Private Sector Development
“The legal commercial infrastructure has been put in place for a market oriented economy”
My strategic objective is to enable the private sector to lead Afghanistan’s development within a competitive market-based economy in which the Government is the policy maker and regulator of the economy, not its competitor.
Privatization and corporatization of state owned enterprises is an on-going program that is on schedule. It represents an important step in expanding the scope for private sector growth and development. These steps will: (i) improve general levels of efficiency in the economy; (ii) assist in eliminating corruption; (iii) encourage better resource allocation, and (iv) generate increased government revenues.
An open trade policy will facilitate a competitive environment for private sector development, avoid the high costs incurred with protectionist policies and facilitate Afghanistan becoming better integrated as a “trading hub” in the region.
A second major component of my private sector development strategy is the vigorously promotion and encouragement of private sector investment by creating investor friendly regulatory frameworks for private sector operations in the development of natural resources and infrastructure.
Energy
“Electricity capacity has almost tripled compared to 2002”
To expand availability at a price that covers cost, and to do so in the most cost effective manner lays at the center of my mission.
My vision for the energy sector is that it provides reliable, affordable energy increasingly based on market-based private investment and public sector oversight. For that purpose, I have put major effort to set up a transparent regulatory framework and a pricing system designed to encourage private sector investment. A new market-oriented paradigm, significant institutional changes and considerable capacity development will be established under guidance from the Inter-Ministerial Commission for Energy (ICE).
As the energy line ministries shift from production-based institutions to policy making regulatory agencies, staff capacity and in-house functions will be reoriented to market practices. My Government will assess its sector assets and establish a plan for liquidation, restructuring and commercialization or sale. In particular the Government will provide more support for the corporatization and commercialization of national power operations.
Transport
“Over 12,000 kilometers of roads have been rehabilitated, improved, or built. This includes the ring road system, national highways, provincial roads and rural roads.”
“Afghan owned and operated airlines have entered the aviation sector and established air links throughout the region and the world.”
“A key bridge has opened up direct road links to Tajikistan and greatly reduced transportation time to Urumqi in China, one of the fastest growing trade hubs in the world.”
“Kabul International Airport has been expanded and extensively rehabilitated. Regional airports in all major urban areas and local airports have been reconstructed and reopened.”
My goal for the transport sector is to have a safe, integrated transportation network that ensures connectivity and that enables low-cost and reliable movement of people and goods domestically as well as to and from foreign destinations.
This includes: (i) completion of a fully upgraded and maintained ring road and connector roads to neighboring countries; (ii) improving 5,334 km of secondary (national and provincial) roads, and (iii) improving and building 6,290 km of rural access roads as a key to increasing rural livelihoods and reducing poverty and vulnerability in rural areas.
Kabul International Airport and Herat Airport will achieve full International Civil Aviation Organization compliance; Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad and Kandahar will be upgraded with runway repairs, air navigation, fire and rescue and communications equipment; seven other domestic airports will be upgraded to facilitate domestic air transportation; and air transport services and costs will be increasingly competitive with international market standards and rates.
To build upon the success of my infrastructure plan, I will put in considerable effort to achieve shorter transit times within Afghanistan by means of cooperative border management and other multilateral or bilateral trade and transit agreements.
Information and Communication Technologies
In 2002, Afghanistan had fewer than 15,000 functioning telephone lines for a population of approximately 25 million, one of the lowest telephone penetration rates in the world. My Government, with donor assistance, adopted major policy reforms for the ICT sector, moving rapidly to establish the legal framework and regulatory arrangements to promote private sector investment, which quickly resulted in a competitive environment and the rapid growth of mobile phone use from almost nothing to a present subscriber base of over six million.
My objective is to build upon that success and expand access to mobile phone service to 80 percent of the country and greatly increase access and use of the Internet by consumers, the private sector and the Government.
Urban Development
“A rapid urbanization process has seen the urban population increase to almost a quarter of the total population. Despite the pressures of rapid urbanization, two million urban residents (31 percent of the total urban population) have benefited from investments in water supply; investment in sanitation in major cities between 2002 and 2007 has helped 12 percent of the population.”
With nearly a quarter of Afghanistan’s population living in urban areas, my vision for urban development is to greatly improve the management of urban areas through devolution of authority and responsibilities to municipalities in a way that improves urban infrastructure and services, reduces urban poverty, allows urban residents to live safe, healthy and productive lives and encourages cities to grow and prosper.
My urban development strategy is designed to improve urban governance through: (i) decentralization, participatory processes, market-based approaches, and improved regulations; (ii) capacity building at all levels of urban governance; (iii) establishing a clear national land policy, including urban informal settlement policy; (iv) improved revenue generation in cities through direct cost recovery for and economic pricing of urban services, property-based taxes, and use of computer systems; (v) expanding urban upgrading pilots, including phased regularization of informal settlements, and programs to meet the immediate housing, tenure security and service needs of the poor and vulnerable; (vi) increasing the supply of serviced land through development of new urban areas, especially within the cities, to meet the present and future housing needs of the people; (vii) improving city-wide basic infrastructure and services, in particular water supply, sanitation, roads and green areas; and (viii) rehabilitation of urban heritage facilities and sites. |
|
