HEADQUARTERS PRESS BRIEFING ON AFGHAN RECOVERY BY UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

HEADQUARTERS PRESS BRIEFING ON AFGHAN RECOVERY

BY UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

As part of the ongoing efforts of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support the administrative and structural recovery of Afghanistan, the Assistant Administrator and Director of the Programme's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery announced today the establishment of a recovery fund to support the re-emergence of the country's government institutions.

At a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon, Julia Taft told correspondents that the Afghan Interim Authority Fund (AIAF), which would accept contributions from governments, non-governmental institutions and the private sector, reflected the sincere intention of global actors to see a strong, sustainable government in place in Kabul.  "It's a bridging approach", she said, "an effort on behalf of the international community to say 'we want to help as much as we can to get this process launched'".

Ms. Taft said that the UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown had organized the Fund at the behest of Lakhdar Brahimi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan.  The Programme would manage the Fund and its establishment was agreed upon by the Afghan Support Group of donors and international agencies, which met in Berlin earlier this month.  At that meeting, a number of priority responsibilities for the Afghan Interim Authority had been outlined in the Bonn Agreement, including the establishment of a central bank and a commission on human rights, as well as the rehabilitation of the civil service community. 

The Fund, presently estimated to require about $20 million, would help the Interim Authority cover those costs as well as the general managing of administrative affairs in Afghanistan for a six-month period, prior to the convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga, or national council, scheduled for next spring.  There was virtually no money to run the government structure in Afghanistan, Ms. Taft continued, and the Fund would also help the Interim Authority cover core administrative costs for each of the country's 29 Ministers and its new Head of Government.

Ms. Taft said that in setting the parameters of the Fund, the UNDP had recognized the need to request funding to cover long-overdue wages for civil servants, as well as for teacher's salaries, when the school year began on

21 March.  The Programme had also recognized the need to include a request for police salaries, well in advance of the establishment of such a force.  Past experience had proved that countries in transition or emerging from protracted conflict required such core assistance and key salary payments in conjunction with traditional training programmes and technical assistance.  Covering all those bases, she added, would ensure that the Interim Authority would have the basic wherewithal to do the best job possible.

Ms. Taft said that she and Mr. Brown would be in Brussels this Thursday and Friday to attend a meeting hosted by the European Union, where she would

give further details on the Fund and make a wider appeal to the donor community. She added that there had been many expressions of interest and she believed that at the Brussels meeting, many countries would announce their level of support. 

In response to a question from the floor, Ms. Taft said that while she understood that there were perhaps four currencies in circulation in Afghanistan, the Fund would use United States dollars –- the currency used by the United Nations to pay its local salaries.  Obviously, she continued, the new Minister of Finance and the new Government would begin discussions on a national currency as soon as possible.

The whole philosophy, she stressed, was that the people of Afghanistan themselves must be in charge of their future.  So to the extent that the UNDP could help undergird their ability to initiate a successful transition, it would do so with their guidance.  To that end, enough funds would be provided up front so that each minister could hire a small staff – up to 10 persons –- and to provide modern office equipment such as fax machines and telephones.  That was expected to be followed by a small lump-sum payment to civil servants.  The first month would really be devoted to providing technical assistance to the Government, she said.

A correspondent wondered what the salaries for ministerial staff would be.  Ms. Taft said the costs initially covered by the fund would be relatively small but would be based on current realities on the ground.  The UNDP’s staff were in Afghanistan now to survey various ministries to determine how many employees were required.  She added that the Programme was trying to identify a way the Fund could provide some sort of bonus salary for those persons who had been working loyally in their ministries but who had not been paid in quite some time.  “We want to ensure that we are able to help the Afghan authorities ensure that their employees can lead a reasonable life”, she said.

Another reporter asked what sort of office space could be secured on the ground, in light of the heavy bombing in Kabul.  Did any structures still exist that could support administrative staff?  Ms. Taft said there was a UNDP survey under way, as well as a survey in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations looking at various facilities to assess the situation on the ground.  She added, however, that the United Nations was not running the ministries and Government of Afghanistan.  But the Organization would do the utmost to help examine structural integrity, site safety and repairs or provide other technical assistance.  The Fund was not a reconstruction fund –- it would provide initial costs and salaries covering the Interim Authority’s fist six months.

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