Afghanistan: Reconstruction Trust Fund okays $90m grant for SNP
KABUL (PAN): The Afghanistan Reconstruction
Trust Fund (ARTF) Management Committee has approved a $90 million grant
for the Afghan governments flagship initiative called the National Solidarity
Programme (NSP). $60 million of the grant will be made available immediately
while the remaining $30 million will be disbursed in coming months for
NSP - one of the five rural development initiatives that form the backbone
of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD). This additional
commitment drives up the total ARTF contribution to the NSP since the programmes
inception in 2003 to $259.5 million, the Fund said. NSP is also co-financed
by the World Bank with a current five-year commitment of $305 million.
In a statement on Thursday, the ARTF said the National Solidarity Programme
was giving direct voice and decision-making power to the countrys estimated
19 million rural inhabitants. In only four short years, it added, NSP had
benefited close to 15.6 million Afghans or 80% of the rural population.
NSP has made great achievements for the people of Afghanistan despite the
numerous challenges we have faced including security constraints and inaccessibility
to villages, said Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development Muhammad
Ehsan Zia. He added the government was committed to expanding the programme
throughout rural Afghanistan. However, he observed, no progress was possible
unless the international community was committed to staying the course.
Designed to link villagers at a grassroots level with government representatives
at the district, provincial and capital levels, NSP has this innovative
aspect: The process of decision-making for the use of grants. Through the
creation and election of Community Development Councils (CDCs), communities
directly manage resources to identify, plan, manage and monitor their own
development projects. Villages are also required to contribute a minimum
of 10 percent of the project costs. The National Solidarity Programme has
brought a grassroots sense of citizenship and makes villagers think about
their values and goals. With resources from the programme, the communities
are rebuilding the country from the villages up, said Susanne Holste, World
Bank Project Team Leader for National Solidarity Programme (NSP). Communities
use the resources in a consultative, responsible and transparent manner,
and make money go a long way. Since 2002, communities have elected 17,349
Community Development Councils. National Solidarity Programme (NSP) has
also financed over 23,056 community projects of which more than 11,017
projects have been completed. Around 88 percent of the projects involve
infrastructure such as irrigation, rural roads, electrification, and drinking
water supply, critical for the recovery of the rural economy, stability
and governance.
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