A Tokyo conference brought 70 nations together to grant an aid package of $ 16bn to Afghanistan yesterday. The four-year aid (including this year) comes in addition to of $ 4.1bn in military assistance for Afghanistan’s armed forces pledged by a summit of Nato leaders in Chicago in May.
But there’s a growing unease in the way Afghanistan is being propped up by the world, and with the way its current leadership is struggling to ensure even minimum governance independent of a foreign role.
Perhaps mindful of the corruption allegations tainting the Hamid Karzai government, the Tokyo meeting’s donors have made their gift conditional. For the first time, there will be benchmarks by which the money will be released. Progress will be measured in free and fair elections; human rights (specifically, the rights of women); the fight against corruption; and combating drug trafficking.
In a reminder of what Afghanistan’s well-wishers are up against, 18 civilians were killed in roadside explosions in the Arghistan district of southern Kandahar Province, on the day of the conference. News of a woman being publicly executed for “adultery” was also doing the rounds this week.
The country’s preparedness in tackling domestic security after the foreign troops leave is still uncertain. It is estimated that Afghanistan will need at least $ 8bn a year over the next decade to improve both security and national development.
Britain is to host a follow-up conference in 2014 to monitor Afghanistan’s economic progress.
The United States, which did not specify its financial commitment, has designated Afghanistan as a “major non-Nato ally”. This makes it eligible to participate in US military programmes, and also receive excess US military equipment. While the violence ravaging the country has escalated after the events of September 11, 2001, there is understandably some scepticism on the role of this special status in curbing Afghan insurgency.
What remains to be seen is how far the donors can quell the compassion fatigue that Afghanistan’s unchanging scenario has engendered.
Anniversary review
It is a year since Africa’s youngest nation, South Sudan, came into being today. But despite the violence that has accompanied its formation, South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan, could be seen (cautiously) as a success story.
Independence alone cannot, however, be considered a guarantor of nation-building. Both South Sudan and Sudan are reliant on oil revenues. The two countries have been embroiled in a bitter tussle over how to divide the resources, leading to fears of a return to war.
Besides the dire situation of returnees and displaced people fleeing civil war, South Sudan’s decision to halt oil production due to the dispute with its neighbour has deprived it of funds to build crucial infrastructure such as hospitals, roads and water systems.
The country should aspire for a better report card next year.
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