Thematic Area: Democratic Governance
|Project Document|
|Progress Report Quarter 1 2008|
|Progress Report Quarter 2 2008|
|Progress Report Quarter 2 2008 Annex 1 AWP|
|Progress Report Quarter 1 & 2 2007|
|Progress Report Quarter 3 2007|
[Last Updated July 2008]
Project Start Date: 1 January 2007
Project End Date: 31 March 2009
Project Location: Kabul
Status of the Project: Ongoing
Implementing Partners: N/A
Background
Corruption, both petty and grand, constitutes a serious and growing problem in Afghanistan. According to a survey conducted by Transparency International in 2004 it even outranks the security problem in terms of the biggest challenges for the government to tackle in the near future. The high level of corruption has multiple adverse effects, in particular on the development and state-building agendas. It undermines the public’s confidence in and support of the Government as well as casts doubt on the effective use of donor funds intended to contribute towards the improvement of the lives of Afghans – essential in terms of addressing the deteriorating security situation.
UNDP’s ACT project, designed to support the Government of Afghanistan in the area of anti-corruption, was finalized and signed in January 2007. During the design phase of the project there were extensive consultations with government counterparts, the international community and other relevant stakeholders. In particular, the project was developed in close consultation with the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank in order to ensure close coordination and synergies, and to avoid overlap in support to the Government.
The ACT project is housed in the Ministry of Finance (MOF) in order to benefit from the ministry’s political leadership, strong relationship with other public entities and interest in promoting a broad-based approach to the development of anti-corruption policies and programmes. Other key partners include the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) as well as other government institutions, the ANDS Secretariat, UNODC, the World Bank and Afghan civil society organizations.
Acknowledging the cross-cutting nature of corruption, the ACT project is seeking to link up with other UN agencies and UNDP projects. The project will also seek to establish collaboration with other donor’s initiatives in the area of anti-corruption – something which is already being done with the Asian Development Bank, DFID, UNODC and the World Bank.
Objectives
The objective of the ACT project is to:
• Support the Government, in view of achieving the Compact Benchmarks and developing a broader anti-corruption strategy within the ANDS;
• Support the Government in laying the foundation for strategic anti-corruption policies and programmes by testing pilots in key public institutions (MOF and MOJ);
• Develop an integrity monitoring system including carrying out the necessary diagnostics and surveys;
• Raise awareness and educate the public at large, as well as the civil service, on corruption. The gradual development of a culture of non-tolerance for corruption in the public and private sector is a key element of this approach.
Components
The ACT project consists of three components:
1. Improved institutional, legal and policy environment to support the implementation of anti-corruption policies and programmes in line with the Afghanistan Compact and the ANDS;
2. Enhanced integrity and accountability in pilot ministries and aid management; and
3. Increased awareness and understanding of corruption in Afghanistan – including the establishment of a grants facility for civil society organizations active in the field of anti-corruption.
Achievements
In 2007 the ACT project became fully operational and project implementation was initiated.
The ACT project completed or initiated the following activities in 2007:
• Study on institutional arrangements for combating corruption completed and consultations on-going with the Government on how to operationalize the recommendations made in the report.
• Vulnerability to corruption assessment conducted in the Budget and Administration Departments of the MOF.
• Vulnerability to corruption assessment of the justice sector initiated with in-depth assessments to be conducted in selected justice institutions in 2008.
• Inventory of existing complaints mechanisms completed and recommendations for improvements made.
• Support provided to the Internal Audit Department of the MOF to establish a Fraud Investigation Unit.
• Awareness-raising on anti-corruption conducted jointly with UNODC on the International Anti-Corruption Day.
The ACT project has completed or initiated the following activities in 2008:
• Study of national legislation in view of UNCAC ratification has been completed and findings of the study together with recommendations for prioritization of legislation have been presented to the Government in a workshop. Through this the ACT project is contributing directly to the achievement of the Afghanistan Compact Benchmark on bring Afghan legislation in line with the requirements of UNCAC.
• The ACT project sponsored and facilitated the participation as observers of a delegation of the Government of Afghanistan which included representatives from the MOJ and the Civil Service Commission in the 11th Steering Group meeting of the ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative.
• The data collection for perceptions survey that is being carried out in collaboration with UNODC in the justice sector has been completed. The analysis of the data has been completed.
• An assessment of the Complaints Unit in the MOF and its procedures has been completed putting forward recommendations for strengthening the Complaints Unit and investigative capacity in the MOF.
• The survey on transparency and integrity in aid management was commenced. Five agencies took part in the study (Canada, DFID, the Netherlands, Norway and UNDP) and meetings were also held with Denmark, GTZ, USAID and the World Bank.
• Development of a set of indicators to measure progress in the fight against corruption has been initiated. Meetings with a wide range of stakeholder were conducted. The project team has been coordinating this with the Joint Coordination Monitoring Board (JCMB) which is responsible for developing indicators for the Afghanistan Compact Benchmarks, to ensure that this activity is in line with the priorities of the government.
• The project is facilitating the entry of Afghanistan into ADB/OECD Anti-corruption Initiative which currently consists of 28 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
• The establishment of an Ethics Unit in the MOF has been initiated and recruitment is ongoing. It is envisaged that a similar unit will be established in the MOJ.
• Establishment of a "Grants Facility" to build the watchdog capacity of civil society actors and the media has been initiated and the selection of civil society organizations to receive grants is in progress.
• Discussions are underway with the Civil Service Leadership Development (CSLD) Project of UNDP and Civil Service Commission to develop training modules and anti-corruption guides and deliver trainings to the civil servants at the central and local levels.
Resources:
Target Budget: USD 2,395,593 (January 2007 – March 2009)
Received Budget: Italy: USD 374,531
Norway: USD 1,329,479
UNDP: USD 616,500
Unfunded Budget: USD 75,083
Focal Points:
Nils Taxell, Chief Technical Advisor/Project Manager (nils.taxell@undp.org)
S. Ikram Afzali, Project Specialist (ikram.afzali@undp.org)
Yama Helaman, Programme Officer (yama.helaman@undp.org)
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