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Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Volume 503: debated on Wednesday 6 January 2010

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to support and promote provincial and district level governance in Afghanistan outside the Kabul district. (309376)

The Department for International Development (DFID) provides financial assistance to four programmes which support improved provincial and district level governance in Afghanistan. In Helmand, DFID is providing up to £9.8 million over four years alongside £14.5 million from the UK Stabilisation Aid Fund to improve local governance, including the setting up and working of community councils and an improved traditional justice service. DFID is also providing £2.4 million over two years for community management and development initiatives in the Lashkar Gah municipality of Helmand.

The two further programmes were approved in December 2009 and will provide support across the entire country. DFID will provide up to £23 million over five years for the Afghanistan Subnational Governance Programme to improve local government service delivery by training provincial and district governors, staffing up and restructuring their offices and building basic management systems nationwide. Furthermore, over four years DFID will provide up to £9.5 million for the Governors’ Performance Improvement Programme which will provide a performance-based operational budget to all 34 provincial governors.