UNDP’s Afghanistan Sub-national Governance Programme brings together municipal heads from provinces and districts to help formulate a new national tax policy Sayed Jalaluddin Sadid has been the deputy mayor of Sari Pul for 5 years, overseeing finance and revenue of the northern province’s main municipality. He’s been an active contributor to the government process, providing feedback on the new organizational structures (tashkils) of district and provincial municipalities, as well as helping his counterparts in other provinces to roll out new revenue guidelines.

But in his first few years as deputy mayor, Mr. Sadid never had the opportunity to help form these policies. He could only implement them after they were determined in Kabul.

“When there is a policy for Afghanistan as a nation, it is better to collect all 153 municipalities together, to get their views and their needs,” he says. “This did not happen before.”

Last year, Mr. Sadid had his first chance to contribute to a proposed tax guideline for municipalities. UNDP’s Afghanistan Sub-national Governance Programme (ASGP), in partnership with Afghanistan’s Independent Directorate for Local Government (IDLG), organized a workshop for revenue officers and municipal heads across Afghanistan to consult them on guidelines for the Safayi tax, business permits, and city services tax.

“This was the first time we were involved in policy discussions at the national level,” he says.

And in December 2010, Mr. Sadid returned to Kabul along with nearly 60 mayors, deputy mayors and revenue officers, for another two-day workshop on the provisions of the new tax. The participants received training on the management of the new city services tax, and identified challenges and the additional support needed from the national government. The participants also provided suggestions on potential revenue sources to help implement the Sub-national Governance Policy.

Since they were given the opportunity to form the initial guidelines, the local leaders were much more receptive to the new tax. “It has its issues, of course,” says Mr. Sadid, “but in the last two days, we’ve discussed these challenges and proposed solutions. Without ASGP’s support, these kinds of things would only be a dream.”

The Afghanistan Sub-national Governance Programme (ASGP) operates in 28 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces with the support of the European Commission and the governments of Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and UK. In partnership with the Independent Directorate for Local Government (IDLG), the project works to improve national systems and procedures for better governance at the sub-national level. UNDP also works directly with provincial and district governors’ offices to develop their capacity to better represent citizens’ interests. More news