Development Cooperation Report 2012 - UNDP Afghanistan

designed in line with the overall development plan of the government agencies. This
indicator, however, was difficult to measure given that information provided by donors
did not explicitly describe the process through which aid was planned and allocated to
development projects.
3
Moving towards security transition and the decade of transformation, there are
indications that the level of development aid will gradually decrease from its current
level. In the time of declining foreign aid, the GoA and the international community
need to work towards improving the effectiveness of aid, ensuring that aid projects
provide the max possible value for money, support the government’s priorities and
that aid is spent under a framework of accountability and transparency. Recognizing
this need, the Afghan government and the international community agreed to a Mutual
Accountability Framework (TMAF) at the international conference in Tokyo in 2012. The
TMAF, although focused on reforms in the wider governance sector, has incorporated
some key aid effectiveness elements the implementation of which will ensure that
pledges made in Tokyo will be utilized more efficiently than before.
To complement the TMAF as a genuine partnership framework, the government in
consultation with the DPs is developing an Aid Management Policy (AMP) to specifically
articulate the steps necessary for making aid more effective. Some priority policy
initiatives from the AMP are detailed in chapter two of this report, which is meant
not only to clarify the purpose of the initiatives themselves, but also to address the
questions and concerns of donors regarding their implementation. The GoA expects
that the AMP, along with its implementation framework will provide a solid ground
based on which the effectiveness aspect of international aid could be measured and
progress along with recommendations will be presented in the subsequent issues of
this report.
The AMP, although widely criticized as an ambitious plan, incorporates main elements
from various international agreements to improve the effectiveness of aid in recipient
countries. These agreements, particularly the Busan commitments, emerged to a large
extent precisely because of the poor performance of donors in fragile and conflict
affected states. To this end, the AMP is designed to share the burden of aid management
with all development partners in order to achieve desired results for each dollar of aid
money that is being spent in Afghanistan.
For aid to become effective, DPs would need to work in concert with the GoA to share
the burden of implementing policy priorities included in the AMP. The cost of failure
to adopt the AMP will be ample, considering that proper investment will guarantee
the realization of the ‘Towards Self-Reliance’ vision and will reduce the dependency of
Afghanistan on donor assistance.
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION REPORT