Executive Summary
During the period of transition (2001-14), Afghanistan made great progress in terms of development. The 2001 Bonn Conference set in motion a chain of policy frameworks, with the establishment of a more effective civil service being one of the government’s priorities. In December 2014, based on the Kabul and London Conferences on Afghanistan, the Afghan National Unity Government (NUG) released its reform programme known as “Realizing Self-Reliance,” thus marking the beginning of the so-called “decade of transformation” (2014–25).
One major objective of the NUG has been to build an Afghan state that respects, protects, and guarantees human rights, provides security, and is recognised by its citizens as their legitimate representative and provider of services that meet their basic needs. A well-organised and functioning civil service is crucial in this regard, as it is the government’s main tool to implement its policies and provide public services to people all over the country.
It is obvious that the government has made huge achievements in terms of reforms. Substantial steps in reconstruction have been achieved, and the progress made on economic, social, and democratic development is remarkable. However, despite substantial improvement in many areas of national governance, especially in civil service reform (CSR), the entire process has been rather slow, and considerable challenges still remain. The provision of political, social, and economic goods to the population as well as the delivery of public services has, in general, fallen far short of expectations.
The government aims to establish a legitimate, non-political, stable, service-oriented, and accountable civil service in the framework of good governance, with the aim to use public resources more effectively and efficiently for basic services delivery, enhance revenue generation, and support the development of the private sector for national economic and social development. The greater goal is to ensure that the basic rights of Afghan citizens to participate in and benefit from development are realised.
Since its establishment in 2002, the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC), mandated to lead the CSR process, has initiated and realised a number of CSR programmes. But there can be little doubt that reforms, at least in the past, have often been strongly donor-led with the establishment of parallel administrative system.