National Solidarity Program

Ashraf Ghani

Ref Batch
C
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
15
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Rushda Majeed
Name
Ashraf Ghani
Interviewee's Position
Former Finance Minister
Language
English
Town/City
Kabul
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

In this interview, Dr. Ashraf Ghani discussed his role as Minister of Finance throughout the implementation of Afghanistan’s National Solidarity Program (NSP). The interview highlighted the immense challenges faced by the Transition Government in a country decimated by war, drought, and a very large refugee and displaced population. After 24 years away from the country, Dr. Ghani returned to Afghanistan in order to assist in rebuilding the nation. Throughout the interview, he stressed the importance of design thinking as unique from project implementation. Restructuring the government required innovative thinking that incorporated the preferences and opinions of all Afghani citizens including the most impoverished rural populations and women, two segments of society traditionally excluded from the decision making process. Additionally, he explained how this approach was revolutionary and challenging for the new government and NGOs who had previously operated in a more patronizing capacity perceiving rural Afghans as recipients rather than agents of change. Dr. Ghani emphasized the notion that villagers should set their own priorities and have the same rights and obligations as the populations from more urban and prosperous regions. Furthermore, he discussed the challenges of scalability for such a program and the need to mobilize the existing capabilities to areas of poverty and exclusion. The interview concluded with advice for others looking to implement similar national development projects in similarly devastated environments.    

Case Study:  Building Trust in Government: Afghanistan's National Solidarity Program, 2002-2013

Profile

Dr. Ashraf Ghani was born in Afghanistan in 1949 to an influential political family. As a young man, Dr. Ghani studied at the American University in Beirut earning his first degree in 1973. He returned to Afghanistan in 1974 to teach Afghan studies and Anthropology at Kabul University before he won a grant to pursue a Master’s degree in Anthropology at Columbia University in New York. After he left Afghanistan in 1977, pro-Soviet forces came to power and most of the male-members of his family were imprisoned. Despite his intentions to return to Afghanistan after two years, due to the political state of the country, he remained in the US and received a Ph.D. He taught at University of California, Berkeley until 1983 and then at Johns Hopkins University from 1983 to 1991. Thereafter he joined the World Bank as its lead anthropologist serving as an adviser on the human dimension of economic programs. During his ten years at the World Bank, he worked in China, India, and Russia managing large-scale development and institutional transformation projects. After the September 11th attacks and the ousting of the Taliban in 2001, Dr. Ghani was asked to serve as an adviser to the UN Secretary General’s special envoy to Afghanistan. During that time, he worked on the design, negotiation and implementation of the Bonn Agreement, which outlined the transition to a new government. During Afghanistan’s Transitional Administration, Dr. Ghani served as the Finance Minister and is credited with designing and implementing some of the most challenging and thorough reforms. In 2004, he declined to join the newly elected Government; however he remained an influential voice in both Afghanistan and abroad.  

Ghulam Rasoul Rasouli

Ref Batch
C
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
17
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Rushda Majeed
Name
Ghulam Rasoul Rasouli
Interviewee's Position
Director of Operations
Interviewee's Organization
National Solidarity Program
Language
English
Town/City
Kabul
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

In 2003 Afghanistan developed its National Solidarity Program (NSP) with its international partners including the World Bank. This program was modeled after the PNPM development program in Indonesia. In the first phase of NSP, over 17,000 communities were reached as experts contextualized the resources to the needs of the various communities. In 2007, the NSP underwent a nationalization process in which the international management structure transitioned to the oversight of local and government officials. Rusha Majeed’s interview with Ghulam Rasoul Rasouli in November of 2013 discussed this transitional process for NSP including the challenges associated with development activities at the local level. Among these challenges included managing donor relations and intergovernmental interactions, overseeing the six regional offices and thirty-four provincial offices, and ensuring an efficient disbursement process of funds. Furthermore, this program relied on its facilitating partners including NGOs to assist with implementation of projects at the village level. Part of this nationalization process included designating more authority to the provincial teams with regards to difficult financial decisions. Throughout this process, due-diligence, accountability and transparency have remained paramount aspects of designing and implementing projects at the village level. Additionally, the interview details the three phases of NSP that took place prior to 2013 including the expansion into new communities, given security restraints, and the maintenance of relations in communities that have already received previous NSP grants.       

Case Study:  Building Trust in Government: Afghanistan's National Solidarity Program, 2002-2013

Profile

In November of 2013 Mr. Ghulam Rasoul Rasouli was the Director of Operations for Afghanistan’s National Solidarity Program (NSP). Previously, he worked as a reporting officer for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) functioning in the capacity of political, security and development assistance. During his time with UNAMA, in 2005 he had been working frequently with NSP program officials addressing and responding to community needs. After initial reservations, he decided to leave his career with UNAMA to pursue a government career with NSP in order to best serve communities throughout Afghanistan. During his time at NSP he has worked in the capacity of overseeing donor relations prior to becoming Director of Operations.  

Abdul Baqi Popal

Ref Batch
C
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
12
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Rushda Majeed
Name
Abdul Baqi Popal
Interviewee's Position
General Director of Municipal Affairs,
Interviewee's Organization
Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG)
Language
English
Town/City
Kabul
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

In this interview, Abdul Baqi Popal discusses his role in designing and implementing the National Solidarity Program (NSP), a rural development program in Afghanistan, as an employee of UN-Habitat. He elaborates on how the roots of the NSP program lay in the Community Fora initiative utilized in Afghanistan in the mid to late 1990s. Popal outlines the basic mechanisms and function of the NSP program, the initial government and UN oversight that took place, and challenging conditions that the team confronted in early stages of the project. Specifically, he discusses winning community trust, changing rural perceptions on voting with the creation of the Community Development Councils (CDCs), and encouraging inclusive consultation procedures in villages. Popal also discusses how the team involved in the NSP program confronted the issue of continuing to function under Taliban rule. Moreover, he addresses prescient modern issues in the NSP program, including how the involvement of various stakeholders in the NSP program, many of which have different goals, has created inefficiencies. Finally, Popal envisions modifications he believes will be necessary in the NSP program moving forward.

Case Study:  Building Trust in Government: Afghanistan's National Solidarity Program, 2002-2013