Introduction
Fragile states have become prominent within international security development as well as diplomacy landscapes. Notably, over one billion people live within the borders of the countries that are considered failed and fragile countries. The concentration of population in fragile nations has contributed to major challenges of the economy, security, and governance in respective countries. Since the events of 9/11 and increased terrorist attacks globally, policymakers in the international sphere have focused their interest on the stabilization of fragile states. Notably, various factors such as social and economic inequalities, lack of democracy, and exclusion contribute to the fragility of a nation.
Canada is one of the countries that have initiated cooperation with Afghanistan with the focus on state-building, improving human rights, developing infrastructures, economic resiliency, enhance democracy and institutions. Notably, lack of adequate infrastructural, social, economic, and political development in Afghanistan is associated with inappropriate involvement of local communities by the state. The paper will focus on the international community engagement with indigenous populations and their local governments to initiate and implement development projects.
Literature Review
In the past decades, Canada has formed partnerships with the international community to strengthen security and enhance development in Afghanistan. Notably, before the Canadian engagement with the Afghanistan government and other foreign authorities in 2001, the country had experienced 30 years of turbulence as a result of civil war, Soviet occupation, ideological conflicts, as well as extreme poverty. The Afghanistan government was known for oppressing its citizens while providing a conducive environment for terrorist groups such as the Al-Qaeda that led to further destruction of the country.
The economy and security of the country had collapsed, therefore putting the lives of its people and neighboring states at risk. In addition to this, the poverty level in the country was rising yearly, hence making its citizens the most impoverished globally. Nonetheless, Canada, in collaboration with other international communities, has worked tirelessly to ensure that the country enjoys economic growth and a peaceful environment that are necessary for developmental activities and governance.
Additionally, the engagement between Afghanistan and Canada is beyond the conventional war in which armed forces are deployed. Canada has been in the forefront to ensure that the country has recovered from its former failed status through the establishment of a legitimate governance system, economic opportunities, the enhanced rule of law and security, and admission to quality essential services. Moreover, the fight against terrorism in 2006 was spread beyond Kabul, the Afghanistan capital city, for the purposes of building a strong security foundation and development across the entire nation.
Canada assumed Kabul’s leadership for two years under the International Security Assistance Forces or ISAF to bring stability and reconstruction to the collapsed economy. In addition, Canada enacted numerous laws concerning its military and development strategy to improve its role in the fragile state. Canada’s government’s goals were to ensure that Afghanistan gets a working constitution to spearhead economic growth, respect for human rights, democratic governance, and delivery of core services. Furthermore, the country needed humanitarian assistance for its vulnerable population, including internally displaced people, returnees, and refugees.
The priorities to ensure reconstruction of Afghanistan spearheaded by Canada and other international communities was vital for achieving political reconciliation, the building of schools, roads, and industries. In 2006, the government of Afghanistan released the Afghanistan National Development Strategy and Afghanistan Combat to initiate development priorities and projects as identified by the international community. Furthermore, Afghanistan in 2008 announced its five-year development plan that covered a broad sector of security, economic and social improvement, and expansion of democracy.
It is worth noting that the aforementioned priorities were established to ensure that the country achieved measurable progress to enable improvement of life quality within Afghanistan’s borders. Targets and benchmarking were set in June 2008 by the Government of Canada to assist the country in implementing the new strategies.
Moreover, the set targets served as key points in which both governments would assess the level of progress in Afghanistan. Canada deployed 120 skilled civilians and 2950 soldiers to aid in the restoration of security, train the local population, and build infrastructures that are needed to ensure the prosperity of the fragile state. Notably, the environment to implement new strategies in relation to the international community in Afghanistan was not only dangerous but daunting, given the level of insecurity and political instability.
The international community established that Afghanistan needed strong and effective security forces of their own to ensure the security of the country. Afghanistan National Police, as well as National Army, we’re well-equipped and trained with the help of international missions. Notably, two objectives were developed by Canada between 2008 to 2011, which involved doing joint operations to eliminate insurgents and mentor local security forces. It is important to note that the joint operations that comprise of international security agencies, Canadian civilian police helped in improving the capabilities of the Afghanistan national security forces in their duty to ensure the security of people within Kandahar.
Furthermore, Canada’s two objectives involve maintaining law and order in major districts of Kandahar and sustaining a relatively secure environment. The number of trained soldiers increased from 50,000 in 2008 to 175 000 in 2019. The increased capabilities and the performance of the army in the country have created an opportunity for other economic activities and ensure the local community’s safety, thanks to the Canadian Forces.
Canada also helped the country to construct modern roads through Commander Contingency Fund. The organization provided resources to the Afghanistan government to construct roads that were needed to facilitate the free movement of people and goods. Local priorities were established through the collaboration of village residents and the formed task force, which helped in fostering trust between the people and the national government. The construction efforts in Afghanistan involved numerous projects such as the building of wells, mosques, local markets, solar-powered lighting, and roads.
Furthermore, the international community recognized the importance of an effective justice system, which led to the training of justice officials, constructions of courts such as Arghandab District Courthouse, the office of the attorney general, and improved information technologies. Canada also sponsored more than 20 workshops in the city of Kandahar to promote knowledge concerning legal rights, particularly to the female population. Despite considerable investments by the government of Canada and other international communities in Afghanistan, there are numerous challenges that persist as far as economic and social, and political development is concerned.
Poverty and inequality have increased steadily over the past few years in Afghanistan. The country is ranked among the poorest nations across the world, with 31% of its citizens living below the poverty level. Notably, 35% of the total population in Afghanistan depends on humanitarian aids to survive. Furthermore, many people are unable to access better healthcare facilities, food and nutrition, and education systems. Children and women consist of 86% of all the people who depend on foreign aids.
It is the ordinary citizens in the country who feel the pressure of the underperforming economy as they lack even the most basic services from their government. The majority of the people who live above the poverty line are also at risk of getting back into the poverty bracket in the future if necessary measures are not taken to increase job opportunities.
Level of Public Engagement with the National Government
Afghanistan’s government should consider new approaches as far as their development initiation and implementation are concerned. Moreover, the revenue mobilization has improved in recent years with a growth of 7.3 in 2019. World Bank Date revealed that the country’s revenues stand at 10% in relation to the GDP. However, the budgeting process is facing severe challenges, hence leading to delay and lack of proper investment in the most sensitive areas in the country. For instance, MPs are believed to ask for bribes from the executive to approve the national budget, which has led to the loss of billions of dollars in the process. The nature of the budgeting process is extremely centralized, therefore reducing the roles of provinces and legislature very weak and prevent or delay the development of state capacity at the local level.
It is important to note that Afghanistan’s national budget comprises of external and core budget. The internal budget is divided into the development budget as well as the operational budget. Furthermore, the Afghanistan government is responsible for financing the operational budget through the use of its own generated revenue. On the other hand, the development budget is mainly financed by international donors. The external budget also consists of official development aid, and the donors use the channel to ensure that the money is not used wrongly or free from corruption. External budgeting is usually channeled through various trust funds; however, some are given to assists in the national budget.
The province and district administrations have a limited stake in the budgeting process and are subject to the national government. The ministry of finance does budget preparation and allocation of finance with little or no consultation to the district and province administrations. Notably, the finance ministry often overrules the decisions or suggestions from the grassroots levels of governance and does not consult local people before deciding on matters concerning budgeting.
Revenues are collected in the sub-county region; however, the money is taken to the national government for further distribution to different ministries and arms of governments. The centralized nature of budgeting allocation and decision-making has derailed numerous efforts to improve development at the local or village level due to inequality of resource distribution. Furthermore, service providers at the local levels are often under severe constraints of resources with low rates of budget implementation.
The centralized budgeting structure has impacted negatively on service delivery, especially at subnational levels. The local population’s need is not reflected in the decisions that the ministry of finance often takes since the state assumes that they have the ability to make good decisions on behalf of all citizens. The state lacks an appropriate system that can facilitate effective consultation with the local public to enhance development projects at the lowest level. As a result, resources fail to reach many areas to ensure that all parts of the country get an equal share of the budget to improve social and economic infrastructures.
Several attempts to improve public engagement in the budgeting and allocation process have failed to materialize. In 2007, the state initiated the provincial budgeting process with the aim of enabling effective reforms in the entire process, however the policies to empower local administration to contribute to the national development plans failed. Central ministries were unable to decentralize some of their functions to the provincial and district levels, leading to the failure to include the local community in their development process.
Nevertheless, the efforts to establish provincial development plans failed due to a lack of proper coordination as well as poor communication between the two sets of administration bodies. It is important to note that centralized initiation and coordination of many projects have failed to align with needs that are critical to some local populations.
Current Consultation Process of Canada In Their Fund Allocation to Afghanistan
Notably, Canada understands that Afghanistan is not only a fragile but also a weak state that needs stabilization efforts to enable the government to function properly without the assistance of foreign aids. Moreover, the country is governed by the help of foreign advisors, troops, and donations, an indication that it cannot sustain its internal affairs without assistance. As noted earlier, the government of Canada has played a critical role to ensure that the fragile state is rescued from collapsing and empowered to manage internal development ranging from political, social, and economic space.
Canada has taken the initiative to review the state of the nation to provide a clear roadmap on the priorities that must be addressed to help the country attain full stabilization, sovereignty, and ownership Afghanistan currently lacks sustainable economic growth, unequal distribution, and access to resources, production and trade of narcotics with severe armed conflicts over the past three decades.
The primary objective as far as the Canadian government is concerned is to strengthen and improve Afghanistan state institutions and machinery to enable smooth service to deliver to the local population. Canada, in collaboration with other international communities, has been in the country for over ten years; however, Afghanistan still experiences increased insurgency. Additionally, institutions that are established to provide the most basic needs, such as health, security, and justice, are performing poorly. The Afghanistan police and army are not sufficient enough to maintain law and order within its borders even after investments of billions in the organization.
Notably, in 2019 Canada committed to increasing its budgetary allocation in Afghanistan to initiate more development projects and ensure gender equality. Canada has proposed $ 463 million towards peacebuilding among conflict-affected states or FCAS. The initiative, as planned by the government of Canada, will ensure poverty elimination and empowerment of women in fragile states.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Afghanistan has numerous development priorities; however, the need for infrastructure is particularly acute. It is only a third of the population that is connected to the power system, while the majority lack the necessary energy to help advance their development initiatives.
The country is unable to generate sufficient resources that are required to sustain its development objectives, and domestic resources are also limited. Public participation in the budgeting process should be strengthened to ensure their challenges in different regions are solved. Canada is the leading donor in Afghanistan, has the responsibility to ensure the country is stable in terms of economic, social, and political development. Many resources and strategies are needed to ensure effective coordination and communication between the central government and provincial and district administration for the purposes of equitable allocation and distribution of resources.
Recommendations
- Special allocation of resources is needed for the purposes of funding projects that are a priority to the regional and national cooperation, especially in the energy sector, trade, and transport connectivity. Such investments will enable a strong and prosperous economy in Afghanistan and ensure positive impacts on regional economic development, security, and peace.
- Until Afghanistan achieves self-reliance, there will be a high risk associated with development setbacks and regression in several regions with its borders. The situation is worse with the decline of foreign donation in the country amidst the spread of COVID-19 in countries such as the United States that have been instrumental in restoring peace and stability. Furthermore, the 2018 Geneva Conference on Afghanistan has seen international development partners reducing their development engagement there, posing challenges to the future of the fragile state in relation to its economic stability. It is, therefore, necessary for the country to speed up political reconciliation plans and eliminate all forms of corruption, which deny the opportunity for economic and social development.
- The development strategy used currently is not effective because it sidelines the input of the majority and improvement in critical sectors such as agriculture. Afghanistan can attain sustainable development if they change their collaboration mechanism with its citizens and include their views in decision making. There is a need to decentralize the key roles of different ministries to reach more people on the ground, especially in rural areas where the poverty rate stands at 55%. It will help in elevating the living standard of many villagers by providing employment opportunities and improve infrastructures.
- Additionally, the process of budget preparation and allocation should accommodate the interest of the majority and not the few executive members. Formulation of policy that is clear and comprehensive to allow for provincial budgeting to ensure that public interest and needs are met at the lowest level. The policy should outline the responsibility and functions of local administration in the budgeting process. In addition to this, the law should strengthen communication and coordination between central-local authorities and central government to facilitate adequate disbarment of resources.
- It is necessary to establish public finance management body comprised of civil society with powers to participate in the budgeting process and allocation to ensure that the demands of provinces are met. Civil society should have an active role in all the stages of budgeting, from the initial to the execution stage. It will ensure that needs of local people are aligned with the national budget. Additionally, the Afghanistan state should focus on need-based resources allocation to avoid wastage of limited resources in the country.
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