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Comprehensive Agriculture Development National Priority Program

Overview

The CAD-NPP articulates a vision for an agriculture sector which addresses structural and capacity demands to enable farmers to generate increased income, provide greater food and nutritional security and contribute to economic growth and capital generation. The CAD-NPP will do this by transitioning towards more farmer-centric institutions, expanding access to innovative technologies, rationalizing and increasing production, and regulating inputs across the agriculture sector. The CAD-NPP describes seven strategic priorities and ten drivers and enablers that highlight how to reach these goals; i) Irrigation, ii) Wheat and other cereals, iii) Horticulture Value Chains, iv) Livestock, v) Climate Sensitive Natural Resource Management, vi) Food and nutrition security, vii) Institutional Reform and Capacity Building. 

Drivers and enablers include research, support to private sector, generating employment, improving agribusiness, anti-corruption, organizing farmers, women in agriculture, agricultural credit, and counter-narcotics.

The first national program to be operationalised under the CAD-NPP is the Agribusiness Charter. The Charter will address policy and regulation, access to finance, agri-industrial development and institutional reform to boost job-rich growth, increase investments in agribusiness, expand exports and substitute imports. 

Progress Update

The CAD-NPP was endorsed in Brussels in 2016 but does not have an implementation plan to support delivery. MoF and MAIL are coordinating to design a practical, credible and budget-able implementation plan based on national programs, through a whole-of-government approach, including other leading Ministries. It will transform the vision and priorities in the NPP into to a clear operational plan to be delivered through national programs. The first of these national programs is the Agribusiness Charter, which is in the final stages of development. 

Next Steps

The CAD-NPP states that MAIL will transition to a programmatic approach in which all on budget and off budget projects will be subject to planning and investment analysis, ensuring that a coherent approach is adopted, thereby reducing the fragmented, project-based nature of current operations. Operationalizing the NPP according to this vision requires adjustments to planning, a more farmer-centric focus, and improve resourcing of provincial and district directorates. The Agribusiness Charter and other national programs developed as part of the implantation plan will be developed with this in mind.

The Government will work closely with private sector and the international community to develop more credible government-owned programs and platforms as part of the implementation of the CAD-NPP. This requires strong coordination through the High Councils to build an inter-ministerial implementation plan and monitoring framework which is in line with other national government reforms, including civil service reform and public financial management reform. 

The Agribusiness Charter will be launched in August 2018. International partners are expected to align their investments in the sector with the Charter.

Citizens’ Charter National Priority Program

Overview

The goal of the Citizens’ Charter NPP is to reduce poverty and deepen the relationship between citizens and the state, by improving the delivery of core infrastructure and social services to all communities in Afghanistan over the next ten years through Community Development Councils (CDCs).The Citizens’ Charter is an inter-ministerial effort of the Government to make service delivery more effective and citizencentric. This is the foundation stone for realizing the government’s self-reliance vision. Under this program, all people of Afghanistan are entitled to a basic package of services, which includes universal access to clean drinking water; quality education in government schools; delivery of Basic Package of Health Services and small-scale rural and urban infrastructure. 

Citizens’ Charter has seven strategic priorities, i) Institutional strengthening and capacity building, ii) rural development, iii) urban development, iv) agriculture, v) education, and vi) health. At the community-level, the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and the Independent Directorate for Local Governance are the lead implementing agencies. The Ministries of Agriculture, Education, and Public Health are working through Citizens’ Charter institutions at the sub-district level, and are part of the management and coordination at the district, provincial, and national levels. 

Progress Update

Citizens’ Charter hit the ground in May 2017. Currently, the programme has reached all 34 provinces, with the aim of reaching one third of districts in this first phase (2017 to 2021). National coverage will be achieved over the next ten years. As of July 2018, Citizens’ Charter has reached more than six million people in 8,124 communities. Nearly 8,000 CDCs have been elected with 49% female members; 2,212 sub-projects have been financed; and US$52 million disbursed to communities in grants. The Citizens’ Charter website ( www.ccnpp.org ) contains live progress updates.

Coordination across the implementing ministries and with development partners is now a regular practice, allowing the Citizens’ Charter team to problem-solve, address issues that arise, bring health, education and agriculture programs into alignment where necessary, and absorb programmatic changes or new components, including assisting drought relief, and supporting reintegration of returnees and IDPs. 

Next Steps

Due to increasing demand from communities not covered in phase one, and the high capacity of the Citizens’ Charter team, there is a possibility to begin implementation of phase two by 2019. $300m in additional funds would be required for this scale-up.

A clear linkage between CDCs and CCDCs and District Councils is yet to be legally defined. The Citizens’ Charter team is working closely with IDLG to define roles and relationships to take advantage of the role of DCs in grievance redress and oversight, while ensuring there is no political pressure, influence, or potential for capture.

Private Sector Development National Priority Program

Overview

The vision of the PSD NPP is to have a socially responsible market economy in which a capable and thriving private sector leads the economic growth process, creates job opportunities, contributes to poverty reduction and gradually reduces reliance on foreign aid. Working towards this vision, the objective of the PSD NPP is to encourage private sector investment. This will be achieved through four key components:

1. Restoring Confidence and Creating an Enabling Environment for Businesses. This will include i) Identifying opportunities for cooperation on security matters in local business communities; ii) Forcefully implementing doing business reforms across all relevant dimensions; and iii) addressing constraints in priority value chains.
2. Increasing Access to Key Inputs for Business. This section will present plans to improve access to financial service and access to serviced industrial land. 
3. Sharing Risks and Crowding in Investment. This pillar will improve investment promotion, look at providing opportunities for PPPs, and improve the performance of State Owned Enterprises, and ensure a level playing field. 
4. Facilitating and Securing Trade and Transit. This pillar will focus on competitiveness and connectivity – the two biggest constraints to accelerated growth in Afghanistan. It will complement the National Infrastructure Program (NIP) and the National Export Strategy (NES) by focusing on the ‘soft’ aspects of connectivity, including customs facilitation, trade policies, air freight, as well as looking at coordinated implementation of the NES. 

The PSD-NPP is made up of two parts, a strategic framework and an implementation plan. The strategic framework outlines a practical strategy for private sector development, details the four strategic priorities, and builds on existing private sector development initiatives, bringing them under one umbrella. The implementation plan will link priority actions to key performance indicators and outline the implementation arrangements and responsibilities.

Progress Update

An outline of the Private Sector NPP Strategic Formwork was developed by an inter-ministerial committee, which meets regularly. The Framework was presented and approved in the PriSEC meeting in January 2018.The first draft of the NPP was developed and shared with the key stakeholders in March and the inter-ministerial committee is working on the development of the PSD NPP action plan. 

Next Steps

• Finalize the first draft of the PSD NPP action plan 
• Conduct private sector consultation sessions on the action plan 
• Approval of the NPP by the PriSEC and High Economic Council In a sector which covers such a broad scope of work, extensive consultation is required, yet the NPP itself needs to be a clear, actionable plan, not a wish-list. Ongoing consultations aim to find a balance between ensuring feasibility and comprehensiveness of this NPP. In addition, significant capacity development needs to be catalyzed in the implementing ministries, and careful attention paid to maintain the practicality of implementation plans. 

National Infrastructure Plan National Priority Program

Overview

The National Infrastructure Plan (NIP) and the investment pipeline for 2017-2021 presented at the Brussels Conference in October 2016 outline the Government’s national and sector priorities for new infrastructure to achieve the Government’s ANPDF vision for economic growth, social development and employment. 

The NIP indicates how Afghanistan’s productivity, competitiveness and connectivity will be improved through planned and targeted infrastructure investment, human capital development, and enhanced regional connectivity, and can be implemented within the current security and governance environment. 

NIP implementation is being undertaken at the policy and planning level to prioritize investments, with a focus on enhancing management and portfolio performance, and improving monitoring systems with plans for results-based performance monitoring frameworks. The total proposed budget is $5995m. A full cost breakdown is available.

Progress Update

The GoA has made progress towards improved project prioritization and quality and a revised approval process for new infrastructure development projects, which will improve the return on investments in the Plan. A revised project approval process established in 2017 for the 2018 budget for all new projects has been further enhanced for the 2019 budget.

Work towards enhancing portfolio performance is underway in the form of a comprehensive infrastructure sector portfolio review of each key spending ministry. This is being undertaken from May-July 2018 to assess implementation performance of the infrastructure portfolio and opportunities for improved delivery and development impact. 

Several of the new investments detailed in the NIP pipeline (2017-2021) have or are being approved and are moving to the implementation stage. This covers key priority projects in energy, transport, regional connectivity, ICT, water resources/ irrigation, and urban sectors.

Implementation of reforms and development of sector plans is ongoing, with progress achieved in strengthening the NIP sector policy, planning and regulatory environment in 2017 and 2018 and development of the Urban NPP. However, significant further work is required on road O&M and asset management systems; and further development of the Extractive Industries Roadmap. 

Next Steps

The NIP investment pipeline has a financing constraint and overall government fiscal resources for new investment is limited. This means strategic use and leveraging of development partner and Government discretionary funds is required to expand access to other funding sources. These incremental funds will be raised through PPPs, private sector investors, other concessional loans, and through improving project cost efficiency. Progress is being achieved with potential funding for PPP and IPP projects, particularly in the energy sector.

The NIP and Implementation Update (late 2018) will reflect priority revisions, sector project adjustments/ alignments and forward fiscal resource projections.

The NIP identified that improvements in existing Government infrastructure project performance monitoring systems (PPMS) are required for efficient project management and implementation, and to enable effective assessment of overall project performance. A draft Results-Based Infrastructure Monitoring Framework has been prepared for the Infrastructure Development Council (IDC). Further work in consultation with the IDC is planned, with preparation of a detailed action plan scheduled in 2018.

Womens’ Economic Empowerment National Priority Program

Overview

The vision of the WEE-NPP is for the realization of the equal rights of men and women in Afghanistan, as stipulated under the Constitution of Afghanistan, through comprehensive reforms that will enable women’s full economic and social participation. The WEE NPP’s objective is to advance Afghan women’s autonomy and well-being by expanding women’s access to economic resources, increasing their ability to operate successfully in commercial markets, and aligning government policy to support these development goals. The key components of the WEE-NPP are: (1) Increasing the availability and analysis of gender statistics; (2) Removing legal barriers to womens’ participation in economic activities; (3) Training in literacy, business management and labour skills; (4) Ensuring inclusive access to finance; (5) Improving access to agricultural inputs, extension services, and market; (6) Promoting access to creative economy markets.

The WEE-NPP largely builds on existing programs and projects. However, its innovation is to provide a framework to scale-up programs so that they can become more significant, to improve coordination across activities, and to use government policy as a means to reform the environment in which women must operate. Each Ministry is responsible for its own program implementation and budget execution. 

Progress Update

• MoE hired 2,500 female teachers last year. Three thousand more female teachers’ recruitments are planned for 2018. 
• MOPH is training over 1,000 midwives and nurses in the most underserved areas of the country. 
• Made by Afghan Women Logo was developed and launched by MOCI with the help of AWCCI.
• Kitchen gardens for 50,000 women have been provided in 34 provinces. 
• An Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee for the WEE-NPP, cochaired by MoLSAMD and MOWA has been formed and convenes regular meetings to improve coordination of WEE activities.
• Five provincial dormitories are planned for construction in 2018 in Kunar, Bamyan, Helmand, Takhar and Badghis. 

Next Steps

Fragmentation within line ministries and lack of coordination of offbudget programs is a challenge that prevents strategic investments in women’s economic empowerment and has created a projectized approach. Due to lack of flexibility of funds, it is difficult to incentivise better performing projects and restructure those with poor delivery. The lack of clear roles and mandates among ministries creates some issues in coordination and effective implementation. MoLSAMD has been designated as the lead ministry to coordinate the WEE-NPP, with steering committees co-chaired by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. Further work is required to institutionalise the coordination mechanisms, which is already being undertaken under oversight of the Administrative Office of the President and the Ministry of Finance. Overall, WEE projects have been designed to deliver activities rather than look at their impact and outcomes. For example, literacy projects are measuring attendance and enrolment rather than results. Similarly, agriculture projects are measuring delivery of inputs rather than rates of return. There is a need for the entire sector to change its approach to WEE and better strategize for desired outcomes instead of activities. Overall, there is a funding gap of $100 million for WEE activities, but it is important to overcome the aforementioned challenges to ensure all investments are strategic.

Urban National Priority Program

Overview

Afghanistan’s political stability and development prospects fundamentally depend upon establishing security and cultivating the economic potential of the country’s urban settlements. At present, Afghanistan’s rapidly expanding urban areas are suffering from high degrees of insecurity, deficient infrastructure and – above all – poor governance. The Urban NPP was developed in alignment with SDG Goal 11 to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. 

Led by the Ministry of Urban Development Affairs (MUDA), as secretariat of the Urban Development Council, the design, development, consultations, and outreach, to ensure consistency and equitable representation of all interest groups in the Urban NPP was undertaken by MUDA, the Deputy Ministry of Municipalities (DMM), the Afghanistan Independent Land Authority (ARAZI), and municipalities. National and sub-national government agencies were consulted throughout the design and development process and at important milestones to solicit specific feedback on policy components. The U-NPP is organized around three priority pillars:

1. Urban Governance and Institutions – strengthening the legal and regulatory framework, institutional accountability, urban planning and monitoring, knowledge and data. 
2. Ensure adequate housing and access to basic urban services for all – promoting new and affordable housing, upgrade informal settlements, and enhance public spaces, transport and urban mobility.
3. Harness the urban economy and infrastructure – to reduce urban poverty, strengthen the resilience of urban households, and strengthen market linkages. 

Progress Update

The Urban Development NPP has been finalized and approved by the Infrastructure High Council and the High Economic Council. The NPP is fully operationalized and currently under implementation by the line ministries. The action plan and costing have been prepared by MUDA. 

The National Housing Policy (led by UN-HABITAT), the Urban Upgrading Policy, and the Housing Policy (led by MUDA) are currently in the process of being drafted and the plans for the construction of 20,000 affordable housing units in the five major cities have been finalized. Construction of 96 apartments in Mamozai Refugee Township have been completed, while 300 houses for returnees in Kabul are under construction. The registration and digitalization of enterprises in Kabul city has been completed, as has the development of a fiveyear strategic plan for municipalities. Community-based planning for land readjustment and urban redevelopment projects in Kabul city is underway. Cleaning of 7.7km of the Kabul River was completed, the development of Bariab Industrial Park and Mohammad Agha Industrial Park is advancing well, and several roading and drainage projects have been initiative, and some of these already completed. 

Next Steps

The costing is being reviewed and the government is formulating a realistic budget for the NPP. Donor supports are critical for materializing the plans in U-NPP. Improved coordination and technical assistance to support the U-NPP team is required to ensure strong progress towards implementation. 

National Justice and Judicial Reform Plan Justice Sector National Priority Program

Overview

The vision of the Plan is for a reformed justice and judicial sector which provides effective judicial services, ensures access to justice for citizens and rule of law, guarantees competency, protects and secures the basic rights and liberties of citizens, and enhances people’s trust in government. The Justice and Judicial Reform Plan is developed to achieve the following goals: 

1. Provide effective justice and judicial services, in accordance with Afghan law
2. Enhance citizens’ access to justice and protection of basic rights and legal liberties 
3. Ensure rule of law and counter crimes, including corruption
4. Ensure competency, enhance professional capacity of justice and judicial sector staff and enhance their access to facilities and modern electrical equipment
5. Strengthen the capacity of and mechanism of legal amendments 
6. Increase awareness of citizens about their rights and responsibilities

The Reform Plan is also closely linked with the Anti-Corruption Strategy. 11 out of 15 ministries and independent agencies prioritized in the Strategy have already prepared their anti-corruption action plans and shared them with the Special Anti-Corruption Secretariat.

Progress Update

The Justice Sector and Judicial Reform Plan was approved by the Cabinet in Jan 2017. The corresponding action plans by the implementing agencies have been developed and approved by the High Council on Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption. Regular progress reports are presented to the High Council by the line ministries and implementing agencies. 

Highlights from the implementation of the Reform Plan include the assignment of AGO prosecutors to every district of Afghanistan and new directorates established within the AGO for gender and human rights, addressing violence against children, and investigating international crimes. After a country-wide recruiting effort to bring gender balance into the justice sector, there are now 476 female prosecutors across the country, and the number of female employees increased from 3% to 17%. Women are leading nine of the AGO’s directorates. 

Next Steps

The lack of coordination between the key donors in the sectors with off-budget contributions and the multiplicity of government strategies further fragments the sector. The budget for the Reform Plan is currently being revised in line with the national budget. Donor alignment with this revised plan is expected. 

Though much progress has been made overall, many reforms are still in progress and pending. The focus going forward needs to be on implementation. Continued efforts to increase effective communication between organizations in the justice and security sector across the country is required, including support to the High Council to better oversee implementation and ensure political pressure to support difficult reforms. Donor support to technical working groups under the High Council will be useful.

Ministry of Mines and Petroleum Reform Stratgy Implementation support for the Mining Sector Roadmap

Overview

Through the Mining Sector Roadmap, the Government of Afghanistan is committed to achieving the vision of an open and accountable mining sector which contributes to increased growth rates through the sustainable utilization of natural capital. 

The Mining Roadmap has prioritized five key areas to focus on in order to improve the performance of Afghanistan’s minerals and hydrocarbons sector; i) mineral and AOI interventions, ii) institutional reform at MoMP, iii) reforming the tendering process, iv) ensuring service delivery for communities, and v) ensuring that mining revenues contribute to macro-fiscal sustainability. The Roadmap was approved by the HEC in January 2017 and provides broad policy direction for the sector. 

The MoMP has developed a practical, action-orientated Reform Strategy to guide the implementation of the recommendations in the Roadmap and ensure that the Ministry is capable of fulfilling its core duties and responsibilities. The Reform Strategy is a seven-year plan consisting of five key pillars to address the challenges in MoMP and guide growth looking forward. It identifies a series of interventions to be implemented in partnership and close collaboration with other state entities as well as active engagement of private sector and civil society. The five pillars are:

1. Institutional Reform and Development: focuses on reform and restructure of MoMP, SOEs, HR Development, gender mainstreaming, e-Governance, and communications.
2. Geological Data Acquisition and Management: including management systems for Geo-data, data collation, recording, analysis, and dissemination.
3. Contract Management and Compliance: Reviewing and prioritizing contracts, streamlining and digitalizing the cadaster system, improving reporting, inspections and dispute resolution systems. 
4. Transparent and Accountable Governance: Improving the policies and laws, transparency, social, heritage and environmental frameworks, and formalizing illegal mining. 
5. Growth and Enabling Environment: includes conducting value chain studies, tracking project implementation, exploring regional cooperation, CSR, and promoting private sector engagement. 

In the short-term, the emphasis will be on institutional development, enhancing the policy and regulatory frameworks, and improving the governance of existing activities in the sector. In the medium-term, the emphasis will be on carrying out institutional and sectoral interventions for the long-term development of the sector and creating broader economic linkages based on strategic choices in resource development.

Progress Update

The Reform Strategy was developed following consultation with private sector, civil society, government institutions and international partners, resulting in a final Strategy which is aligned with stakeholder priorities. It has been finalized within MoMP, 

Next Steps

External validation of the Reform Strategy is required. Amendments to the mining law to support the roadmap have been drafted and will be shared with stakeholders such as the Parliament, civil society, private sector and academia for consultation purposes. 

Effective Governance Program

Overview

The objective of this NPP is to ensure the government is responsive to the demands of citizens, priorities are financed, and institutions are functioning transparently. There is a national consensus that the key to Afghanistan’s long-term stability, success, and economic development lies in dramatic improvements to governance. Broadly defined, governance is the way that political and administrative institutions make decisions and carry out actions on behalf of the public. More practically, governance in Afghanistan refers to the ways that government operates to deliver on its social compact with the citizenry. This requires the government to be responsive to what citizens want, to be technically competent at providing services, and to be seen as just and neutral within the social landscape. The Effective Governance Program has six pillars, which are made operational through two main components - Public Financial Management Reform and the Subnational Governance NPP.

Six pillars:

1. Clarifying ministry mandates 
2. Public sector reforms to equip the government with technically and managerially qualified personnel
3. Reforming the national budget process to increase transparency, efficiency, and the flexibility to align budget allocations with national policy priorities
4. Increasing      citizen’srepresentation     and          promoting              public accountability
5. Fighting corruption
6. Improving quality, access, and use of data

Progress Update

The Effective Governance Program is not a traditional project, but the pillars do consist of time-bound, budgeted, and monitorable streams of activities. Several of these are underway; others are in advanced stages of planning. 

In 1397, for the first time, the Government presented a consolidated national budget, with both the operation and development budgets presented together and broken down by economic classification, administrative, function, fund, program, and geographic location, in accordance with international best practices. Civil service reform is underway, with procedures already finalized for the assessment of line ministries. The new e-recruitment system developed by IARCSC has already begun transparent recruitments for 20,000 civil service positions. The Governance Policy was drafted and approved by the High Council of Rule of Law and Anti -Corruption. In October 2017, the government published its National Anti-Corruption Strategy, and already key anti-corruption legal frameworks such as asset disclosure and verification, access to information, and accounting standards have been finalized and adopted. 

Next Steps

Consultations are underway for the development of the Effective 

Governance NPP. The document will be finalized in advance of the Geneva Conference. Work on strategic priorities highlighted in the ANPDF are in motion and will continue to be implemented, including further reforms planned for the 1398 National Budget, launching TAGHIR, and finalization of the Subnational Governance Program which has been approved under the ARTF pipeline.

Human Capital National Priority Program

Overview

The vision of the Human Capital NPP is for the people of Afghanistan to become self-reliant and productive participants in regional, national and global economies. In pursuit of this vision, the objective of the HC-NPP is to develop equitable, relevant, and competency-based education, health, and social protection programs that build and sustain productive human capital in Afghanistan. 

The HC-NPP will develop qualified human capital to drive economic growth and alleviate poverty; strengthen government capacity for sound management and quality assurance of education; health and social protections programs; expand the scope, quality and coverage of health and education services provided to the population, particularly to the most vulnerable; invest in youth to equip them with skills and competencies and reduce youth unemployment and its serious adverse social impacts; prepare for future labour market needs, including labour exports; and bridge the gap between gender and regional disparities in the country.

The HC-NPP will be implemented through four key components:

1. Universal and Quality Health Care Services
2. Outcome-Based and Standardized Education Programs
3. Market-Driven Higher Education Programs
4. Efficient and Effective Social Protection Programs

Progress Update

The Ministries of Education, Higher Education, Public Health, and Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled are directly involved in planning and implementing the HC-NPP. Consultations are currently underway to finalize the HC-NPP. However, work on implementation of key strategic priorities is already underway. 

The Ministry of Public Health has begun roll-out of the Sehatmandi program which builds on the success of previous projects, but with greater focus on performance in service delivery, strengthening health systems and performance, and strengthening demand and community accountability for key health services. The Ministry of Education has begun implementation of its National Education Strategic Plan III, with shifting focus from enrollment to attendance, focusing on the most underserved areas of the country, and improving the quality of teaching and learning. Further, the Ministry of Education’s mandate is being further refined to reduce burden of activities such as construction and TVET, will is now being administered by an independent body. 

Next Steps

The NPP will be finalized before the Geneva Conference, based on consultations with donors, civil society, private sector, and other stakeholders. Implementation in key strategic areas will continue, including the planned construction of 2,000 rural schools in the next two years.