Overview

Afghan municipalities have long suffered from underinvestment, limited support, low revenues and weak institutional capacity.  USAID’s RAMP UP North project assists municipalities to address these challenges and create effective, responsive, democratic, transparent and accountable governance in northern Afghanistan.  RAMP UP North’s geographic focus includes the main provincial municipalities of Mazar-e-Sharif (Balkh Province), Faizabad (Badakshan Province), Pul-e-Khumri (Baghlan Province), Maymana (Faryab Province), Sheberghan (Jawzjan Province), Kunduz (Kunduz Province), Aybak (Samangan Province), Sar-e-Pul (Sar-e-Pul Province), and Taloqan (Takhar Province).  RAMP UP North helps municipalities deliver improved and demand-driven citizen-driven priorities.  The program also seeks to increase community trust and confidence in municipal government.  The overarching goals of the program are to: (1) increase the capacity of Afghan Government municipal officials; (2) improve the delivery of municipal services to citizens in target municipalities; and (3) increase municipal capacity to enable, support, and sustain economic growth.  Accomplishing these goals will increase citizen satisfaction with, trust in, and support for municipal government.  Municipal officials will lead all RAMP UP North programming, utilizing participatory planning processes and overseeing effective implementation.

Activities

• Build Municipal Capacity: Enhance the capacity of municipal officials, managers, and technicians to perform their core responsibilities in meeting the needs of citizens.  Provide capacity building through functional training related to the Sustainable Service Delivery Improvement projects, followed by regional-level workshops, technical assistance, and on-the-job training.
• Support Responsive, Effective, and Visible Service Delivery: Facilitate municipal delivery of visible, tangible, and desirable services to citizens in the form of Service Delivery Improvement Projects (SDIPs).  RAMP UP North builds capacity with a learning-by-doing approach, solidifying the municipality’s capacity to sustainably deliver services to citizens in the long-term.  The projects will be chosen by the community, executed by the municipality, monitored by both, and sustained by expanded municipal revenues. 
• Improve Municipal Economic Development and Revenue Generation: Foster local economic development and strengthen revenue generation, thereby improving the ability of municipalities to finance public services to citizens and associated operating costs.

Accomplishments

• Implemented 18 municipal infrastructure projects in cooperation with local communities and municipal governments.  An additional nine sub-projects are underway (three in each municipality).
• Created seven local mechanisms help citizens engage their sub-national government.
• Trained 845 individuals on ways to strengthen local government and the role of decentralized government.
• Trained 407 government officials on anticorruption efforts.
• Conducted 113 meetings between community councils and government entities.
• 4,038 citizens used local mechanisms to engage their sub-national governments.
• Issued 7,280 business licenses in 5 municipalities, which represents a 66.6 percent increase over the previous year.
• Increased municipal revenue by 37.6 percent over the previous year.
• Conducted budget hearings and help prepare budgets for nine municipalities.