Country Update ISSUE 050 APR. 2017 “ AREDP has promoted and institutionalized a culture of financial savings among ” people in the villages it operates in. page 22 page 4 page 6 page 30 page 32 world bank ongoing international afghanistan group support operations finance reconstruction corporation trust fund / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/3 CONTENTS ongoing 12 results New Funding NEWS operations ‘Quality Health Care’ to Benefit Millions world bank page 6-29 group support global community makes record $75 billion commitment page 6 Financing during the IDA18 replenish- page 4 -5 education and training ment period, which runs from July 1, page 4 page 8 2017, to June 30, 2020, is expected to to end extreme poverty World Bank projects and financial sector support: programs • Essential health and nutrition A coalition of more than 60 donor and borrower governments agreed in December page 10 services for up to 400 million 2016 to ratchet up the fight against extreme poverty with a record $75 billion commit- International Finance health people ment for the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for Corporation the poorest countries. 22 results • Access to improved water sources Multilateral Investment page 14 The funding will enable IDA to dramatically scale up development interventions to infrastructure ‘Savings Groups’ for up to 45 million people Guarantee Agency tackle conflict, fragility and violence, forced displacement, climate change, and gen- • Financial services for 4-6 million der inequality; and promote governance and institution building, as well as jobs and page 20 people economic transformation—areas of special focus over the next three years. These ef- page 5 rural development • Safe childbirth for up to 11 million forts are underpinned by an overarching commitment to invest in growth, resilience, Country Partnership and opportunity. page 25 women through provision of Framework, 2017-2020 service delivery skilled health personnel Afghanistan • Training for 9-10 million teachers to Reconstruction Trust Fund page 27 benefit 300+ million children social safety net Japan Social • Immunizations for 130-180 million Development Fund page 27 children 28 results urban development • Better governance in 30 countries ‘The Citizens’ Charter’ through improved statistical capacity • An additional 5 GW of renewable energy generation capacity international finance corporation page 30-31 results 48 afghanistan world bank afghanistan facebook page ‘To Takle Corruption’ reconstruction trust engages with public fund page 32 -50 On March 21, 2017, the World Bank Afghanistan Country Office launched its own Fa- cebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WorldBankAfghanistan/. The main aim of page 34 the page is to engage and hold a constructive and continuous dialogue with our stake- ongoing projects holders, development partners, and most importantly the general Afghan public. We would like to use the Facebook page as the space where everyone can share their thoughts about how best the World Bank can support Afghans in their efforts to build a more prosperous and stable Afghanistan. 4/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/5 WORLD BANK GROUP SUPPORT Country Partnership World Bank projects and channeling donor resources through the government to ensure investments are alig- nance and telecommunication sectors. IFC’s Advisory Services program has been suppor- Framework, Afghanistan Japan Social and programs ned with national priorities. To this end, the ting the Investment program in access to fi- 2017-2020 Reconstruction Development Fund Since April 2002, the World Bank’s Interna- World Bank works closely with other multi- lateral and bilateral agencies across a num- nance, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) capacity development, horticulture/agribu- Trust Fund The Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) The World Bank Group’s current tional Development Association (IDA) has ber of sectors where aid coordination and siness, and investment climate. was established by the Government of Japan engagement with Afghanistan TThe Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund committed over $3.46 billion for develop- government ownership are most critical. c For more information: see page 30. in 2000 as a means of supporting activities (ARTF) is a partnership between the inter- ment and emergency reconstruction pro- c For information about completed projects: over 2017-2020 is determined by that directly respond to the needs of poor national community and GoA to improve www.worldbank.org.af – Projects & jects, and five budget support operations in Afghanistan. This support comprises over Programs. Multilateral the Country Partnership Frame- effectiveness of the reconstruction effort. As and vulnerable groups, enhance their capaci- ties, and strengthen their empowerment and $3.02 billion in grants and $436.4 million Investment work (CPF), which is closely of December 2016, 34 donors have contribu- ted over $9.5 billion, making ARTF the largest participation in the development process. aligned with the government’s in no-interest loans known as ‘credits’. The Bank has 15 active IDA projects in Afghan- International Guarantee Agency Afghanistan National Peace contributor to the Afghan budget—for both The fund is administered by the World Bank. The Government of Japan and the World istan with net commitment value of over Finance Corporation The Multilateral Investment Guarantee and Development Framework operating costs and development programs. ARTF’s support for National Priority Pro- Bank agreed to set up a special window $1.1 billion. within JSDF to support activities in Afghanis- The World Bank continues to engage in Agency (MIGA) has $154 million of gross (ANPDF). grams (NPPs), operating costs of government The International Finance Corporation (IFC), tan under a multi-year program of assistance exposure for three projects in Afghanistan. The World Bank Group strategy operations, and the policy reform agenda rigorous analytical work and to place a signi- the World Bank Group’s private sector deve- for the country’s reconstruction and transi- MTN is a joint effort with IFC in the country’s is contributing to the achievement of the ficant emphasis on policy dialogue. These lopment arm, continues to work with its critical telecommunication sector. The other aims to help Afghanistan: tion toward political, economic, and social Afghanistan National Development Strategy non-lending activities have supported the investment and advisory service partners in • Build strong and accountable stability. two projects support dairy and cashmere goals. More than $4.2 billion has been disbur- World Bank’s lending program and played Afghanistan. IFC’s committed investment As of March 2017, JSDF’s total commit- a crucial role in informing the Government portfolio in Afghanistan stands at about production. institutions to support the go- sed to GoA to help cover recurrent costs, such ment had reached $85 million. A number of In 2013, MIGA launched its ‘Conflict Affec- vernment’s state-building ob- as civil servants’ salaries, and over $4.5 billion of Afghanistan (GoA) of its strategic choices $54 million and includes one investment in JSDF-financed projects have been completed. ted and Fragile Economies Facility’ that uses had been made available, both for closed and and in advancing dialogue between the the telecommunication sector (Roshan), one donor partner contributions and guarantees jectives and enable the state to c For more information: active investment projects. As of December government and its international develop- investment in the hotel sector (TPS), and two fulfil its core mandate to deliver http://go.worldbank.org/U5OQZVF200 n as well as MIGA guarantees to provide an ini- 20, 2016, 25 projects are active under ARTF ment partners. operations in financial markets (First Micro- The Bank has actively supported key re- finance Bank, Afghanistan International tial loss layer to insure investment projects in basic services to its citizens, and with net commitment value of $3.2 billion. forms, particularly in the fiscal and public Bank—trade facility). difficult contexts. This facility could be used to create an enabling environ- c For more information: see page 32. boost the agencies’ exposure in Afghanistan. administration spheres, and through its IFC’s investments have had a transforma- ment for the private sector; budget support operations. It has advocated tional impact in terms of access to finance • Support inclusive growth, with building capacity and legitimacy of the state, and outreach, particularly in the microfi- a focus on lagging areas and urban informal settlements; and • Deepen social inclusion through improved human development outcomes and reduced vulnera- bility amongst the most under- privileged sections of society, including the large numbers of internally displaced persons and returnees. 6/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/7 ONGOING OPERATIONS / education and training Afghanistan Second Skills Development Project (ASDP II) cIDA grant $55 million The objective of ASDP II is to increase the potential for employment and higher earn- ings of graduates from Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools and institutes through improvements in the skills delivery system. The project focuses on providing incentives to schools and in- stitutes offering formal TVET programs to improve quality of learning, while simulta- neously strengthening the institutional sys- tem for the TVET sector as a whole.. Component 1: The project has made sig- nificant progress in strengthening the TVET institutional framework. In addition to devel- oping an overarching TVET strategy, 100 na- tional occupational skills standards (NOSS) have been benchmarked to an international level with the support of an international certification agency, and corresponding cur- ricula developed for 15 trades. ASDP has laid The second Skills the groundwork for an assessment and cer- Development Project has made great progress tification system for TVET graduates, and, in in strengthening the partnership with the International Labour NIMA, and is a considered a best practice To support technical teacher training under Technical, Vocational Organization, about 30 ‘master’ assessors across the sector. Component 3, an in-service Technical Teacher Education and Training Component 3: The project supports a Training Institute was established in 2013, (TVET) institutional have been trained in competency assess- framework in Afghanistan. ment methods, and seven assessment cent- “challenge fund” scheme to identify and from which two cohorts have graduated. An By improving the skills ers identified. scale up good practices in TVET schools and additional 972 in-service technical teachers delivery system, graduates institutes. To date, over 35 institutes have were assessed and trained in 2016, in close from TVET schools and Component 2: ASDP supports the im- institutes can expect to proved performance of selected TVET benefited from two rounds of a Recognition collaboration with GIZ. see an increase in their schools and institutes. One such institute is Grant, while an additional eight institutes Component 4: The fourth component fi- employment potential and have been selected for a Development Grant, nances technical assistance for the skills better income. the National Institute of Management and Administration (NIMA), where students pur- which supports reforms to improve academ- team, as well as costs of third party monitor- sue a two-year business program equivalent ic management, school administration, link- ing and evaluation, and a public awareness to a Bachelor’s degree. Enrollment has risen ages with local industries, and curriculum campaign. The project has also established from 300 students to over 1,000 students in revision. In addition, over 522 TVET gradu- a Project Management Information System, two years, with female enrollment improv- ates have been supported with scholarships which provides real time updates on all ing significantly. With the support of an im- through a voucher program, which facilitates aspects of project implementation (pro- plementing partner (Ball State University), further professional studies for meritorious curement, financial management, human seven rounds of a credible and transpar- students who have graduated from TVET resources, civil work, student enrollment and ent entrance exam have been conducted at institutes. graduation). Country Update/ ongoing operations 8/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/9 / financial sector Initial results from the baseline survey of the impact evaluation component show that the TUP selection process was able to iden- Access to Finance tify households that—across a range of di- Project mensions—were worse off than the average resident in target areas, and arguably more cIDA grant $50 million in need of support. Overall, the very high ob- The Access to Finance Project aims to build served poverty rates and low access to ser- institutional capacity to improve access vices highlight the important challenges that to credit of micro, small, and medium en- these households face and how the program terprises. The project has the following may help to shift them closer to sustainable components: livelihoods. Implementation in the Kabul and Component 1: Improving access to finan- Kandahar provinces has recently started. cial services for micro and small enterprises. Component 2 has not yet started as dis- This component aims to provide continuing cussions are ongoing between the Ministry support to the microfinance sector through of Finance and the Afghanistan Credit the Microfinance Investment Support Facility Guarantee Foundation for an agreement to for Afghanistan (MISFA), as well as, support- be signed. ing MISFA to take on a broader role as a cata- lyst for innovations to increase access and Afghanistan Financial usage of financial services from the lower end of the market according to its new stra- Sector Rapid tegic plan. It should, however, be underlined Response Project that the role of MISFA is primarily that of market facilitator, rather than direct techni- cIDA Grant $45.7 million cal assistance provider. The project is assisting the Da Afghanistan Component 2: Improving access to fi- Bank (DAB) to develop a set of action plans nancial services for small and medium to improve banking supervision and imple- Small enterprises such enterprises (SMEs). The aim is to increase ment a modern payment system for effi- as this tailor shop in commercial bank and microfinance institu- Bamyan Province have cient and transparent payment transactions. been able to thrive as a tion (MFI) lending to SMEs and thus facilitate Specifically, the project aims to allow DAB to result of support from the their access to financial services. It will sup- accurately assess the financial situation of 10 Access to Finance Project, port the expansion of the Afghanistan Credit commercial banks through audits conducted implemented by the additional financing to the project ($6.7 Transfer System (ATS) is complete and the Microfinance Investment Guarantee Facility, and provide technical as- in accordance with international standards. Support Facility for million) supported selected technical as- contract is expected to be awarded soon. sistance to commercial banks to strengthen The audits will lead to the development of Afghanistan. The project sistance activities originally financed under Having these two systems in place will boost their SME lending capacity. This component action plans to address weaknesses that are aims to build the the Financial Sector Strengthening Project, financial intermediation and ease flow of li- government’s institutional will include support to the Credit Guarantee identified, with oversight from DAB. capacity to improve access which closed in June 2014. The additional quidity within the banking system, contribut- Facility to provide coverage to MFI lending to The project also aims to modernize the to credit of micro, small, financing targeted activities to strengthen ing to a more efficient and well-functioning the lower end of the SME market. national payment system with the goal of re- and medium enterprises. DAB’s capacity and the establishment of a banking system. Component 1 is under implementation and ducing the use of cash transactions, the main Public Credit Registry. A second additional financing ($20 million) MISFA has initiated a series of activities, in par- means of making payments in Afghanistan, The audits of the 10 commercial banks was approved in October 2016. The grant ticular the scaling up of the Targeting the Ultra and transitioning to electronic, card or mo- were completed in June 2012. A Movable will help sustain results achieved in several Poor (TUP) Program. Under the TUP program, bile payments. The project will also provide Collateral Registry and a Public Credit Registry, areas, including strengthening DAB capacity a 100 percent distribution of assets to benefi- further support to the Afghanistan Institute set up in 2013, are now fully operational. and improving financial infrastructure. The ciaries was achieved in four provinces (Kunar, of Banking and Finance (AIBF) to allow it to Establishment of the switch to cashless proposed increase in scope would further Laghman, Mazar, and Takhar) in July 2016. scale up its activities, in order to increase the payment is underway at the Afghanistan establish DAB as an effective, transparent, Implementation of the program in these four availability of banking sector skills. Payment System, while the procurement and strong financial sector regulator and provinces will be completed in July 2017. The project was restructured and a first process for development of the Automated supervisor. Country Update/ongoing operations 10/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/11 Basic health care has improved under the Health Outcomes The Afghan health system has made con- System Enhancement for siderable progress during the past decade Health Action in Transition Program, which supports on Positive Trend thanks to strong government leadership, the provision of a basic sound public health policies, innovative ser- package of health services vice delivery, careful program monitoring and an essential package under-five mortality rate and evaluation, and development assistance. of hospital services to and infant mortality rate Data from household surveys (between 2003 the entire country. Many rural communities have fell to 55 and 45 per 1,000 live and 2011) show significant declines in mater- improved their access births from 257 and 165, nal and child mortality. to health care while health outposts set respectively. Despite significant improvements in the up under the program coverage and quality of health services, as has raised awareness well as a drop in maternal, infant and under- of health, disease, and Number of functioning five mortality, Afghanistan health indicators preventive action, such as immunizations. health facilities increased are still worse than the average for low in- to more than 2,400 in 2016 from come countries, indicating a need to further 496 in 2002, while at the same decrease barriers for women in accessing ser- time the proportion of facilities vices. Afghanistan also has one of the high- est levels of child malnutrition in the world. with female staff increased. About 41 percent of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition, and both women Births attended by skilled and children suffer from high levels of vita- health personnel among min and mineral deficiencies. the lowest income quintile The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has fallen significantly from 1,600 per 100,000 live increased to 50 percent from births in 2002. The Afghanistan Demographic 15.6 percent. Health Survey (ADHS) 2015 undertaken by the Central Statistics Organization, with / health project supports the provision of basic health strengthening the healthcare financing PENTA3 immunization funding support from USAID, indicated a and essential hospital services in both rural directorate; developing regulatory systems coverage more than MMR estimate of 1,290 per 100,000 live System Enhancement and urban areas. It also strengthens the na- tional health system and MoPH’s capacity at and capacities for ensuring quality phar- maceuticals; working with the private doubled (a combination of five births. The ADHS, however, notes that the MMR estimate seems to be an overestimate. for Health Action in central and provincial levels. sector; enhancing capacity for improved vaccines in one covering polio, The United Nations Maternal Mortality Inter- diphtheria, Pertussis, tetanus, Transition (SEHAT) The project includes the following three hospital performance; strengthening human Agency Estimation Working Group will con- components: resources for health; governance and social haemophilus influenzae type b, sider the available data to come up with the Program Component 1: Sustaining and improving accountability; strengthening the Health and hepatitis B) , from 29 percent best estimate for MMR soon. IDA Grant $100 million c the basic package of health services and es- Information System and use of information to 72 percent among children The current estimate seems inconsistent ARTF Grant $553 million c sential package of hospital services; and technology; strengthening health promotion with the significant increases in coverage of aged 12 to 23 months in the Government of Afghanistan c supporting the implementation of these and behavioral change; mainstreaming gen- skilled birth attendance (currently 50 percent services through performance-based part- der into Afghanistan’s health system; deve- lowest income quintile. up from 8 percent in 2003), improved quality $30 million nership agreements between MoPH and loping capacity for procurement delivery; of care as shown by frequent health facility Multi Donor fund for health results c innovation $12 million nongovernmental organizations, which will and improving fiduciary systems. Contraceptive prevalence surveys, improved physical access to services deliver health services as defined in these Component 3: Strengthening program rate increased (using any (a fourfold increase in the number of facilities The program aims to expand the scope, packages. management by supporting and financing since 2002), and progress on other related im- modern method) to 30 percent quality, and coverage of health services pro- Component 2: Building the stewardship costs associated with system development pact indicators (e.g., under-five mortality rate vided to the population, particularly for the capacity of MoPH and system development and stewardship functions of MoPH, includ- from 19.5 percent. has declined to 55 per 1,000 live births) in the poor, and to enhance the Ministry of Public by supporting the following thematic areas: ing incremental operating costs at central ADHS. Other survey-based estimates also put Health’s (MoPH) stewardship functions. The strengthening subnational government; and provincial levels and technical assistance. the MMR significantly lower than 1,290. Country Update/ ongoing operations 12/  results quality health care reaches Villages in Mountainous Daykundi Province • Villages in remote areas of Daykundi Province are enjoying access to better health care under a government project that aims to broaden the reach of quality health care to the population, particularly for poorer sections. • Under the System Enhancement for Health Action in Transition project, nongovernmental organizations are contracted to provide basic health care and essential hospital services across Afghanistan. • Community outreach is also carried out under the project to raise public awareness of diseases and other health-related issues. M alika, 40, sits on the chair beside the doctor, describing a problem she’s been having with her lungs. It is early morning and the Shish Basic Health Center (BHC) is still quiet, the corridor empty. Malika, a resident of Jan Mohammad village, has walked two hours to reach the health center. “I have had a problem with my lungs for two years,” she says. “The quality of medicine that I receive from this health cen- ter is much better than other medicines that are sold in pharmacies in the market.” The health center imports medicines from the Nether- lands to ensure patients have access to high quality pres- cription drugs as there are widespread quality control problems with domestically produced pharmaceutical drugs in Afghanistan. The whitewashed health center operates daily with “ a staff of seven, covering an area with nearly 20,000 winter months. “Coordination has become much better people, most of whom earn their income through agri- than it was in the past,” says Dr. Ahmad Fahim, 29, a PU- We are satisfied with the health center culture. It is the only concrete building in Shish village, AMI technician officer in Daykundi. “We regularly hold which lies in Nili district in Daykundi Province. meetings with doctors, the MoPH directorate, and local Health services at Shish BHC is provided by Première people. It helps us to deliver high quality health services services, most of our health problems are addressed ” Urgence-Aide Médicale Internationale (PU-AMI), a French successfully across the province.” nongovernmental organization (NGO), which has been at the center and we do not need to walk contracted by the Ministry of Public Heath (MoPH). The Raised Awareness of Health contract is an agreement to deliver a defined package of Since the implementation of SEHAT in Shish village, the basic health services under the ministry’s System Enhan- health center has worked to establish a health-minded as far as we did. cement for Health Action in Transition (SEHAT) project. Before the implementation of SEHAT in Daykundi in community, engaging locals on health issues and educa- ting them about diseases and other health-related risks. 2014, health centers faced many challenges, including Every month, health center staff hold meetings with the –Safar Mohammad, member, Health Community Council, Shish village shortage of medication and properly trained staff. A villagers, and host regular seminars and workshops. mountainous province, Daykundi faced especial difficul- “We learn a lot from the workshops and meetings,” ties in transporting medication to health centers during says Safar Mohammad, 57, a member of the Health the winter. Community Council in Shish village. “We are satisfied Through SEHAT, PU-AMI delivers medication every six with the health center services, most of our health pro- months to health centers that lie far from Nili, the pro- blems are addressed at the center and we do not need to vincial capital, and face a potential shortage during the walk as far as we did. Country Update/ ongoing operations 14/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/15 / infrastructure The total project cost is estimated at $1.17 billion and several other development part- Afghanistan ners are providing financing for CASA-1000, including the Afghanistan Reconstruction Information and and Development Bank (ARDB), the Islamic Communication Development Bank (IDB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Technologies (ICT) United States Government, United Kingdom Sector Development Department for International Development (DfID), and United States Agency for Project International Development (USAID). CASA-1000 will build more than 1,200 IDA Grant $50 million c kilometers (km) of electricity transmission The project builds on the success of earlier lines for associated sub-stations to transmit projects and catalyzes the next phase of ICT excess summer hydropower energy from ex- development in the country. It supports policy isting power generation stations in Tajikistan and regulatory reforms and strategic infra- and the Kyrgyz Republic to Pakistan and structure investment to expand connectivity Afghanistan. The project finances the engi- and enable more users to access high qual- neering design, construction, and commis- ity mobile and Internet services. It also helps sioning of transmission lines and two new mainstream the use of mobile applications converter stations. The power generation to improve public service delivery and pro- stations that provide the energy to be traded gram management in strategic government over CASA-1000, including Toktogul in Kyrgyz sectors. The project helps develop the local IT Republic and Nurek in Tajikistan, are already industry by expanding the pool of skilled and in place. qualified IT professionals, and supporting the Of the total project financing, Afghanistan incubation of ICT companies in Afghanistan. will receive $316.5 million in the form of an IT start-ups have been Major milestones under the project include receiving support from IDA grant. The grant will support construc- progress in construction of optical fiber cable the Afghanistan ICT tion of about 560 km of overhead transmis- with completion of about 910 km of cable. Sector Development sion line to connect the electricity network Project, which aims to Four provincial capitals—Takhar, Badakshan, train young Afghans on via the northern and eastern provinces of Bamiyan, and Kapisa (Lot-1 Route)—and mobile applications have been developed all aspects of ICT business management. The target Central Asia South Afghanistan. eight districts have already been connected and hosted on the platform; line ministries Afghanistan is expected to connect more on fiber routes. One more provincial capital are in the process of developing the contents. beneficiary pool is Afghan youth who want to deepen Asia Electricity households and businesses to the power grid and five districts in Kunar Province will be fully connected soon. The platform allows any citizen with a mo- their knowledge of ICT and who are interested in Transmission and by importing 300 MW of electricity through bile phone to access a set of public services. CASA-1000. Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat A total of 2,300 Afghans (over 400 women) Two rounds of the Innovation Support setting up IT companies. “We received training Trade Project (DABS), Afghanistan’s electricity company, has been trained under the IT skills develop- ment program. Job fairs for 1,500 successful Program awarded 15 local innovators for on business planning, management system, (CASA-1000) and the Ministry of Energy and Water will im- their ideas on how mobile technologies could plement Afghanistan’s portion of this project, trainees have been held. help address challenges in various sectors, in- administration, and IDA Grant/Credit $526.5 million c including a Security Management Plan for marketing, which enabled The Ministry of Communications and cluding agriculture, education, and health. us to run our own private The Central Asia South Asia Electricity both the construction and operation phase. Information Technology (MoCIT) is preparing The ICT business incubator complex has IT company,” says a young entrepreneur. Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000), an open access policy for the national back- been constructed in the ICT Institute area of covering Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, bone network, ensuring non-discriminatory MoCIT and 20 start-up business entities have Pakistan, and Tajikistan, will put in place the access to wholesale Internet bandwidth undergone training programs in the complex commercial and institutional arrangements for all firms. The Common Services Delivery to date. Under the Capacity Building Program as well as the infrastructure required for Platform (mobile governance hardware and of MoCIT, 400 ministry staff members have 1,300 megawatts (MW) of sustainable elec- software) has been commissioned and 30 been trained so far. tricity trade. Country Update/ ongoing operations 16/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/17 feasibility study being conducted on the six liminary work for the design of a Trade best ranked dams in the northern river basin Information Portal (TIP) and National Single (which is not on international rivers). A de- Window (NSW) system, and the development tailed social and environmental study will be of a national training curriculum and prepa- carried out. ration of relevant training materials. In the hydro-met component, installation The Automated System for Customs Data of 127 hydrological stations and 56 snow and (ASYCUDA) declaration and wider modules meteorological stations located in various lo- have been deployed at 17 customs offices. cations on the five river basins in the country The risk management module is operational is ongoing. In addition, 40 cableway stations in 10 offices, while the valuation module is for flow measurement at selected hydrology operational in six customs offices. The entry stations have been installed. and exit control module is functional in five locations. In addition, other modules, like the traveler cash declaration module and safety Additional Financing and security declaration modules, have been for Second Customs implemented at selected sites. The inland transit module is operational at Reform and Trade (i) Torkhum–Jalalabad–Kabul; (ii) Islamqala– Facilitation Project Herat–Kabul; (iii) Hairatan–Mazar–Kabul; (iv) Sherkhan Bander–Kunduz–Kabul; (v) Tor- (SCRTFP) ghundi–Mazar–Kabul; (vi) Spinboldak/Vesh –Kandahar–Kabul; (vii) Zaranj/Nimroz–Kan- IDA Grant $21.5 million c dahar–Kabul; (viii) Aqina–Andkhoi–Mazar– The additional financing bridges the financ- Kabul; and (ix) Kabul Airport–Kabul Inland ing gap in the ongoing SCRTFP to achieve the Customs. project development objective more fully and The international transit module is support the government in finalizing its long- operational, fully covering (i) Pakistan– term priorities for customs and trade facilita- Turkmenistan; (ii) Pakistan–Uzbekistan; (iii) tion reform. Pakistan–Tajikistan; (iv) Turkmenistan–Taji- In parallel, the additional grant also will kistan; (v) Iran–Tajikistan; (vi) Turkmenistan A villager working on help finance the costs associated with scal- (Aqina)–Tajikistan; and (vii) Kabul Airport the reconstruction of an ing up the necessary activities for preparing –Tajikistan. irrigation canal in Balkh Province. The rehabilitation the next phase of the project. These activities An executive information system has include continued rollout of automation to been installed in the Afghanistan Customs Irrigation Restoration of the canal has revived financing effective from July 2016, IRDP en- many areas of wasteland visages support to rehabilitate irrigation sys- the remaining border crossings and inland Department (ACD). Selected information and Development and turned them into productive farmland, tems serving some 215,000 hectares of land clearance depots (ICDs); continued refurbish- from the system is being provided via SMS and design of a limited number of small mul- ment, rehabilitation, or new construction of to the management of ACD and Ministry of Project (IRDP) irrigating over 13,000 hectares. The canal ti-purpose dams and related works, while selected customs infrastructure; provision Finance. SMS alerts also are being sent to rehabilitation project was undertaken by the IDA Grant $97.8 million c establishing hydro-meteorological facilities of technical assistance and capacity building traders confirming the amount of duty paid. Irrigation Restoration and and services. in key areas essential to introducing mod- Three additional alerts and web reports have Development Project. The ARTF Grant $118.4 million c Progress had been made in all areas. In ern approaches to customs administration; been developed for ACD management. The improved irrigation system Government Funds $3.5 million c has boosted farmers’ the irrigation component, a total of 135 ir- improved mechanisms for cooperation with rollout to regional offices is expected to start productivity and income. The project builds upon and scales up ac- rigation schemes has been rehabilitated, customs administrations of neighboring soon as UNCTAD technical experts have now tivities supported under the completed covering over 142,000 hectares of irrigation countries; and further improvement of sys- been deployed to these offices. World Bank-financed Emergency Irrigation command area (compared to the end project tems for monitoring customs performance Customs to customs cooperation has been Rehabilitation Project, closed in December target of 215,000 hectares). through the use of an automated executive making progress: (i) Customs to customs data 2012. In the small dam component, a prefeasi- dashboard and alerts mechanism. exchange through secure emails are now op- After project restructuring and additional bility review of 22 small dams resulted in a The additional grant also supports pre- erational between Afghanistan and Pakistan; Country Update/ ongoing operations 18/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/19 fer and deployment of officers in the enforce- project included the preparation of the ment department has already started and Resettlement Policy Framework and the as- the teams have undergone short-term capac- sociated Environmental and Social Manage- ity building courses at the Afghan National ment Framework; the preparation of a Customs Academy. Special training for Strategic Environmental and Social Assess- Customs Police is ongoing at the Academy. ment for the sector; development of a com- puterized mining cadastre system (AMCS+) Sustainable for MoMP; 3D laser scanning and imaging at Mes Aynak; development of corporati- Development of zation and commercialization options for Natural Resources state-owned enterprises; provision of techni- cal assistance to the MoMP and Ministry Project of Information and Culture (MoIC) on the intersection between the extractive indus- IDA Grant $43 million c tries and cultural heritage; establishment Closed on March 30, 2017 of a Financial Management System (FMIS) The project aimed to assist the Ministry within MoMP; geological capacity building of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) and the of the Geological Survey of Afghanistan; ad- National Environmental Protection Agency dressing the economic and social subsector (NEPA) in further improving their capacities of artisanal and small-scale mining and the to effectively regulate Afghanistan‘s mineral gemstone sector by strengthening and for- resource development in a transparent and malizing them; and implementation of the efficient manner, and foster private sector Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative development. (EITI). The project made steady progress, includ- Afghanistan EITI (AEITI) has published four ing transaction support for the tender and reconciliation reports so far and the fifth re- negotiations of the main Hajigak contract. An port is on its way. These reports and their International Advisory Panel was established recommendations have been very helpful in to ensure the transparency of the negotia- identifying and bridging gaps within govern- Customs officers tions process. ment financial systems and have provided at the Jalalabad Other areas of progress included collection information and guidance to the appropri- provincial customs department processing of new geodata and the digital capture of ex- ate government agencies on some key issues customs clearances (ii) A Customs to Customs Cooperation for another four contracts for infrastructure isting historical geodata for the development and challenges in the extractive sector. before entering the Agreement was signed between Afghanistan construction is underway. of a modern computerized geo-database in AEITI has been working with government information into the ASYCUDA system. The and Tajikistan, with the technical protocol The process to select a consultant firm to order to attract the exploration interest nec- agencies to help identify weaknesses in rev- automated customs signed and real time data exchange for- conduct a feasibility study of the National essary to sustain discovery of new deposits enue and contract management, helping to data system has been mally commenced from February 2016. (iii) Single Window is underway. and for sector growth; and the preparation close loopholes including closing revenue deployed in 17 customs offices across the A Customs to Customs Memorandum of The amendment to articles pertaining to and publication of 18 sub-sector develop- leakages. It is also noteworthy that MoMP country, expediting the Understanding (MoU) was signed between enforcement in the Customs Act has been ment policies by commodity to guide sustain- and MoCI have established committees to custom process. Afghan Customs and Iran Customs; and (iv) finalized and approved by the President of able development. work with AEITI on the recommendations of negotiations are ongoing for signing a MoU the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan through An independent external inspection and the reports. between Afghan Customs and UAE. a legal decree. The Tashkeel (organizational contract compliance monitoring system AEITI has also successfully selected a new Four contracts for the construction of structure) of 1395 of ACD (which includes the was established. At the same time, capacity Multi Stakeholder Group (MSG) through a a boundary wall of the Abu Naser Farahi Customs Law Enforcement Directorate) was building of NEPA and MoMP officers on in- transparent election process after the pre- Custom House, a data/disaster recovery approved by the Directorate of Administrative spectorate service functions and regulatory vious MSG completed its tenure in 2016. center, overhead water reservoir for Customs Reforms and Civil Services Commission. monitoring was organized throughout the Among the milestones achieved by AEITI are Academy, and T-wall for Aquina ICD have been The implementation plan for setting up an life of the project. the assignment of the Minister of Finance awarded and work is underway. Procurement enforcement wing is under review. The trans- Other activities supported under this as AEITI champion by President Mohammad Country Update/ongoing operations 20/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/21 been completed and 10 PSAs are underway. Support was given to 98 Kochies (nomads) and 136 disabled people to enhance their Ashraf Ghani and the development of a travel time to essential services, and enable enterprise development skills and produc- Beneficial Ownership (BO) Roadmap, which rural communities to access essential servic- tivity. AREDP uses Community Development was one of the SMART deliverables of the es more frequently. Councils as an entry point into communities Brussels Conference on Afghanistan. As of February 2017, construction of 492 and is currently working in 24 districts of The AEITI communication team has carried km of secondary gravel roads, 205 km of sec- five provinces: Parwan, Bamyan, Nangarhar, out public awareness campaigns through ondary asphalt roads, and 1,300 km of ter- Balkh, and Herat. workshops and trainings. After completing tiary roads have been completed. In addition, the first round of the workshops in the north- 1,400 linear meters of secondary bridges and Third Emergency ern and eastern provinces, the communica- 1,600 linear meters of tertiary bridges have tion team carried out awareness workshops been built. In the meantime, routine main- National Solidarity for eight relevant ministries and authorities. tenance of 1,100 secondary roads and period Project (NSP III) The third round included workshops in the maintenance of 300 km of secondary roads southern and western provinces in March were undertaken. Routine maintenance of c IDA Grant $40 million and April 2016. 380 km of tertiary road and period mainte- c ARTF Grant $1.05 billion The excavation of nearly 80 percent of nance of 1,000 km of tertiary road were also c JSDF Grant $9.59 million the archeological red zone at Mes Aynak is completed. Rollout of the first nationwide Closed on March 31, 2017 underway. The employment of seven inter- inventory and condition survey of rural roads The National Solidarity Project has been wi- national archeologists, 18 Afghan arche- has been completed. dely considered as one of the most success- ologists, management and 18 field support ful government programs. The third phase staff, and some 297 laborers from surround- ing communities is also in progress. Over the Afghanistan Rural of NSP, which began in June 2010, made past year, the MoMP and MoIC have signifi- Enterprise remarkable progress in expanding the gov- ernment’s development outreach nationally cantly increased their level of coordination (a bottleneck to progress in the past) and own- Development Project to 35,075 Community Development Councils ership over the project. (AREDP) (CDCs), covering an estimated 90 percent of villages in Afghanistan. On March 28, 2017, the ARTF Management c IDA Grant $28.4 million The upgrading of Overall, the project surpassed its targets Committee approved a Project Preparation infrastructure in this c ARTF Grant $6.2 million village in Balkh Province and the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Grant of $7.3 million to allow transition and has led to visible Development (MRRD) and NSP management continuation of the AEITI and Mes Ayank AREDP aims to enhance economic mo- improvements in the established as federations of the SGs, and are quality of life for residents. ensured the utilization and accounting of Archeological components under the direct bilization and activities by organizing the maintaining accurate and up-to-date records The newly paved road over $737 million worth of block grants from auspices of the Ministry of Finance and MoIC, rural poor into Savings Groups (SGs), Village has increased access to of accounts with good governance structure NSP I and II, and $831 million under NSP respectively. Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) and markets and basic facilities in place. On average, each VSLA has $5,780 III, the reversal of $153.5 million unutilized Enterprise Groups. The project provides tech- and the standardized as loanable capital, which is further boosted drainage system has funds from CDCs, and the full completion of nical support to these groups so as to build with a seed grant injection. This improves / rural development improved the hygiene and all 88,519 community-demanded infrastruc- a financial discipline through savings and sanitation for thousands of access to finance for group members who ture schemes. internal lending practices, and technical sup- inhabitants. The upgrade would like to increase productivity or engage was carried out under the Under MRRD leadership, the NSP manage- Afghanistan Rural port to enterprises. To date, the program has established close Afghanistan Rural Access Project. in entrepreneurial activities but cannot ac- cess such funds from commercial banks or ment also smoothly handled the transfer of Access Project (ARAP) to 5,500 Savings Groups with a member- microfinance institutions. an estimated 740 key and field staff, assets, and systems from NSP to the new Citizens’ ship of some 60,700 rural poor (55 percent AREDP also works toward strengthening c IDA Grant $125 million Charter of Afghanistan Project (CCAP). women) in 694 villages. The SGs have saved market linkages and value chains for rural c ARTF Grant $207 million Under NSP III, 26,923 CDCs were built, over $4.7 million and members have ac- enterprises by providing technical support to strengthened, and maintained as effective ARAP aims to enable rural communities cessed more than 41,900 internal loans (64 1,424 Enterprise Groups (63 percent female) institutions for local governance, with an across Afghanistan to benefit from improved percent by female members) for productive and 617 (15 percent female) small and me- estimated 96 percent of sampled communi- access to basic services and facilities through and emergency purposes with a repayment dium enterprises that have been selected for ties recognizing their CDCs as legitimate and all-weather roads. The project is expected to rate of 95 percent. their potential as key drivers of rural employ- representative institutions. In addition, 71 increase the number of people living within To generate economies of scale, 521 Village ment and income generation. percent of eligible voters voted for their rep- 2 kilometers (km) of all-season roads, reduce Savings and Loan Associations have also been Six Provincial Situation Analysis (PSA) have resentatives at CDC elections and 80 percent 22/  Country Update/ongoing operations results savings groups create new lives among rural poor • Villagers with no previous means of livelihood are being given an opportunity to earn a living through loans from local village associations, allowing them to invest in income generating activities. • The establishment of Village Savings and Loan Associations is a result of the Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Program, implemented by the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. • The program aims to increase employment and income and enhance economic mobilization and activities by organizing the rural poor into these associations. G hulam Nabi, 48, is pouring wheat grains into the mill’s feed chute, and the coarse grains are being ground to fine flour. The noise of the power generator breaks the rural quiet of the village. Ghulam Nabi recently founded the mill in his home village of Noqra in Enjil district in Herat Province. He bought mill machinery using money from a loan provi- ded by the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA). “Before buying the flour mill machine, I was unem- ployed and had a hard time,” he says. “Thank God, I took a loan from the VSLA and started the mill. Now I run the mill and have employed two other workers as well.” All the villagers bring their wheat grains to his mill to be ground to flour. A short distance from the mill, members of the Noqra VSLA have gathered in a house for a regular meeting. “ First, the Savings Groups (SGs), which make up the VSLA, collect the weekly savings of 20 afghanis (about $0.30) from each member. The weekly savings make them eli- gible to take out a loan in the future. Capitalize on Own Resources AREDP has promoted and institutionalized After the collection, members discuss problems, suc- AREDP encourages people to capitalize on their own re- ” cesses, and potential projects for the community. “The sources, helping them create livelihood and employment a culture of financial savings among people association has led to people uniting and solving their opportunities which they would not have otherwise. problems quickly through sharing them on this plat- “Since I have a disability, it was hard for me to find a job and maintain a livelihood,” says villager Sayed Ismail, 32. form,” says Abdul Ghafor, 58, chair of the Noqra VSLA. in the villages it operates in. The Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Pro- “Fortunately, I could get a loan from the VSLA and open gram (AREDP) provides technical support to VSLAs so as a small oil and benzine shop. AREDP has promoted and to build a financial discipline through savings and inter- institutionalized a culture of financial savings among people in the villages it operates in.” –Sayed Ismail, shop owner, Noqra village nal lending practices. It encourages rural communities to establish SGs and enterprise groups. Mature SGs are “Our goal is to create employment opportunities and then federated into groups of 8 to 10 to form a VSLA. increase villagers’ income,” says Massoud Noorzad, an It also provides technical support to small and medium AREDP information systems manager. “When we started enterprises in rural areas. our work in Herat, we knocked on the doors of every vil- AREDP has been operating in Enjil, Gozara, Karokh, lager and discussed the benefits of our activities.” Today, and Rabat Sangi districts in Herat Province since 2010, through SGs and VSLAs, community members have suc- covering 122 villages, which have established 1,128 ac- cessfully mobilized 47 million afghanis (about $680,000) tive SGs. from their own savings, he says. 24/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/25 of the CDCs carried out their functional man- will develop existing mountain crossings into dates. Over 80 percent of sampled communi- dependable, all-season roads that will allow ties received improved access to services. the vital transport of passengers and goods Reports from Third Party Monitoring and to cross the Hindukush mountain range CDCs Facilitate NSP’s own monitoring show that over 85 throughout the year. Development and percent of the infrastructure built under NSP There are currently only two road cross- II and over 90 percent under NSP III are still Access to Services functional. ings over the mountain range, with the Salang highway carrying most of the cross- The Jobs for Peace Initiative and Hindukush traffic, and an unpaved second- CDCs managed over $1.5 billion Maintenance Cash Grants Scheme: ary crossing between Baghlan and Bamiyan. to provide socio-economic In response to the government’s Jobs for The project will carry out civil works for the Peace Initiative, NSP very quickly restruc- upgrading of the Baghlan to Bamiyan (B2B) development and access to tured to introduce the Maintenance Cash road (152 km) into a paved road as well as the services, which included: Grants Scheme. rehabilitation of the Salang road and tunnel Between November 2015 and December (87 km). over 9.7 million rural 2016, a total of $35 million of NSP’s existing Preliminary activities under the project funds and an additional $57 million from do- have started. Land acquisition, engineering poor obtaining access to impro- nors (USAID and DfID) was channeled direct- design review, procurement, and office set ved drinking water points and pro- ly to the bank accounts of 9,606 CDCs in 138 up are underway. As of February 28, 2017, the vision of safe sanitation facilities districts, covering all 34 provinces. This led land acquisition for two segments of B2B has to the creation of 6.6 million paid-for labor been completed and the process is ongoing 53,000 km of rural roads built days, which benefited an estimated 433,000 for the remaining four segments. and rehabilitated. households with 2-3 months of food secu- The design review of three segments has rity, and over 10,000 infrastructure schemes been completed and the work on the remain- maintained. ing segments are underway. The procure- over 4.2 megawatts An estimated $13.029 million for NSP ment for segment 1 of B2B is completed of electricity generated through had remained undisbursed because of the and segment 2 is under process. The client is the construction of micro- closure in the government’s financial year planning to award the contract for the two hydropower plants or grid line in December 2016. At the request of the road segments by start of the construction Ministry of Finance, the end disbursement season after winter and mobilize the con- extension sub-projects date for maintenance grants was extended tractor within the year. from December 31, 2016, to March 31, 2017, over 6,400 classrooms to enable the project to disburse the remain- Children enjoying the fresh, 89 health clinics ing grant amount to eligible CDCs. The grant clean water from a newly / service delivery installed water system. 9 hospitals and amount has now been 100 percent disbursed The system, supported 5,800 community centers following an application by NSP to withdraw the undisbursed balance to reallocate funds. by the National Solidarity Programme, ensures a Citizens’ Charter constructed and rehabilitated c For more information: reliable water supply to households through a tank Afghanistan Project Expected CCAP Results over 1.3 million hectares www.nspafghanistan.org connected by pipeline to a (CCAP) newly dug well. Results expected under the first phase of the CCAP include : of agriculture land irrigated With the new water IDA Grant $100 million c system running, the • 8.5 million Afghans reached. through the construction/rehabi- ARTF Grant $400 million c Trans-Hindukush villagers have seen a • 3.4 million people gaining access to clean drinking water. Government Funds $128 million c litation of more than 4,400 dramatic decrease in irrigation canals Road Connectivity the incidence of disease. “Now, people drink the • Improvements to quality of service delivery in health, The CCAP came into effect on January 23, Project water from the pipe system and the number of education, rural roads, and electrification. 2017. It is expected to be implemented The block grants also generated c IDA Grant $250 million people getting a disease • Increase in citizen satisfaction and trust in government. over a period of four years. The project will is very low,” says a local support the first phase of the Government over 66 million paid-for labor Community Development • 35 percent returnon investment for infrastructure projects. The project aims to support GoA’s efforts Council member. of Afghanistan’s 10-year Citizens’ Charter days for local skilled and unskilled to improve road transport links across the National Program, and will target one third workers. Hindukush mountain range, including the re- of the country. habilitation of the Salang road and tunnel. It The objective of the CCAP is to improve the 26/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/27 prove the administration of the public pen- / urban development sion schemes; and (ii) develop administrative systems for safety nets interventions, with focus on targeting and benefit payment de- Afghanistan New livery, to deliver cash benefits to the poorest Market Development families in targeted pilot districts. Key elements of a reformed and modern- Project ized Public Sector Pension System are in c IDA Grant $22 million place, including a revised institutional and The project aims to pilot a business devel- human resources structure of the Pension opment program in the four urban cent- Department, a comprehensive new Manage- ers of Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, and ment Information System (MIS), a set of busi- Herat, which are the major hubs of economic ness processes, fiscal forecasting models for activity. It helps enterprises gain market revenues and expenditures, and a new chart knowledge, improve product quality, boost of accounts of the pension system. productive capacity, acquire new technolo- About 85,000 pensioners have been reg- gies, and develop and implement business istered in the new Pension MIS and are paid plans to increase their presence in both do- through bank accounts. The biometric verifi- mestic and export markets. cation of beneficiaries and single window op- The project specifically aims to support eration are functional at the Central Pension some 375 small and medium enterprises Department. Moreover, around 55 govern- and 30 business associations through a cost- ment ministries and agencies have been con- sharing facility to access business develop- nected to the Pension MIS and submitting ment services. The project is expected to pension applications online. Similarly, the create around 1,500 jobs in the short term Pension MIS has been rolled out to the two with much higher job growth over the long- regional centers of Balkh and Nangarhar. er term. The project is implemented by the The overall objectives of the safety net com- Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Activities under the ponent are to develop systems for targeting Afghanistan New Market The Facility for New Market Development beneficiaries and benefit delivery, and to de- Development Project have (FNMD), created under the project, was of- helped many private small liver cash benefits to poor families with chil- dren under the age of 5 in five pilot districts ficially launched on March 12, 2013. It re- and medium companies in Balkh Province grow delivery of core infrastructure and social ser- people and host communities. CCAP has al- (Khas Kunar, Nurgal, Dawlatyar, Yakawlang, ceived 1,051 applications from SMEs, and their businesses, such vices to participating communities through ready developed operational guidelines to and Chamkani) during the high food insecu- signed cost-sharing grant contracts worth as this dairy. The dairy strengthened Community Development respond to the returnee/IDP crisis and has rity seasons (winter/spring). over $10 million with 424 firms and associa- was provided technical, marketing, and sales Councils. These services are part of a mini- set aside a $10 million contingency for this The project has developed operational tions. Moreover, FNMD has also processed 66 support under a cost- mum service standards package that the purpose. It has also been designed to expand procedures in line with international best additional first amendments and five sec- sharing program to government is committed to delivering to its geographical scope rapidly. practices: a targeting mechanism based on ond amendments with the SMEs that suc- enhance its productive capacity and diversify its the citizens of Afghanistan. The CCAP aims Proxy Means Testing (PMT) to identify and cessfully completed their first cycle of grant markets. to contribute to the government’s long-term select poor households based on objective agreements. goals of reducing poverty and deepening the / social safety net and transparent criteria; a social registry in- Through FNMD, over 1,500 jobs have been relationship between citizens and the state. cluding the socio-economic characteristics of created across the country, including more In October 2016, the World Bank ap- Afghanistan Safety families; technology-based payments; and a than 30 percent for women, with 184 new or improved products introduced in either do- proved a $100 million IDA grant for the randomized impact evaluation. project. In view of the impending returnee/ Nets and Pensions Some 6,140 families received two rounds of mestic or export markets. internally displaced persons (IDP) crisis that Support Project direct cash benefits in 2016 and will receive Afghanistan is facing, CCAP will likely receive two more instalments in 2017. The benefits c IDA Grant $20 million additional financing to help provide short- were delivered through two mobile money term employment assistance to displaced The objectives of the project are to: (i) im- operators and a commercial bank. 28/  Country Update/ results The Citizens’ Charter a Commitment toward Service Delivery across Afghanistan Will rural communities in Afghanistan be deprived of development services upon the completion of the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD)? What will happen to the Community Development Councils (CDCs) established in rural communities to execute people’s development decisions and priorities in a pragmatic way? Will our country continue to witness reconstruction of civic infrastructure? These were some of the questions that were troubling thousands of villagers as the NSP neared its formal closure date, after having delivered development services in every province of Afghanistan for 14 years. T o address these questions and allay their and provision of safe water), renewable energy, connec- concerns, the Government of the Islamic tion of cities and villages, and propagation of small agri- Republic of Afghanistan formally launched cultural infrastructure. the Citizens’ Charter Program on September The Charter is underlined by principles of balanced 25, 2016 to sustain the uninterrupted process of deve- development and equitable access. The program will lopment and reconstruction in Afghanistan. accord due attention to the most vulnerable groups, in- cluding the displaced, returnees, women, and nomads. Rationale for the Citizens’ Charter The role and participation of women is one of the most The Citizens’ Charter is a promise of partnership between prominent working principles of the Charter. The MRRD the government and communities. It is the foundation would like to see women’s participation as CDC office for realizing the government’s development vision, a bearers increase to 50 percent. commitment to provide every village in Afghanistan with The Charter will build upon the community plat- basic services based on community prioritization. Citi- form created through NSP over the past 14 years and zens, therefore, expect this national program to construct strengthen the partnership between government and and/or restore public infrastructure, and to provide them communities. CDCs will be the means by which citizens with essential health services, quality education, safe can demand services, hold line agencies accountable, drinking water, access to electricity, and other civic ame- and ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable can nities seen as essential to basic human needs. access services. The Charter’s Objectives A Final Thought The Citizens’ Charter aims to reduce the gap between The primary objective of the Citizens’ Charter is to gene- “ villages and cities. It will, in contrast to NSP that focused rate citizen momentum for sustainable development. on rural development, empower both rural and urban The program is determined to achieve this goal by citizens equally to identify their own development prio- making people actively involved in the implementation The Citizens’ Charter is a promise of ” rities and encourage them to actively participate in the process of their own development projects. The honest implementation of the development projects they have commitment between people and government on a lar- partnership between the prioritized. Dimensions of the Charter ger scale will pave the way for ensuring development for all. It is hoped that soon we will be able to banish government and communities. poverty from our society. The Citizens’ Charter will be implemented in the coming 10 years, covering one third of the country in its first c This article is an edited version of a blog written by phase. It is a ‘whole of government’ program, bringing Ahmad Shaheer Shahriar, Deputy Minister for Programs –Ahmad Shaheer Shahriar, Deputy Minister for Programs, together at least six ministries for implementation. It is in the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development committed initially to providing a minimum service pac- For the full version of the blog, please visit: http://blogs. kage of six essential services: health, education, water worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/citizens-charter- management (irrigation, flood prevention, sanitation commitment-toward-service-delivery-across-afghanistan 30/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/31 INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION The International Finance Corporation’s key Access to Finance areas. The impact will be achieved through prong of engagement has been through IFC provided assistance to DAB, the central accelerating the development of a sustain- advisory support focused on improving the bank, in collaboration with the World Bank’s able commercial market for quality verified investment climate and building capacity, Financial Sector Strengthening Program to lighting products. The program works with while supporting selective investments in support the establishment of the first elec- the private sector to remove market entry bar- sectors with high development impact tronic moveable collateral registry and the riers, provide market intelligence, foster busi- and job creation. IFC’s current strategy is in Public Credit Registry. ness to business linkages, and raise consumer line with the ongoing World Bank Group’s IFC has helped DAB with establishing the awareness on modern lighting options. Country Partnership Framework (2017 to regulatory framework for leasing and is now 2020). working to establish a supervisory function Investment Climate within DAB to license and supervise leasing IFC has worked with the Kabul Municipality Investment portfolio companies to facilitate the development of a on reforming the construction permit pro- IFC’s committed investment portfolio in leasing sector. cess; the streamlined process was launched Afghanistan stands at about $54 million and in August 2016 (funded by USAID). includes one investment in the telecommu- Strengthening Horticulture Exports Under the “Afghanistan Investment nication sector (Roshan), one investment in IIFC is working to develop Afghanistan’s hor- Climate Reform Program”, IFC is currently the hotel sector (TPS), and two operations in ticulture exports by helping agriculturists financial markets (First Microfinance Bank, working on two projects to support the MoCI enhance efficiency and supporting the exten- Afghanistan International Bank––trade in promoting an investment climate that is ences are likely to occur: (i) starting a busi- sion of market opportunities, both nation- facility). ally and internationally. The Strengthening conducive to private sector growth: Licensing ness; (ii) dealing with construction permits; IFC’s investments have had a transforma- Horticulture Exports project aims to improve Reform Phase II and Subnational Doing (iii) registering property; and (iv) getting elec- tional impact in terms of access to finance the livelihood of horticulture farmers by Business (SNDB) Survey. tricity. Even in countries characterized by a and outreach, particularly in the micro- linking them to fruit processing companies, The Licensing Reform Phase II project is centralized public sector like Afghanistan, finance and telecommunication sectors. through contract farming, and supporting building on the reforms achieved in Phase these areas show subnational differences at IFC will continue to seek new investment processing companies to expand their export I—the establishment of a one-stop shop for the regulatory level and/or in how the nation- opportunities and engage with local play- markets. business registration and licensing at MoCI— al regulations are implemented in practice. ers in order to support the development of The benchmarking will include four of the with the overall goal to further streamline Afghanistan’s private sector, particularly in Lighting Afghanistan processes for increased efficiency and sus- largest cities in addition to Kabul that serve infrastructure, finance, manufacturing, agri- Lighting Afghanistan is a market transfor- tainability at the one-stop shop, including as regional economic centers —Herat, Mazar- business, and services. mation program aimed at increasing access business license renewal, and to rollout the e-Sharif, Kandahar, and Jalalabad. to clean, affordable off-grid energy in rural Advisory Services business registration and licensing reforms to Afghanistan. It is an integral part of IFC’s A strong Advisory Services program has been “Lighting Global” program. the provinces. supporting the Investment program in access The program’s objective is to increase ac- The SNDB project will cover four “Doing to finance, SMEs, horticulture/agribusiness, cess to modern solar lighting products and Business” indicators that are actionable at renewable energy, and investment climate. services for 250,000 Afghans living in off-grid the local level and where subnational differ- 32/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/33 AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION TRUST FUND The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund certain portion of eligible and non-security Fund (ARTF) was established in 2002 to provide a related operating expenditure every year. The coordinated financing mechanism for GoA’s Investment Window provides grant financing budget and national investment projects. for national development programs in the de- The objectives of ARTF are: Since its inception, 34 donors have contri- velopment budget. • Position the national budget as buted over $9.5 billion to ARTF, making the key vehicle to align the it the largest single source of on-budget Donor contributions financing for Afghanistan’s development. Donor contributions have increased year af- reconstruction program with ter year, with both old and new donors con- national development Management tributing to ARTF. Over the last few years the objectives. ARTF has a three-tier governance frame- “preferenced” portion of donor contributions work (Steering Committee, Management has been the main factor driving growth. • Promote transparency and Committee and Administrator), and three The agreed ARTF rule is that donors may accountability of reconstruction working groups. This sound framework has not “preference” more than half of their an- assistance. enabled ARTF to adapt to changing circum- nual contributions. This rule is to ensure that stances and development priorities with ARTF has sufficient funding to finance the • Reduce the burden on limited consistency and consensus. The World Bank Recurrent Cost Window and that it retains government capacity while is the administrator of the trust fund. The some flexibility in the approval of projects in promoting capacity building Management Committee consists of the support of government priorities. World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, over time. Asian Development Bank, United Nations The Recurrent Cost Window (RCW) • Enhance donor coordination Development Programme, Ministry of for financing and policy Grant $4.2 billion of the overall budget. Nevertheless, the RCW Finance (MoF), and United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan as an observer. The To date, ARTF has disbursed $4.2 billion dialogue. The ARTF’s support still finances around 16 to 20 percent of the Management Committee meets regularly in through the government’s non-security op- of the government’s priority government’s non-security operating budget. Kabul to review ARTF finances and approve erating budget. Domestic revenues continue programs, policy reform agenda, The Investment Window funding proposals. The ARTF Strategy Group, to be insufficient to cover the costs of govern- consisting of donors and MoF, meets month- ment. The ARTF RCW has therefore ensured and the non-security operating The Investment Window has increased sig- ly to review the implementation of the ARTF the basic functioning of government includ- costs of government operations nificantly in volume and scope. Since SY1389 program and to discuss strategic issues. ing the delivery of services such as healthcare (year 2010), investment commitments have contributes to the achievement exceeded recurrent cost commitments. De- and education. Given that around 60 percent How ARTF works of the non-uniformed Afghan civil service is of Afghanistan’s national centralized and national rural development Donors contribute funds into a single ac- accounted for by teachers, the Ministry of strategic goals. programs, such as NSP, rural roads, and edu- count, held by the World Bank in the USA. The Education has in general received about 40 cation, have been strongly supported by ARTF. ARTF Management Committee makes deci- percent of total ARTF resources. Ministries As of December 20, 2016, there are 25 sions on proposed allocations at its regular of Public Health, Foreign Affairs, Labor, Social projects active under ARTF with a total com- meetings, and those decisions are translated Affairs, and Higher Education have also been mitment value of $3.2 billion, of which $2.3 into funds through Grant Agreements signed major recipients. billion has been disbursed and the net undis- between the World Bank as administrator It should also be highlighted that the RCW bursed amount is $890 million. of the trust fund and the Government of resources are national in scope, ensuring the c Full details of investment activities are Afghanistan. payment of salaries of around 62 percent of provided in the ARTF Annual Scorecard: ARTF allocations are made through two non-uniformed civil servants in all 34 prov- www.artf.af “windows”: the Recurrent Cost Window and inces of the country. Steady year-on-year in- the Investment Window. The Recurrent Cost creases in operating costs across government Window reimburses the government for a mean the RCW accounts for a declining share Country Update/ artf 34/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/35 / ongoing projects Afghanistan Justice Service Delivery Afghanistan Project (JSDP) Agricultural Inputs Grant $25 million Project (AAIP) The objective of the Justice Service Delivery Grant $74.75 million Project is to increase access to and use of le- gal services. The project helps the Supreme AAIP aims to increase adoption of improved Court (SC), the Attorney General’s Office crop production technologies. The agri- (AGO) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to culture sector is central to Afghanistan’s pursue fundamental reforms that will have economy, employing 60 percent of the na- longer term impact on the judicial services. tion’s workforce. As such, strengthening With JSDP support, the Supreme Court and the institutional capacity of the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Office have complet- Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), ed their human resources needs assessment and increasing investments for the safety and drafted Human Resources Management and reliability of agricultural inputs are in- Strategies that will help improve staff com- valuable to support continued increase of petency and quality in the two entities. Both agriculture productivity. institutions are also conducting capacity Firstly, the project will improve the techni- needs assessments with JSDP support that cal and economic efficiency of the value chain will lead to a multi-year capacity building of certified wheat seed. Secondly, building on plan for the SC and AGO. the legal and regulatory framework that the With project support, MoJ has hired over project helped build during the preparation 60 legal aid providers, who will provide legal phase, the project will develop the necessary aid to those who cannot afford it. The pro- accredited facilities for plant quarantine net- ject is also funding the development of a works and quality control of agro-chemicals. longer term Legal Aid Regulatory Framework Thirdly, guided by the results of field sur- and Roadmap for Afghanistan. veys carried out during the preparation Farmers are benefiting The project is funding the construction phase, the project will design and pilot test from the work carried of a number of buildings for the three jus- a demand-led action plan to improve and de- out in 10 regional research farms across the tice institutions, including the headquar- velop market-based input delivery systems the project showed good progress on the country. Supported by the ters of MoJ and urban courts in Kandahar for seeds and agro-chemicals. The sustain- execution of 14 infrastructure contracts for Afghanistan Agriculture and Parwan. The capital investment plans ability of these interventions will be support- quarantine stations, laboratories, and re- Inputs Project, the research farms produce breeder for all three justice institutions have been ed by capacity building programs involving search farms, several of which are now close seeds, which are then completed. civil servants, farmers, and traders. to completion. The groundwork for the na- multiplied into “improved Further, the JSDP has printed several lots The project is making progress toward tional pest and diseases survey has started, seeds” and distributed to farmers. The “improved of Afghanistan’s enacted laws for wider ac- achieving its development objective in a num- one of the key activities under the project. seeds” are high-yielding, cess to the public sector and has established ber of areas. The project has trained over 410 The Agricultural Pesticides Act has been hardier, and appropriate to and equipped over 30 libraries. Over 150 staff from the Agricultural Research Institute approved by parliament and resent to the the local climate. judges have undergone training by the Egypt of Afghanistan (ARIA) and Independent Seed president’s office for final ratification. The Training Institute for Judges in fields such as Enterprise (ISE). In addition, 35 MSc students Plant Protection and Quarantine Law is with criminal law, civil law, commercial law, and have successfully completed their studies in the president’s office awaiting final endorse- family law. India and returned to Afghanistan. ment. The final draft of the Chemical and Another notable achievement is that five Natural Fertilizers Law has been sent to the new varieties of wheat have been submitted Ministry of Justice for inclusion in the legisla- for release, meeting the total target. Further, tive agenda. Country Update/ artf 36/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/37 Land productivity of wheat and other crops Mahipar and Naghlu switchyards is complete. has increased by 15 percent. Water produc- The project also supported the energy effi- tivity of wheat and other crops increased 10 ciency activities of MEW through the setting percent, and the irrigated area increased by up of an Energy Efficiency Unit. A national 10 percent. Physical rehabilitation of irriga- awareness program for energy efficiency tion schemes exceeded its target with good was completed in July 2014. Three energy ef- quality and within the project budget allo- ficiency demonstration programs have been cation and timeline: 86 irrigation schemes completed as well. The project was restruc- (mostly informal) have been rehabilitated, tured in June 2015, extending it to May 31, covering a total of 19,000 hectares of irriga- 2017, and an additional financing of $15 mil- tion command area. lion to allow completion of project activities. The establishment of 175 Irrigation asso- ciations (IAs) has been completed. The IAs are based on the traditional Mirab system and Capacity Building for have taken up the responsibilities for opera- Results Facility Project tion and maintenance. In December 2015, the ARTF Management for Afghanistan Committee at the request of GoA approved Grant $100 million an additional $45 million to scale up achieve- Capacity Building for Results (CBR) is a ca- ments of the project by increasing its scope pacity building, institutional development, and adjusting the project components. The and public administration reform project to project closing date has been extended for an- strengthen capacity of selected line minis- other three years, closing in December 2019. tries to better plan and execute their devel- opment budget, simplify business processes, Afghanistan Power and provide faster and quality services to System Development Afghan citizens. CBR promotes accountability in line ministries by introducing results-based Project reform and services improvement programs. CBR is also one of the key tools for the govern- Grant $75 million ment to reduce reliance on external technical TThe project development objective is to assistance and parallel structures. support increasing access to grid power and The grant helps finance the costs associ- Water from a rehabilitated the quantity of available power to consumers ated with (i) technical assistance for prepa- irrigation system, which in the target areas of urban centers at Pul-e- ration and implementation of capacity has benefited hundreds of village residents, gives Khumri, Charikar, Gulbahar and Jabul-Seraj. building programs; (ii) recruitment of some Afghanistan On-Farm these boys a moment’s It consists of three components: distribu- 1,500 managerial, common function, and respite. The rehabilitation, Water Management carried out under the On- tion system rehabilitation; rehabilitation of transmission switchyard associated with professional staff for key positions in select- ed line ministries; (iii) a management intern- Farm Water Management Project Project, included paving Naghlu and Mahipur Hydropower Stations; ship program; (iv) training of civil servants; the village irrigation canal and institutional capacity building and pro- and (v) project management, monitoring, Grant $70 million and building culverts. The increase in irrigation ject management support to the Ministry of and evaluation. This pilot project is designed to support on- water and time saved on Energy and Water (MEW). CBR provides support across all line min- farm water management investments in maintenance have meant Under the project, 429 kilometers of distri- istries and independent government agen- that farmers are now five regions (Central, Eastern, Southwest, able to expand the scope bution lines have been constructed or reha- cies, enabling them to recruit a substantial Northeast, Northern) covering a total of of their activities. “Now bilitated. A total of 24,667 kilovolt-ampères number of skilled civil servants to imple- 10,000 hectares. The project improves agri- that I have more time and (kVA) was installed in Charikar, Gulbahar, ment their respective CBR reform programs. enough water, I would like cultural productivity in project areas by en- to plant new modified fruit and Jabul-es-Seraj, while 17,335 kVA were in- Recruitment of senior-level civil servants hancing the efficiency of water use. trees,” says a farmer. stalled in Pul-e-Khumri. The rehabilitation of funded through CBR is progressing; a total of Country Update/ artf 38/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/39 931 senior and mid-level management group CASA-CSP is currently undergoing a level positions has been selected, including 511 two restructure to (i) extend the closing date; (55 percent) for the subnational level. and (ii) restructure the implementation and fi- Of the selected CBR positions, 328 have duciary arrangement to continue to be effec- been contracted to date, 54 of whom are tive after the closing of the NSP in March 2017. women (6 percent of selected positions), with the remainder at various stages of qual- DABS Planning and ity review and approval—800 contracts are expected to be signed by end April 2017. CBR Capacity Support is also assisting salary harmonization for Grant $6 million donor-funded consultants embedded in or working in support of government. The Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) Planning and Capacity Support Project aims to improve DABS capacity in distribution in- Central Asia South vestment planning, implementation, and op- Asia-1000 eration and maintenance. This project has two components: Community Support Component 1: Staff capacity building, which Program (CASA-CSP) aims to support DABS capacity to plan and implement new investments in distribution Grant $40 million systems and to operate and maintain the in- The project aims to provide access to elec- vestments properly. tricity and/or other social and economic in- Component 2: Development of a training frastructure services to communities in the center in Kabul. Currently DABS does not project area in order to strengthen commu- have any training facility for its staff, and nity support for the CASA-1000 transmission this has been identified as a critical gap in its line. The project consists of four components. overall capacity building efforts. The first component, community grants for sub-projects will provide grants directly Higher Education to communities to fund economic infrastruc- The Higher Education ture sub-projects. Preference will be given to Development Project Development Project aims to increase access power sector sub-projects. The second com- to higher education in Grant $50 million ponent, community mobilization aims to Afghanistan, as well as engage communities to increase the shared Work under CASA-CSP will begin once improve its quality and The Higher Education Development Project relevance. The project (HEDP) aims to increase access to higher prosperity associated with the CASA-1000 the CASA-1000 project is operational. Once is on track and will transmission line, which will pass through implementation begins, CSP is expected to continue to encourage education in Afghanistan, as well as im- villages, by facilitating community participa- benefit communities that live along a two- women to undertake prove its quality and relevance. HEDP uses higher education, for an Investment Project Financing instru- tion in sub-project planning, implementa- kilometer ‘Corridor of Influence’ (COI) on ei- example one third of tion, and operations and maintenance. ther side of the CASA-1000 transmission line. the scholarships to be ment based on the Results-based Financing The third component is project imple- It is expected that there will be approximate- awarded will be allocated modality. to women candidates. mentation support. It comprises a sub-com- ly 700 communities spread over 23 districts Under component one, project funds will ponent, third party monitoring (TPM). The in six provinces, with a total of over 152,000 be disbursed against selected line items in fourth component, communications and out- families along the corridor of influence. the annual budget of the Ministry of Higher reach will finance a strong communications Given the terrain along the COI, as well as the Education (MoHE) up to capped amounts, campaign and information-sharing activities unique nature of community mobilization in and on condition that the agreed set of directed to relevant stakeholders within the high-risk areas, there will be some flexibility disbursement-linked indicators (DLIs) are provinces with a special emphasis on out- to work with more communities outside of achieved. The DLIs reflect the priorities for reach to communities in the project areas. the COI. development. These include intermediate Country Update/artf 40/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/41 outcomes that build cumulatively over the lifespan of HEDP to improve access to the higher education system and raise its quality and relevance. This component will support the reforms initiated through the National Higher Education Strategic Plan II, and will focus on outcomes and results rather than inputs. The project started in September 2015 and MoHE is on course to meet the second round of the DLIs, which include awarding 100 more scholarships to university academ- ics, of which one third is allocated to women candidates; training of 250 faculty members in and practicing outcome-based education and student-centered learning; and award- ing an additional 30 individual and group research projects to faculty members from public and private universities. Kabul Municipal Development Program (KMDP) Grant $110 million Kabul Municipality is responsible for imple- menting the project. The project objectives are to: (i) increase access to basic munici- pal services in selected residential areas of Kabul city; (ii) redesign Kabul Municipality’s Five main roads and their surrounding areas in Kabul Financial Management System to support city have been upgraded, better service delivery; and (iii) enable early re- easing traffic and boosting sponse in the event of an eligible emergency. local businesses. The Kabul Urban rehabilitation of the The project is expected to deliver welfare of neighborhood roads, 332 kilometers of localities, including newly and human development benefits to over community drains, and 19 kilometers trunk Transport Efficiency paved main roads, new 700,000 people through services provided roads. sidewalks, and streetlights, Improvement Project have been carried out in some 1,800 hectares of private land. Temporary employment of some 1.5 mil- under the Kabul Urban There will be project support to develop a lion people has been generated through the Transport Efficiency plan for improving the municipality’s finan- execution of contracts with labor intensive Improvement project. (KUTEI) “The road is modern and cial management and planning capacity to work at an investment of $514/person per systematic, the culverts, Grant $90.5 million deliver improved services. The plan will en- month. Durable infrastructure will gener- green spaces, footpaths, all hance Kabul Municipality’s legitimacy when ate secondary employment in the years designed in a well-planned The project aims to improve road conditions manner, and street lighting and traffic flows on selected corridors of implemented. ahead. Importantly, KMDP has established at night makes the area To date, $29.5 million has been disbursed. a strong foundation exists for gender inclu- bright and beautiful,” says Kabul city. The project will focus on improve- Over 1 million people (about 73 percent sive community participation in decision a resident in one of the ment of road infrastructure and provision of localities. technical assistance to Kabul Municipality in women and children) have benefited from making over public expenditures in Guzars the construction of about 247 kilometers (neighborhoods). specific areas. Country Update/ artf 42/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/43 Investments in key road infrastructure will improve connectivity and make Kabul Results expected more inclusive, while technical and knowl- edge support will gradually transform Kabul under the NHRP Municipality into a modern planning and implementing agency by adopting best in- • Revived 50 MW unoperational ternational practice. Kabul Municipality will be responsible for implementation of the capacity of Naghlu Hydropower project, including procurement and financial Plant (NHPP) by rehabilitating management. Unit 1 and overhauling Unit 3. Progress toward the achievement of the • Improved routine operation and project development objectives will be meas- ured through the following indicators: (a) maintenance of the power traffic capacity improvements will be meas- plant for five years. ured by average vehicle speed during off- • Enhanced staff capacity to peak hours; (b) people (within a 500-meter operate and maintain the range under the project) in urban areas pro- vided with access to all season roads; and (c) power plant. percentage of Kabul city’s trunk road network • Residents living near NHPP in at least ‘fair’ condition. connected to electricity and Initial activities, including survey, design local residents benefit from review, and procurement of civil works, started during the preparation of the pro- vocational training. ject. Implementation of four National • Enhanced security and safety Competitive Bidding civil works contracts measures of the NHPP. (Lot-1–4) has been completed and the roads are opened to traffic. The implementation of two out of the The Naghlu Hydropower four International Competitive Bidding civil Rehabilitation Project works contracts (Lot-5 and Lot-6) has also will improve dam safety and sustainability of been completed and the roads are func- tional. The design review for Lot-7 and 8 hydropower and increase electricity supply at the electricity at the Naghlu Hydropower Plant villages in Sarobi and Tagab districts are National Horticulture (NHPP). The NHPP is of strategic importance scheduled to be electrified. There is also a has been completed and the procurement Naghlu Hydropower Plant. The plant is of to Afghanistan’s power generation portfo- plan to provide vocational training to the and Livestock Project process has started, while the design re- view for the Wazir Abad canal is in progress. strategic importance to Afghanistan’s power lio as it provides more than half of Kabul’s villagers. (NHLP) electricity. The contract to supply goods for the elec- The terms of references for the soft stud- generation portfolio as it Grant $190 million provides more than half of The project took effect on January 24, 2016, trification of Sarobi was signed on March 22, ies under Component B have been final- Kabul’s electricity. after the signing of the Grant Agreement. 2016, and most of the goods have been sup- NHLP aims to promote the adoption of im- ized and the procurement process initiated. The main contract for the rehabilitation of plied. The contract for the design, supply, and proved production practices and technolo- the plant was signed on December 27, 2015, installation of Sabori Substation was award- gies by target farmers, with gradual rollout of Naghlu Hydropower and came into effect on August 24, 2016. ed on February 23, 2017. The remaining parts farmer-centric agricultural services systems Rehabilitation Project Key specialists from the Environment and Social Advisory Panel (ESAP) and the Project of the project are under procurement. and investment support. Service delivery centered on farmers promotes increased par- (NHRP) Technical Advisory Panel (PTAP), to enhance ticipation of beneficiaries in defining the type quality of work and services, are on board of services required and in the delivery itself. Grant $83 million and have conducted two site visit. The project also promotes improved ratio of The NHRP development objective is to im- Furthermore, a social survey has identi- overall costs reaching beneficiaries as direct prove dam safety and sustainability of hy- fied ways of supporting the local population investments. The aim is, thus, to promote dropower and to increase the supply of around the NHPP. As a result, a number of sustainability, effectiveness, and efficiency. Country Update/ artf 44/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/45 large number of essential tools (e.g., pruning have been identified and will compete for shears, ladders, bags) for proper harvesting incentives based on the number of certified of their products. graduates and the number of students em- A total of 966 raisin drying houses has ployed after completing the training. been constructed on a cost-sharing basis to The rationale for this intervention is that reduce post-harvest losses of grapes and im- incentives directly linked to labor market prove the quality of raisins produced. outcomes are likely to encourage training Regarding livestock activities, NHLP con- providers to actively prepare students for the tinues to focus on key activities, including certification exam and help graduates seek poultry production and animal health and ex- employment. It is also based on the premise tension services, while expanding work pro- that labor market outcomes cannot improve grams to other areas such as fishery and dairy. unless the quality of non-formal training As of March 2017, the project supported improves. 89,755 farmers (57,405 women and 32,350 Significant progress has been made in im- men), forging them into 4,159 producer proving and developing the quality of train- groups (2,861 female and 1,298 male groups), ing material and standardizing occupations including poultry producer groups, to benefit to international skill standards, which would from animal production and health services. subsequently facilitate quality training pro- It has also extended its activities to new grams and enhanced employment opportu- geographical areas under sanitary mandate nities for trainees. activities, and is supporting MAIL’s relevant Component 2: NATEJA will provide capac- directorate to implement them. ity development assistance including in- creased staffing, staff training, and a range Non-formal Approach of Technical Assistance (TA) to support: (i) financial management; (ii) procurement; (iii) to Training entrepreneurship development; (iv) employ- Education and Jobs ment services; and (v) labor market informa- tion collection, analysis and utilization. The in Afghanistan monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capacity Farmers in Herat Province are seeing the benefits Project (NATEJA) of the National Skills Development Program will be enhanced so that reliable and suitably of using modern drying Grant $15 million disaggregated project performance data can houses that produce better The project has three components: (i) hor- 70,000 ha of existing orchards have been re- quality raisins in a shorter The objective of NATEJA is to increase the be collected and analyzed. timer and command Under this component, NATEJA has part- ticultural production; (ii) animal production habilitated, against the project’s accumula- potential for employment and higher earn- higher prices in the and health; and (iii) implementation man- tive target of 106,422 ha. market. “Using the new ings of targeted young Afghan women and nered with the Italian Development Coope- agement and technical assistance support. In the same period, the project has support- drying house, the color and men in rural and semi-urban areas through ration Office (IDCO) to conduct an impact quality of our raisins have evaluation of the business grant program These activities were initially implemented ed construction of 1,036 small water harvest- non-formal skills training. The project focuses improved, less dust settles in 120 focus districts in 23 target provinces. ing structures, improving farmers’ resilience on the grapes and a larger on improving labor market outcomes (e.g., that has been implemented in six provinces Based on the high demand for NHLP services, to weather change by allowing harvest and amount turn to raisins in earnings and employment) for unskilled and (Herat, Bamyan, Farah, Balkh, Kabul, and a shorter period of time,” Nangarhar) to establish the causal impacts the project received additional financing to storage of water during the rainy season and semi-skilled youth through enhancing the says a farmer. Over 200 allow expansion of its work programs to 250 gradual release in the growing period based modern raisin drying quality of training delivery, and providing en- of project interventions and how to scale up districts in 31 provinces, with a national cov- on crop needs. This has been implemented in houses have been built trepreneurship/apprenticeship support. successful interventions. The baseline sur- across Afghanistan under erage plan. partnership with Community Development Component 1: The objective is to train vey data collection is underway and will be the National Horticulture As of December 31, 2016, NHLP has fi- Councils. and Livestock Project. 40,000 Afghans by providing incentives to followed by midline and endline surveys to nanced the establishment of 14,224 hectares To strengthen marketing, targeted farm- training providers and creating an opportu- measure the respective impacts of the busi- (ha) of new pistachio and fruit orchards, ers, both male and female, have been trained nity for competition and improved quality of ness grant program on job creation, earnings, reaching over 70 percent of its total target of on harvesting and post-harvest handling is- training. Currently, 192 non-formal private and skills acquired. new orchard establishment. In addition, over sues. They have also been provided with a and non-governmental training providers Significant progress has been made in the Country Update/artf 46/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/47 from Balkh, 4,000 from Nangarhar, 1,500 received Quality Enhancement Grants for from Kabul) registered with a business plan. purchase of school supplies, laboratory An initial list of 2,600 potential beneficiaries equipment, and other purposes. will be released, from which the first batch of In addition, 154,811 teachers have been 1,260 beneficiaries will be chosen by lottery. trained under the In-Service Teacher Training The information provided by the benefi- (INSET) courses 1-5, of whom 35 percent are ciaries will be thoroughly verified to ensure women. At the same time, 21,277 school that the right applicants are enrolled into the principals and administrators have been program to start a new small scale enterprise trained in School Management Training or expand their existing micro-enterprise (SMTs 1-6), about 20 percent of whom are with the $500 grant. The grant applications women. Moreover, 11,436 women have re- (41 percent female participation) are being ceived scholarships and graduated from TTCs. vetted by a broad range of people to ensure transparency. Second Public Second Education Financial Management Quality Improvement Reform Project Grant $114.125 million Program (EQUIP II) The project objective is to further strength- Grant $408 million en the efficiency and effectiveness of EQUIP’s objective is to increase equitable Afghanistan`s procurement, treasury, and access to quality basic education, especially audit systems. for girls. Program interventions are primarily Project components include: targeted toward general education, teacher Procurement Reform: To provide techni- training, and education management. The cal assistance to the National Procurement Quality Enhancement program is fully aligned with the Afghanistan Authority (NPA) to assess the legal and in- Grants awarded under the Education Quality National Education Strategic Plan and sup- stitutional frameworks, handle procurement Improvement Project ports the institutional development of the under the recipient’s budget, develop an development of a comprehensive MIS, where have allowed schools to Ministry of Education’s program staff. EQUIP action plan for procurement, prepare an e- purchase state-of-the several web-based applications have been art science equipment, was originally supported by the International procurement assessment and build human established for data collection and moni- equip their computer Development Association, the World Bank capacity of procurement staff, improve the toring progress in the implementation of laboratory, and stock books Group’s fund for the poorest countries. quality of trainings of procurement officers, in the library. These new Components 1 and 3. resources have enhanced As of March 2017, EQUIP II has supported and build capacity in line ministries. Component 3: The focus is on building the academic quality of the the construction of 1,137 schools and six The project will strengthen the institution- the skills of illiterate and unskilled young beneficiary schools, and in teacher training colleges (TTCs). According al development of NPA by providing support turn increased students’ Afghans from villages engaged with the enthusiasm for learning to the Education Management Information in its establishment, structures, systems, pro- Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development and commitment to their System, there are 8.7 million children en- cesses and procedures, and implementation Project (AREDP), and offering business grants studies. rolled in general education schools through- strategy. to new and existing entrepreneurs. out Afghanistan, of whom 3.4 million (39 Financial Management Reform: To pro- Activities around the business grant is un- percent) are girls. vide technical assistance to the Treasury derway after an intensive awareness cam- Under both phases of EQUIP, social mo- Department to ensure high quality finan- paign that was carried out by Employment bilization activities have been conducted cial management, focusing on integrating Service Center staff to reach the target popu- in 14,432 communities, resulting in the es- its operation system with government sys- lation of illiterate Afghans in three selected tablishment of an equal number of school tems and the application of the Afghanistan provinces (Balkh, Nangarhar, Kabul). This has shuras (community-based consultative bod- Financial Management Information System resulted in about 8,500 applicants (3,000 ies). Under EQUIP II, 16,588 schools have (AFMIS); introduce improved management Country Update/ongoing operations 48/  results afghanistan takes a digital leap to tackle corruption • The National Procurement Authority is proving effective in the fight against corruption in Afghanistan. • Cited as a model of efficiency for other government agencies, the Authority has taken several steps to reform public procurement to ensure efficiency and transparency in the process. • The Authority is supported by the Public Financial Management Reform project, which aims to further strengthen the procurement, treasury, and audit systems in the country. T he room is a little dark and every few seconds Mozhgan pulls out contracts to scan and then uploads them onto the website of the National Procurement Authority (NPA). Mozhgan and her colleagues are digitizing procure- ment contracts to ensure transparency in the procure- ment system in Afghanistan. According to Transparency International, Afghanistan was the second most corrupt country in the world in 2015. However, things seem to be changing. “NPA is a very different office, we work enthusiastically to bring transparency and combat cor- ruption,” states Mozhgan, 27, a technical officer in the archives section. NPA developed the mechanism to digitize procure- ment contracts to make them accessible to the public. “We try to make it simple to access information on pro- curement contracts. All information is now just one click away,” says Patyal Ghorzang, Contracts Implementation Monitoring Director in NPA. The online Contracts Pro- gress Monitoring System captures contract implemen- This is echoed by other anti-corruption watchdogs. tation data from the procurement entities in a systema- “We can say that NPA is good example of the anti-cor- “ tic way and publishes them for public and civil society ruption effort made by the government in the past two monitoring. years,” notes Sayed Ikram Afzali, Executive Director of NPA is one of the most far-reaching anti-corruption Integrity Watch Afghanistan. “Now, no one can influence No one can influence the procurement process measures undertaken by the Government of Afghanis- the procurement process and the establishment of NPA tan. It aims to foster institutional reform in public procu- has reduced corruption in the contracts process to zero.” rement to provide better services through an effective, With NPA reforms, every eligible bidder has an equal ” and the establishment of NPA has reduced efficient, and transparent procurement system with opportunity to participate in the procurement process. internationally acceptable standards and best practices. This has paved the way for more competition and re- duced costs. “In combating corruption, we transformed corruption in the contracts process to zero. Reforms Impact Procurement the procurement system. The system itself helps reduce The reforms have brought about a significant positive corruption,” says Patyal Ghorzang. impact in government procurement. The Independent Although NPA has made significant inroads in com- –Sayed Ikram Afzali, Executive Director, Integrity Watch Afghanistan Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, which evaluates government offices every bating corruption, Afghanistan remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world. A new generation, howe- year rated the NPA the most efficient and noted it as a ver, is determined to fight corruption and ensure a brigh- great example in the country. Additionally, Transparency ter future for themselves and their country. “We started International reported for the first time success in anti- from zero, but our values of integrity and professiona- corruption efforts in Afghanistan and quoted NPA as a lism in work have helped us to achieve high goals and we systemic reform. are going forward,” says Mozhgan. Country Update/ artf 50/  reporting and expand access of AFMIS budg- out its mandate, including support for the etary units in the provincial offices of the maintenance of the computerized tax sys- Ministry of Finance (MoF); assist staff in the tem (Standard Integrated Government Tax preparation, monitoring and implementation Administration System, SIGTAS), implemen- of individual training plans, as well as annual tation of tax-related initiatives such as risk- performance appraisals; prepare training based compliance, implementation of the modules on MoF processes under the certi- new value added tax (VAT), and the design fied accounting technician courses provided and implementation of its new organization- by the Association of Chartered Certified al structure. Accountants (UK); establish a national steer- Outcomes of the progress made include: ing committee for developing and regulating (i) disbursed approximately $88 million from the accounting and auditing profession and total commitment (77 percent); audit of nine the training of professional accountants; and large ministries by SAO, representing more conduct a public financial management as- than 75 percent of government expenditure sessment of seven line ministries. per international audit standards; (ii) rollout Audit Reform and Performance: Internal of AFMIS upgrade (to web-based version) un- Audit—to develop internal audit capacity derway; (iii) coverage of internal audit improv- through a variety of means, including train- ing; and (iv) National Procurement Committee ing and provision of IT infrastructure. (NPC) decisions reported immediately after External Audit—to provide assistance to session takes place and uploaded to National the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) to develop its Procurement Authority (NPA) website. knowledge, expertise, and practices in using the services and results of other auditors and experts in line with International Auditing Standards, in particular for project audits; support consultant services to train staff and lead high quality independent review of all operations under the budget of nine line min- istries over the project period; and finance training of members of the Public Accounts Committee. Reform Management: To support MoF by establishing a structure and job descrip- tions, providing training for staff in the monitoring and evaluation department, and revising MoF’s existing monitoring and evalu- ation manual; improve the operations of the Human Resource Management Department (HRMD) to enable it to carry out its functions efficiently; assist in the overall project imple- mentation and provide for future requests for assistance on the design and delivery of public financial management technical as- sistance across government; and provide broad-based training for staff of MoF and line ministries. Note: All dollar figures are in US dollar equivalents. Revenue Mobilization: To support the IDA, the International Development Association, is the Afghanistan Revenue Department to carry World Bank’s concessionary lending arm. The World Bank Group in Afghanistan www.worldbank.org.af Abdul Raouf Zia phone +93 701 133 328 infoafghanistan@worldbank.org photos and photo cover © Rumi Consultancy/World Bank/2017. House 19, Street 15, Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul, afghanistan ©World Bank, April 2017.