Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - Enhanced Integrated Framework ...

Ministerial Committees, and with donors,NGOs, and the private sector. This inclusiveparticipatory process will be maintainedthroughout the life of the ANDS.The effectiveness of the ANDS will dependcrucially on building a strong economic foundationthat will support long term, broad-basedeconomic growth, with the private sector beingits driving engine. With proper policies undertakenduring the last five years, per capita incomenearly doubled. To achieve the povertyreduction goals of the ANDS comparable levelsof economic growth will be needed in comingsyears. This will require a supportive enablingenvironment for social and economic development,which in turn depends on the continuedmaintenance of sound and stable macroeconomicpolicies to enable the private sector toestablish itself as a vigorous engine of growthand employment creation.A key strategic objective of the ANDS is to establisha secure economic environment inwhich it will be possible to attract sufficientlevels of private sector investments that couldin trun encourage the employment of human,financial and natural resources in the mostproductive ways possible. A critical element inachieving this objective will be to substantiallyincrease investment in human capacity developmentand creating a skilled workforce in orderto expand employment opportunities andincrease incomes.The ability to implement the projects and programsincluded in the ANDS depends upon theresources that will be available. Average economicgrowth is projected at an 8.1 percent ratefor 1387-1391. A key assumption underlyingthis ambitious goal is an increasing role of theprivate sector in the economy. To reach thesegoals the Government will maintain strongmacroeconomic management characterized byfiscal sustainability, prudent monetary policies,and the avoidance of short-term ad hoc measures.A major contribution of the ANDS has been thedetermination of budget ceilings that reflect theGovernment’s sectoral priorities. These arebeing built into the MTFF and the Ministry ofFinance’s program-based budgeting systemfocused on achieving the country’s developmentneeds. Security will remain the Government’shighest priority, while the public expenditureprograms for investments in energy,water and irrigation, transportation infrastructure,agriculture, agro-based industry, and ruraldevelopment will remain high priorities,acknowledging the high importance of thesesectors for the development of the private sectorand for long term and sustainable employmentgrowth. In the coming years the Governmentwill also devote progressively moreresources on education, governance, health,and social protection.Acknowledging that in the near future, securitysector development remains the country’shighest priority, the Government is fully committedto successfully: (i) implementing an integratedand comprehensive national securitypolicy and strategy; (ii) building a robust securitysector reform program; (iii) strengtheningcivil and military operations; (iv) increasing therole of security forces in counter-narcotics activities;and (v) strengthening the civilian componentsof security entities. While internationalassistance is vitally necessary at the presenttime, the Government is planning andlooking forward to taking on an increasingshare of the responsibility for security-relatedactivities in Afghanistan. This requires sufficientresources to enhance the capabilities ofthe country’s armed forces, including the ANA,ANP and NSD, which is only possible throughjoint efforts and long-term commitments of theinternational community to Afghanistan.Good governance and adherence to the rule oflaw are much needed reforms that the Governmentis committed to pursue. Whilst thedonor community can support reforms andprovide technical assistance, these reformshave to be initiated by internal decisions to implementimprovements in governance. Withoutgood governance and a sustained socialcontract for the acceptance of the rule of law,the total development strategy that has beendeveloped will fail. This is because the strategyhas at its core, the development of a privatesector that will provide economic growth anddemand for skilled labor. In this framework,the ANDS approach has been to encourage thepublic sector to concentrate on the creation of asafe and conducive environment that encouragesthe smooth operation of a robust privatesector. This means a much greater focus byGovernment on governance issues rather thaninvolvement in the production of goods andservices that can be provided by a significantly188Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS)