Zeroing in on advisors

Can it be said that hiring an advisor is money well spent on development? A Killid investigation.

Every office of a governor, municipality and provincial council in Afghanistan has at one time or the other hired the services of advisors.

Can it be said that hiring an advisor is money well spent on development? A Killid investigation.

Every office of a governor, municipality and provincial council in Afghanistan has at one time or the other hired the services of advisors. While it is hard to come by with exact figures, a Killid investigation reveals more than 1,000 were employed between 2012 and 2015.

From information collected, as many as 544 advisors to governors were employed in all 34 provinces – an estimated 12 million USD was paid by the UN development fund, UNDP, for their salaries.

Killid interviewed some 20 governors and deputy governors for their views on the performance of their advisors. Most were not satisfied, and described them as inefficient, illiterate and stipend getters. They also said they had not been consulted over the hiring of advisors who as a result were not very cooperative.

Officials in institutions under the local government were equally critical of the role of the advisors. They accused them of being mostly responsive to donors and advancing their agendas, a claim that has been categorically denied by UNDP.

UNDP officials have said the agency has been engaged in capacity building initiatives in local offices for which millions of dollars have been spent. Between 2007 and 2015, the UNDP had a project for this purpose called Afghanistan Subnational Governance Problem better known as ASGP. It is due to launch a follow-up programme for capacity building that is known by its acronym, LOGO, a job-opportunity for hundreds of advisors.

Interestingly, USAID has also hired tens of advisors under a 62 million-USD programme to improve Afghan provincial governance in the areas of fiscal, development planning and advocacy called ISLA (Initiative to Strengthen Local Administrations).

ASGP

The eight-year-old programme, which ended last year, was implemented in two phases. Shukrullah Yameen who headed the ASGP in UNDP says the first phase saw the implementation of policies in local offices and the second phase at the provincial level. He says there were 12 advisors spread evenly in each province. In the second phase, which started in 2010, the number of advisors fell: four advisors for each governor, one advisor for the provincial council and one for each municipality, a number that was maintained till the project ended in 2015.

A scrutiny of the documents provided by UNDP shows that some 544 advisors were hired for governors, some 136 for provincial councils and an equal number for municipalities. A rough calculation of what UNDP spent on salaries for advisors reveals it was close to between 5 and 8 million USD annually throughout the programme. In the last year, the budget was some 2.5 million USD; 1.5 million was towards payment to the advisors of governors.

According to Yameen, UNDP had hired a total of 469 advisors in 2009 but the number decreased as their requirement tapered off and Afghan offices covered under the ASGP programme became self-reliant. In 2013, there were 365 advisors, 261 the next year and 199 in 2015. The budget for the two phases of the project was 87 million USD.

The project for capacity building has enabled the drafting and implementation of policies, set national priorities, prepare manuals and strengthen relations between local government and the public.

Governors’ opinions

Killid interviewed some 20 governors and deputy governors to ascertain their views. Aref Sarwari, governor of Panjsher, accused advisors of getting three times the salary of high-level government officials. Faiz Mohammad Mirzada, deputy governor of Badghis, thinks they were not “even 1 percent” effective in strengthening financial and administrative capabilities. He accused them of working barely half a day were “not even 1 percent effective”. They barely worked half the day – the rest of the day went in travelling back and forth from home to office  – and as a result only weakened the administration in the provinces.

Governor of Ghazni Mohammad Aman Hamim claims there were “problems” with the performance of the advisors. Their unfamiliarity with local politics and the geography created problems.

Hamim’s counterpart in Badakhshan, Ahmad Faisal Begzada, believes much of the strains between advisors and local leadership could have been avoided had the latter only been consulted on their appointments. “The better advisors would be selected,” is his considered opinion.

Hayatullah Hayat, governor of Maidan Wardak province, does not deny the usefulness of advisors but he believes the governor could play a valuable role in ensuring they are effective.

Other governors who were interviewed included Mawlawi Lutfullah Azizi, governor of Jowzjan and Taher Zaheer, governor of Bamyan. The latter expressed satisfaction with his advisors and described them as “an army for the governor’s office”. Ataullah Fazli and Masooma Muradi, deputy governors of Paktika and Daikundi, were equally satisfied. However, Asiluddin Jami, deputy governor of Herat, is of the opinion that advisors had the skill but they could not make practicable changes.

In defence of UNDP, Yameen explained the agency played the role of a facilitator in employing advisors and whether they were hired was up to the government from 2012.

What is the view of the advisors? Noor Mohammad Yaqubi who was advisor to the Ghor governor says he along with his other colleagues were able to ensure good relations between the districts and the provincial centre. Rahmatullah Seerat, advisor to the Bamyan governor, thinks they have a role in ensuring transparency and accountability.

Anwar Mateen, consultant to the Herat governor, says everything they did was approved by the governor’s office. Before him, there was no one who understood how to organise the many meetings required to frame policies.

LOGO

UNDP officials say some 180 experts will be signed on as advisors for the project, which is a partnership between the international community and Afghan government. To be implemented in 13 provinces only because of the tightening of the aid budget since the 2014 pullout of international troops, it would involved the assignation of five advisors in each province for the first three years and none in 2019. The project with a budget of 54.7 million USD will end in 2020.

Habib Kakar who is recruiting staff, says advisors would be hired soon for provinces like Kabul, Panjsher, Kapisa, Bamyan, Daikundi, Paktika, Khost, Sar-e Pol, Kunduz, Paktia, Helmand and Nimroz. Those who were adjudged to have done well as advisors in the ASGP project are likely to be hired again. In every province local officials, UN staff and the governor will monitor the selection process. The consultancy would be for a period of three months. The salaries would be as per the policy of the Ministry of Finance. According to Yameen, it would be between 800 and 1,300 USD per month.

ISLA

USAID has hired advisors for the initiative to strengthen local governance project. Some 64 are required in Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor, Herat, Kunar, Laghman, Maidan Wardak, Logar, Nangarhar Parwan, Kandahar and Zabul. The process of recruitment has already started with the involvement of USAID, local officials, provincial representatives from the ministries of economy and finance.