uKaid - Harakat
Transcription
uKaid - Harakat
HARAKAT Easier Access to land for Investors Helps Increase Production Harakat - Afghanistan Investment Climate Facility Organization (Harakat-AICFO) held a conference at the Serena Hotel on 12 December 2012 to mark the second year of success for the Afghanistan Land Management Reforms (ARAZI) project. Representatives from Harakat-AlCFO, ARAZ1, the Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock, the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce & Industries (ACCI), donor agencies and business associations discussed the impact of two years of reforms within ARAZI, as well as the major obstacles that are still impeding domestic and international investment. Message from the CEO Salam! This issue provides an update on Hilrilk'at-AICFO's activities over the past two months. I'm proud of the work our Partners have done, and the Afghanistan land Management Reforms project is a great example of this. I'm pleased with the progress we are making on our anti-corruption initiative. This newsletter highlights a number of events we held recently, In which we brought together representatives from government, civil society and private sector organizations to generate ideas on how to tackle corruption in Afghanistan. I was recently in Dubai, where I spoke about the investment climate and institutional reforms at the Afghanistan Summit III. It was motivating to see the level of interest from the international community, and I was pleased with the dialogue this summit generated. I hope you enjoy this issue, and as always I'd appreciate any feedback you have. Warm regards, Naseem Akbar, CEO naseem.a [email protected] "Since reforms were implemented, ARAZI's yea rly revenue has grown from USD135,922 to USD3,398,058. We want to increase it even further to USD19,417,476 through improving land laws," said Asif Rahimi, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock. He added that defective land laws, land disputes and illegal land seizure are the main barriers for obtaining land for commercial purposes. "Easier access to land for investors will help increase production, and therefore pave the way for exporting goods to foreign countries," said Abdul Rahim Saheedi, Private Sector Development Director, Ministry of Commerce and Industries. ARAZI was established in 2009 as a statutory body and as a general directorate in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock and funded by Harakat-AICFO. As a result of ARAZI's extensive efforts to facilitate state land accessibility for commercial purposes, 1S2 busi nesses have obtained leases, investing USD34,8731,661 in the country which in turn has created 10,000 jobs. Over the past two years, leased state land grew from an average of 4400 hectares to 9000 hectares per year. ARAZI is committed to register 25,000 hectares of land per year going forward . Have an idea to help improve the investment climate? We need you! Harakat-AICFO is always looking for great ideas that will help drive investment climate reform in Afghanistan. We are currently funding 20 projects that aim to make the business climate more appealing to national and international investors. If you, or your organization, would like to discuss a project idea, please contact us at [email protected] Valuable Recommendations Generated During Harakat-AICFO's First Anti-Corruption Meeting Harakat-AICFO invited representatives from Parliament, Civil Society, Business Associations, Media and Private Sector Development Donors to join a discussion on corruption in Afghanistan on 12 December, 2012, at the Serena Hotel. "Co rruption has a major impact on private sector development," said Naseem Akbar, CEO of Harakat-AICFO. "I hope we can take the opportunity today to start a discussion on how we can tackle this." Taj Aiubi, former advisor to President Karzai on International Affairs, echoed this sentiment, noting: "If not stopped, today's dishonesty and corruption will push the country over the abyss." Following a presentation on Harakat-AICFO's anti-corruption strategy by Hamid Sediqqi, Director of Projects, Harakat-AICFO, participants broke out into four working groups to discuss specific issues related to corruption and come up with recommendations to tackle each issue. Harakat-AICFO will hold further events across Afghanistan to facilitate a platform for Civil Society groups, Business Chambers, Media, and the Private Sector to discuss anti-corruption initiatives, which will be considered for Harakat-AICFO funding. High Office of Oversight takes on Anti-Corruption Islamic Republic of Afghanistan High Office of Oversight & Anti-Corruption Harakat-AICFO joined Abdul Raziq Zulali, Deputy Chairman of the High Office of Oversight (HOO) and AntiCorruption, and other colleagues, on 13 January to discuss Harakat-AICFO funding for projects which aim to tackle corruption in Afghanistan. Following a brief of Harakat-AICFO's activities by Hamid Seddiqi, Director of Projects, Naseem Akbar, CEO, expressed his optimism for a good working relationship with the participants. "We are pleased to be here today to explore how we can work jointly with your capable and committed team . Harakat-AICFO views the High Office of Oversight as an ideal partner to implement anti-corruption projects," High Praise for Secure Systems at New Kabul Makhzan A high-level delegation, including the Director of the Kabul Appeal Court and representatives from the Court of Justice, Business and Commercial Court, visited the site of the new Kabul Makhzan on 30 January to inspect the progress of the Harakat-AICFO-funded Modernization of Property Deeds and Land Records Project. The achievements of the project so far, such as a computer-based record management system and video surveillance cameras, were praised by the delegation. "We recognized a need for this type of system many years ago, and today we are able to see it come to fruition . I would like to see this model implemented in other provinces as well so these very valuable documents are secured," said Haji Sediqullah Haqiq, Direc- tor of the Kabul Appeal Court. said Akbar. The meeting concluded with an agreement that both Harakat-AICFO and HOO will form technical teams to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for further cooperation. It was also decided that HOO will playa key role in monitoring corruption reduction activities in Harakat-AICFO's current projects. 2 left: Bashlr Hafif, Head of the Kabul Makhzand, demonstrates the security camera system during the in spection on 30 January, 2013. Right: Delegation gathers In the office of Hajl Sedlqullah Haqlq for a briefing on the project's activities. Harakat-AICFO Current Projects PrOject name Partner Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (Mar 2010 - Feb 2013) Ministry of Finance, EITI Secretariat and Multi-Stakeholders Group Development of Nationa I Trade Policy (Apr 2011- Feb 2013) Ministry of Commerce and Industry Capacity Building at Afghanistan Institute of Banking and Finance (Dec 2009 - Feb 2013) Da Afghanistan Bank and Afghanistan Institute of Banking and Finance Afghanistan Building Codes (JuI2010-Mar2013) Afghanistan National Standards Association Strengthening Fair Competition Project (Apr2011- Apr 2013) Ministry of Commerce and Industries Strengthening Consumer Protection Project (Apr 2011- Apr 2013) Ministry of Commerce and Industries licensing Reform in Afghanistan (Nov 2010 - May 2013) Ministry of Commerce and Industries and International Finance Cooperation labor Market Survey and Building Standards and Curricula for TVET (Jan 2011- Sep 2013) National skills Development Program, Mot5AMD and Deputy Technical Ministry Afghanistan Summit III ,t - Small Taxpayers Office Reform (Dec 2010 - Dec 2013) Ministry of Finance {Afghanistan Revenue Department) School of Accounting (May 2010 - May 2014) American University of Afghanistan Afghanistan Credit Registry (Jan 2010 - May20l4) Da Afghanistan Bank and International Finance Cooperation Afghanistan Centre for dispute Resolution (Nov 2010 - June 2014) Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce Modernization of Property Deeds and land Records Project (Jut 2012 - Dec 2014) Afghanistan Supreme Court and Afghanistan Land Consultant Organization . • "' - -' Naseem Akbar, CEO of Harakat, speaks at the Afghanistan Summit III in Dubai on 15 January. Delegates from around the world attended the annual event to discuss the investment climate and institutional reforms in Afghanistan . Herat Committed to Investment Climate Reform Barriers to doing business in the West Zone, as well as initiatives that could help tackle these barriers were identified during a full-day workshop in Herat on 21 January. Representatives from Government, parliament, the private sector, civil society, business associations and media organizations participated in the workshop, which was organized by Harakat-AICFO and the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACC!). During a round-table discussion, participants identified barriers to doing business and provided a number of recommendations. "We have seen instances where Government agencies are not cooperative with each other. This hinders their ability to implement investment climate reform recommendations." noted Farhad Majidi, member of the Economic Commission of Parliament. Ideas generated during the workshop will be further assessed by HarakatAICFO, who will provide grant fund to Government, Civil Society and Private Sector organizations to implement investment climate reform projects in line with its 8 Priority Outcome Areas. 3 Tel: +93 (0) 752 044 000 Email: [email protected] Web: www.harakat.af uKaid from !he BritIsh people REfORM is a production of Harakat· AICfO Communications Publisher: Or. Rohuliah Ahmadzai Editorial and layout: Harakat-AICfO Communications Team Printed In Kabul, February 2013