On November 17, Lorenzo Delesgues, founder and co-director of Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) spoke at the Open Society Institute in New York about citizens' social accountability efforts in Afghanistan. IWA, founded in 2005, has mobilized citizens in Afghan communities to monitor public projects in their villages and cities, and to create reports, much like citizens' report cards, documenting issues in government expenditures for schools and other public buildings.
"Having the monitoring there helps the project get closer to what they were supposed to deliver," said Delesgues. He recalled the devastation brought by substandard construction in one village, where a storm tore off a roof, killing several children. After the tragedy, he said, "The villagers there came to observe the people doing the monitoring in a nearby village and asked what could they do [to enforce safety standards], because they realized there was a real problem."
The citizens' monitoring efforts have had concrete results, forcing improvements in nearly half of the 65 projects reviewed. The improvements have included changes in the construction materials for a public building, canceling the opening of a poorly-built school, and demanding the reconstruction of a bridge in Parwan Province—a bridge since renamed "Integrity Watch."
IWA has recently begun looking at Afghanistan's extractive industries, a major concern given the country's large reserves of mineral and hydrocarbon resources. IWA is obtaining mining contracts to evaluate the requirements for industry to provide for social services infrastructure and meet environmental standards. Delesgues said the project aims to create a board with industry representatives, community members and government officials to discuss the financial, social and environmental impacts of mining.
"The communities are the key recipients [of potential benefits from extractive revenues], and they need to be involved," said Delesgues. "At the moment a lot of the aid and reconstruction in Afghanistan has been done without the people. A lot of NGOs come and talk with head of the village and that's it. You want the people, as many as possible, to be involved in making sure that things are right."
For investors, there are benefits to involving community members. "To have the communities involved would certainly diminish their risk of conflict and really reduce potential problems," he said.
Afghanistan's resource wealth may not have significant economic impact for many years. In the meantime, IWA sees a crucial window for reforms. "During these years you will have to set up all these managing and monitoring structures to make sure that the few minerals that are extracted will be done correctly and will bring revenues to the state and will create a condition that will attract more investments," said Delesgues.
At the end of December, IWA will launch a website tailored to the citizen monitors, to help them organize monitoring projects and share information. It will serve as a database to centralize reports and documentation, including photographs and videos, from monitors.
Integrity Watch's dependence on volunteer work raises questions about sustainability, and how much volunteerism a community can support. Delesgues acknowledged the issue but says Integrity Watch has seen its work spread village to village:
"In many places where we've done the monitoring, after one project is finished, and a new project comes, the villagers start to do the monitoring again. In nearby villages, there is interaction and the word is being spread."
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