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 kbar@harakat.af
"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 info@harakat.af
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.
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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.
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Tel: +93 (0) 752 044 000
Email: info@harakat.af
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