Efforts to bolster the legitimacy and reach of the Afghan government will continue to be an “uphill battle,” a new report by a coalition of Australian non-governmental organizations suggests. The Australian government should explore “alternative” ways to win the trust and confidence of the Afghan people, it adds.
For 2010-2011, Australia has allocated 123 million Australian dollars ($127 million) to Afghanistan, making the Islamic nation the fourth largest recipient of Australian official development assistance. Australia is also the largest non-NATO contributor of military support to Afghanistan.
“[I]f negative perceptions of the [Afghan] Central Government persist, efforts to strengthen the reach and legitimacy of that government will continue to be an uphill battle. It might, in fact, be useful to consider alternative efforts to gain the trust and confidence of Afghans, such as strengthening the delivery of efficient, equitable and quality services to the people through sources closer to them,” according to the report by the Australian Council for International Development.
It adds: “Whether this occurs through NGOs (non-governmental organizations), Provincial Government actors, international entities or private contractors, the key is to identify and put in place delivery mechanisms to promote accountability and transparency at the grassroots level.”
The cost effectiveness, impact and sustainability of aid activities led by Australian troops are “ difficult to assess and verify” due to limited internal or external reviews of these aid projects, the report notes. Meanwhile, civilian-military relationship “continues to be uneasy and complicated” in Afghanistan, it adds.
The Australian Defense Force has spent AU$215 million in the last four years to support aid programs in Afghanistan. But only AU$37 million have actually been used for projects such as schools, hospitals, clinics and wells, according to figures revealed in an answer to a written question by Bob Brown, leader of the Australian Greens party, during the Senate estimates process.
>> Extraordinary Costs Consume Most of Australian Forces’ Funding for Afghan Aid Programs
The report notes that NGOs, which are considered by both donors and Afghans as cost effective, are “increasingly marginalised” in Afghanistan. The militarization of Afghan aid has also affected the impartial, neutral claim of NGOs working in the Islamic nation.
“The ‘independent and impartial’ space in which NGOs formerly operated in Afghanistan has been degraded and the ability of NGOs to operate is severely constrained by security and safety issues. Increased funds to NGOs linked to political and military objectives is decreasing the opportunities for sustainable and comprehensive community-based, needs-driven aid and development outcomes to be achieved across Afghanistan. This undermines stabilisation objectives,” the report says.
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