Provincial Council Members at the conference

2 March 2006, Kabul, Afghanistan: The first ever conference of some 500 elected local representatives of Afghan people ended in Kabul on Wednesday March 1, 2006 after the adoption of a resolution, which committed the newly established Provincial Councils (PC) to support the government and asked, in return, the creation of a conducive working environment for the PCs.

The 13 point resolution said the Provincial Councils were adamant in their support to the Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS) and that they were determined to promote gender equality, education at all levels, to support agriculture and animal husbandry and all efforts to raise the living standards of the population as well as endeavors against corruption and narcotics. In turn, the PC members demanded that necessary security be provided for them to be able to perform their duties and also called on the government to respect the principles of social justice and equal development.

Provincial Council members were elected in last September’s general and local elections.

The three-day conference was called by the Government of President Hamid Karzai to lay down the guiding principles for the Provincial Councils, the first Constitution-based and elected local government structure ever to be established in Afghanistan and the importance attached by the Government to the event was clearly visible through the presence of many cabinet ministers at the proceedings throughout the conference period.

Ahmad Masood AMER, Programme Officer for governance issues with the UNDP Country Office in Afghanistan, said they were pleasantly surprised to see that the initiative for the convening of the Conference had come from the Government and not from any donor or international organization. “From that point on, we tried to give all the substantive and organizational support we could” he said.

In the course of the proceedings, the PC members were organized into five working groups with each one tasked with delineating the powers and obligations of the PCs: The first working group worked on the general duties and responsibilities, the second on the role of PCs in strengthening security and stability and promoting reconciliation and counter-narcotics; the third on the functions of PCs in rural and urban development. The fourth group was charged to deliberate on ensuring the observance of women’s and children’s rights in the society while the fifth group worked on the modalities of relationships of the PCs with the central government and international organizations.

Karim Khalili, Vice President of Afghanistan told the closing session of the Conference that it was “a very good beginning” to the work of the Provincial Councils and promised that, in line with the requests of many of the delegates, the law on Provincial Councils would be improved and clarified in the shortest possible time. He said the PC would be the main bridge between the people and the Government of Afghanistan and as such they had a vital role to play to bring about lasting stability and prosperity in the country. Mr. Khalili said the Government would expect the PCs to contribute to efforts, in five areas in particular: security, counter-narcotics, reconstruction and development, anti-corruption and elimination of domestic violence and discrimination against the vulnerable in the society.

Also speaking at the closing session, Chris Alexander, the Deputy SRSG, UNAMA, described the Provincial Councils as “the modern embodiment of the long tradition of decision making” in Afghanistan and said they expected a lot from the Provincial Councils in supporting the central government to achieve the benchmarks set in Afghan Compact, agreed in London in February. Mr. Alexander said the PCs would be the voice of the people to be heard by the Provincial Governors, and through them, by the Central Government.

Some delegates were restrained, though, in their optimism on the functioning of the PCs. Mohammad Muhlis of the Saidabad district of Wardak province said there was lack of experience and understanding on the part of provincial governors as to how much of power sharing would be required to allow PCs to function. He said this was mainly because the PCs represented a totally new concept of local administration. According to Mr Muhlis, the old traditional councils, or shura as they were called, were ad hoc, based on customs, and relied on age and wisdom as the basic tenets of decision making while the PCs are permanent, Constitutional and they rely on laws to make decisions. Mahbooba Sadat of Dehedadi province of Balkh province concurred: “We are now not only law based and permanent, but also we conduct a participatory process” she said. “Things are really discussed in detail” she added. The main benefit of this conference was, according to Ms. Sadat, the opportunity it provided to PC members from all over the country to come together and exchange ideas.

For more information:

Mustafa Eric
Sr. Public Information Officer
United Nations Development Programme
mustafa.eric@undp.org
+93 (0)70 157 494