RAMP UP East Quarterly Report October 1 – December 31, 2011

The project's objective is to improve the performance and accountability of governance in these provinces. Capacity building of municipal officials is a key component of the project. In the third quarter of the Afghan fiscal year, the RAMP UP East finance team focused on budget preparation activities, including developing internal budget calendars and reviewing the budget preparation and approval process. Municipal accounting and revenue managers from thirteen municipalities participated in formal budget training conducted in Jalalabad and Kabul. Additionally, all staff of the accounting and revenue departments participated in revenue forecast training in their respective offices, conducted by embedded advisors. The project also implemented the Business Licensing and Fees Collection System, which proved easy to implement and effective in creating a comprehensive database. The General Department of Municipal Affairs (GDMA) endorsed its adoption in urban municipalities across the country. This system was developed by RAMP UP East and has been implemented in several municipalities, including Bamyan, where USAID Mission Director Ken Yamashita visited and handed over a sidewalk project to the municipality. RAMP UP East also awarded two small grants programs – gender-responsive governance and youth development programs – to local NGO grantees. The gender-responsive programs will benefit 4,676 women and men, while the youth programs will benefit 5,782 young men and women from 14 RAMP UP East municipalities throughout their one-year duration. Regular technical working group (TWG) meetings were held among the technical and program officers of the four RAMP UP projects at the GDMA and RAMP UP East offices. These meetings helped to involve GDMA in the design and implementation of RAMP UP East activities in accordance with GIRoA requirements. The meetings were clustered into the four RAMP UP components, namely capacity development, service delivery, economic development, and revenue generation, and cross-cutting concerns. The project's impact indicators show significant progress in capacity building of municipal officials, with municipal accounting managers working with public finance advisors to develop an Excel-based expenditure sub-ledger template and an Excel-based payroll template. These templates will enable municipalities to reconcile cash accounts to bank statements and prepare accurate payroll calculations in a more efficient manner. Overall, RAMP UP East has made significant progress in its first quarter, with accomplishments along the project's impact indicators. The project's focus on capacity building, service delivery, economic development, and revenue generation will continue to improve the performance and accountability of governance in the fourteen provinces of Regional Command East.