Provincial Councils Demand Power

It was hardly surprising that many of the provincial councillors who attended a recent meeting in Kabul to discuss their rights and responsibilities seemed a bit confused and annoyed.



After all, the local assemblies on which they sit have no clearly defined role.



The local councils were elected along with the lower house of parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, in a general ballot held in September. And like the national body, they are struggling to define their place in the slowly emerging political process.



Part of the problem is that the constitution provides little guidance on exactly what the provincial bodies are supposed to do.



The 34 councils are elected for a four-year term by a proportional representational system based on the estimated population of each province, and they then select their own chairperson.



But the constitution is less clear about their job, and their powers vis-à-vis other government bodies, particularly the regional administrations led by governors which are appointed by Kabul rather than elected.



“The provincial council takes part in meeting the developmental targets of the state and improving its affairs in a manner defined by law, and gives advice on important issues falling within the domain of the province,” says the document. “Provincial councils perform their duties in cooperation with the provincial administration.”



In an attempt to encourage debate about the councils’ role, the Ministry for Parliamentary Affairs recently organised a three-day seminar for council members from around the country. In advance of the meeting, they issued delegates with copies of the law on provincial councils approved by President Hamed Karzai. In a nod to the country’s high illiteracy rate, the document was distributed as a tape recording as well as in paper copies.



The local representatives clearly had their own ideas about their posts and were not shy about voicing their concern over the impotent role they think the law assigns them.



“We do not want to be mere observers charged with advising local authorities on provincial matters. We want some genuine oversight,” said Maulawi Habibullah Hassam, head of the Kabul provincial council, addressing the seminar on behalf of other delegates.



Council members grumble that the current law binds them hand and foot, giving them no authority at all. Among the areas in which they are demanding more power are provincial budgets and the appointments made by the regional administrations.



“The current law on provincial councils should be amended by parliament,” said Habibullah. “Local government should be required to consult with the provincial council before removing or appointing district chiefs, police chiefs and other major personnel at district and provincial level. In addition, provincial councils should approve budgets and control expenditures.”



One provision of the law particularly irked delegates at the seminar. According to article 11, the Afghan president can dissolve the councils if he deems them a threat to national security. He must gain the approval of the Supreme Court to do this, but even so, council members say that this gives the executive too much power over them.



“We are elected representatives of the people - the same as parliament - and no one should have the authority to dissolve the councils,” said Habibullah. “This article should be removed.”



Another sore spot has to do with their privileges and salaries. Provincial council members are paid 10,000 afghani per month (200 US dollars) which, while ample in a country where most government workers make no more than 60 dollars a month, pales in comparison with the 1,100 dollars being handed out to members of the Wolesi Jirga.



“Our salaries and other privileges need to be equivalent to parliament’s,” said Habibullah.



He also asked for council members to be assigned offices, equipment and transport. At present the 34 provincial administrations allot just two rooms to the council – clearly inadequate in places like Kabul where there are 29 representatives vying for space.



Some delegates bristled at media reports that all they were interested in was gaining material benefits for themselves.



“We don’t want cars or dollars. We only want someone to sort out our problems,” said Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, head of Nangarhar’s provincial council. “The current law is not acceptable. A system needs to be created for us.”



Belqis Roshan, a female delegate from Farah, told IWPR that she was satisfied with her salary but had other demands. “I want power, not money,” she said. “We should have some power to control the regional administration. All we do now is consult. We are just symbols.”



Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ghulam Farooq Wardak told IWPR that the government had listened intently to the delegates’ demands, and would respond.



“There is ambiguity in the law of provincial councils. The delegates want the law to be amended, and it will indeed be amended by parliament - but according to the Afghan constitution,” he said.



Wardak assured the delegates that the government would work with regional leaders to broaden the councils’ authority.



“We will send official letters to all the [administrations in the] provinces telling them to consult with the provincial councils on all matters,” he said.



On the financial question, Wardak said that the government would do everything possible to meet the delegates’ needs.



Finance Minister Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi told delegates that the main problem is the constitution, which does not go into enough detail on the role the councils should play.



“This is why the delegates are unhappy,” he told IWPR. “The government does not really see a way to resolve this problem, either.”



Political analyst Habibullah Rafi said provincial councils must have more authority.



“Councils are like a provincial parliament, and they have to be given as much authority as the parliament is given in the capital,” he said. Provincial councils must have the authority to control the regional administration and call in officials for questioning, he added.



While most delegates have now returned home, the council heads are still in Kabul, where they say they will sit with government representatives and lawyers to bring about changes in the law.



“We will stay until we solve all of our problems,” said Mohammadjan, the head of Paktia council. “If the government cannot solve our problems, how can they solve the problems facing the population?”



Wahidullah Amani is an IWPR staff reporter in Kabul.