Kabul: The US and its NATO partners are considering establishing a high-ranking civilian post in Kabul to ensure that non-military reconstruction activities focus on top priorities, international officials familiar with the issue said on Thursday.
The decision could be announced at an international conference January 28 in London, where Afghan and international officials will map plans to shore up the Afghan government as the US and its allies rush 37,000 more troops here to confront the Taliban.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue is under discussion, said NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen had not made a final decision.
The United Nations' top official in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, recently complained that some provincial reconstruction teams, combined civilian-military units working on development projects around the country, are "doing their own thing" and are not linked to the Afghan government's priorities.
UN officials say that has contributed to inefficiency in the reconstruction effort, which has lagged despite billions of dollars committed to Afghanistan since the US and its allies ousted the Taliban from power in 2001.
The Afghan government hopes the London conference will agree to channel more funds through Afghan ministries, despite allegations of widespread corruption. The idea is to bolster Afghan institutions, increase the government's prestige and combat Taliban claims that the international mission is a foreign military occupation.
"Our expectation is that the international community will agree to channel assistance through the government so that there is no parallel structure in Afghanistan — only one elected government, which has legitimacy in the eyes of the Afghan people," Ghulam Jilani Popal, head of the Afghan Independent Directorate of Local Government. "That will also help government institutions develop their capacity and pave the way toward self-sufficiency."
According to the international officials, the top NATO civilian would direct the flow of money and assistance to the provinces and ensure that they did not get siphoned off by corrupt Afghan authorities.
The post would be comparable in stature to the top US and NATO commander here, Gen Stanley McChrystal.
US officials have called for greater coordination between the military and the civilian reconstruction effort.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 16:43