Ghani needs to shift course
Every newly elected US president follows the tradition of monitoring their progress toward key policy goals during their first 100 days in office. President Joe Biden announced last week that he had been able to achieve the goals of his 100day plan by delivering on key policy targets such as a robust vaccine distribution campaign, the passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, and America’s return to the Paris climate agreement.
Biden’s completion of his first 100 days in power and accomplishments as set out in his plan reminded me of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani when he first came to power in September 2014. He went for something similar: “Pelan-i-Sad Roza” (in Dari language), meaning the 100-day plan. Every single ministry and government entity was instructed to prepare a 100-day plan and take measures to implement it. However, nobody knows even now — his seventh year in office — what happened to that plan. The golden rule in Afghanistan’s governance and state-citizen accountability culture is: Don’t ask; don’t tell.
The problem with the Afghan government is not so much about failing to achieve targets, it is more about setting goals that are not realistically achievable given the Afghan context. False promises made during campaigns or later when in office, which are not grounded in reality, erode people’s trust not only in leaders, but also in institutions. The basic principle in development is to promise less and deliver more.
Upon taking power, Ghani claimed his government would generate more electric power during the coming few years than the combined production throughout the nation’s history. But, seven years down the road, the government has been unable to properly manage even the imported electricity from our Central Asian neighbors. Ordinary Afghans were optimistic about every promise the government made, from bringing peace to improving governance, fighting corruption and generating millions of jobs. However, the reality on the ground is different.
Good governance is not about concentrating power within the presidential palace — it is about the devolution of decision-making and empowerment of institutions. However, Ghani has continuously tried, from his first day in office, to reduce ministerial control over policymaking and day-to-day administration by establishing parallel institutions at the office of the president. Ghani also has dozens of advisers, most of whom are only symbolic and lack any specific roles and responsibilities.
Although it is too late for President Ghani to right the wrongs, he can still go down in history with a good name if he sincerely commits to the peace process, instead of killing time to complete his term in office through delay tactics.
Ajmal Shams is Vice-President of the Afghanistan Social Democratic Party and is based in Kabul. He is a former Deputy Minister in the Afghan National Unity Government.