MRRD’s Commitment to Accountability and Transparency

MRRD - Afghansitan

“Our commitment is to demonstrate to our public and the international community that the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development is a competent, transparent and accountable institution, using public funds for the good of our nation. Our door is always open to public and donor scrutiny.” - Mohammad Ehsan Zia, Minister.

The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) believes that transparency and accountability are essential for the efficient functioning of a modern economy and for fostering social well-being. In most societies, many powers are delegated to public authorities. Some assurance must then be provided to the delegators—that is, society at large—that this transfer of power is not only effective, but also not abused.

Transparency ensures that information is available that can be used to measure  public authorities' performance and to guard against any possible misuse of powers. In that sense, transparency serves to achieve accountability, which means that authorities can be held responsible for their actions. Without transparency and accountability, trust will be lacking between a government and those whom it governs. The result would be social instability and an environment that is less than conducive to economic growth.

Transparency and accountability are particularly important in countries such as Afghanistan, where confidence in government has been greatly undermined by decades of conflict.  This confidence must be restored – through transparent and accountable government practices - if the conditions for lasting peace are to be achieved.

Internal Measures

The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) has, within its structure, established a transparent Procurement Department complying with national and international procurement rules and regulations. It has also created a Department of Monitoring and Evaluation, which is charged to monitor and evaluate the quality of all projects being implemented by MRRD’s partners: communities, facilitating partners and private companies.

The department has 102 staff members who not only monitor the quality of projects, but also evaluate their socio-economic and environmental impact. The staff pays regular visits to project sites to make sure that projects are being implemented according to the bill of quantity agreed to between the MRRD and the implementing agencies.

The department monitors all projects of various national programmes of the Ministry. Programmes include the National Solidarity Programme (NSP), National Area Based Development Programme (NABDP), National Rural Access Programme (NRAP), National Rural Water and Sanitation Programme, Micro-Finance Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA), Emergency Response Programme (ERP).

Each monitoring and evaluation team is comprised of two engineers and an administrator, who are tasked to pay monthly visits to project sites and report their findings, observations and recommendations back to Kabul. Each team is given a digital camera, satellite phone and GPS. They take pictures of projects and engage in a dialogue with rural residents about the development policies of the Ministry and their implementation.

Monitors’ reports are reviewed and evaluated by experts in Kabul, and if a project has a technical problem or the contractor has not used the right material according to the bill of quantity, then the programme manager and the Ministry’s leadership are informed and the issue  is addressed. Projects are handed over to  beneficiaries only when the Monitoring and Evaluation department is satisfied that the principles of transparency and accountability have been followed.

The Department of Monitoring and Evaluation and the Management Information System (MIS) keep soft and hard copies of all monitoring and evaluation reports. These provide a good and reliable source of information to donors on all of MRRD’s completed and ongoing projects.  

External Measures

In addition to its own comprehensive internal monitoring and evaluation processes, MRRD - like other Afghan Ministries - is subject to significant external oversight. All Ministry procurement over $200,000 must go through the Ministry of Finance, responsible for ensuring World Bank, UNDP and individual donor financial accountability standards are followed. The Ministry of Finance in turn is subject to frequent external audit by these bodies. For example, projects carried out under the NABDP – one of the six Ministry core programmes - are overseen by UNDP programme officers, who work through the Ministry of Finance to ensure that World Bank financial accountability procedures are followed (www.worldbank.org) Additionally, UNDP conducts frequent audits and requires MRRD staff to  provide regular reports (bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual) and ensure that all project documentation is made available for review. Upon request, donors are also provided regular updates  on the latest developments  pertaining to projects in the provinces they are funding. NABDP,  for example, is also embedded into the Interim - Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) process and regularly reports its achievements towards ANDS benchmarks. These reports are publicly available at www.ands.gov.af