Integrity Watch Afghanistan February 2017 Newsletter

Spotlight Open Government Partnership: Next steps for the Afghan Government and civil society   By Sayed Ikram Afzali, Executive Director In December 2016, the Afghan Government announced its desire to join the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Since then, there has been little movement on the part of the Afghan Government to take any practical steps towards developing and implementing an open government agenda. The Afghan Government must meet at least the basic requirements of the OGP. There are basic and advanced standards that the Afghan Government should meet throughout the OGP cycle, during development of a national action plan for open government reforms, and when implementing and reporting the action plans. An essential element of the OGP cycle is dissemination of information throughout the process. Some basic steps would include the development of a website for OGP or a web page on a government website to proactively share information about the OGP process, key decisions, implementation progress and assessments, and other aspects of OGP in a “visible, accessible and searchable” manner. OGP requires all its participating countries to “commit to developing their country action plans through a multi stakeholder process, with the active engagement of citizens and civil society.” Civil society participation is considered a cornerstone of the OGP process. This is a deliberate requirement since participation of all stakeholders, especially civil society’s active participation, is key to ensuring that government reforms work in a sustainable way. Continue... Kabul hosts National Conference of Integrity Champions Thursday, January 26, 2017– Kabul: Integrity Watch organized National Conference of Integrity Champions where community volunteers, government officials, elected representatives, civil society, media and international community representatives gathered to discuss successes and failures in prevention of corruption in the government service delivery. The conference marked the tenth anniversary of the Integrity Watch trained volunteers who have been monitoring the government service delivery as a measure to prevent corruption and improve quality of services as early as 2007. Sayed Ikram Afzali, Executive Director of Integrity Watch, raised his concerns over government’s lack of attention to the preventive aspects of fighting corruption including mobilizing people. Afghan people have proved that if approached, they are ready to assist the government in the fight against corruption. Mr. Afzali stated that, “Our community volunteers have proven that without any expectation for financial benefits, they are ready to contribute to the fight against corruption. A movement of local corruption fighters is in the making.” He added that this will soon turn into a national movement. He warned that, “We will not allow the corrupt to plunder the Afghan people and go unnoticed.” Continue...

The successful intervention by Integrity Watch ensured local workers received their due compensation for work on canal projects.  Hakim Jawid – Social Mobilizer for Monitoring on Constructional Projects of Bamyan Program Five irrigation canal projects were funded through Japan’s JICA during 2015 and 2016 in Khulankash village of Fuladi Valley of central Bamyan. These projects were implemented and facilitated by UNFAO. All five projects belong to the Department of Energy and Water’s unit for the Secondary Region of Kunduz Olia River. The Khulankash-2 2,000m long irrigation canal project was built by Imdad Construction Firm. 80% of the project was completed during 2015 while the remaining work was completed during 2016. An additional canal of 450m in length was linked to the mentioned canal by the same firm in 2016. Another canal project was constructed in the same village with a length of 150m by Worono Construction Firm, whose work was partially completed during 2015 with the remaining work completed in 2016. Continue... Besides corruption, influence of local powerbrokers challenge improving mining in Baghlan    Ahmad – Staff member of the Community Based Monitoring of Extractives (CBM-E) in Baghlan Natural resources, especially the coal mines of Baghlan are a resource of vital importance for the government of Afghanistan. The mines of Baghlan province, including the coal mines of Karkar, Doodkash, Ahandara, Khurd Darah, Chinarak, Sheendara, Alogak and Taala-wa-Barfak, have the potential to generate significant income for the government. However, corruption, unprofessional extraction methods, usurpation of the extraction by local warlords and other misuses of the mines by government rivals can all result is the embezzlement of large amounts of money from these mines. There exists immense corruption in Baghlan province in the mining and extractives sector. Additionally, the unprofessional excavation of mines has jeopardized the future of these industries and may turn many into “mine ruins”. The CBM-E Program has frequently encountered such issues as well as contract violations and violations of national labor standards and regulations while conducting monitoring on the mentioned mines. The Ghori Cement contract is a vivid example. Since the contract of this company was cancelled by the government, the mentioned company has intentionally deactivated some of the machinery at Cement Ghori Industry and has transferred these assets to other locations. Continue... ‘Lack of security has affected the judicial process & decision making in Kunduz courts’ Interview with Matiuallah Dehati – Provincial Coordinator, Integrity Watch Afghanistan- Kunduz During the last two years, Kunduz has witnessed frequent combat operations and it was the first province in a decade where the provincial capital was occupied last year by armed opposition groups. However, since the recapture of Kunduz city by the government, its residents who have directly experienced the bitter taste of war and insecurity are still living with the risk of further incursions. Mr Dehati pointed out that while such insecurity has had a negative impact on many aspects of daily life for the citizens in Kunduz, it has also had an impact on the courts and the prosecution system. For instance, he noted that several districts in the province are presently under the complete control of insurgent groups, where courts are unable to operate because the judges are unable to attend to their jobs as a result of this insecurity. Because of this situation, regular judicial sessions are not being held and there is a consequent lack of a proper review of outstanding cases.  Continue...