Assistance for Afghanistan’s Anti-Corruption Authority (4A) Project: Annual Report

The project's purpose is to support the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) in its efforts to build a strong, effective institution to lead, monitor, and report on efforts to combat corruption in Afghanistan. The main Afghan government counterpart for this project is the High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption (HOO), which is one of several anticorruption institutions that need to coordinate their efforts effectively to accomplish the broad mandate of reducing corruption in Afghanistan. The 4A Project has pursued four objectives, focused on building the capacity of Afghanistan's High Office of Oversight and anticorruption civil society organizations (CSOs) in the following areas: (a) strategic planning and institutional development; (b) HOO's priority areas of operation; (c) public outreach and communications on the government's anti-corruption program and support to civil society organizations to promote their participation, including grants; and (d) limited office renovations and equipment. The project's objectives are aimed at improving the overall institutional capacity and sustainability of the HOO, particularly its ability to plan for and mobilize sufficient personnel and resources to assure it can operate effectively at the end of the project. The project has developed a trusting relationship with the HOO management and staff at all levels, focusing its efforts on developing both the institutional and functional capacities of the HOO to perform its mandated tasks. The project has succeeded in the following areas: supporting the development and approval of a new three-year Strategic Plan for the HOO, conducting a Human Resources Assessment of the HOO and getting management to realign the organizational structure by merging several units, launching a series of Asset Registration workshops, and initiating close cooperation between the HOO and FinTRACA. The project has also promoted the use of "business process reengineering" tools to focus ministries and major government departments on their key corruption vulnerabilities when designing their anti-corruption action plans, standardized complaint management procedures and case tracking efficiencies, and coordinated with UNODC and UNDP programs to implement an improved case tracking system. Additionally, the project has generated dialogue among civil society groups, the mass media, private sector organizations, the HOO, and other anti-corruption entities to promote understanding and to design better programs. By the end of Year 1, the Project succeeded in achieving the following results against performance indicators: two institutional mechanisms were implemented and 25% of their recommendations were initiated, 21.6% of government officials eligible to register their assets were notified of their obligation through workshops and flyers, and 39 ministries and government departments submitted acceptable anticorruption action plans to the HOO. The project was deficient on a few additional performance indicators, including the number of inter-institutional protocols implemented by the HOO and the number of anticorruption measures implemented by the government. Since many activities have been initiated during the first year of the 4A Project, expectations for Year 2 include bringing many of these activities to fruition and starting new reform and capacity building initiatives. While many of the challenges that faced the project at the onset are still potent barriers, the project team's effectiveness in Year 1 bodes well for progress in meeting the project's performance goals and enhancing the capacity of the High Office in Year 2.