Donors pledge $16b for Afghanistan

Donor nations on Sunday pledged $16 billion for Afghanistan to prevent the country from sliding back into turmoil when foreign combat troops depart, but called on Kabul to implement reforms to fight graft.
A statement at the closing of a conference in Tokyo confirmed donors would stump up $16 billion in civilian aid through 2015, with several pre-conditions including a clampdown on corruption.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai was in the Japanese capital along with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for talks focused on the so-called “transformation decade” after the NATO drawdown.
“(The agreement) established a renewed, stronger foundation for partnership to support sustainable growth and development of Afghanistan throughout the transformation decade”, the statement said. Sunday’s conference hosted representatives from about 80 nations and international organisations in a gathering aimed at adopting the “Tokyo Declaration”, pledging support and cash for the turmoil-wracked nation. The deal is meant to plug the gap between what Kabul gets from its barely-functioning economy and what it needs to develop into a stable country.
Afghanistan covers only a third of the $6 billion it spends each year, not counting security costs, and has for a long time been heavily dependent on aid. There are fears that once the US and its allies no longer have to worry about their soldiers dying in Afghanistan after the 2014 pullout, the country could be left to drift into the hands of drug lords and extremists.
The deal calls for a monitoring mechanism, and follow-up ministerial meetings every two years, to ensure Afghanistan was on the right track with respect to holding democratic elections, fighting corruption and promoting human rights. The statement added that participants “renewed their firm determination to combat terrorism and extremism in all their forms and never to allow Afghanistan to become a sanctuary for international terrorism again”.
Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul said Kabul would make good on its commitments. “The Afghan government will deliver,” he told a news briefing.
“We are talking about the future. We are not talking about the past. And there is no choice. That is the duty that the Afghan government will deliver.”

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said the deal sent the “strategic message that Afghanistan can continue to develop sustainability and in a self-reliant way in a post 2014 period”.
Earlier on Sunday, UN chief Ban said Afghanistan had made headway in security and development but progress remained fragile. “Failure to invest in governance, justice, human rights, employment and social development could negate investment and sacrifices that have been made over the last 10 years,” he told the gathering.
Karzai acknowledged security remained a major problem.
“Afghanistan continues to face grave risks from common threats, not only terrorism and extremism. The peace and reconciliation process is of particular urgency at the present time,” he told the meeting.
“(The) responsibility to make Afghanistan peaceful and self-reliant is primarily our own as Afghans. We will remain steadfast in our commitment in this historic partnership.” The international donor community has attached a series of conditions to the $16 billion in aid.
Here is a breakdown of the main points related to democracy, human rights, and governance outlined in the agreement adopted in Tokyo.
Representative democracy and fair elections: Afghanistan must hold credible and transparent elections in 2014 and 2015, with a timetable of dates for polls to be published early next year.
Governance, rule of law and human rights: Afghanistan must improve citizens’ access to justice, especially for women, respect human rights and allow the country’s Independent Human Rights Commission to do its work. The country must strengthen its fight against corruption with measures such as requiring senior officials to make public their income annually.
Fiscal transparency and banking: Afghanistan must improve the management of public funds and ensure transparency while boosting supervision of its banking sector.
It must adopt international recommendations on ways to fight money laundering and terrorist financing.
National revenues and local government budgets:Afghanistan must improve its tax collection, raising the ratio of tax revenue as a portion of gross domestic product to 15 percent by 2016 and 19 percent by 2025, from 11 percent now.
Growth and sustainable development: Afghanistan must promote private-sector development and allocate sufficient resources to promote health, gender equality, education and food security.