“Today’s event marks the first of many new initiatives utilizing the “Afghan First” principle. It also celebrates the strong partnership between the U.S. Government and the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission whose goal is to create a modern, well-functioning, and efficient Government administration.”
On August 31, 2009, Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne launched a $21.5 million program that works in partnership with the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) to train more than 15,000 civil servants across all 34 provinces over the next 18 months in five core public administration functions.
Through this project, the IARCSC aims to equip provincial civil servants with the right skills and tools so that ministries can move decision making and resources closer to the Afghan people, removing bottlenecks and enabling sub-national government officials to be more efficient and responsive.
“We should applaud the Commission’s commitment to increasing the capacity of civil servants around the country, to developing a more capable, accountable, and effective government that serves the Afghan people,” Ambassador Wayne noted in his remarks.
The program will hire and develop a cadre of trainers in the Civil Service Institute in Kabul and regional training centers to build the capacity of ministry employees in human resource management, financial management, project management, strategic planning, and procurement.
Participating in the event as well were IARCSC Chairman Dr. Ahmad Mushahed and Ambassador Kai Eide, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General to Afghanistan. Representatives from a number of Afghan print and broadcast media also participated and presented brief questions at the end of the ceremony.
For his part, Dr. Mushahed thanked the U.S. government and the international community for meeting a vital need in Afghanistan. “Lack of [civil servants'] capacity has been one of the main challenges for the government and we hope, with the help of the international community, that we can build the level of capacity that is needed to meet the demands of the nation,” Dr. Mushahed said.
Programs such as these deepen the Afghan-U.S. development partnership. Together, we will promote Afghan-led development, which supports sustainable Afghan leadership and capacity building at all levels. Relevant financial controls will be set up for this and other programs that will allow Afghan Government officials to take responsibility for decision making and assume more control in the implementation of their activities.