The Berlin Conference wrapped up its discussion of aid, in the name of upholding the democratic principle for Afghanistan last Thursday. It was a huge success for Hamid Karzai's government. Some fifty nations pledged assistance to help Afghanistan during this difficult era in its history. The conference pledged $ 8.2 billion over three years. It promised helping the country with $ 4.2 billion in immediate aid. There was a detailed description of amounts pledged by different nations. What was missing was any clear-cut description of how the money was to be spent.

Karzai had taken time off his dire schedule of having to deal with the trouble in the west of Afghanistan, where armed conflict had led to the killing of his minister of civil aviation. The conflict had emerged between the minister and Karzai's appointed commander of the military garrison in Herat. The minister was also the son of Herat's powerful governor and famed freedom fighter of the Soviet invasion era, Ismail Khan. Very similar to Karzai's past performance, a commission comprising of his ministers of defense and interior who were sent there did not reach any conclusions. Yet the commission remained in Herat under the direction of Taj Mohammad Wardak a former minister of interior in Karzai's cabinet and it still has to conclude its investigation. So while trouble was brewing at home also in other fronts such as clashes with Taleban, Karzai by securing a pledge from friendly countries for international aid is indeed a big success for his administration. It is also a big success because the very existence of his administration depends on help from abroad. The country has still not been able to activate its means of production, and while there is huge amounts of money at the hands of the warlords and middlemen operating illicit drug business, the majority of the population remain economically in need. Government officials including the police and the military are still dependent on the coffers of the government, which presently seem empty. It is obvious that reliance on income from opium export or money as aid makes any administration weak both internally and externally. It is time that Karzai's government take steps to at least begin to stand on its own feet economically.

Money from drugs obtained illicitly is used in illicit manner aggravating poverty among the poor and strengthening further the warlords as well as directly and indirectly helping terror. International aid money is spent at the whim of the donors for donor pet projects, which are not necessarily priority schemes for the Afghan people. A huge amount of the money is used by the military under International Assistance and Security Forces and expenditures of the coalition forces. A little amount is given directly to the government that it spends on paying its officials or boosting salaries of its many advisors. None of these expenditures help in boosting national production. A lesser amount is given to NGOs rather than the government to spend on specific projects. Most of this money is spent on security rather than the actual project. This is because security expenditures eat up a huge amount of the contracted budget. At times rising security needs for the NGOs reach as much as 40 percent of the project budget.

On the other hand coordination within the government itself is weak and in many instances non-existent. Top officials who bear some degree of power within the government or are favorites of the administration interfere in the affairs of other ministers. There is duplication of effort, organization and expenditure. The country's political future is still to be determined by elections that now have been postponed by another quarter of a year. Although the choice of the international community for Afghanistan's leader is clear, the choice of the people is still to be determined.

A lot of politicking is required to deal with the three scourges threatening the country. These as named by Karzai at the Berlin conference consist of drugs, Taleban and terrorism.

On the other hand, the interests of the United States in Afghanistan do reflect in the importance the international community gives to Karzai's government. In other words, this money is also given to appease the United States that is the strongest supporter of Karzai for obvious reasons.

Observers believe that dealing with the new pledges of aid is also a test of the capacity of Karzai's administration in receiving and spending of it in projects that would benefit the lot of the Afghan people and literally pave the way for the Afghans to begin their difficult journey towards a prosperous, peaceful and secure future. Let us hope that Karzai would succeed in this important test. 04/04/04