult to balance. Unless this transition is clearly communicated by the Government, emergency reconstruction will be given higher priority than sustainability; • Early recruitment of staff. Delayed project start-up could have been avoided if the recruitment of key staff, such as the project manager, had been done upfront. The long lead-time is important for countries whose security situation is not stable; • Operations and Maintenance. Although MRRD’s National WASH Policy makes CDCs fully responsible for the O&M of water assets, back-up technical support or O&M financing to CDCs in case of major repairs or rehabilitation of existing water points is lacking. Institutional 18 “Implementation completion and results report” of the World Bank funded Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project, June 2010 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 38 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector mechanisms and capacity at the province or districts to support such maintenance or rehabilitation is almost non-existent due to lack of tools, staff, and funding. This has undermined the sustainability of water points; • Implementation procedures need to be decentralised, simplified and made flexible enough to accommodate operational effectiveness of institutions and specific implementation needs. In the ARTF project, CDC disbursements and payments to SOs (support organisations) and Construction Partners were routed through the Ministry of Finance. Although procurement was handled by the Procurement Department in the MRRD, it was routed through the Ministry of Finance. These procedures created delays and took a lot of management time. Fund flows were found to be smoother and the implementation pace faster when funds were disbursed (as in NSP and NABDP) through fund managers or an independent finance section within the programme and when procurement processes were done in-house with only approvals being taken from the Ministry of Finance. CDCs showed willingness and commitment to the new integrated approach of water, hygiene, and sanitation, and commitment to maintain the water points. Agreement to allow community procurement helped reduce the significant burden of centralized contract management. However, delays in releasing second instalments to CDCs affected final payments to construction partners and eventually the completion of schemes in some cases. Figure 10 below illustrates the implementation process that was followed by MRRD; 19 • Developing strong community based maintenance systems where PRRDs provide technical support for major repairs. Irrespective of number of water points, RuWatSIP would need to take on the responsibility for putting in place community based maintenance systems for all water Figure 10 - The Fund Flow Process followed in the ARTF Project 19 Final Report on “Preparation of Proposal for Follow On project for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation”, Vijay Gawde, Consultant, MRRD, ARTF, December 2009 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 39 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector points installed by various partners • Women’s participation was weak throughout the planning and implementation process; • Increased security risks in the country affected project staff movements and the MRRD’s effective capacity to provide services; • Need to pilot test and document approaches. The World Bank tested the decentralized approach, supported by MRRD, through two institutional models: (i) facilitating through SOs and PRRD; and (ii) working exclusively with PRRD. The results were inconclusive regarding the best way forward on institutional arrangements for future projects. Current Donor Support to RWSSID/RuWatSIP The Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Department (RWSSID) implements one major programme: the Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Programme (RuWatSIP). Two major donors are currently supporting this programme: • UNICEF support on capacity building: The mandate of UNICEF for its current support to the RuWatSIP is to strengthen their capacity in supervising and monitoring the water sector and in leading the participated process of developing WASH policies and strategies. It coordinates and harmonizes with other Ministries and donor initiatives, especially in health, education, and nutrition and child protection. UNICEF plans to continue supporting RWSSID in developing sector specific policies and strategies, developing and maintaining a Management Information System; training staff on the use of water testing kits and Household (HH) level water treatment techniques for the WASH sector, advocating for community and institutional needs with the international community. UNICEF has supported RuWatSIP in establishing a geophysical unit that now conducts geophysical surveys before drilling wells, especially deep boreholes. UNICEF has further contributed to RWSSID by (i) providing basic infrastructure for establishing and equipping water quality testing laboratories in Kabul and trained technicians both in Kabul and the regional offices; (ii) building capacity of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and MRRD on the use of water testing kits and HH level water treatment techniques; (iii) prepared a water quality manual; and (iv) developed standard water quality analysis reporting templates. UNICEF is working in partnership with the department and major WASH stakeholders to develop technical implementation manuals for the water sector, establish water quality standards, and lead the process for drafting a national sanitation policy. • Norwegian Development Agency, NORAD support to MRRD capacity building: through a three-year USD 6m project called “Capacity-Building and Institutional Cooperation in the Field of Hydrogeology for Faryab Province project”, NORAD will build the capacity of MRRD, and especially RWSSID, (at national and provincial levels) and cooperate in the Field of Hydrogeology. Faryab province will be the pilot project area to develop the model for preparing provincial Hydrogeological Surveys (HGS). NORAD identified DACAAR as the local partner to work with the Norwegian consultant for all fieldwork and capacity building that is required under the project. Technical information will be anchored into other training other training institutions such as university, polytechnic and vocational training centres where appropriate The HGS model will be used to develop training courses and practical training for staff at all levels essential for implementing such a survey and recording, analysing and presenting the information for use for water planners at all levels. Through the HGS project, it is also planned that a survey be conducted (based on the DACAAR database) on existing Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 40 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector unregistered water supplies in order to collect data on water availability and water quality in the different locations. Based on the HGS methodologies, it is expected that MRRD will replicate this methodology in other provinces. NORAD will also support MRRD in preparing a GIS/MIS information system (i.e. water resource map or a water atlas) as a planning tool to ascertain the likelihoods of finding water. MRRD is planned to be the hub for this information system for rural drinking water supply water resource atlas. Conceptual designs will be prepared for town rural water supply. It is further expected that the project will share its best practices with other initiatives of RWSSID and take solutions to scale them up for national levels. The technical information produced in the project will be anchored into other training as well as training institutions such as university, polytechnic and vocational training centres where appropriate. The key focus for the project is sustainability at national, provincial and local levels where the O&M strategy being developed will be tested. National Solidarity Programme (NSP) The National Solidarity Programme (NSP), a multi-donor programme, was created in 2003 by MRRD for developing the ability of Afghan communities to identify, plan, manage and monitor their own development projects. The programme supports all communities, strongly promoting a unique development paradigm, whereby communities can make important decisions and participate in all stages of their development. 24% of the sub projects prioritised by CDCs (Community Development Councils) and implemented through NSP were water supply projects (implemented by approx. 4000 communities). Further, most water supply projects are limited to single communities. The NSP approach towards rural water supply projects (also evident from NSP manuals) does not include the integration of hygiene and sanitation. As of December 2011, a total of US$ 945,875,434 million of block grants has been committed, of which US$ 906,582,727 million has been disbursed to 27,157 communities (from among a total of 40,000 communities to be covered) for their projects. 20 NSP operates through its National Office at Kabul, 6 regional and 34 Provincial Management Units (PMUs). 21 Each PMU covers approx. 40 communities and has a manager, accountant, engineer, and two social mobilisers. The NSP departments in Kabul include Technical Support, Facilitating Partner (mainly national and international NGOs) management, Public Communications, Quality Assurance and Human Resources Development and Training. The NSP Regional offices and Provincial Units are independent of the PRRD Offices of MRRD and report directly to the National NSP Office in Kabul. The key objective of NSP is to build, strengthen and maintain CDCs as effective institutions for local governance and social-economic development. Through the promotion of good local governance, the NSP aims at empowering rural communities to make decisions affecting their lives and livelihoods. The NSP also builds capacity of CDC male and female members in terms of financial management, procurement, technical skills, and transparency. CDCs comprise members elected by a community (of 25 Families or more - max. of 5,000 people) and are registered by NSP to receive block grants under the NSP programme. Female CDCs are also incorporated in each CDC. The funding takes the form of Block Grants, for development projects that are identified as part of community development plans and priorities, calculated at US$200 per family with an average grant of US$33,500 and maximum of US$ 60,000 per community. Communities can implement only one infrastructure at a time through one sub-project proposal, to be completed within 20 See http://mrrd.gov.af and http://www.nspafghanistan.org 21 See http://www.nspafghanistan.org Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 41 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector a period of two years. Projects implemented by CDCs (also outsourced to private contractors) have been observed to be cost-effective, sustainable, addressing women’s needs and participation, and having community ownership. Once the CDC is elected, its members formulate a Community Development Plan (CDP) based on the priority development requirements of the community. Subproject proposals are then developed to apply for funding. The Plan and sub-projects are reviewed and agreed at the Provincial Management Unit (PMU) of NSP and then it is forwarded to the National Office of NSP for approval and fund disbursement. Once the sub-project is approved, funds are transferred from the Ministry of Finance to MRRD and then to NSP that in turn transfers it to the CDC accounts in two instalments of 90% and 10%. All CDC projects are owned and managed by the community. Communities need to contribute a minimum of 10% of the total project cost in labour, funds or materials. CDCs are required to have a bank account with a registered bank where all the community funds are deposited. The account is opened with three signatories (the chairperson, deputy-chairperson and treasurer). Each withdrawal of funds from the bank account requires the signature of four CDC members including the chairperson, deputy-chairperson, treasurer and one other CDC member; at least one signatory must be a female CDC member. CDCs must maintain records of income and expenditure for cash and in-kind contributions. And make their financial records shall be available for public inspection at all times. The government may ask at any time for an external/social audit of a CDC's financial records. The CDC's financial records need to be disclosed for public inspections on regular basis. The Facilitating Partners (FP) monitor the implementation of sub-projects, in close coordination with the provincial level PMUs of the NSP programme. The district level FP staffs (including engineers, social organisers, and master trainers) facilitate the entire process from mobilising communities to the elections of CDC members through a transparent and democratic process, planning and identifying priorities, supporting technical issues for selected sub-projects, etc. CDCs help ensure the safety of development workers and enable them to access project sites. The FPs assesses each sub-project, calculate sub-grant amounts and submit proposals to NSP in Kabul for approval. An outsourced contractor supports the financial management of NSP. Community Development Plans (CDP) are also shared with DDAs that are established as part of the UNDP programme. The Procurement Department of NSP operates independently from the Procurement Directorate of MRRD. At the provincial level, the PMUs are responsible for monitoring performance of FPs and CDCs. The PRRDs provide administrative support, monitors the performance of CDCs and issues project completion certificates. The CDC's financial records are disclosed for public inspections on a regular basis. NSP is now entering its third phase wherein (i) a second round of block grants will be disbursed to address the priority projects identified by CDCs who have already completed the implementation of first sub projects, and (ii) communities not yet covered due to security or other issues will be covered. Below is the organisational structure of the CDCs at the village level: 22 22 Final Report on “Preparation of Proposal for Follow On project for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation”, Vijay Gawde, Consultant, MRRD, ARTF, December 2009 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 42 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Community Development •R egistered with National Solidarity project (NSP) and with PR R D at the province level Councils (for 20 - 300 families) •R esponsible for procurement of all goods, works and services associated with subprojects •R esponsibilities include – Represented by Chairman, Dy. • Watsan Situation Assessment • Choice of technology options Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary • Prepare Community Action Plan • Prepare Community Contribution Plan • Prepare Community O&M Plan S l t H lth t H d / t i t Sub-Committee Sub-Committee Sub-Committees on Agri, Health, (Procurement) Project Management M&E, Conflict resolution, O&M (non- CDC members) Figure 11 - Organisational structure of the CDCs at the village level National Area Based Development Programme (NABDP) The National Area Based Development Programme (NABDP) is a joint initiative of the MRRD and UNDP that started in 2002 (receiving fund contribution from 19 donors) with the goal of contributing to the sustainable reduction of poverty and an improvement of livelihoods in rural Afghanistan through a comprehensive area development approach. NABDP aims at promoting recovery and longer-term development in Afghanistan while building the government’s capacity to lead and coordinate participatory approaches to development. Its objectives include (i) empowering communities that can articulate and address their needs and priorities through participation in comprehensive rural development planning and implementation processes and through expert inputs in regional economic regeneration strategies; (ii) a well-established institutional capacity and technical capability in MRRD to fulfil its mandate of promoting rural regeneration and livelihoods and support the implementation and management of comprehensive rural development strategies/plans in a participatory, coordinated and sustainable manner. Between 2004 and 2006, MRRD developed an approach for greater community participation in the design and implementation of development activities through NSP and NABDP. This approach resulting in the creation of Community Development Councils (CDCs) at the village level through NSP, and the establishment of District Development Assemblies (DDAs) at the district level through NABDP - provides a platform for strengthened sub-national governance. The NABDP trains DDAs in good governance practices and in infrastructure project planning and implementation skills. Special procurement and monitoring methodologies have been launched in insecure areas, not accessible by NABDP, in order to continue the timely implementation and monitoring process to track progress and quality of projects. At the national level, NABDP is one of six permanent programs of the MRRD, operating through its seven regional offices. The programme expands the scope of the DDA role in local governance, providing a forum for conflict-resolution, disaster management, and increasing female participation in decision-making. It further strengthens the overall role DDAs play as the conduit for social and economic development planning, acting as the Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 43 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector principal district-level coordinating platform for an integrated area approach by all governmental and non-government actors. While the CDCs formulate Community Development Plans (CDPs) in the village communities, based on the needs and ambitions of the villages; the DDAs have been established to formulate District Development Plans (DDP) that integrate and are based on the CDPs. Through direct participation, the voices of the people can directly feed into the planning and budgeting framework making decision making more transparent and accountable. Once CDCs are set up in a district, they are then ‘clustered’ together to elect DDA members for the district level. In those districts where NSP is not yet working and there are no Community Development Councils, ‘interim’ DDAs have been established. A mechanism has been put in place to ensure a fair representation of people in the district and avoid elite capture. For example, projects have to be confirmed as relevant to the whole community in order to be considered eligible for funding. DDAs in Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan are currently a mix of permanent and interim DDAs. The current NABDP Phase-III (2009 – 2014) aims at full national coverage of DDAs, whilst building on the experience and capacities of already established DDAs. It will focus on productive infrastructure to link communities as part of government’s broader agricultural and rural development strategy and will continue its vital work on strengthening and linking the District Development Assemblies (DDAs). Most NABDP projects are implemented through a tripartite agreement between MRRD, DDA and CDC and are supervised by the NABDP Provincial Project Manager (PPM). The PPM manages LIDD (Local Institutional Development Department) that includes social mobilisers and survey designers. NABDP Regional Manager manages the PPM, engineers, administrative, finance and procurement staff, as well as the gender representative in the NABDP regional offices, are in turn managed by the. NABDP Regional Office confirms the relevance and technical feasibility of the projects selected by DDAs. The Technical Support Unit (TSU) conducts an on-site survey for each proposed project, designs it and then prepares a cost estimate and Bills of Quantity (BoQ). The TSU is an MRRD/ NABDP initiative to strengthen the implementation capacity of RRD offices and assist in the project cycle management of community projects. Six TSUs have been set up in the NABDP regional offices (Balkh, Nangahar, Kunduz, Kandahar, Paktika, and Herat) across Afghanistan, each of which provides technical support to the local provinces. The NABDP Regional Manager prepares and submits the project proposal to MRRD for approval. After approval is obtained from the MRRD Minister, the project goes to the procurement department for bidding and contracting. For project implementation, a tripartite agreement is made between MRRD/ NABDP, the DDA and CDC to implement small community-based projects. In case of large projects, a two-party-agreement is made between the MRRD/ NABDP and a private contractor. The funds are released according to an agreed financial plan and after a completion certificate is issued by the MRRD. All expenditures are recorded and reports are submitted to the MRRD/ NABDP finance unit in a prescribed format. MRRD’s provincial offices (PRRD), Technical Support Units (TSU) and NABDP and NSP regional support offices ensure the proper selection, design, implementation and monitoring of all initiatives. NABDP and NSP regional offices provide backstopping and monitoring of fund disbursement to the CDCs and DDAs. In addition, they provide technical support to the facilitating partners in the province. MRRD provincial staff and NABDP and NSP regional staff also monitor the progress and quality of all Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 44 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector approved sub-projects. The PRRDs approve project documents and transfer funds to either DDA or CDC bank accounts. However, the limited number of professionally competent civil servants in the PRRD impacts their capacity carry out this role effectively. The NABDP programme has achieved particular success in Kandahar. The Kandahar Model is based on three pre-conditions: • Threefold Community Participation: local communities (CDCs and DDAs) are involved in (a) identification of needs and prioritization of projects; (b) project implementation; and (c) monitoring projects (either implemented by CDCs or located in those districts where insecurity does not allow external monitors to visit project sites); • Faster decision-making processes through the establishment of a Task Force that can quickly react and reduce “red tapism”; • Regionalized Project Cycle Management (PCM) ensuring that the main bulk of project management is carried out at the regional level by the NABDP regional office in close collaboration with the provincial MRRD office and that the national level office only provides assistance in technical and social surveying, procurement and monitoring. The Kandahar Model approach (CDC facilitation, trust-building, rapid decision making, reduction of red tape, strengthened regional mandate) combined with the contracting of community councils and district assemblies, often without the involvement of external commercial companies or NGOs, has led to rapid implementation of community projects. One of the core elements for this approach is the installation of physical assets combined with the social asset base created by the mobilization and direct implementation process. Majority projects have aimed at responding to community priorities, for e.g. repairing irrigation infrastructure, providing employment for youth. In the Kandahar province, DDAs identified many projects that were labour intensive and did not require high qualification, so that local labourers were employed (for e.g. karez or irrigation canal cleaning) and produced immediate benefits for local people. This meant that communities were significantly more involved in the implementation process than they had been previously and that they also took much more ownership of projects.23 An essential step in the Kandahar Model was also the handing over of finances to community leaders (CDCs or DDAs) and permitting local people to manage their budgets, thus taking more appropriate decisions. Besides supporting the Kandahar PRRD, the Kandahar Technical Support Units (TSU) detached engineers to the Helmand and Uruzgan PRRDs to assist them with project selection, survey and design. 3.2.7. Monitoring and Evaluation in Current Rural WASH Programmes At present, MRRD conducts project monitoring primarily for checking project progress before disbursing the second and successive instalments of payments as per project budgets. If the regional offices of RuWatSIP or PRRDs have competent technical teams, they monitor the water projects on-ground in close cooperation with CDCs and send back their monitoring reports so that successive payments can be approved. If this is not possible, the Kabul engineering team conducts monitoring missions and submits the project performance report. As mentioned in the section 3.2.3. on Current Division of Responsibilities amongst WASH Decision Makers, fund disbursements are made by MRRD after RuWatSIP has approved project performance reports. 23 Publication on the Kandahar Model published by the UNDP Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 45 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector MRRD MRRD contract approval Fund disbursement (first installment) Project Implementers Implementation of (CDCs, DDAs, NGOs, Rural WASH projects Private Sector) RWSSID/ RuWatSIP Project Monitoring and Fund disbursement (Second and successive Evaluation Monitoring and Reports instalments) RuWatSIP Evaluation Regional offices Figure 12 - Evaluation - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework The current rural WASH institutional framework model, illustrated in Figure 13- Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework, has been developed by integrating the following figures: • Figure 1 – Decision makers: Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework on pg. 21 • Figure 7 - Rural WASH division of roles and responsibilities (Current) on pg. 30 • Figure 8 – Actors - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework on pg. 31 • Figure 9 – Policies and Programmes - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework on pg. 32 • Figure 12 - Evaluation - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework on pg. 46 In the Figure 13 - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework below, we illustrate the interrelationships among decision makers, actors, programmes, and M&E processes, illustrated separately in the Figures enlisted above and explained in the above paragraphs of this section, as one integrated Model that represents the current rural WASH institutional framework. As illustrated in Figure 1 – Decision makers: Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework, it is the MRRD and RuWatSIP that develop, through a consultative process, the rural WASH policies, strategies and programmes. Once the CDCs have identified the water project that responds to their communities’ needs, the Kabul office of RuWatSIP, in collaboration with its regional offices, surveys, designs and checks project viability. The Kabul based team then develops the final project proposal and approves it. It then selects either the implementing agency (private or non-government) for sub- contracting project implementation or it goes ahead for direct implementation through CDCs. Once the contract is approved by MRRD, and signed by the Hon’ble Minister, funds are disbursed. Successive Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 46 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector instalments of funds are disbursed after project performance reports are submitted by the regional offices and/or Kabul based team. Depending on the security situation in the area where the water project was implemented, projects are monitored and evaluated by the Kabul or the regional team of RuWatSIP. However, the lessons learned exercises are sporadically organised and do not feedback or inform new programming in an organised and structured manner. MRRD Consultations Donors NGOs National Rural WASH Policy Other National Rural non-state WASH actors Programme PRRD RWSSID/ RuWatSIP Consultations CDCs / DDAs Community WASH Project WASH project proposal RuWatSIP survey, design and Regional viability check offices Approved Community WASH Fund disbursement project documents Project Implementers (first installment) (CDCs, DDAs, NGOs, Private Sector) MRRD contract approval Implementation Fund disbursement (Second and successive of Rural WASH instalments) projects Project Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring and Evaluation Reports Figure 13 - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 47 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 4. Assessment of Current Rural WASH Institutional Structures and Processes 5. This section elaborates the current achievements and future goals in the rural WASH sector that were based on an assessment of (i) the critical issues that the rural WASH sector faces in Afghanistan, and (ii) the policies, programmes, and current institutional structures and processes shared in Section 3. The assessment was conducted through a process of asking “what worked well and why” and “what did not work well and why” in the existing context of the rural WASH sector. The sub-section on “Goals Ahead” addresses the main gaps that emerged from the assessment and provides clues, “on how things could be done better”. This sub-section further guides the formulation of strategy recommendations and the development of the rural WASH governance models shared in the successive sections of the report. Other considerations that have informed these assessments include issues emerging from our consultations with key WASH actors, lessons learned from programmes and projects, sectors of cooperation and growth in rural WASH, the socio-political situation in the country and the cooperation strategies of the international community. 4.1. Achievements Although this report is mainly concerned with indicating the scope for improvements, it is extremely important that we appreciate the work done so far by MRRD, RuWatSIP and other WASH actors, to value their achievements, to build on the strengths and address the gaps. Considering the challenges of governance and security in Afghanistan, improvements in the past decade on the access of rural populations to and availability of water have been impressive. The challenges that the rural WASH sector continues to face, include, among others: • tense security situation, especially in the South and East of the country, limiting personnel mobility; • dilapidated infrastructure resulting from decades of war and neglect; • high level of “non-revenue” water, estimated at approx. 40%, including water use from illegal connections; • inappropriate pipe materials such as asbestos-cement used for earlier pipes used in projects; • lack of qualified personnel, especially at sub-national levels; • widespread poverty and financial inability to locally address immediate water needs and O&M issues in existing projects; • traditional social norms, especially concerning the role of women, Among the main achievements are: • the expansion of rural water supply infrastructure, with active participation of communities; • the institutional reform that is underway for urban water supply and that has been initiated in the rural areas through the decentralization of service provision; • extensive exposure and training provided to staff (in participatory techniques of PCM, in operations and maintenance) at all levels of governance and to the community; • number of institutions, coordination groups and community based groups that have been established to manage the rural water sector. Progress has been made in promoting hygiene practices and local awareness has been built in making rural Afghanistan “open defecation free”. • Quality documents on policies, strategies and manuals have been produced in consultation with key WASH actors As stated in the Human Development Report on Afghanistan, reports produced by international agencies and the Afghan government, and as elaborated in Section 3, a larger section of the rural communities of Afghanistan now have access to more water resources and are adopting a more hygienic life style. Awareness Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 48 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector of the drivers for improved WASH services is increasing among all Afghanistan decision makers. And in the past 10 years, capacities among WASH actors have been substantially enhanced. 4.2. Goals Ahead This sub-section on “Goals Ahead” comprises the vision, main principles, challenges identified, recommended strategies, actions, and standards of the WASH Policy 2010, the MRRD strategic intent, the current sectors of operation and growth in WASH, the cooperation strategies of the international community as well as the socio-political situation in the country. These goals have been identified through the analysis of the strengths, gaps and lessons learned in the existing programmes and in the current institutional framework. 4.2.1. Expanding Access to Safe Water High levels of coverage, yet relatively low levels of service quality and weak financial performance characterize water services in many developing countries, especially in the rural areas. In the current institutional and local capacity context, and security situation, RuWatSIP’s programme would be more effective if a limited number of provinces and communities were selected for pilot testing the recommended WASH governance model and then scaled up to cover other provinces. Expansion of access to safe water and sanitation must not be prioritised at the expense of professionally managing assets that are already functional. It is, thus, recommended that future rural water projects be restricted to communities where CDCs and/or DDAs have been established by NSP and NABDP programmes of MRRD. Further, communities to be prioritised for implementing water projects must include those (i) where CDCs are established but no water supply projects have yet been implemented, (ii) that are without access to functional water sources/ water points, (iii) those that are drought-affected. See recommendations in:  section 0 -  Consider Operations and Maintenance in all rural water projects  section 5.1.5 - Integrate sanitation and hygiene promotion in water projects  section 5.2.1 - Ensure project adherence to WASH Policy 2010  section 5.1.1 - Decentralize Planning and Service Delivery 4.2.2. Participated policy making and planning Although much good work has been done in WASH management in Afghanistan, the provision of benefits delivered to people may not be sustainable in the long term unless communities are brought on board designing and managing WASH activities. One of the most important goals ahead is therefore to engage the local communities in the process of WASH planning so as to move towards a participated approach to development. 24 The Water Law passed by the Afghanistan government in 2009 gives centrality to IWRM 24 The World Bank suggests a strategy called CDD or Community Driven Development. CDD approach treats beneficiaries and their institutions as assets and partners in the search for sustainable solutions to development challenges. CDD, broadly defined, is an approach that gives control over planning decisions and investment resources to community groups and local governments. CDD programmes operate on the principles of local empowerment, participatory governance, demand-responsiveness, administrative autonomy, greater downward accountability, and enhanced local capacity. Experience has shown that given clear rules of the game, access to information and appropriate capacity and financial support, poor men and women can effectively organize in order to Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 49 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector (Integrated Water Resource Management) for planning and development of water resources. Advocating for a shift from administration to resource-based management, the central principle of IWRM is active community engagement in managing its resources. By “participated development”, we mean a process through which stakeholders influence and share control over development initiatives and the decisions and resources that affect them. Community participation enables exchange of ideas and opinions both among themselves and also from external experts and resource persons, strong interpersonal rapport and sharing of information that is grounded in mutual respect and shared responsibilities and working together towards common and mutual benefits. The constructive dialogue between civil society and local authorities is an essential pre-requisite for sustained and participated development. And this, therefore, is an essential requirement for long-term sustainable rural WASH management in Afghanistan. RuWatSIP/MRRD leads a monthly coordination mechanism of the Water Sector Group where emerging issues are raised and discussed and action points are agreed upon in terms of activities in the water supply and sanitation sector. The WASH cluster meeting led by UNICEF discusses sector issues in terms of preparedness and emergency response/ drought and floods. Water is an indispensable resource for development and improved availability of and access to water is an issue around which consensus can be achieved in communities. This is because people who have to live and work together and depend on one resource are often, if given the chance, motivated to find ways to agree. When all stakeholders collaborate in designing their collective future, it increases the chances of differences being resolved and for new consensus emerging around issues everyone can agree on. Participation can be a "conflict avoidance" process to the degree that it helps stakeholders with different interests, to explore and potentially find common interests. As the capacity of local communities is strengthened and their voices begin to be heard, they become "action sponsors/beneficiaries" who are capable of demanding and paying for goods and services from government and private sector agencies. Under these changed circumstances, the mechanisms to satisfy their needs will change as well. In this context, it becomes necessary to move away from welfare-oriented approaches and focus rather on building sustainable financial, operations and maintenance systems, decentralizing authority and resources, and strengthening local institutions. See recommendations in:  section 5.2.3 - Work in close partnership with community CDCs and DDAs  section 5.2.2 - Role shift of RuWatSIP from “provider” to “facilitator” 4.2.3. Engaging women in all WASH decisions One of the major challenges in providing rural communities with safe water is women’s access to water sources. According to the United Nations (2006), 1.1 billion people still lack access to improved water sources, and an estimated 2.2 million people die each year from water-borne diseases. This water crisis disproportionately impacts women and girls in developing countries; they must sacrifice educational pursuits to spend their days collecting water for their families. Whether it is hiking miles before sunrise or waiting in long lines at a community water kiosk, women spend countless hours acquiring water to meet the daily needs of the family. identify community priorities and address local problems, by working in partnership with local governments and other supportive institutions. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 50 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Effective solutions to address the current water crisis must address the fundamental role of gender in global water issues. As women are the primary caretakers of children, access to better water and sanitation facilities is also likely to impact child mortality rates. It has an immediate impact on children’s health and on that of the family in general. Women are most often the collectors, users and managers of water in households. Easier access to fresh water would improve living conditions for girls who generally start fetching water at a very young age. Women’s considerable knowledge of water resources, including quality, reliability, and storage methods is a major key to the success of water resources development but it is too often not taken into account by decision makers. Women can potentially be protectors and preservers of WSS (water supply schemes) since not only are they principal beneficiaries of the water supply project, but are also the ones who have to travel long distances in search of fresh water. Women are also often marginalized by community attitudes in the implementation of water projects at the community level. Although women are the traditional managers of the water systems, these roles are taken away as new technologies are introduced on the assumption that men (not women) should be trained in the maintenance of the facilities. Men are trained and employed fully as hand pump mechanics, while women are only trained as hand pump caretakers and are expected to work as volunteers. Strategies to redress this imbalance include skill-training and education to allow women to participate in the development process, creating opportunities for women in decision making positions so that they can advocate the advancement of women in the sector, and recognizing women's skills, experience and ability to define and solve their own problems. One of the characteristics of the Afghan society is the high gender disparity with respect to education, income, access to health, water and other basic services. Cultural norms restrict women’s mobility, especially for widows and women without close male relatives. So, women often find it difficult to travel to the local health facilities and to collect water if water points are far away from their village. Access to freshwater resources directly influences women’s lives since better access to safe water reduces the incidence of water-borne diseases in families. This reduces women’s need to visit health facilities, benefiting them more as compared to men. Even when women are able to reach health facilities, they face the additional obstacle of most staff being male. It is vital that all agencies intervening in the water sector seriously consider the challenge of Afghan women’s access to water and resolve, in consultation with the community, the location of water sources that permit easy access of women to safe water. Women’s participation and hearing their voices is indispensable in all community consultation processes for the identification of water sources, locations and water and sanitation technologies. See recommendations in:  section 5.2.4 - Consider gendered spaces and traditional patterns of water collection 4.2.4. Improving Subsidiarity amongst Institutions In line with the change management process elaborated in the MRRD Strategic Intent of 2010, it is recommended that the central strategy for programme delivery in the rural water sector be progressive decentralization. In order to do this successfully, sub-national level MRRD structures will need to become robust enough to especially support the delivery of simple as well as technically more complex projects. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 51 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector This would essentially imply that: • water projects are implemented through CDCs and DDAs; • DDAs are increasingly involved in projects involving more than one community; • RuWatSIP, in the long run, phases out or merges with RWSSID. • RWSSID approves contracts in close cooperation with MRRD so that funds disbursement is delegated; • RWSSID provides technical backstopping support to PRRDs and mentors the sub-national levels so that responsibilities can be gradually delegated; • all projects are streamlined through the regional offices and, in the long run, through the PRRDs; • all technical staff (social mobilisers, engineers, surveyors, etc.) currently working with MRRD programmes at the provincial level are slowly integrated into PRRDs; • PRRDs are competent enough to monitor project implementation in cooperation with CDCs • an MIS system is established so that no water project is duplicated but strengthens or compliments existing initiatives of other MRRD programmes (NABDP, NSP) or WASH actors on the ground; • project implementation is outsourced to the private sector The major challenge for immediate decentralization is the lack of adequate number of staff, staff capacity and technical experience at the regional level RuWatSIP and at the provincial level RRDs. The processes of approvals, contract signing and fund disbursements are also still centralised. CDCs and DDAs will require regular technical assistance from PRRDs in order to ensure project quality. Greater delegation of powers to sub-national structures will facilitate RWSSID (Kabul and regional offices) in strengthening its capacities and allocating its resources to primarily support PRRDs in conducting surveys, project designing and feasibility, budgeting, developing bills of quantities, tendering and outsourcing, monitoring contract compliance, and funds disbursement to CDCs/DDAs. It will also permit RWSSID to better allocate its resources to fulfil its central mandate of formulating policies and strategies, developing programmes and plans, developing standards, guidelines and manuals, and monitoring quality of projects and water. Funds will be disbursed directly into the accounts of the DDAs and/or CDCs, each instalment being released only after project status and quality has been monitored and approved by RuWatSIP regional offices and PRRDs. Continuing an “emergency approach” for too long could jeopardise building a long term sustainable approach to WASH management. 25 It is, therefore, crucial that fund support to MRRD targets the strengthening of government structures and processes and not just specific programme implementation. MRRD (through RWSSID) leads the Rural Water Sector Group, a monthly coordination mechanism that discusses emerging issues in the sector and shares responsibilities for follow-up activities. UNICEF leads the WASH cluster comprising agencies involved in humanitarian and emergency response. MRRD leads, through RWSSID, the process of developing policies and strategies in consultation with key WASH actors. According to RuWatSIP staff, most WASH cluster member agencies continue to largely work, even for emergency responses, in easily accessible areas rather than assist the neediest communities. Also these agencies, according to RuWatSIP, prefer to implement projects directly rather than work through CDCs. 25 For instance, the RWSSID (Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Department) and its RuWatSIP (Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Irrigation Programme) programme, are one structural identity, thus risking the undermining of the legitimacy and authority of MRRD departments. . Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 52 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Coordination among WASH actors therefore needs to be effective and targeted so that efforts are synergised, sustainable and cost-effective. MRRD has been facilitating partnerships among WASH actors (donors, MRRD programmes, other Ministries, NGOs) and CDCs for project implementation. For example, MRRD has delegated hygiene education to Community Health Workers, trained and recruited by the Ministry of Public Health so that water supply projects are integrated with hygiene awareness building. CDC capacities have been strengthened in planning, implementation, monitoring and sustainability of projects through cooperation with Facilitating Partners. In order to ensure safe and sustainable water facilities, MRRD technical experts work closely with communities in designing schemes that the communities desire and are willing to maintain. MRRD can improve the impact of its water projects by facilitating public private partnerships and supporting them through dialogue, advice, and appropriate norms and procedures for partnering on WASH projects. See recommendations in:  section 5.2.5 Improve cooperation with the private sector  section 5.2.8 Harmonize Standards and Procedures  section 5.2.7 Set standards and rules for selecting suppliers and sub-contractors 4.2.5. Making Informed Choices based on Monitoring and Evaluation Results Currently project monitoring is done for the sake of checking project progress before disbursing second and successive instalments of project budgets. The regional offices of RuWatSIP, and/or Kabul expert teams, monitor water projects on-ground in cooperation with CDCs and then submit reports to Kabul. As mentioned in the section 3.2.3. on Current Division of Responsibilities amongst WASH Decision Makers, fund disbursements are made by MRRD once RuWatSIP has approved project performance reports. Project monitoring is not sufficient because it doesn’t provide feedbacks to planners on the effectiveness and impact of projects on the well being of communities. We, therefore, need evaluation reports that feed back into and inform strategic planning and enable decision makers to make informed choices. The WASH Policy recommends the establishment of a robust monitoring and evaluation system for strategic learning, sharing good practices and lessons learnt across regions and provinces so that project performance could be monitored and corrective actions could be applied on time. It also expresses the global consensus that a sound monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system helps track performance of a planned intervention and in an organised way and points out what is working or not working in a particular programme, project or sector context. Although there are programme and project specific M&E arrangements, there is no sector wide M&E system in place for the rural water, sanitation and hygiene sector in Afghanistan. A robust M&E system is indispensable for supporting decentralised management of the rural water sector. It requires an irreversible role shift of RWSSID from a service provider to a facilitator. It is essential that a comprehensive and easy to use MIS system and quality compliance guidelines, standards and mechanisms support an effective M&E system. The M&E system will need to be designed in view of WASH goals and feed into a centralised monitoring system for rural WASH. It would need to be obligatory for all institutional partners to contribute to the integrated M&E system of the MRRD for the WASH sector, including indicators Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 53 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector for monitoring and evaluation, modalities for data collection, compilation and processing, and developing reporting formats to support decision-making. A robust and comprehensive sector wide M&E system would help track the progress of the MRRD strategic plan for 2010-2014 and make mid-course corrections, as and when required. This system would need to be primarily driven by outcome and impact indicators, making sure planned activities are delivering the desired results in terms of people’s improved access to safe water and sanitation and the resultant health benefits. The system could comprise of a web-based system, field-based periodic reviews; and community based monitoring. MRRD has already supported the development of monitoring report formats to incorporate the reporting needs of all functionaries. RuWatSIP Regional offices will lead on-ground project monitoring, and conduct the evaluation and lessons learned of its programmes at the provincial level. Regional offices will carry out this process, in close collaboration with PRRDs, so as to gradually transfer this competence, knowledge and responsibility to the PRRDs. The RuWatSIP technical staff in Kabul will support this process closely. The Regional offices may also seek the support of NSP Facilitating Partners, NABDP staff and other NGOs at the community level for M&E of regional WASH programmes; All programmes of MRRD follow procedures and processes preferred by donors who fund those specific programmes. RuWatSIP will need to harmonise and standardise implementation manuals, guidelines, procedures, quality standards, etc. for the implementation of all rural WASH projects, whoever be the implementer – NGOs, CDCs, DDAs, private sector, Departments or the Ministry itself. See recommendations in:  section 5.1.2 - Establish Management Information Systems for Well Informed Planning  section 5.1.3 - Ensure regular monitoring of Water Quality  section 6.1.5 - As you decentralize, reinforce standards and evaluation processes 4.2.6. Enhancing Competence and Capacity of WASH Actors Capacities, knowledge and skills will need to be enhanced at all levels of WASH governance and will need to adhere to the WASH sector policy and vision. In order to build capacities to support decentralised programme delivery and post-delivery activities, (i) contract staff will need to be deployed at regular intervals from Kabul (or if possible employed) to the regional offices of RuWatSIP for on-the-job mentoring of counterparts in the regions and PRRDs; (ii) AIRD must be given full responsibility to assess, develop and implement targeted training programmes for all levels of WASH governance, including the communities; (iii) wherever required, international and national NGOs can step in to provide capacity building support. The Kabul team of RuWatSIP will, through a mentorship and on-the-job-training approach, build relevant capacities of their regional offices, PRRDs, and communities whenever required (for e.g. in the case of mechanics). The efforts of RuWatSIP will be supported by AIRD that will organise, on specific demands by RWSSID/RuWatSIP, targeted capacity building programmes and courses (in-country and abroad). It is proposed that MRRD and all its programmes provide AIRD with at least 5% of their project budgets for developing and organising capacity building initiatives. It is further suggested that AIRD avail in-country capacity so that professionally competent persons like water sector engineers could be seconded to government institutions for building capacities. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 54 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector In the long-term, the Kabul offices of RuWatSIP will, through a mentorship and on-the-job-training approach, build capacities of the PRRDs who in turn will build capacities of DRRDs and wherever required, even among communities. All capacity building efforts of RuWatSIP will be supported by AIRD that will be responsible for capacity assessments, and for developing and organising targeted capacity building initiatives. The development of appropriate knowledge, skills and capacity development, at all levels of water governance, is the key to strengthening the rural water sector and making sure that all interventions are sustainable. Current capacity, knowledge levels and staff numbers are not sufficient enough to take on the responsibility of sustainable and timely interventions in the rural water sector. Current capacity building initiatives are also not yet planned in accordance with the national policies, strategies, standards and manuals of the rural water sector. Further, targeted capacity building activities are neither mandatory for implementing organisations nor an integral part of project design and budgets submitted to donors. Programme contract staff in MRRD, the NGOs and the international community is competent and capable of designing, implementing and monitoring sustainable interventions in the rural water sector. Instead staff in the government departments, at national and sub-national levels, need targeted and more frequent capacity building as well as higher salaries so that post-training turnover of trained staff is reduced. Competent staff could, through on-job training and mentoring, build the capacities of sub-national government staff and the community. Such decentralised training delivery would also help create an enabling environment and confidence among staff at local levels. See recommendations in:  Section 5.2.6 - Train staff at sub-national governance levels Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 55 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 5. Strategy Recommendations for Improving Rural WASH Management One of the objectives of this study is to provide applicable and sustainable ‘recommendations and strategies’ on key institutional issues for the sector development. After assessing the critical issues that the rural WASH sector faces in Afghanistan and in consultation with key stakeholders, we prepared the strategy recommendations aimed at improving the rural WASH governance and management in Afghanistan. Set in the context of policies, programmes and strategies developed by the Afghan government for the rural water sector, this section aims at articulating strategy guidelines that will need to be adopted for ensuring sustainable interventions in the rural water sector. As Figure 14 below illustrates how recommendations made in this section directly address the issues identified in the “Goals Ahead” (Section 4) that were identified through the analysis of the strengths, gaps and lessons learned in the current institutional framework and in the existing programmes (Section 3). Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 56 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Figure 14 - Graphic representation of the relationship between Goals Ahead and Recommendations 5.1. Improve Programming 5.1.1. Decentralize Planning and Service Delivery It is recommended that decentralized service delivery and community based management of infrastructure and local development processes be adopted as the primary approach for identifying, planning and implementing rural water projects. This approach is effective and efficient in terms of providing appropriate facilities services to the communities since it directly responds to their needs as end-users and it places responsibility in their hands. Thus, end-users have both the interest and authority to maintain facilities provided to them, are open to O&M training and are motivated to hold local officials directly accountable. It also encourages communities to participate in identifying priorities and make informed choices regarding their technical options. It is recommended that all projects in the rural water sector use decentralised Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 57 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector service delivery mechanisms and strengthen province and community based institutions established as part of MRRD programmes. 26 In the rural water sector, this approach will need to be better supported by MRRD in terms of technical assistance, administrative streamlining and robust monitoring systems. In line with the Afghan government’s efforts to empower sub-national levels of governance and foster community based programming, MRRD has been progressively strengthening its Provincial Rural Rehabilitation Departments (PRRD) in terms of staff capacity, greater resource allocation, devolution of authority and responsibility. This is also in view of ensuring sustainability for all institutions established as part of MRRD. The National Solidarity Programme (NSP) is a successful example of this approach. Most donors, international and government agencies (including RuWatSIP) avail of Community Development Councils, and District Development Assemblies (when projects involve more than one community), for implementing programmes and projects. Province level Rural Rehabilitation offices (PRRDs) also act as facilitators for programmes supported or implemented by these agencies. RWSSID has gradually started moving away from a project driven mode to a more programmatic approach for implementing uniform policies and plans across the sector. It is, in fact, making efforts to replace multiple parallel programs/projects with a single program approach such that multiple project funds are brought together in one pool of funds, are pilot tested and subsequently scaled up. The limited role of PRRDs in providing technical support, monitoring, capacity building and approvals of project completion still continues to prevent PRRDs from emerging as fully competent decentralised units for managing projects at local levels. However, MRRD is now taking positive steps forward towards strengthening and equipping PRRDs to supervise CDC-led project implementation and is streamlining implementation, procurements and payment processes closer to the community. Furthermore, in an effort to decentralise its operations and avoid overlap of responsibilities among staff, especially in Kabul, MRRD has started re-structuring its departments, keeping a slimmer team in Kabul and increasing the number of social mobilisers, hygiene promoters and construction engineers at the provincial levels. Any institutional framework proposed for new projects in the rural water and sanitation sector will need to build on and strengthen existing processes towards decentralization, ensure clear roles and responsibilities, equitable power devolution, and be robust enough to deliver technically complex projects supported by province level PRRD and other government agencies as well as community-based and led implementation, monitoring and O&M processes. The private sector will need to be strengthened and tapped for larger projects. MRRD/RWSSID will need to allocate resources to PRRDs and DRRDs (rather in the longer run) in terms of adequate number of competent staff, funds, equipment, facilities, etc. It is proposed that the Kabul office of RuWatSIP increasingly play a technical and advisory support role. It is further proposed that MRRD/ RWSSID delegate greater authority and project management responsibilities to their sub-national level offices, PRRDs/DRRDs, and that, in the long run, the contract staff of RuWatSIP in Kabul and in the region phase out and/or integrate into the existing cadre of the MRRD civil service staff. In the long run, PRRDs could manage 26 Sustainable interventions in the rural water sector need a de-centralised institutional framework, where responsibilities and authority is increasingly delegated to sub-national levels of rural WASH governance, where the community leads project implementation and post project O&M and where roles and responsibilities of the different tiers of governance are clearly defined. Decentralisation is central to the institutional analysis and the WASH governance models developed and shared by the consultant in Sections 5 to 7. Utilising and building on existing institutional structures, established as part of MRRD programmes, is vital (for e.g. NABDP and NSP structures and processes) for ensuring speed, cost effectiveness and project sustainability. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 58 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector the rural water projects and lead the process of WASH governance in terms of selecting, designing, budgeting, tendering, sub-contracting, monitoring and evaluating projects and could build capacities of DRRDs for on-ground support. Projects would be implemented through DDAs/CDCs that have acquired experience in the past years and would gain more appropriate water project related experience. Local communities will need to increasingly become closely involved in (a) identification of needs and prioritization of water projects; (b) project implementation; and (c) monitoring of projects, especially in districts where security does not allow for external monitors to visit sites. Water project sites will need to continue being selected in a participatory manner with the community members, especially with respect to giving space to women’s participation and needs and ensuring their safety and comfort. Village based groups (for e.g. Water Management Committees as is practiced in many developing countries) could be established at the community level, especially for identifying, monitoring water projects and managing O&M. A “Rural Water Task Force” could also be established in Kabul for providing timely and speedy technical support to PRRDs. Re-organise the Division of Responsibilities amongst WASH decision makers In the Tables below, we summarise the short-term (two to five years) and long-term (five to ten years) division of responsibilities that we propose among WASH decision makers. Since it is expected that the long term division of responsibilities takes place five to ten years from when changes are introduced, we suggest that the MRRD first achieve the short term division of responsibilities and then build on it to reach the long- term one. See also the following related sections:  Section 3.2.3 - Current Division of Responsibilities amongst WASH Decision Makers  Section 7.1 - Stakeholder roles and responsibilities on pg 100  Figure 7 - Rural WASH division of roles and responsibilities (Current) on pg. 30  Figure 8 – Actors - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework on pg. 31  Figure 16 - Evaluation - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework on pg. 65  Figure 21 - Decision makers- Long-Term Rural WASH Governance on pg. 85  Figure 22 - Decision makers - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance on pg. 86  Figure 23 - Actors - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance on pg. 88  Figure 24 - Actors - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance on pg. 89  Figure 33 - Table of WASH Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities on pg 102 LONG-TERM RURAL WASH DIVISION OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Activity MRRD RuWatSIP RuWatSIP PRRD DDA/CDC Kabul Region office Policy Formulation √ Develop National WASH Action Framework √ Develop WASH Programmes √ √ Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 59 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Develop Strategies, Manuals, Standards, √ Guidelines, Checklists Overall Supervision √ √ Develop Registers of pre-selected √ √ contractors, suppliers and mechanics Project Identification √ √ Project Implementation √ Project conception, design and preparation √ Contracting √ Technical Sanctions √ √ Financial Approvals √ Fund Disbursements √ O&M and collecting related funds √ Evaluation, quality control and compliance √ √ checks Monitor on-ground implementation and √ √ post-project Figure 15 - Rural WASH division of roles and responsibilities (Long-Term and Short-Term) SHORT-TERM RURAL WASH DIVISION OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Activity MRRD RuWatSIP RuWatSIP PRRD DDA/CDC Kabul Region office Policy Formulation √ Develop National WASH Action Framework √ Develop WASH Programmes √ Develop Strategies, Manuals, Standards, √ Guidelines, Checklists Overall Supervision √ √ Develop Registers of pre-selected √ contractors, suppliers and mechanics Project Identification √ √ Project Implementation √ Project conception, design and √ √ Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 60 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector preparation Contracting √ Technical Sanctions √ Financial Approvals √ Fund Disbursements √ O&M and collecting related funds √ √ Evaluation, quality control and compliance √ √ checks Monitor on-ground implementation and √ √ post-project 5.1.2. Establish Management Information Systems for Well Informed Planning There is currently no consolidated and consistent countrywide database on rural water, sanitation and hygiene that can feed into an M&E system. As a result, there are multiple valuable data sources, including sample surveys such as National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) from the MRRD; study and evaluation reports from organisations and Ministries such as the MoPH; strategies and country programme documents, such as WASH Policy, Sanitation and O&M strategies, Country Programme Document from UNICEF. The NRVA, the only countrywide database currently available, is often dependent on sample surveys and therefore limited in depicting the ground situation accurately, particularly in terms of the rural water sector. Non-availability of reliable data makes it difficult to undertake proper sector analysis and presents a major gap in informed decision-making. The WASH Policy recommends the development of a comprehensive sector database for informed decision-making and recommends that it be mandatory for all WASH programmes, projects, and partners to provide information and data to the MRRD on a quarterly basis. Non-compliance, according to the policy, will result in a review of the concerned agency’s work and terms of reference by the MRRD on behalf of the Government. RWSSID will require an efficient information system that maps the “what, where and how” of projects implemented in the water sector such that actors operating in the sector are better synergised and coordinated. According to information provided by RuWatSIP staff, some NGOs have started sharing information on their projects, achievements, lessons learned and plans. The centralised MIS will need to include an inventory of existing coverage and groundwater data, required standards and guidelines for geotechnical surveys (before well drilling) and water project interventions. This will help RuWatSIP in preventing duplication of efforts, improving efficiency of resource allocation, enhancing effectiveness of interventions, and ensuring equity amongst all communities. A comprehensive sector database would be critical for establishing sector priorities and facilitating strategic decisions in the course of planning and implementing sector activities. NSP already has an MIS system for monitoring activities and for tracking the progress of sub-projects in cooperation with the PMUs at provincial level. The Ministry for Public Health also has an MIS for citizen’s health status and to track coverage. According to the MRRD Strategic Intent, an MIS will be designed for MRRD, through the support of UNICEF, for efficient sharing of information and harmonising existing databases. It is highly recommended that this system be established at the earliest possible. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 61 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Until such time as a comprehensive sector data is created, UNICEF plans to support RuWatSIP, in 2012, to develop a web based MIS system for the rural water sector, creating a unified database of all existing programmes and projects in the sector. This exercise is expected to help: (i) process and provide reliable sector data to all the stakeholders including policy makers, programme managers, facilitating partners, CDCs, and donors; (ii) establish data collection mechanisms (institutional arrangement including personnel/staff capacity development), procedures, and processes; (iii) ensure gender-specific reporting and sharing of gender segregated data. 5.1.3. Ensure regular monitoring of Water Quality A centralised MIS system in the rural water sector is indispensable for an effective Monitoring and Evaluation system that ensures the access to and availability of quality water for communities. In order to support M&E systems, RuWatSIP will need to establish an effective MIS and strengthen quality control processes. 27 One of the central elements of quality is accountability. It impacts on the coverage, operational efficiency, service reliability and affordability, and financial and environmental sustainability. International studies by the World Bank indicate that well performing public water supply service providers are characterized by three key criteria: autonomy (i.e. the ability to manage and finance WASH operations professionally without arbitrary interference by others); accountability (i.e. the obligation to be answerable for the use of public resources and their overall performance), and customer orientation (i.e., the willingness and capacity to listen to clients and work to better meet their needs). The accountability framework comprises actors, their mandates and contract obligations, and procedures used for carrying out the five key functions of policy setting, service provision, infrastructure development, financing and economic regulation. Governance and accountability measures will need to be introduced in the planning, implementation and O&M phases for independent monitoring, and technical, financial and social audits. Water Quality is another pillar of quality control processes. The WASH Policy advocates for water quality monitoring and surveillance systems, mechanisms and processes as a policy priority. A UNICEF report says that “Establishment of water testing capacities is a great need in the country.” 28 Under the joint initiative of UNICEF and MRRD, general screening of arsenic in rural water supply was conducted for 647 wells. Approx. 126 of these wells were found with high levels of arsenic, putting an estimated 500,000 people at risk. US Geological Survey, DACAAR are among some organisations that have conducted similar tests in the country. Arsenic and fluoride at alarming levels have been reported in various drinking water sources of the country. High-risk contaminants, i.e. arsenic, fluoride and boron are found at alarming levels in various parts of the country and bacteriological contamination is also high. 29 Greater focus will need to be dedicated to controlling and cross checking water quality through simple methods, like the field water testing kits. Quality Control will need to be mainstreamed at all stages of projects design and implementation. An important measure will consist of closely monitoring the work done by the private sector under public- private partnership arrangements. Water quality will need to be monitored according to strict international standards. This implies that MRRD staff will need to be trained and testing capacity will need to be established at the MRRD regional/ provincial offices. 27 RuWatSIP plans facilitating workshops on the basic concept of PRINCE2 (Project in Controlled Environment), a project management methodology, wherein quality control is an essential tool for effective management. MRRD expects this to be the entry point towards quality assurance. 28 Recommendation of a UNICEF Internal Assignment Report on its support to the Water sector in Afghanistan June 2011 29 UNICEF Internal Assignment Report on its support to the Water sector in Afghanistan June 2011 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 62 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector MRRD now has an equipped water-testing laboratory in Kabul with trained technicians. NSP is also planning to open a water quality-testing laboratory and train its staff, including its Project Management Unit (PMU) staff. Among NGOs, DACAAR has a well-functioning laboratory and ACF has a laboratory with basic equipment. Most NGOs utilise water-testing kits for monitoring water quality in their projects. It is important that laboratories and testing processes are not duplicated within the MRRD departments. Available testing facilities in Kabul need to be made available and tapped by all agencies and an increasing number of facilities for quality control need to be established at provincial levels, closer to the rural communities. MRRD is the department responsible for providing safe water to rural areas, to maintain a database, and to develop national standards. MRRD will, therefore, need to establish a laboratory for testing the quality and grade of construction materials used in infrastructure projects commissioned by MRRD programmes. It will also need to develop and share, with all actors on the ground, standard accountability, benchmarks, guidelines for safe water sources in rural areas. MRRD will further need to coordinate better with MoPH that is responsible for water quality monitoring and surveillance across the country and also for maintaining the national water quality database. This database will need to be readily available to the public and policy makers. Figure 16 - Evaluation - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework below illustrates the main steps of the current monitoring and evaluation process. It shows that the M&E process at present is mainly limited to contract approvals and release of fund instalments to CDCs or sub-contractors. It also shows that the main actors of the M&E process are the Kabul and regional offices of the RuWatSIP. As illustrated in Figure 18 – Evaluation Long-Term Rural WASH Governance, we recommend that in the long-term: • MRRD continue to keep the contract approval and fund disbursement responsibilities; • MRRD evaluates the adherence of the national rural WASH action framework to the policy vision and objectives; • RWSSID develop WASH standards and procedures that will include guidelines and Manuals, templates (program, project and contracts) and registers of pre-selected contractors, suppliers and consultant organisations; • RWSSID monitor and evaluate the implementation of the provincial rural WASH programmes in terms of their compliance and adherence to the National rural action framework and with the WASH policy and impact on communities; • PRRDs monitor and evaluate projects implemented on the ground in close cooperation with the CDCs/ DDAs and evaluate project efficiency and effectiveness for communities; • CDCs/DDAs conduct daily monitoring of project implementation in their communities. With regard to reporting processes, it is proposed that: • CDCs/DDAs regularly report to the PRRDs on project performance; • PRRDs visit the field regularly for monitoring and evaluating the projects, check project indicators, timelines and budgets and submit monthly M&E reports to Kabul on the performance of all projects being implemented in their provinces; • RWSSID conducts random M&E missions to project areas and checks project compliance with national Action frameworks and with WASH policy guidelines and controls project adherence with its implementation quality standards and guidelines, indicators, timelines and provincial budgets. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 63 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector It is further proposed that Lessons learned be captured as part of the M&E processes and regularly feed back into new programming and policy formulation. In order to achieve the monitoring and evaluation system of the long-term (five to ten year) model, it is recommended that the MRRD build on its current M&E system and processes to first reach the short-term situation as illustrated below in Figure 17 - Evaluation - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance. In the short-term, it is proposed that: • MRRD supports this decentralisation process by allocating more resources, in terms of staff, training, facilities, equipments, etc. • RuWatSIP responsibilities for M&E are elevated to a macro level, conducting random monitoring missions to project areas but essentially ensuring project compliance with WASH policies and national programmes, and capturing lessons learned for informing national level programming and action plans; • RuWatSIP regional offices are largely responsible for project monitoring, evaluation and reporting in close cooperation with PRRDs and CDCs/DDAs; • RuWatSIP regional offices train and mentor the PRRDs in M&E and reporting and that they slowly phase out, delegating their responsibilities to the PRRD teams; • RuWatSIP delegates much of on-ground project monitoring and reporting responsibility to the regions and the PRRDs, equipping them with staff, capacity, resources, and facilities. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 64 MRRD MRRD contract Figure 16 - Evaluation - Current Rural WASH approval Fund disbursement Institutional Framework (first installment) Project Implementers Implementation of (CDCs, DDAs, NGOs, Rural WASH projects Private Sector) MRRD RuWatSIP Project Monitoring and Fund disbursement (Second and successive Evaluation Monitoring and Reports instalments) RuWatSIP Evaluation Regional offices Figure 17 - Evaluation - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance MRRD contract MRRD approval Fund disbursement (first installment) Project Implementers (CDCs, DDAs, NGOs, Implementation Private Sector) of Rural WASH projects MRRD CDCs / RuWatSIP DDAs Project Project Evaluation Monitoring RuWatSIP PRRD Regional RuWatSIP offices Lessons Learned Evaluation Monitoring Reports Reports Fund disbursement (Second and successive instalments) Afghanistan Rural Water Sector National Rural MRRD WASH Policy WASH Manuals WASH Guidelines Provincial WASH National Rural program design WASH Action templates RWSSID Framework Rural WASH Procedures and CDC WASH project Standards templates WASH Templates Prgramme WASH Contract Monitoring templates and Evaluation WASH Register - consultant WASH Registers organizations Provincial WASH PRRD / DRRD Programmes WASH Register - contractors WASH Register - suppliers Project Monitoring and Evaluation Implementation of Rural WASH CDCs / DDAs projects Monitoring and Evaluation Reports Lessons Learned Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 66 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Figure 18 – Evaluation Long-Term Rural WASH Governance - process and outputs Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 67 5.1.4. Consider Operations and Maintenance in all rural water projects The UNHCR-MRRD Evaluation 30 that was conducted for 1227 water points in 2007 concluded that 17% of the inspected water points were non-functional on account of (i) simple technical problems that could have been fixed at community level, such as damaged washers, shortened riser-pipes, loosened bolts, poor quality of hand pumps, etc. Such problems were found in 59% of the non-functional water points; (ii) wells that dried up (approx. 4.5% of all wells) due to dropdown of groundwater level as a result of poor recharge, insufficient depth of penetration in the water bearing strata and over pumping beyond the design capacity of a well; (iii) water points that were left incomplete by contractors or damaged by communities. 14% of non-functional water points were found under this category. The evaluation report stated that while local operators were able to carry out routine operations, they generally did not have the professional support for identifying and fixing problems or improving operational efficiency. Further, as systems aged, this situation became exacerbated. At the same time, support facilities available during project life had been closed. Thus, increasing access to water facilities and services without addressing the O&M and management of services is unsustainable. Sustainability has been a main predicament not just because of technical problems but due to absence of any formal dedicated institutional system to look after the assets created and to assure continued delivery of services. Due to lack of financial resources, non-availability of skills locally, lack of right quality of spares and absence of a responsive redressal system to provide back up support, regular O&M of rural water assets is lacking in the country. Community based systems partially address the problem by putting the onus on communities to manage them. Institutional systems will need to include community led O&M at the basic level and have clear accountability mechanisms. It is therefore recommended that provision of water be accompanied by establishing an O&M strategy and manuals that include standards, roles and distribution of responsibilities among the WASH actors at government and community levels. The main challenge would be to motivate provincial governments to move away from the typical “infrastructure targeted programs” and start developing and implementing specific programs, dedicated for improving WASH delivery. 31 MRRD piloted an O&M system in one province of Afghanistan with UNICEF support. The model has proved to be efficient as revealed in the independent evaluation that was conducted at the end of the two year project. The Water Sector Group (WSG) has endorsed the approach that needs to be refined, implemented and scaled up. As such, a complimentary institutional system that would include community care of O&M at primary level will need to be put in place, with a clear accountability mechanism. At the heart of community participated development approaches is the assumption that communities will finance operation and maintenance of infrastructure facilities. It is important to note that one of the underlying principles of the WASH Policy 2010 is that partial capital cost sharing and 100% operation and maintenance responsibility would lie with the community for all water facilities. The overall strategy shared in the policy is to empower communities by involving them in decision-making processes, at all stages of planning, implementation, and operation and maintenance of assets/facilities and services. It also states that the focus on water quality coupled with proper operation and maintenance of facilities would help ensure effective functioning of water supply schemes, resulting in continued access to safe water. In order to ensure this, the WASH Policy directs that all hand-pumps to be used in rural Afghanistan be based on the Afridev design so that Operation and Maintenance is standardised and spares are available. 30 UNHCR-MRRD WATSAN Programme Evaluation, July 2007 – Gedlu Sima Reji, Consultant, UNHCR 31 See ToRs of the consultancy “Afghanistan Rural Water Sector - ToR for Developing Sector Strategies and Options to Support the Sector”, 2011 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector If communities are responsible for O&M costs, they would pay greater attention to the proper management of facilities and, most importantly, this source of financing has proven to be more reliable as compared to full government financing. Since inadequate funding inevitably leads to deteriorating service levels and premature failure of schemes, communities would need to be better informed about (i) the costs of construction, recurrent, replacement and expansion of facilities and services; (ii) expected shares of MRRD and CDCs towards construction and/or O&M; and (iii) performance criteria by which communities can qualify for receiving subsidies for these facilities and services. The recommended long term solution in Operations and Maintenance would be a community-based and led O&M that includes (i)a regular system of collecting minimal payments (for cost recovery) from the community members; (ii) training a permanent resident of the community like a shop owner (who could also keep basic spare parts), a school teacher, etc. in the mechanics of the water project; (iii) utilisation of technology with local availability of basic spare parts; and (iv) PRRDs with the competence and funds to solve non-functional projects, especially large complex ones, in a timely manner. The person/s from the community trained in basic O&M will also need to be trained in operating and maintaining the water projects as per the standards and guidelines of Implementation Manuals developed by RuWatSIP. The draft O&M strategy, as of March 2012, suggests that a fund be established to assist communities with replacement of equipments whereas general maintenance would be the responsibility of communities. They would pay local mechanics that would be trained in accordance with MRRD implementation manuals. It recommends that if communities can afford, they must eventually become responsible also for the replacement of equipment. The draft strategy envisions that PRRD manage the district level O&M systems, dispatch of teams for assessing water points bi-annually and that the information from these assessments feeds into a provincial level and then into a national level database. According to the draft O&M strategy, agencies constructing or rehabilitating water points are expected to be responsible for training communities and mechanics in the O&M setup. The community-level O&M set- up entails the appointment of area hand pump mechanics - in the case of piped schemes it would be an area pipeline mechanic, paid an annual fee for being available, and then subsequently being paid for spare parts and time spent when repairs are needed. Pump caretakers would be responsible for simple regular preventive maintenance. Frequently required spare parts are expected to be available at district level or in the village for remote communities. The draft O&M strategy stresses that construction quality should be high, including sufficient depth of boreholes (boreholes are preferred over hand dug wells). In some countries, women have successfully been trained as mechanics and pump caretakers, but tests in Afghanistan has so far proven largely unsuccessful due to restrictions on women's movements in most locations. According to the MRRD Strategic Intent, it intends following a two-pronged approach for enhancing community ownership over infrastructure assets: (i) increase its investment in building community capacity to maintain assets, especially those which require specific technical knowledge (micro-hydro power, water piping systems, etc.); and (ii) promote traditional community-based maintenance systems for infrastructures that require labour intensive work, by mobilizing communities through revival of the “ashar” system. An option to be explored is the development of a system whereby communities can register complaints on uncomplicated grievance systems and that these are addressed with efficiency and speed, like the U-Shihida system that has been developed, promoted and utilised by SWSSSDA. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 69 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector PRRDs will need to conduct assessments (at least once a year) in each district for collecting data on water projects and their functionality before implementing the MRRD strategies (for e.g. the sanitation and O&M strategies developed by RuWatSIP). These assessments could also include the collection, from selected village samples, of additional information to provide feedback for refining the strategy as per emerging realities and for identifying areas requiring urgent attention. RuWatSIP must allocate a percentage (at least 5%) of every donor fund towards the development and/or maintenance of the MIS system, and towards training PRRDs and equipping them with spare parts, tools and vehicles so that they can provide the required O&M support to communities. Further, approvals of projects proposed by communities must be conditional to the submission of precise O&M plans. Major repairs of rural water projects would be done by the regional offices and/or PRRDs and, if required, through the support of NGOs and facilitating partners on-ground. As an intermediate short-term step, RuWatSIP could provide funds and equipment support to organizations that currently work in the WASH sector in concerned provinces until PRRD human resources are competent enough to take on the responsibility of providing communities with the required support for O&M. Local persons who have been trained through other programmes of MRRD or other organisations should be the focal points even for RuWatSIP funded projects. RuWatSIP would need to take on the responsibility of facilitating community based maintenance systems for all water points installed by various partners and strengthening PRRDs in providing technical support for major repairs. 5.1.5. Integrate sanitation and hygiene promotion in water projects One of the main priorities of MRRD’s WASH Policy 2010 is to include sanitation and hygiene as essential components of all water and sanitation programmes and projects implemented by all the agencies in the country. 32 In order to ensure sustained positive impact on health, it is recommended that sanitation and hygiene promotion be conducted among CDCs that have already implemented water projects and that it become mandatory for NSP Facilitating Partners and other WASH actors to integrate hygiene and sanitation promotion, among communities, in all interventions in the water sector.33 Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) as an approach and methodology helps ensure all members of the concerned communities (children, women and men) not only stop defecating in the open but also use improved hygienic latrines. Communities will need to be must be informed about safe sanitation practices and techniques. The review of World Bank assisted RWSS projects shows clearly that community participation in planning and operations underpins sustainability. This fact was evident in the results of field surveys conducted, by the World Bank, across the world where 87% of the schemes are still functioning well after at least three years since commissioning. The Afghanistan government plans to declare several of its villages ‘Open defecation free’ (ODF) as ‘sanitary’ toilet coverage is limited. So, the Government would also like to promote construction of appropriate toilets in big numbers for households and schools. The hygiene and sanitation promotion strategies of MRRD would like to use Community Lead Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach to achieve these 32 The core of MRRD’s WASH Policy Strategy is to address water, sanitation and hygiene as an integrate issue; and the planning and implementing of all sector investment and initiatives accordingly. 33 A nationwide campaign to promote the use of hygienic toilets should be run until appropriate facilities are available in all Afghan villages. To be successful, it must be adapted to local realities. Since much effort is required to maintain community involvement, local awareness must be enhanced and users must be encouraged to adopt new and safer practices Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 70 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector difficult targets at the earliest. As of now, there are a few programs aimed at providing household level toilet programs – the earlier programs were limited to ‘demonstrate’ the benefits of such an approach but the scaling up has not been sufficient. As such, the consultants need to identify the range of toilet models that are suitable and acceptable (technical choices that are adoptable to climatic variations, cultural sensitivities, pollution to ground water within limits, reduced need for human interference for excreta removal etc). It is also necessary to improve existing toilets being used by various rural communities so that they become sanitary and have limited environmental pollution effect. Also, hygiene promotion is recognized as a critical intervention that is useful to bring much needed behavioural change and support implementation of any toilet programs. 34 For improved and sustainable benefits across communities, water supply investments will need to be made in an integrated manner with source strengthening and catchment area protection activities, sanitation programs for construction and use of individual household latrines, safe disposal of waste-water, solid waste management, and community health and hygiene awareness programs. The sustainability of water and sanitation systems will need to be strengthened through improved design, construction and O&M practices. MoPH has helped develop hygiene messages for the water sector group. However, since MoPH does not have staff and capacity at the local level to provide hygiene education and since it is the mandate of RWSSID to provide safe water, MRRD is currently leading on and conducting hygiene education activities through its programmes. MRRD hygiene education unit provides training to Community Health Workers, including health messages, for raising health and hygiene awareness among communities. Since much effort and repeated visits are required in order to keep the community involved, hygiene promotion will require long-term political will. In order that awareness is enhanced and users are encouraged to adopt new and safer practices, hygiene promotion activities will also need to be adapted to local realities. NGOs can act as facilitators/catalysts in the implementation of sanitation programmes, including spreading awareness within the NSP water programme. The entire range of training initiatives, including information sharing, education, communication, implementation and follow-up could be the responsibility of local level institutions and agencies, supported by non-state WASH actors. There is also urgent need to harmonise the RuWatSIP and NSP approaches at the community level since the former advocates for sustainable water projects and the latter promotes increased ownership of communities towards water and sanitation assets (but does not always integrate adequate sanitation and hygiene promotion in its interventions). 35 Communities may tend to prefer having hardware without being involved in participatory approaches driven by community needs. MRRD developed, with the support from the Technical Working Group, the Hygiene Education Policy for the country in 2007 that focuses on hygiene behaviour related to collection, storage and use of water, washing hands and proper use of sanitary facilities at household, community and school level. The policy focuses on inter-sectoral collaborations with education and public health department, use of media at national level and inter-personal communication at community level through involvement of NGOs. This policy will need to be transformed, adapted and applied by all agencies alike, at the community level, through concerted impact-oriented actions. 34 See ToRs of the consultancy “Afghanistan Rural Water Sector - ToR for Developing Sector Strategies and Options to Support the Sector”, 2011 35 In the Final Report for the “Preparation of Proposal for Follow On project for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, December 2009, Vijay Gawde states that hygiene and sanitation are not perceived as priorities at the community level. NSPs Block Grant approach is limited in its possibility to fund sanitation activities on a recurrent mode over a long period. As the involvement of the NSP is linked to block grants and maintenance of water points is seen as the responsibility of the CDCs, the NSP is not able to mobilise further support to communities for strengthening maintenance arrangements which have largely remained weak. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 71 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 5.2. Improve Programme Implementation 5.2.1. Ensure project adherence to WASH Policy 2010 It is recommended that national programmes and community projects adhere to the key fundamental vision and principles of the WASH Policy: decentralization and devolution, accountability and transparency, financial and environmental sustainability. The WASH Policy will need to be translated into an action framework for decentralised implementation, community led O&M, centralised MIS, a sector wide approach, and technical capacity building at all levels of governance. All departments and agencies supporting the rural water and sanitation sector will need to follow the same MRRD standards, guidelines and implementation manuals that in turn must be shaped by the WASH policy framework. Technical guidelines and manuals, such as the CLTS Manual, implementation manual, O&M strategy, Sanitation strategy, quality standards for materials used in water projects, hygiene education messages, will need to be developed and/or finalised and harmonised with other MRRD documents being currently utilised in the sector. In order to effectively support the rural water sector, all WASH actors must ensure that all programmes and projects they undertake adhere to the existing rural WASH policy framework, the strategies shared or being developed by MRRD (Hygiene Education, Sanitation, O&M, etc.), and the implementation manuals and standards developed by RuWatSIP. All WASH actors must also (i) support capacity building of existing government agencies, at all levels of governance (technical, administrative, financial) so that they can lead WASH governance processes at all levels, (ii) participate in policy processes, (iii) support MRRD in developing adequate strategies and action plans, (iv) assist MRRD in monitoring and evaluating programmes and projects on the ground, and (v) reinforce the decentralisation processes by working with sub-national level structures and processes established under MRRD programmes. 5.2.2. Role shift of RuWatSIP from “provider” to “facilitator” At present, RWSSID provides the hardware and infrastructure components of rural water supply projects while the civil society organisations support the soft components such as promotion of hygiene and community led total sanitation. At present, RuWatSIP directly implements projects. However, RuWatSIP’s central mandate is policy formulation, programme design and planning, coordinating and monitoring project implementation, and building relevant capacity among staff and community. RuWatSIP’s current strategy to facilitate close collaboration among contracted staff and civil servants, with a view to building capacities and ensuring timely delivery of services, is a step towards this end. In order to be more effective and cost efficient, RuWatSIP will need to respond better to community needs by taking on its macro-level responsibilities and letting sub-national level MRRD agencies be closer to the communities on-ground, thus progressively shifting to being a ‘facilitator’ rather than a “service provider”. According to MRRD, RuWatSIP has started shifting its role from being a service provider towards that of being facilitator. Communities, through CDCs, private sector and NGOs, are in the driving seat of implementation and monitoring RWSS interventions. These attempts are at the initial stages and RuWatSIP still needs to fully roll out this transformation process of decentralization and devolution of roles and responsibilities. There will need to be a gradual program of devolution of functions and functionaries and Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 72 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector progressive transformation of the role of RuWatSIP to being more of an evaluator and custodian of policy coherence and compliance issues, and a provider of specialized technical help. In its new role as a facilitator, the department will need to support stakeholder coordination and the development of policies, standards and guidelines. This will help synergise resource allocation among different stakeholders, MRRD units and Ministries that support/ lead water supply interventions, prevent duplication of work and information, and contribute to harmonising standards. Better coordination among stakeholders 36 working in water and sanitation, NGOs, donors, private sector sub-contractors, Geological Survey of Afghanistan, CAWSS (Central Authority for Water Supply and Sanitation) and Ministry for Mines, is fundamental if sector interventions are to be sustainable. Although WSG meetings are held regularly (led by RuWatSIP), many NGOs still continue constructing new water sources without necessarily complying with technical and water quality standards and without sharing information on their activities. RWSSID will need to build regional and/or provincial capacity of and delegate greater authority to PRRDs on WASH planning, coordination, direct supervision and M&E capacity. 5.2.3. Work in close partnership with community CDCs and DDAs In line with the WASH Policy and the MRRD Strategic Intent for increasing impact and sustainability of rural WASH projects, it is proposed that projects in the rural water sector be implemented in close partnership with CDCs and DDAs. MRRD is supporting CDCs and DDAs as it envisions these institutions as long-term national delivery mechanisms for partners involved in rural development, thereby streamlining development processes, increasing cost-effectiveness and promoting consistency in interactions among development actors and communities. Through the NSP and NABDP program, capacities have been built among CDCs, DDAs and the community (including poor and vulnerable groups) in demanding, planning, designing, implementing and managing water supply and sanitation facilities. This approach has significantly increased community ownership of development process. CDCs and DDAs have been trained over the past years and have learnt to adhere to the fundamental pre-requisites of transparency and accountability, and to follow standardised processes and standards in planning and implementing projects. Working in partnership with and/or through existing community based institutions like the DDAs and CDCs for planning, selecting and implementing RWSS projects would, therefore, greatly improve the effectiveness and impact of MRRD interventions in the WASH sector. Besides, utilising already functioning mechanisms, such a strategy would greatly enhance their legitimacy, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In order to support the decentralisation process, MRRD already envisages linking DDAs with the Provincial Councils so as to raise the voice of rural communities in a more informed manner. Providing water services over the long term requires continued planning and investment support from government. Whilst CDCs may be able to envision their specific needs, these have to be requested, compiled, collated and formalized by government authorities at the district/ provincial level or a higher level. Although partnerships with CDCs in planning, implementation and monitoring WASH interventions has proven to be cost effective and speedy for many donor agencies and NGOs, sometimes cheap technical options selected by the CDCs can result in low quality work. Close supervision by provincial governments and/or funding agencies as well as further capacity building among CDCs for managing complex development projects, can help overcome this challenge. 36 UNICEF Internal Assignment Report on its support to the Water sector in Afghanistan June 2011 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 73 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector As CDCs are an integral part of the community, they ensure ownership, sustainability and safety of projects. Ideally, CDCs implement projects in a timely manner, bypassing the limitations of a centralized government structure. Communities need to be involved through CDCs right from the identification stage to ensure that schemes are designed and implemented as per their needs and affordability. CDCs will require professional technical back up support from PRRD. RuWatSIP, PRRDs and CDCs will need proper training and periodic refresher courses. Such training and refresher programs will need to become an integral part of the government’s role in ensuring long term sustainability of the community managed schemes. The current change management process of NSP, for improving its effectiveness and efficiency, includes improving the MIS system for better monitoring and information sharing, input monitoring systems, internal systems to smoothen bureaucratic processes so that implementation is speedier and more efficient (such as deadlines for clearing approvals, financial disbursements in provincial offices). Post implementation support to CDCs needs to be factored into the programme for positive impact and sustained use of systems created under the programme. With increase in community capacity to plan and implement projects, ministries contributing to rural development will need to increasingly use these community-based groups/ bodies as the main development gateway at the local level. 5.2.4. Consider gendered spaces and traditional patterns of water collection Any water program can be effective only when it addresses the concerns of the gender and promotes active participation of both women and men in project design, implementation and post project management. To sustain, these designs need to be culturally sensitive and adaptable. The strategies and programs, therefore, need to address various social dimensions of water, sanitation and hygiene. The World Bank recognizes that the exclusion of women from the design, planning and decision-making of water supply and sanitation projects in developing countries is a major obstacle to the improvement of their wellbeing. In most recent international policy statements and initiatives, a focus on women has been seen as critical to improving the management or governance of water within an overall context of poverty alleviation. At the Second World Water Forum in The Hague (2000) it was recognized that, in addition to being prime users of “domestic water”, women used water in their key role in food production and that women and children are most vulnerable to water-related disasters. The forum concluded that women’s involvement would improve water governance. Since women bear the brunt of the burden of poor management, the forum suggested that women be empowered through greater and more effective participation in water issues. At the International Conference on Freshwater in Bonn in 2001, the policy statement emphasized the need for a gendered approach involving both men and women, while also suggesting that in order to achieve this, women’s roles in water-related areas needed strengthening. When investments are made to improve access to clean water, women spend less time collecting water and more time participating in income generating activities (IFAD 2011). It is recommended that all agencies, designing and implementing projects in the rural WASH sector, give special attention to the gender sensitivity of interventions, gender mainstreaming and full involvement of women in terms of location of water points, promoting hygiene and safe sanitation at household levels, minimising the gender gap through extensive discussion and consensus with women shura elders, and women CDC members. Women will need to be increasingly involved in identifying and managing the maintenance of water points. Also skills building for water point maintenance can be explored with female CDC members although experience so far, concerning this, has not been very promising. There are often generations old consensus on where and when to collect water; such as a well that is assigned as a 'women's place' since it meets the Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 74 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector requirements for public seclusion. All interventions will need to respect and build on existing mechanisms of water collection. Sometimes a change in location and type of water source can potentially disrupt the balance and forces men and women to negotiate new patterns of water collection. Varying gradations of gender-appropriate behaviour can be explored to make new propositions acceptable. Implementation through CDCs, where women do have representation, will contribute to ensure that women's needs are taken into consideration when it comes to level of services and the location and management of facilities. Women are also more affected by unimproved sanitation than men in terms of health outcomes. Therefore, women’s participation and empowerment is vital, not only for making the community recognise the issue of safe sanitation as an important one but also to raise effective local demand for it. In order to bring about a change in the water and sanitation behaviour at the community and household level, it is recommended that women be engaged, through shuras and CDCs, and that their voices be heard in decisions concerning location, kind and technology of water points. Women’s engagement, in decisions on water and sanitation, requires that women be better informed. MRRD will, therefore, need to allocate concerted effort to increase women’s awareness in health, hygiene and safe sanitation practices. This will require that MRRD develops, through its CLDD department and in close cooperation with the Ministry for Women Affairs, a gender sensitive community mobilisation strategy. Recruitment and training of female staff at all levels would be a pre-requisite for delivery of a sustainable WASH program and MRRD will need to plan this right from the designing of the WASH intervention. MRRD will need especially to employ and train more women social mobilisers and field staff at the provincial level so that they can outreach women and ensure that constraints on women's mobility do not hamper their involvement in decisions concerning WASH. It is also recommended that all project implementation plans integrate gender action plans and include realistic gender sensitive indicators and targets, use existing Government institutions and structures, and are based on a solid gender analysis. 5.2.5. Improve cooperation with the private sector The consultant has been unable to access data on or interact with private agencies, especially those working directly at sub-national or community levels, in order to assess private sector capacities and identify gaps and strengths so as to elaborate in-depth and targeted recommendations on this issue. The consultant, therefore, recommends that the RuWatSIP examine the private sector capacity in greater detail before defining specific strategies for public-private partnerships and identify the steps and modalities required for increasing their engagement in the rural water sector. As implementation becomes de-centralised and the local private sector becomes stronger in terms of technical competence, cost-effectiveness, speed and quality, it is recommended that public-private partnerships be encouraged in the country. A review of recent experiences worldwide also concludes that Public Private Partnerships 37 should be considered primarily for improving the quality of the RWSS service and efficiency of water sector operations. 38 37 A PPP is a “partnership” and a key ingredient for its success is the building of a good working relationship between the concerned parties. 38 Public-Private Partnerships in Urban Water Utilities: Findings from Developing Countries; P. Marin, World Bank; 2008 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 75 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Monitoring the performance of public partners is equally important, as many PPPs fail because the latter default on their commitments. MRRD could further build on its community-based implementation approach for smaller projects and work through the private sector for larger projects. There will need to be provisions for the transfer of ownership of assets to appropriate institutions (within or outside MRRD) and communities, and for creating capacity to sustain the assets. 39 Partnerships could be with a professional operator in WSS service provision who brings the know-how, often missing within public water supply service providers, and help achieve efficiency gains (like DACAAR). It is also easier to enforce contractual obligations between a public and a private partner because private operators tend to react swiftly to financial incentives. The 2011 Afghanistan Human Development Report considers the inexperienced private sector as a major challenge in the water sector. Although the private sector could provide the hardware and support new low-cost technologies to enhance access to sustainable water and sanitation, Afghan communities struggle to get competent local contractors who do good quality jobs. High levels of corruption, insecurity, a complicated bureaucracy and widespread poverty limit the commercial viability of the delivery of affordable water to all through private sector entities. 40 In order to improve the efficiency and timely delivery of water projects in the rural sector, especially in the long term, CDCs would need to contract out project implementation to the private sector. Public-private partnerships (PPP) could be explored. The government will need to create the enabling environment in terms of incentives, timely approvals and payments, transparent bidding process, accessible technological options, and more accountable PRRDs so that the private sector is encouraged to actively invest in the rural water sector. Strategies will need to include: • Strengthening the private sector in the long-term through its active involvement in implementing water projects (in terms of service provision, investments, innovative and appropriate technologies) as well as providing post-project support (in terms of repairs, spare parts, etc); • Contributing to the creation of an enabling environment, in rural areas, for the private sector to operate individually and/or in partnership with public sector; • Developing a register of pre-selected sub-contractors and spare-part suppliers that will be selected to implement projects through a competitive system of bidding. Five PPP options that could be considered for the rural WASH sector: • Service Contracts to outsource specific activities, such as repairs, leak detection, etc., to specialized contractors, for short durations. The contractor receives a fixed payment from the WSS service provider, sometimes complemented by a bonus if contractual targets are exceeded; • Management contracts to outsource technical and commercial operations for durations usually limited to five years. The manager’s remuneration is similar to that of a service contractor. The WSS service provider remains responsible for developing the WSS infrastructure; • Concessions transfer to the private operator with the responsibility for developing the RWSS infrastructure and for raising the finances required. Because of long depreciation periods of RWSS 39 The private sector could support new low-cost technologies to enhance access to sustainable water and sanitation. However, high levels of corruption, insecurity, a complicated bureaucracy and widespread poverty limit the commercial viability of the delivery of affordable water to all through private sector entities.” Afghanistan Human Development Report 2011 (The Forgotten Front: Water Security and the Crisis in Sanitation) 40 Afghanistan Human Development Report 2011 (The Forgotten Front: Water Security and the Crisis in Sanitation) Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 76 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector assets, RWSS concessions are usually awarded for duration of 25 years and more. Concession contracts specify coverage objectives, service standards, tariffs and the operator is allowed to charge under the condition of returning WSS assets (whose ownership remain in public hands throughout the concession) to their owner at the end of the concession; • BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) schemes that are concessions mostly designed for developing and operating new bulk water production facilities; at the end of the BOOT, assets are transferred to the owner of the contract. 5.2.6. Train staff at sub-national governance levels One of the strategic priorities of the WASH Policy 2010 is to enhance the quality of human resources in the WASH sector through training, technical assistance and mentoring. It is recommended that everyone involved in implementation is trained and gains practical experience for effective job performance. Greater decentralisation would necessitate targeted capacity building for RuWatSIP staff at central and sub-national levels. Capacity building will need to target RWSS and NSP staff at central and provincial levels and focus on good practices in planning, financing, pricing and regulation of WSS services and PPP; on team building and communication; infrastructure development, operational efficiency, commercial operations; accounting and financial reporting and quality control. Staff working in the various arms and programmes of MRRD could be seconded to the provinces for building local capacities and strengthening local management. This includes national, provincial, district and local (MRRD/PRRD/DDAs/CDCs) institutions, water operators and support organizations (trainers/specialists). Regular improvements in capacity building would be required by undertaking periodic needs assessment, periodic impact assessments and handholding in the field and dissemination of learning. Staff capacity will need to be built through training and mentorship by expert contract staff placed within government departments at Kabul and in the provinces. Targeted capacity building activities will need to become an integral part of the design of each project. Decentralised delivery of training helps create an enabling environment and confidence in the managers at local levels. The Afghanistan Human Development Report recommends that “small and medium enterprises that can carry out local operations, supply repair and maintenance, expertise and offer technical capacity must be nurtured. These enterprises could rely on Afghan technicians.” MRRD’s Afghanistan Institute for Rural Development (AIRD) is the apex body for identifying and organising capacity building initiatives for MRRD staff and must be given the lead and central role in strategizing, organising and implementing capacity development interventions. AIRD identifies institutions that develop specialised and targeted training modules for planning, designing and implementing schemes, including technical, management, PCM, procurement and financial management. They conduct training through a combination of classroom, exposure visits and on-the-job training, networking between professionals, twinning and public-private partnerships (PPP). Language enhancement would be very useful as many staff are unable to increase knowledge and skills since most reference books are in English. Capacity building efforts will also need to target other stakeholders, such as NGO and the media that could influence the design and implementation of reforms. 41 Formal “certifications” for all training courses would contribute to 41 “Without substantial improvement in water resources management, including reform and building technical and management capacity at the local and national levels, Afghanistan will not be able to reach the Millennium Development Goals related to water and Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 77 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector staff motivation. Capacity building initiatives will also need to include skills development among rural communities in operation and maintenance, even among women wherever possible. Local capacities will need to be built among communities on Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach in order to trigger and sustain collective behavioural change in rural communities. In this way, user communities and CDCs will be trained and, simultaneously, a critical mass of trainers will be created at national, provincial and district levels Institutional sustainability will depend on PRRDs providing the long-term oversight and support to the CDCs and DDAs. Regular follow up and refresher trainings are also crucial among local level staff, DDAs and CDCs so that partnerships among them are effective and sustainable. In the longer run, apart from focusing on targeted capacity building among government staff, special consideration will need to be given to assessing and building the capacity of private sector (contractors engaged by CDCs or the public sector) in the construction of simple tube wells to undertaking complex pumping water supply schemes The current efforts of MRRD and RWSSID to decentralise service delivery and plan implementation in the rural WASH sector will be successful only if backed by effective sub-national governance in the rural WASH sector. The current relatively centralised current institutional arrangement risks limiting the potential of PRRDs and poses serious limitations to carrying out speedy and effective rehabilitation or upgradation of water sources/systems and/or supporting communities in regular O&M. The current system of centralized administrative approvals, project evaluation, sub-contract procedures and disbursements will need to become streamlined to avoid overlapping roles that can lead to inefficiency and wastage in resource allocation and cause potential duplication, long processing time, and delays in execution. The roles of rural WASH governance, strategy formulation, programme execution, and regulation are at present converged into RWSSID. In order to achieve higher levels of accountability, roles and responsibilities pertaining to WASH governance and execution must be separated between MRRD in Kabul, PRRDs and the community. With progressive decentralisation and delegation of project implementation and monitoring to sub-national levels, RWWSID will require more specialised and competent staff (i) at provincial levels to sustain implementation, monitoring and post project support; and (ii) at the central level to ensure coherent and sound policy development, national programming, standardising and harmonising technical guidelines and manuals, verifying conformity and compliance of the provincial programme with WASH standards and procedures, providing technical support to provincial authorities and managing MIS and M&E systems and processes. Responsibilities of policy formulation, planning, monitoring and technical support functions will also need to be distinguished among the various WASH governance levels. MRRD will need to facilitate meetings among PRRD Directors for discussing complaints from NGOs and implementing partners and for participatory (RuWatSIP, PRRDs, CDC) setting of priorities, plans and monitoring. This process will be the entry point for the decentralizing processes of service provision. PRRDs can play critical roles during and post- implementation, for e.g. monitoring, evaluating and ensuring that lessons learned are captured and good practices replicated. As resources and authority for managing the rural WASH sector increases at sub-national levels, capacity and salary gaps between programme contract and civil service staff must be gradually reduced. Further, programme staff must mentor and share sanitation. Three levels of functions must be distinguished: the legal and policy functions of ministries, the organizational functions involved in river basin management, the operational functions, including outsourced O&M and functions of service providers”, Afghanistan Human Development Report 2011 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 78 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector knowledge with their civil service counterparts with the aim of gradually phasing out from or becoming integrated in the government structures. A greater cohesion, at the provincial and district levels, will be required among implementation approaches, strategies, standards and technical options. In the long-term, RWSSID will need to respond to consumer needs by delegating to PRRDs the responsibility of conducting regular consultations with CDCs and other end users. Targeted capacity building among PRRD staff will also need to be undertaken at the provincial level so that they are able to support community based decisions and project implementation, monitor effectively, and verify project conformity and compliance with WASH standards and procedures at their level. Critical issues will require stronger provincial level support; for e.g. community based O&M, production and distribution of water particularly for larger communities with individual water connections, revising tariffs, assessing\improving operator performance, resolving water quality/quantity issues, advice on system break-downs and major repairs, etc. Although many PRRD teams are not sufficiently staffed, they are expected to include water engineers, community mobilisers and hygiene education officers. In addition, each MRRD programme has its own management team at the regional and provincial levels. Social mobilisers are currently the bridge between MRRD and CDCs. In a decentralised institutional model, the MRRD, NSP and NABDP technical, M&E, admin and finance support teams at the provincial levels could be common to all rural WASH projects. Additional technical staff could also be recruited for monitoring quality procurement and sustainable maintenance mechanisms. Decentralised project management and monitoring mechanisms will, however, only be effective when there is greater delegation of decision-making power to provinces and financial approvals and funds disbursement mechanisms are efficient at the central level. In the even longer term, the district level RRD would also need to be strengthened and integrated with other governance agencies. Roles and responsibilities among MoPH, MoEducation and MRRD will need to be clearly defined even at provincial levels. RWSSID coordination with these related Ministries and within MRRD will also need to improve to ensure (i) standardization of technical guidelines and WASH implementation at the community level and (ii) adherence of WASH actors to the RWSS policies on WASH. 5.2.7. Set standards and rules for selecting suppliers and sub-contractors Another major common characteristic of the proposed rural WASH governance models, in this report, is that all procurement is expected to be largely carried out at the local level, by DDAs/CDCs - supported by NSP staff and/or Facilitating Partners and supervised by the regional offices. In order to ensure quality, a register of pre-selected suppliers and contractors must be developed through transparent competitive processes. All procurements will need to be made from these pre-selected suppliers whose names are in a central register that will be developed and made available at the RuWatSIP and PRRD offices in Kabul, region and provinces. In order to ensure that the tendering process is transparent, a committee will be established to assess and select bids, based on pre-established criteria and standards. The below steps will need to be followed in all procurements: • The Tender Notice and invitation for bids will be publicly published; • A copy of all received bids and tenders from vendors or suppliers will be archived; • A Bid Selection Committee will be created with government, CDC and civil society representatives; • The Bid Selection Committee will conduct a comparative analysis on all received bids; Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 79 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector • Each member of the Bid Selection Committee will be required to submit a separate, signed Memo indicating their own ranking of preference for all bids, and their own reasons for their selection of the final suppliers and rejection of the others; • The committee will short list bidders and sign a Memorandum of Selection (that also includes minutes and notes of the selection meeting); • Short listed bidders will be interviewed, bidders’ samples will be inspected and a bidder will be selected; • A proposed contract will be sent to Kabul for approval, with a finalised delivery & payment schedule; • Sample of unsigned contract will be shared with the selected vendor and awarded; • Selection of more than one sole supplier/vendor will be explored on multi-component or large volume/value procurements. Selecting more than one supplier will spread financial benefits of the procurement to a wider selection of companies, thus creating a multiplier effect of economic benefits. 5.2.8. Harmonize Standards and Procedures The risk of decentralized decision making is the overlapping of responsibilities and confusion in standards and procedures. So, there is a need that the National Action Framework developed by RWSSID sets guidelines for programme and project management at decentralized levels and that a conformity check is carried out at the time of funds allocation and contract approvals. In order to facilitate harmonization of procedures, it is opportune that the Action Framework includes tools like standard templates and standard reporting formats. Also, the increased involvement of the private sector can be better managed, if national registers are kept in a uniformed manner and standard templates are prepared for registration procedures. Evaluation and monitoring will be greatly facilitated by such standard tools. The feedbacks from evaluations processes will also enable harmonization and standardization processes to improve. This will facilitate knowledge management and capitalization of lessons learned. Once guidelines and templates are standardized, these will also facilitate targeted training and capacity building processes. See also:  Section 6.1.5 - As you decentralize, reinforce standards and evaluation processes  Figure 18 – Evaluation Long-Term Rural WASH Governance Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 80 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 6. Proposed Rural WASH Governance Models 6.1. Revising Work Flow Models to facilitate the implementation of recommendations In Section 5, we presented recommendations, on key institutional and technical issues, for the development of the rural water sector. In this section, in order to facilitate the implementation of these recommendations, we propose new models of Work Flow distribution among the Rural WASH Actors for improved institutional governance at national, regional, provincial and local levels. By applying these models, we expect that the rural WASH governance in Afghanistan will improve water sector management. In order to facilitate the understanding of these models and comparisons among current and proposed governance models, we have developed flow charts, tables and figures that graphically represent the recommended subdivisions of roles and responsibilities amongst the key actors as well as the subdivision of the Work Flow. In the Section “Conclusions” we have compared and summarized, in a table, the current and the proposed subdivision of responsibilities amongst rural WASH stakeholders. A preliminary elaboration of the proposed WASH governance models was shared in a workshop organised by RuWatSIP in Kabul end March 2012. The workshop participants conducted a SWOT analysis of three possible institutional framework options and discussed the same. Based on feedbacks from the workshop participants, the MRRD and the World Bank, the consultant developed short-term and long-term rural WASH Governance models that can realistically build on the current institutional structure and processes and support the rural water sector in Afghanistan in a sustainable and effective manner over a 10 year period. By applying these models, we expect that rural WASH governance in Afghanistan will improve in the following management areas: (i) integrated and participated integrated policy making, (ii) planning, implementing and monitoring the rural water, sanitation and hygiene promotion programmes; (iii) operation and maintenance in RWSS projects; (iv) provision of technical backstop, (v) monitoring and evaluation of WASH governance (vi) water quality control (vii) capacity building and knowledge management The model proposed here intends to facilitate the ongoing process of bringing to an end the current phase of emergency interventions, based on external support where international agencies often tend to substitute the government in service delivery responsibilities, and giving back the major planning and delivery responsibilities to the Afghan Government. Since transferring of competences from external donors to the Afghan Government and from a Kabul-centred approach to a decentralized approach requires structures and capacities that are still inadequate at decentralized levels, a number of intermediary steps will have to be taken for ensuring that decentralization of responsibilities is gradual and sustained. As we have said throughout the report, sustainable interventions in the rural water sector need a decentralised institutional framework, where responsibilities and authority are increasingly delegated to sub- national levels of rural WASH governance, where the community leads project implementation and post Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 81 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector project O&M and where roles and responsibilities of the different tiers of governance are clearly understood and agreed by all stakeholders. Delegation of authority from the centre to the provincial and district levels requires a number of organizational and knowledge transfer activities that take time (see Recommendations in Section 5). Therefore, a number of intermediary steps are required before the proposed model is fully operational. We forecast that the long-term model will be fully operational in around 10 years. So, in order to facilitate the passage to the proposed model, we have designed a short-term model for an intermediary step that can become operational in 5 years, provided recommendations given in section 5 are implemented. The Figure below illustrates how the main features of the proposed WASH governance models address the “Goals Ahead” that were identified through an analysis of the strengths, gaps and lessons learned in existing programmes and in the current institutional framework. Figure 19 - Main Features of the Proposed Rural WASH Governance Models Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 82 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 6.1.1. Decentralised Decision making In this report, we propose a new model of Work Flow amongst decision makers so that decision making is decentralized and evaluation is reinforced at all governance levels. Delegation of authority from the centre to the provincial and district level requires organizational and knowledge transfer activities that take time (see Recommendations in the Section 5). A number of intermediary steps are required before the proposed model is fully operational. We forecast that the long- term model is fully operational in around 10 years. In order to facilitate the passage to the proposed model, we have also designed a model for an intermediary step (short-term) that can be operational in 5 years, provided recommendations given in the section 5 are implemented. The figures 20 and 21 below compare the current and the long-term functions of the WASH decisions makers. It is recommended that: • MRRD will keep continue, even in the long-term, to keep its responsibility of developing National Rural WASH Policies and the responsibility of approving contracts and disbursing funds for the implementation of the approved Community WASH projects. • RWSSID/RuWatSIP will no longer develop WASH programmes in the long-term. It will develop a more focused document called the National Rural WASH Action framework that strictly adheres to the WASH policy. It will need to include guidelines, regulatory framework, standards and procedures for preparing Provincial WASH programmes and community WASH project proposals. The responsibility of designing, checking viability and approving project documents, currently under the purview RWSSID/RuWatSIP, will be handed over to the PRRDs in the long-term. In the long-term, RuWatSIP will phase out and be incorporated into RWSSID. • Regional RuWatSIP will continue to exist in the short-term, taking over, from RWSSID/RuWatSIP in Kabul, the responsibility of survey, design, compliance and viability check and approvals of community WASH project proposals. It is proposed that they phase out in the long-term and handover these responsibilities to the PRRDs. • PRRDs, that have little or no authority and responsibility at present, will take charge, in the long-term, of developing Provincial WASH programmes that will be the guiding document for WASH project design and implementation at the community level. PRRD will also take on the responsibility, currently under RuWatSIP in Kabul, of survey, design, compliance and viability check of community WASH project proposals. The PRRDs will, in the long-term, approve project documents designed at the community level, a responsibility that is currently with the RWSSID/RuWatSIP. 42 • CDCs/DDAs will become decision making actors in the long-term, identifying, developing and monitoring community WASH project proposals. See also:  Section 3.2.3 - Current Division of Responsibilities amongst WASH Decision Makers  Figure 7 - Rural WASH division of roles and responsibilities (Current)  Figure 8 – Actors - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework 42 See Final Report for the “Preparation of Proposal for Follow On project for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation”, Vijay Gawde, December 2009 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 83 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector  Figure 20-Decision makers in the Current Rural WASH Governance  Figure 16 - Evaluation - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 84 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector MRRD MRRD National Rural National Rural WASH Policy WASH Policy MRRD RWSSID RWSSID/ National Rural RuWatSIP WASH Action Framework National Rural WASH Programmes PRRD RuWatSIP Regional Provincial WASH offices Programmes Community WASH project CDCs / proposal DDAs WASH Project survey, design and viability check District/ Approved Community Community WASH WASH project project documents WASH Project proposals survey, design and viability check MRRD contract approval Approved Community WASH project documents Implementation of Rural WASH projects MRRD contract approval  Figure 20-Decision makers in the Current Rural WASH Governance Implementation of Rural WASH projects  Figure 21 - Decision makers- Long-Term Rural WASH Governance Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 85 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector MRRD National Rural WASH Policy MRRD RuWatSIP National Rural WASH Action Framework RuWatSIP Regional offices Regional WASH Programmes CDCs / DDAs Community WASH project proposal WASH Project survey, design and viability check Approved Community WASH project documents MRRD contract Implementation approval of Rural WASH projects Figure 22 - Decision makers - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance As illustrated in the above Figure 22, in a short-term phase: • MRRD will keep continue to keep its responsibility of developing National Rural Water Policies and the responsibility of approving contracts for the implementation of the Approved Community WASH project documents. • RWSSID/RuWatSIP will start delegating roles, especially at programming level. Instead of developing the National Rural WASH programme it will develop a more focused National Rural WASH Action framework that will establish the guidelines, standards and regulations for the preparation of Regional WASH programmes (in the short term) and Provincial WASH programmes (in the long-term). The responsibility of approving the project documents that is currently under the purview of RWSSID/RuWatSIP will be handed over to the PRRDs in the long-term. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 86 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector • Regional RuWatSIP, due in a long-term to phase out, will handover its current responsibilities to the PRRDs. It will take charge of the tasks, currently under RuWatSIP, of survey, design and viability check of community WASH project proposals. It will prepare Regional WASH programmes (that will no longer be required once PRRDs begin preparing the WASH provincial programmes). • PRRDs (that in the long run will take charge for developing the Provincial WASH programmes) is not yet expected to be ready for leading any decision making processes. • CDCs/DDAs that currently are project implementers and will start becoming decision making actors, already in the short term. In the long-term, they will phase out as implementers, giving way to the entry of the private sector. 6.1.2. More Outsourcing to the private sector As illustrated in the Figure 23 below, in the long-term, MRRD will continue to hold consultations at the national level, with donors, NGOs and other Non State Actors, especially to develop national policy level documents and action frameworks. In the long-term, MRRD will also include the private sector in its consultations. In the long-term, the PRRDs will also hold consultations with WASH actors, specifically the community and DRRDs and other non-state actors for seeking inputs and consensus on provincial WASH programmes. CDCs, currently project implementers, will become decision making actors in the short-term and will phase out as implementers in the long term, giving way to the entry of the private sector. AS illustrated in the Figure 24, in the short-term the WASH actors will mainly be part of the national level consultations. These consultations, as in the current and long-term perspective, will contribute to national policies and action frameworks. Provincial level consultations will be specifically with PRRDs and the CDCs/DDAs. See also: • Section 7.1 - Stakeholder roles and responsibilities • Figure 7 - Rural WASH division of roles and responsibilities (Current) • Figure 16 - Evaluation - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework • Figure 24 - Actors - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance • Figure 23 - Actors - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance • Figure 33 - Table of WASH Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 87 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Donors MRRD Consultations National Rural NGOs WASH Policy Private Sector MRRD RWSSID Other non- National Rural state actors WASH Action Framework Community PRRD Consultations Provincial WASH Programmes DRRD CDCs / DDAs District/ Community WASH project WASH Project proposals survey, design and viability check Approved Community WASH project documents Project Implementers MRRD contract (NGOs and Private approval Sector) Implementation of Rural WASH projects Figure 23 - Actors - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 88 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector MRRD Consultations Donors National Rural WASH Policy NGOs MRRD Private RuWatSIP Sector National Rural Other non- WASH Action state actors Framework RuWatSIP Regional Consultations PRRD offices RuWatSIP Regional WASH Programmes Community CDCs / DDAs Community WASH project proposal WASH Project survey, design and viability check Approved Community WASH project documents Project Implementers (CDCs, DDAs, NGOs, Private Sector) MRRD contract Implementation approval of Rural WASH projects Figure 24 - Actors - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 89 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 6.1.3. Active Community Engagement  See Section 4.2.2 on Participated policy making and planning As private sector gets more involved in WASH project implementation, it will be important to bring them on board the consultations processes that feed into policy making and programme designing. In order to address cultural and social issues that emerge in WASH policy implementation, it will also be appropriate to extend consultations with other non-state actors that represent the community based groups of the Afghan society. As envisaged in the proposed WASH governance models, DRRDs will not be able to become decision makers in the 10 year span but could potentially become strategic actors in a very long term. They could be involved in the consultation processes and in facilitating communication and dialogue between communities and sub- national authorities at provincial and regional levels. Motivating the participation of final beneficiaries requires strengthening the organizational and financial capacities of those institutions that are better capable of recognising beneficiary rights and hearing their voices. As planning becomes decentralized, local communities would, through consultations and dialogue, become involved in a participated process of program designing and management. This dialogue can be extended to a participated process of project monitoring and evaluation that can produce lessons learned that would feed into better informed processes of policy making and improved programming. At present, the process of monitoring and evaluation is primarily for fund disbursement approvals. As illustrated in Figures 25 and 26 below, it is recommended that in the long-term, lessons learned be captured from the monitoring and evaluation processes and inform policies and programmes at both national and provincial levels. As illustrated in the Figures 25 and 26, it is proposed that consultations include a wide portfolio of WASH actors at the national level so that policy and national action framework documents are well informed in terms of feedbacks and contributions. Wide consultations, especially with community representatives, will also ensure that there is local ownership of programme guidelines and standards and that WASH projects are sustainable. In a very long term, as local communities ultimately become the owners and managers of their assets and activities, sustainability of WASH management will become reality. By engaging the community in management of rural infrastructure, it will become possible to expand the consensus base for WASH actions and proactive participation will prevent conflicts and help stakeholders with different interests to explore and potentially find common interests. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 90 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Donors MRRD Consultations National Rural NGOs WASH Policy Private Sector MRRD RWSSID Other non- National Rural state actors WASH Action Framework Community PRRD Consultations Provincial WASH Programmes DRRD CDCs / DDAs District/ Community WASH project WASH Project proposals survey, design and viability check Approved Community WASH project documents Project Implementers MRRD contract (NGOs and Private approval Sector) Implementation of Rural WASH projects Monitoring and Project Monitoring and Evaluation Evaluation Reports Lessons Learned Figure 25 - Policies and Programmes - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 91 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector MRRD Consultations Donors National Rural WASH Policy NGOs MRRD Private RuWatSIP Sector National Rural Other non- WASH Action state actors Framework RuWatSIP Regional Consultations PRRD offices RuWatSIP Regional WASH Programmes Community CDCs / DDAs Community WASH project proposal WASH Project survey, design and viability check Approved Community WASH project documents Project Implementers (CDCs, DDAs, NGOs, Private Sector) MRRD contract Implementation approval of Rural WASH projects Monitoring and Project Monitoring and Evaluation Evaluation Reports Lessons Learned Figure 26 - Policies and Programmes - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 92 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 6.1.4. Decentralized Fund Disbursements As illustrated in Figures 27 and 28, it is expected that MRRD, like other WASH actors, will continue, in the short-term as well as in the long-term, to receive external aid (bilateral donors) for funding interventions in the water sector. It is also expected that in the long-term, the Afghan government will start raising in-country revenue in terms of taxation and other financial levies. Bilateral and multilateral funds are currently being disbursed to implementing agencies like the private sector, NGOs or in some cases, the CDCs and the DDAs. In the long-term, it is proposed that funds are allocated to the CDCs who will disburse these funds to the outsourced implementing agency. It is further proposed that the implementing agency is selected from a register of pre-selected sub-contractors that will be compiled by RWSSID/RuWatSIP through a transparent and competitive process. In-Country revenue Multilateral Agencies Afghan National Government Bilateral Donors Fund Allocation MRRD / RWSSID Funds disbursement National and DDAs / CDCs International NGOs Project Implementers (Private Sector) Implementation of Rural WASH projects Figure 27 - Long-Term Rural WASH Fund Flow Process Multilateral Agencies Afghan National Figure 28 - Short-Term Rural WASH Fund Flow Government Bilateral Process Donors Fund Allocation MRRD / RWSSID Funds disbursement Project Implementers National and (CDCs, DDAs, NGOs, International Private Sector) NGOs Implementation of Rural WASH projects Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 93 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 6.1.5. As you decentralize, reinforce standards and evaluation processes Currently project monitoring is done for the sake of checking project progress before disbursing second and successive instalments of project budgets. The regional offices of RuWatSIP, and/or Kabul expert teams, monitor water projects on-ground in cooperation with CDCs and then submit reports to Kabul. As mentioned in the section 3.2.3. on Current Division of Responsibilities amongst WASH Decision Makers, fund disbursements are made by MRRD once RuWatSIP has approved project performance reports received from its regional offices. Project monitoring is not sufficient because it doesn’t provide feedbacks to planners on the effectiveness and impact of projects on the well being of communities. We, therefore, need evaluation reports that feed back into and inform strategic planning and enable decision makers to make informed choices. In the proposed WASH governance models, we have therefore given a more central role to integrating monitoring into evaluation and integrating evaluation into better informed planning. More actors will need to be involved in monitoring and evaluation activities so that they become stakeholders of producing and availing the lessons learned. The short-term evaluation process, as illustrated in Figure 30, will build on the current M&E processes and will be a step towards the long-term M&E process. In the short-term model, it is proposed that: • lessons learned activity is incorporated and utilise to feedback into the programming cycle; • Regional RuWatSIP and RuWatSIP will hand-over their current project monitoring responsibilities to the PRRDs that will conduct it in cooperation with the CDCs; • Regional RuWatSIP and RuWatSIP will conduct project evaluation, produce the evaluation reports and capture lessons learned; • Regional RuWatSIP and RuWatSIP will also hand-over, to the PRRDs, their current responsibilities of approving projects and project performance that informs fund disbursements As illustrated in Figure 29, RWSSID, will in the long-term, develop WASH Templates (contracts, project design), guidelines and manuals (technical, hygiene, sanitation, and project implementation) and Registers (pre-selected contractors, suppliers, consultant organisations). These deliverables will also provide the indicators for measuring project compliance, progress and achievements. Along with the delegation of power from the national to the sub-national governance structures, there will be need to standardize rules and procedures. This requires extensive development of guidelines, standard templates and manuals. MRRD staff and non-state WASH actors, at all levels, will need to be trained in the correct utilization of these standards so that sub-national programmes are designed and implemented within the National Action Framework; the national Action Framework is designed within the WASH policy vision and objectives; and projects are implemented in conformity with provincial level WASH programmes. See also:  section 3.2.7 - Monitoring and Evaluation in Current Rural WASH Programmes  section 5.2.8 Harmonize Standards and Procedures Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 94 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector National Rural MRRD WASH Policy WASH Manuals WASH Guidelines Provincial WASH National Rural program design WASH Action templates RWSSID Framework Rural WASH Procedures and CDC WASH project Standards templates WASH Templates Prgramme WASH Contract Monitoring templates and Evaluation WASH Register - consultant WASH Registers organizations Provincial WASH PRRD / DRRD Programmes WASH Register - contractors WASH Register - suppliers Project Monitoring and Evaluation Implementation of Rural WASH CDCs / DDAs projects Monitoring and Evaluation Reports Lessons Learned Figure 29 – Evaluation - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance- process and outputs Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 95 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector MRRD contract MRRD approval Fund disbursement (first installment) Project Implementers (CDCs, DDAs, NGOs, Implementation Private Sector) of Rural WASH projects MRRD CDCs / RuWatSIP DDAs Project Project Evaluation Monitoring RuWatSIP PRRD Regional RuWatSIP offices Lessons Learned Evaluation Monitoring Reports Reports Fund disbursement (Second and successive instalments) Figure 30 - Evaluation - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 96 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 6.2. Proposed Long-Term Rural WASH Governance Model Below is the overall graphic representation of the proposed long-term WASH Governance Model that integrates and interrelates the recommended modifications in the Work Flow of WASH management processes. The different components and processes, integrated together in this model, have been separately illustrated and discussed in the sub-sections above, for e.g. decision makers, consultations with WASH actors, policy and programme formulation, monitoring, evaluation and lessons learned processes, contract approvals and fund disbursements. The proposed changes in the division of roles and responsibilities among WASH decision makers has been further illustrated in Figure 7- Rural Wash division of roles and responsibilities (Current) and Figure 15 - Rural Wash division of roles and responsibilities (Long-Term and Short-Term) and in Figure 33- Table of WASH Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities. Donors MRRD Consultations National Rural NGOs WASH Policy Private Sector MRRD RWSSID Other non- National Rural state actors WASH Action Framework Consultations Community PRRD Provincial WASH DRRD Programmes CDCs / DDAs Fund Allocation District/ Community WASH project WASH Project proposals survey, design and Fund disbursement viability check (first instalment) Approved Community WASH project documents Project Implementers MRRD contract (NGOs and Private approval Sector) Implementation of Rural WASH projects Fund disbursement (Second and successive instalments) Monitoring and Project Monitoring and Evaluation Evaluation Reports Lessons Learned Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 97 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Figure 31 - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance 6.3. Proposed Short-Term Rural Wash Governance Model Below is the overall graphic representation of the proposed short-term Governance Model that integrates and inter-relates recommended modifications in the Work Flow of WASH management processes. The different components and processes, integrated together in this model, have been separately illustrated and discussed in the sub-sections above, for e.g. decision makers, consultations with WASH actors, policy and programme formulation, monitoring, evaluation and lessons learned processes, contract approvals and fund disbursements. The proposed changes in the division of roles and responsibilities among WASH decision makers has been further illustrated in Figure 7- Rural WASH division of roles and responsibilities (Current) and Errore. L'origine riferimento non è stata trovata. Errore. L'origine riferimento non è stata trovata. and in Figure 33- Table of WASH Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 98 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector MRRD Consultations Donors National Rural WASH Policy NGOs MRRD Private RuWatSIP Sector National Rural Other non- WASH Action state actors Framework RuWatSIP Regional Consultations PRRD offices RuWatSIP Regional WASH Programmes Community CDCs / DDAs Community WASH project proposal Fund disbursement WASH Project (first installment) survey, design and viability check Approved Community WASH project documents Project Implementers (CDCs, DDAs, NGOs, Private Sector) MRRD contract Implementation approval of Rural WASH projects Fund disbursement Monitoring and (Second and successive Project Monitoring and Evaluation instalments) Evaluation Reports Lessons Learned Figure 32 - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 99 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector 7. Conclusions In this Section, we have summarizes some of the key assessments and recommendations that have been shared in the earlier sections of the report. We have also compared and summarized, in a table, the current and the proposed subdivision of responsibilities amongst rural WASH stakeholders. The assessments presented in Section 4 have helped us in formulating the recommendations shared in Section 5 and in developing the rural WASH models in Section 6. This process, illustrated below in Figure 34 - From Assessment to Proposed Governance Models , helps us understand the analytical and logical process we followed in our study and how assessments (Sections 4), strategy recommendations (Section 5) and governance models (Section 6) are interrelated. Interactions with the MRRD staff, local and international NGOs, and the international community, combined with data analysis, have greatly helped in understanding the central issues of the rural water sector and in developing the rural WASH governance models for sustainable programme delivery. Lessons learned by key WASH actors in the country, the proven effectiveness of current institutional structures and frameworks, the local capacity strengths and gaps, current government and donor strategies and existing policy frameworks have informed the recommendations. The considerations and recommendations in the above sections do not claim to be exhaustive but provide an insight into the building blocks, in terms of stakeholder roles and responsibilities, steps, measures, processes and models that can help MRRD in paving the way for an accountable, transparent, efficient and effective long-term improvement in the access of rural communities to safe water and sanitation and improved health. The proposed rural WASH governance models do not require the establishment of new structures but require greater decentralisation of existing processes, greater delegation of authority and responsibility, clearer divisions of responsibilities, greater integration of lessons learned, targeted capacity building, building on the current achievements and strengths and addressing the current gaps. Decentralization, where processes and decisions are led and owned by the community and where water governance is delegated to sub-national tiers of governance, can ensure the sustainability and long term impact of all interventions. This decentralisation process must be strengthened by targeted capacity building at all levels of WASH governance and the devolution of powers in adherence to the objectives of the WASH policy 2010 and the change management process proposed in the MRRD Strategic Intent of 2010. 7.1. Stakeholder roles and responsibilities A clear definition and division of stakeholder roles and responsibilities is the foundation block of good governance. At present, there is a general lack of clarity in the division of roles and responsibilities among stakeholders in the rural water sector – government departments, international community, civil society, community and the private sector. In MRRD, there is also a confused convergence of departments and programmes, often donor triggered and reinforced. These are fundamental obstacles to institution building in the rural water sector in Afghanistan. This lack of clarity is aggravated, on the one hand, by the absence/ inadequacy of government departments to manage national rural water programmes, and on the other, by the existence of donor programme teams that are authorised to implement projects autonomously. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 100 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Below is a table that summarizes the current stakeholder roles and responsibilities, the reasons why we believe change is required and the proposed roles and responsibilities. These proposed roles and responsibilities have been integrated in the proposed rural WASH governance model. This division of responsibilities that we propose requires three fundamental processes of evolution in rural WASH management in Afghanistan: • Process 1: From a protagonism of Foreign Aid to a protagonism of the Afghan Government; • Process 2: From centralization in Kabul to decentralisation at sub-national levels • Process 3: From government as an implementer to the government as a facilitator and arbitrator and the private sector and community as implementers See also:  Section 3.2.3 - Current Division of Responsibilities amongst WASH Decision Makers  Section 5.1.1 - Decentralize Planning and Service Delivery  Figure 7 - Rural WASH division of roles and responsibilities (Current)  Figure 8 – Actors - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework  Figure 16 - Evaluation - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework  Figure 24 - Actors - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance  Figure 23 - Actors - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance  Section 3.2.3 - Current Division of Responsibilities amongst WASH Decision Makers  Section 5.1.1 - Decentralize Planning and Service Delivery  Figure 7 - Rural WASH division of roles and responsibilities (Current)  Figure 8 – Actors - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework  Figure 16 - Evaluation - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework  Figure 24 - Actors - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance  Figure 22 - Decision makers - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance and Section 7.1 - Stakeholder roles and responsibilities  Figure 21 - Decision makers- Long-Term Rural WASH Governance and Section 7.1 - Stakeholder roles and responsibilities Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 101 Figure 33 - Table of WASH Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities Stakeholder Roles Current Responsibilities Why change is Responsibilities as per proposed WASH governance required in models responsibilities International • Facilitate the inclusion • to contribute to Afghanistan’s The international • Handing over to the Afghan Government all the Donor of Afghanistan into the reconstruction; community still has typical Governmental responsibilities that were taken by Community global community; • to help remove the factors causing an emergency others during the emergency situation. • Support Afghanistan poverty, injustice and violence in approach and tends • Assisting the Afghan civil society organizations in recover from the Afghanistan to substitute the taking charge of the typical civil society responsibilities devastation of the past Afghan government that were taken over by others during the emergency decades of conflict situation. • Build fairer relationships amongst Afghanistan and other nations Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Stakeholder Roles Current Responsibilities Why change is Responsibilities as per proposed WASH governance required in models responsibilities MRRD, • Serve the • Inform policy making processes at the MRRD still has an • Inform policy making processes at the national level; Afghanistan development rights and national level; emergency approach • Draft policies and legislations for national rural Government needs of rural • Draft policies and legislations for rural in which it tends to rehabilitation and development; communities in rehabilitation and development in substitute the sub- • Draft policies and legislations for rural WASH; Afghanistan, at the consultation with key stakeholders; national tiers of • Receive funds from donors and the Afghan national level • Draft policies and legislations for rural government in the government • Enable a cooperation WASH; rural development • Report to the Afghan government on Ministry’s environment among the • Receive funds from donors and the sector and centralises performance as per plan targets and indicators for rural various WASH actors so Afghan government; all authority at the development at a national level; that they reciprocally • Report to the Afghan government on central level • Manage RWSSID/RuWatSIP; support and integrate Ministry’s performance as per plan targets • Approve rural water project contracts; their specific roles and indicators for rural development at a • Allocate funds to RWSSID for the WASH Action national level; framework; • Manage RWSSID/RuWatSIP; • Disburse funds to CDCs; • Approve rural water project contracts; • Evaluate RWSSID performance in implementing • Disburse funds to sub-contractors for projects that serve the water and sanitation rights and rural WASH projects; needs of the rural population of Afghanistan; • Utilise WASH lessons learned to inform policy and strategy making processes at national level; Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 103 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Stakeholder Roles Current Responsibilities Why change is Responsibilities as per proposed WASH governance required in models responsibilities RWSSID/ Serve the water and • Inform rural WASH policy making • RWSSID / RWSSID will continue as a government body. RuWatSIP RuWatSIP sanitation rights and process in MRRD; RuWatSIP still has an teams will either phase out/ merge into the RWSSID needs of rural • Draft strategies, standards, guidelines, emergency approach teams and will: communities in manuals, templates and procedures to in which it tends to • Inform rural WASH policy making process in MRRD; Afghanistan, at the create an enabling environment for rural substitute the PRRDs • Draft strategies, standards, guidelines, manuals, national level WASH development; in rural WASH and templates and procedures to create an enabling • Draft water project contracts; centralises all environment for rural WASH development; • Manage relationships with sub- management • Draft water project contracts; contractors; responsibilities and • Manage relationships with sub-contractors; • Implement national rural WASH authority at the • Draft the rural WASH Action Framework; programmes; national level; • Evaluate PRRD performance in implementing rural • Survey, design and manage community • There is currently WASH programmes that serve the water and sanitation WASH projects in cooperation with its no separation rights and needs of the rural population in Afghanistan; regional offices and PRRDs; between the MRRD • Provide specialised technical support to PRRD • Monitor and evaluate projects in RWSSID department whenever required; accordance with contractual obligations; and RuWatSIP which • Utilise WASH lessons learned to inform rural WASH • Report to donors and MRRD on project is a donor funded policy and strategy making processes in RWSSID; progress and performance as per programme • Utilise WASH lessons learned to inform WASH Action programme targets and indicators Framework; • Report to MRRD on department’s performance as per national rural WASH Action Framework targets and indicators for rural development at a national level Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 104 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Stakeholder Roles Current Responsibilities Why change is Responsibilities as per proposed WASH governance required in models responsibilities Regional Serve the water and • Support RWSSID/ RuWatSIP in Since PRRD is the The regional RuWatSIP office will phase out and/or be RuWatSIP sanitation rights and surveying, designing and managing second integrated into the WASH department of the PRRDs needs of rural community WASH projects; administrative tier of communities in • Support RWSSID/ RuWatSIP in MRRD, all Afghanistan, at the implementing donor programmes; departments need to regional level • Provide information to RuWatSIP for be represented there drafting contracts for sub-contractors; and not at a regional • Monitor projects in cooperation with level; CDCs/DDAs; Regional RuWatSIP is • Report on progress and performance of only a team that rural WASH interventions as per project exists under a donor contracts funded programme Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 105 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Stakeholder Roles Current Responsibilities Why change is Responsibilities as per proposed WASH governance required in models responsibilities PRRDs Serve the development • Provide information to regional PRRD still has an • Inform preparation of rural WASH Action Framework rights and needs of rural RuWatSIP for monitoring and evaluating emergency approach in RWSSID; communities in rural WASH projects; in which it tends to • Draft provincial WASH programmes; Afghanistan, at the • Monitor projects in cooperation with substitute the DRRDs • Design community WASH project proposals in provincial level CDCs/DDAs; in rural WASH and cooperation with CDCs/DDAs; • Report on progress and performance of centralises • Monitor and Evaluate rural WASH interventions in rural WASH interventions management cooperation with CDCs/DDAs; responsibilities and • Provide specialised technical support to CDCs/DDAs authority at the whenever required; provincial level; • Utilise rural WASH lessons learned to inform provincial WASH programmes in PRRD; • Utilise rural WASH lessons learned to inform WASH Action Framework in RWSSID • Report to RWSSID on department’s performance as per provincial WASH programme targets DRRD Serve the development • Provide information to PRRD for DRRD is currently a The time period (five to ten years from now) for which rights and needs of rural monitoring and evaluating rural WASH small team that is not the rural WASH governance model has been developed communities in projects; competent enough to is too short for direct management responsibilities and Afghanistan, at the • Monitor projects in cooperation with take on the authority to be delegated to DRRDs. district level CDCs/DDAs responsibilities and authority for managing, monitoring, evaluating rural WASH interventions Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 106 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Stakeholder Roles Current Responsibilities Why change is Responsibilities as per proposed WASH governance required in models responsibilities CDCs/DDAs Serve the development • Identify rural WASH projects; At present, the CDCs • Identify water projects; rights and needs of rural • Implement and/or monitor project essentially identify • Monitor rural WASH interventions in cooperation with communities in progress and performance in cooperation water projects and PRRDs; Afghanistan, at the with PRRDs/ Regional RuWatSIP; are a routing • Inform provincial WASH programmes in PRRD; community level • Contribute to Operations and organisation for fund • Report to PRRD on project progress and performance Maintenance of water projects disbursements to as per contractual obligations; outsourced sub- • Pay Operations and Maintenance of water projects contractors NGOs Institutions from civil • Assist local communities in The NGOs often still • Handing over to the Afghan Government all the society that support the understanding and claiming their rights; have an emergency typical Governmental responsibilities that were taken by development of local • Assist local communities in acquiring approach and tend to others during the emergency situation. communities and sharing knowledge and enhancing substitute the Afghan • Assisting the Afghan civil society organizations in capacities. government. taking charge of the typical civil society responsibilities • Implement rural WASH projects directly that were taken over by others during the emergency as per their standards and guidelines; situation. • Monitor and evaluate their projects in cooperation with CDCs/DDAs • Disburse funds directly to CDCs/DDAs Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 107 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Stakeholder Roles Current Responsibilities Why change is Responsibilities as per proposed WASH governance required in models responsibilities Private Sector Be the service providers • Implement rural WASH projects; • MRRD and • Implement rural water projects as per national for the water and • Conduct hygiene promotion activities international standards, guidelines and procedures; sanitation infrastructure community disburses • Provide regular post-project support for Operations funds directly to the and Maintenance; private sector; • Private sector presence in implementing projects, and providing post- project O&M, is low Communities Directly benefit from facilitating the implementation of project • At present, the • Active in project identification; water projects activities intended for them community • Active in informing WASH policies, Action Framework, essentially is a programmes and programmes; receiver and a • Take over Operations and Maintenance; passive actor in the • Monitor project implementation in cooperation with choices of “what” CDCs; and “who” • Inform the pre-selection and selection of sub- implements the rural contractors WASH projects See also: • Section 3.2.3 - Current Division of Responsibilities amongst WASH Decision Makers • Section 5.1.1 - Decentralize Planning and Service Delivery; • Figure 8 – Actors - Current Rural WASH Institutional Framework • Figure 24 - Actors - Short-Term Rural WASH Governance • Figure 23 - Actors - Long-Term Rural WASH Governance Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 108 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 109 7.2. Institutional framework in the rural water sector At present, the government implements RWSS projects and programs 43 through a largely centralized top down approach, where most decisions and technical back stop support is provided by the Kabul office. MRRD has developed a rural WASH policy but has not yet developed any plans or programmes to implement this policy. The institutional set-up in Afghanistan still supports a phase of emergency interventions where agencies, be it NGOs, donors, or international community, often tend to substitute the government in service delivery responsibilities (See above table on stakeholder roles and responsibilities). External agencies fund all programmes and projects in the rural water sector and implement these projects directly through the government, CDCs, NGOs or private contractors so that they can track utilisation and impact of their funds. In fact, the current institutional framework is characterised by units and teams funded by an individual donor or a group of donors, each working autonomously and in accordance with their implementation procedures, guidelines and manuals. Each donor implements programmes in line with its strategies, standards and procedures which in turn determine the responsibilities of the implementing teams and their interaction at sub-national levels. Each donor ensures that its staff is paid well, often much better than her/his government counterpart. NSP, RuWatSIP, NABDP are some examples of such donor programmes. Specific donor funded programme units are established only for specific time bound programmes and usually get dismantled when the donor programme ends, thus making it very difficult for MRRD for retain competent human resources or maintain the structures and resources created by earlier funding. Sometimes, donor funded programmes and MRRD departments have a single structural identity, like RWSSID and RuWatSIP, thus risking the undermining of the legitimacy and authority of MRRD departments. So far, sustainability has been a main predicament not just because of technical problems but also due to the absence of a rural WASH governance model, with clear roles and responsibilities that facilitates effective management of rural WASH projects and the sustainable delivery of related services. Sustainable interventions in the rural water sector will need more decentralised planning and service delivery processes where responsibilities and authority is increasingly delegated to sub-national levels of rural WASH governance; where the community directly supervises project implementation and post project O&M; and where roles and responsibilities of the different tiers of governance are clearly defined. Decentralisation has emerged as the key obstacle to good water governance (Section 4), as the key recommendation (Section 5) and as the key determinant of the proposed rural WASH governance models (Section 6). The proposed rural WASH governance model (elaborated through a short-term and a long-term models) build on the existing institutional structures and processes, established as part of MRRD policies and programmes (for e.g. NABDP and NSP) and integrate a gradual delegation of responsibilities among key stakeholders. These models are expected to facilitate cost efficient resource allocation, programme effectiveness and impact, and project sustainability. The proposed rural WASH governance models, presented in Section 6, integrate the delegation of responsibilities as proposed in the division of roles and responsibilities elaborated in the table above on stakeholder roles and responsibilities) and the changed interrelationships among key actors and decision makers. 7.3. Policy Assessment The WASH policy presents an effective roadmap for improving the quality of life of people in rural areas, advocating for a shift from the current approach involving multiple programmes and projects to enhanced 43 MRRD comprises of six donor funded programmes Afghanistan Rural Water Sector focus and investment in sector-wide programs (SWAPs) through strengthened institutions at various levels and the capacity building of local level institutions such as the Provincial Rural Rehabilitation Departments (PRRD) so that an effective transition to sector wide planning and functioning is facilitated. Although the international community and the civil society support projects adhere to these policies and strategies, these are not conceived through a bottom-up process of consultations and are not conceived within an action framework that should be especially developed to implement rural WASH policies. As recommended in Section 5 and 6, RuWatSIP will need to develop a national rural WASH Action Framework, including appropriate strategies, actions, targets and indicators, and that these frameworks will need to guide the identification, design and implementation of rural water projects at the community-level. It is important to note that the RuWatSIP has already developed a hygiene strategy and is currently developing the Sanitation and O&M strategies along with key WASH actors. The targets and indicators of rural WASH Action frameworks will further assist RuWatSIP in: • conducting M&E and lessons learned in the rural water sector; • utilising the lessons learned to inform future rural WASH policies, frameworks and plans; • setting the standards, targets and indicators that rural WASH projects will need to achieve; • developing the appropriate standards, guidelines, manuals, templates that all project implementers will need to follow; • developing targeted training modules for building staff capacity in designing and evaluating projects as per the standards, guidelines, manuals, templates 7.4. Capacity Assessment Current capacity, knowledge levels and staff numbers are not adequate for adopting the extent and levels of decentralisation proposed in the long-term rural WASH model and required for sustainable, effective and timely interventions in the rural water sector. Current capacity building initiatives will need to be developed in accordance with national policy objectives, action frameworks, strategies, standards and manuals in the rural water sector. Decentralised planning and service delivery is possible only if the knowledge, skills and competence, of all MRRD staff managing rural WASH programmes, is developed. In fact, targeted capacity building must be an integral part of project design and budgets submitted by MRRD to funding agencies. We recommended that AIRD (Afghanistan Institute for Rural Development) take on the responsibility of building appropriate MRRD staff capacity and competence. In cooperation with AIRD, the following agencies/persons can also support sub-national capacity building: i) RuWatSIP staff (in Kabul and in regional centres), working on programme contracts, technically competent in designing, managing and evaluating rural WASH programmes, can mentor their counterparts (on-the- job) in regional offices and in PRRDs; ii) the international community and national civil society implementing projects in the rural water sector can mentor (on-the-job) the MRRD staff working at provincial levels as well as the DDAs/CDCs. This is already being done by civil society through programmes like NSP and NABDP; Instead, the staff in the government departments, at national and sub-national levels, needs targeted and more frequent capacity building as well as higher salaries so that post-training turnover of trained staff is reduced. Competent staff could, through on-job training and mentoring, build the capacities of sub-national government staff and the community. Such decentralised training delivery would also help create an enabling Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 111 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector environment and confidence among staff at local levels. Technical advice, compliance checks and approvals will need to be an integral part of the support given by higher-level governance to project implementing agencies on the ground. 7.5. Resources and actions for a decentralized O&M model One of the major predicaments in the Afghan rural sector has been the sustainability of water sources and water points, not only because of technical problems but also due to the absence of a formal dedicated institutional system to maintain the functionality of the assets created and assure continued delivery of services. Community based systems partially address the problem by putting the onus on communities to manage them. However, due to lack of financial resources, non-availability of skills, lack of right quality of spares and absence of a responsive (redressal) system to provide back up support, O&M of assets is far from satisfactory. The Water Sector Group (WSG) is developing an O&M strategy that will need to be implemented and scaled up. According to the draft O&M strategy, agencies constructing or rehabilitating water points are expected to be responsible for training communities and mechanics in the O&M setup. The community-level O&M set-up entails the appointment of area hand pump mechanics - in the case of piped schemes it would be an area pipeline mechanic, paid an annual fee for being available, and then subsequently being paid for spare parts and time spent when repairs are needed. Pump caretakers would be responsible for simple regular preventive maintenance. Frequently required spare parts are expected to be available at district level or in the village for remote communities. The draft O&M strategy stresses on the construction quality, including sufficient depth of boreholes (boreholes are preferred over hand dug wells). In some countries, women have successfully been trained as mechanics and pump caretakers, but tests in Afghanistan has so far proven largely unsuccessful due to restrictions on women's movements in most locations. All implementing agencies will need to follow these strategy guidelines currently being developed by RuWatSIP in cooperation with key WASH actors. There will need to be provisions for the transfer of ownership of assets to appropriate institutions (within or outside MRRD) and communities, and for creating local capacity to sustain the assets. The operations and maintenance of rural water supply systems will need to be the responsibility of specific village based O&M committees/groups that will finally became responsible for collecting revenue from the community to pay for regular O&M services and/or covering minor repair expenses of water projects. There are no possibilities yet for cost recovery of service delivery in the rural water sector. As mentioned above, maintenance costs could be recovered if the proposed process of decentralisation and community led processes is applied. 7.6. Rural WASH Management Models The rural WASH governance models have been explained through flow charts in Section 6. For these models to be effective and functional, it is recommended that part of the expected World Bank funding is also allocated to strengthening the numbers of MRRD government staff in Kabul and sub-national levels, building human resources and capacities of PRRD, and RuWatSIP staff based in Kabul and in the regional offices and training local NGOs and the private sector for service delivery. Sustainable interventions in the rural water sector also require that salary gaps between the government and programme contract staff are reduced in the long-term and that programme contract staff either gets absorbed into MRRD or is phased out gradually. Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 112 Figure 34 - From Assessment to Proposed Governance Models 8. Annexure 8.1. Annex 1. SWOT analysis for three institutional framework options Below is the SWOT analysis conducted, for three preliminary institutional framework options, by participants in a workshop held in Kabul on March 28, 2012. Based on the analysis shared in the earlier sections, three institutional framework options were developed by the consultant and shared in a workshop organised by RuWatSIP in Kabul end march 2012. The workshop participants conducted a SWOT analysis. The three options and related SWOT analysis are presented below. The three proposed institutional framework options were: A. RWSSID implements WASH interventions through MRRD programmes (like NSP, NABDP); in partnership with Facilitating Partners (essentially non-state actors) and outsourcing on-ground implementation to the private sector Strengths Weaknesses Strong local ownership by users; Processes are slow; Contribution from community; Less direct control of RWSSID on-ground; Higher prospects for sustainability; Community capacity to monitor; Cost effective; Objectives and modalities of programmes differ; Women’s issues are addressed; Low technical knowledge and bounded in one Ensuring quality of material, work and timelines; community which will not lead to sustainable No security threat development Opportunities Threats Employment within local economy; Risk of contracting inexperienced and weak Enhanced CDC and DDA capacity for other private sector; sectors; Risk of failure wastage and sustainability in the Reliable transparent supervision; involvement of private sector Strengthens local governance and accountability; Strengthened local voice for other development issues Figure 35 - SWOT Table - Option 1 Afghanistan Rural Water Sector B. RWSSID implements WASH interventions through PRRDs; in partnership with Facilitating Partners (essentially non-state actors) and outsourcing on-ground implementation to the private sector. The interventions would be identified, prioritised and selected by CDCs who would, along with DDAs, support PRRDs in monitoring implementation. Strengths Weaknesses Empowering government institutions; Lack of community participation Realising a private sector led market economy; Possibility of corruption; Availability of qualified actors in the private Poor coordination between WASH actors; sector; No sustainable O&M; Implementation speed will be faster Lack of sufficient transparency and accountability Opportunities Threats Availability of provincial offices and support on- Government outreach in insecure contexts; site; Lack of clear assessment of PRRD capacity to Recognition and application of integrated WASH lead the process; approach; Uncertainty over people’s response to Strengthening PPPs; cooperation with government Private sector follows government procurement, quality and other norms Figure 36 - SWOT Table - Option 2 C. RWSSID implements WASH interventions through CDCs and DDAs, supported by PRRDs, MRRD programmes (like NSP, NABDP) and Facilitating Partners (essentially non-state actors); and outsourcing on-ground implementation to the private sector Strengths Weaknesses New government APRP works with CDCs and DDAs; Programmes have a lifespan; Inter-linkages and synergies among all MRRD CDCs are not yet part of political processes; programmes; Objectives and modalities of programmes differ; CDCs represent governance at village level; (for instance, under NSP and NABDP the water Facilitating partners work through CDCs/DDAs; supply is not integrated with sanitation, hygiene CDCs and DDAs have been trained in different and capacity building of the community for aspects of rural development operation and maintenance) Opportunities Threats NSP III can be made more flexible to integrate rural Programme procedures, system, human resources WASH standards and modalities; gets dismantled; NABDP offers flexibility; No exit plan by programmes; Capacity building available for CDCs and DDAs; Donor funding reduces; CLDD working in all districts Institutional unsustainability Figure 37 - SWOT Table - Option 3 Afghanistan Rural Water and Sanitation Sector- Institutional Development Report Page 115