Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state. The term is used to contrast with offices at national state level, which are referred to as the central or national government or (where appropriate) federal government. Local government only acts within powers delegated to it by legislation or directives of the higher level of government and each country has some kind of local government which will differ from those of other countries. In primitive societies the lowest level of local government is the village headman or tribal chief. In modern nations, local governments usually have some of the same kind of powers as national governments do. The institutions of local government vary greatly between countries, and even where similar arrangements exist, the terminology often varies. Common names for local government entities include state, province, region, department, county, prefecture, district, city, township, town, Shire, municipality and village. However all these names are often used informally in different countries & local government is the legal part of central government.

Afghanistan is a multi ethnic / cultural and traditional society and daily lives for many are governed by customary practices, some of which are in contradiction with the Islamic law. Poverty, literacy, and over 30 years of conflict have exasperated the situation. In urban areas social classes are divided by profession, economic status and political influence. Most of the people hold random jobs and live without social security or amenities. In rural areas big landowners, religious leaders, former military commanders, and the politically elite form the prominent social class while the majority of the people are engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry and small rural industries. Despite this, there is a growing middle class in the country mostly made up of professional individuals such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, journalists, and small businessmen after the fall of the Taliban. Islamic beliefs have a practical impact on the lives of the people and have created a unified way of living founded on social conservatism in parts of the country. Relations between men and women are dictated by laws and regulations based on Sharia and social customs.

The cultural and historical setting of local governance institutions is distinct - among the diverse tribe / ethnic groups. The Afghan population is composed of many distinct ethnic groups certain elements of their way of life are much the same in the rural villages. In general a Semi-feudal structure exists in most of rural villages. Each village had three sources of authority within it: the Malik (village headman), the Mirab (the master of the water distribution), and the Mullah (teacher of Islamic laws). Commonly a Khan (large landowner) controls the whole village by assuming the role of both Malik and Mirab. In-addition, traditional Afghan custom imposes limits on women’s activities outside their home. Traditional structures of local government as informal community structures were proved more robust, and indeed used to serve the interest of people before war (1978). With expansion of local warlords and Taliban forces in 1980s and 90s local governance structures emerged from a web of competing forces at the village and district levels. Afghan villages have a ‘traditional’ institutional framework for voluntary labor mobilization (ashar) to create or maintain joint assets. Traditional’ non-formal water user associations headed by 'water masters’ (Mirabs) exist throughout Afghanistan undertake water distribution and maintenance of local irrigation systems. Some have been collapsed as a result of 30 year conflict and population displacement.

The political context of Afghanistan has changed after the establishment of Islamic Republic Government and the approval of the new constitution in 2004. The Constitution has reiterated the states obligation in creating a prosperous and progressive society based on social justice, protection of human dignity and rights, realization of democracy, ensuring national unity and equality among all ethnic groups and tribes and providing balanced development in all areas of the country (Article # 6). Accordingly it has laid down the foundation of the fundamental government structures at national, provincial and district level. Article 140 of the Constitution of Afghanistan stipulates that “In order to organize activities involving people and provide them with the opportunity to actively participate in the local administration, councils are set up in districts and villages in accordance with the provisions of the law. Members of these councils are elected by the local people through free, general, secret and direct elections for a period of three years”.

Presently the public administrative system of Afghanistan is based in central and local administrative units. The central administration is divided into a number of administrative units headed by minister. The local administrative unit is a province, district and village. The government while preserving the centralism, delegates certain authorities to local administration units for the purpose of expediting and promoting economic, social and cultural affairs, and increasing the participation of people in the development of the nation (Article 136-137, Afghanistan Constitution).

Since a new Constitution has already been adopted in Afghanistan, it is required to develop a suitable and manageable institutional framework at the local level. Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) through Comprehensive Rural Development (CRD) approach aims to establish a productive, participatory partnership between the government and the people it serves. Whilst MRRD posses a number of critical national programs in the areas of local governance, social capital development and information gathering, it is also the catalyst for Afghanistan Institute of Rural Development (AIRD), which has been mandated as the MRRD vehicle for mainstreaming local governance and capacity building as well as the lead body in research on issues surrounding rural development. AIRD is intended to facilitate better understanding of Comprehensive Rural Development for all possible clients and supporting structure of local governance at centre and sub national level to promote synergy and coordination among local self governance institutions efforts on development issues through different approaches to training (informal short, medium and long term training).

The MRRD is mandated to strengthening both formal sub-national governance structures and informal community institutions. Communities will be empowered to articulate and address their own needs and priorities. This will enable the Government to support agriculture and rural development in an integrated, people-focused, inclusive, gender responsive and participatory manner. Where ever possible, ministries and agencies will work with the community Development Councils (CDCs) and District Development Assembly (DDAs) as the entry points for development program at the local level.

Between 2004 and 2006, the MRRD developed an approach for greater community participation in the design and implementation of development projects through National Solidarity Program (NSP) and National Area-Based Development Program (NABDP). This approach has resulted in the creation of Community Development Council (CDCs) and District Development Assemblies (DDAs) on village and district levels respectively. The CDCs and DDA formulates Community and District Development Plans based on the needs and ambitions of the local people. The establishment of CDCs and DDAs has provided a platform where communities can express their needs and ambitions, formulate development plans for their communities and districts, and share such plans with the government and other development actors. There are also other institutions such as health and education councils, agriculture cooperatives etc that are functioning in the local levels.

• Afghanistan has a three-tiered local governance system. They function in more than 38000 villages, 364 districts and 34 provinces. The village is the smallest local governance unit, followed by district and the province. There is no approved or agreed criteria in Afghanistan to define village and district or rural and urban areas in context of Afghanistan. The ministry of Interior considers urban to be those places where the administrative structures include a municipality, regardless of their population size. In this case all provincial capitals in Afghanistan are urban areas, with the exception of two provinces (Panjshir and Nuristan) as well as the capitals of some large districts.

• After the establishment of Islamic Government in Afghanistan in 2003, a lot of money is being thrown at the establishment of development and political local governance institutions without a clear idea to what extent these institutions will play a prominent role in local governance system according to Afghanistan constitution. Recently the Government of Afghanistan has developed sub national local governance policy to provide a framework for sub-national governance. According to this policy the government will establish village, district and provincial councils as formal local governance Institutions in the next three years. Currently the informal local governance institutions CDCs and DDAs are informal institutions and are supposed to interlink and consult on Rural Development Process at the village and District level as stipulated in the respective “CDCs by Law-1385 and DDA by Law-1386. The current debate in Afghanistan is to whether transform the newly established institutions CDCs and DDAs as Village and District Council respectively based on sub-national governance policy and or to make the CDCs and DDAs as civil society organizations.

• The CDCs and DDAs are intended to be the engines of development at the village and district levels and the Community /district development plans include many activities that fall beyond the mandate of MRRD. If these institutions are to have ongoing roles, it is essential that they are properly utilized by other ministries and service providers in their activities aimed at the rural population. For the role of the CDCs and DDAs to be expanded to other ministries, it is necessary to actively promote the potential offered by these institutions as planning, decision making and service delivery instruments across the board. Lack of synergy and poor coordination exists for planning and implementation of development projects among all district based local governance institutions in Afghanistan.

Currently there are two type local governance structures or decision making powers in rural Afghanistan.

1. The first category is the traditional local institutions (Shura) such as tribal Shura (council), religious leaders (mullahs) in which the members are mainly male who are religious competence having economic and social powers and created strong contact with district and provincial authorities. The current traditional local governance structure involves returning landlords, the affiliates of existing warlords, mullahs and elders. Their main task is problem solving and conflict resolution and has been functioning in ad-hoc basis and reacts when an incident takes place. They have arbitrary role and with limited access to government institutions.

2. The second category is the newly established local governance institutions (such as CDCs and DDAs established through MRRD’s national programs, health institutions established through Community Based Health Care program of Ministry of Public Health, Education Shuras, formed by Ministry of Education and others institutions after 2003. The purpose of these local governance institutions is to involve the community in planning, implementation, monitoring and maintenance of developing projects. These institutions have a development vision, representing whole communities, have male and female members and have access to government and non government agencies. Their role is to build consensus among community members. The central sustainability goal of the government is therefore to ensure the continuity of the CDCs and DDAs as a permanent part of the governance system and for them to evolve to become the primary service delivery instrument for rural development.

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