Improving the Sub-national government has always been a challenge for the central government and its international backers. Decades of war and conflict destructed the bridge between the central government and government at provincial and district levels. Despite much effort and spending of millions of dollars by the international community, local governance in Afghanistan remains poor due to existence of insecurity and corruption and the fact that most of the authority is centralized.

Local government has a double feature: on one hand it copes with the local affairs for people’s satisfaction and law pursuant; on the other hand it is a representative of the central government that must implement the central government policies, plans and programs at local level. In Afghanistan, however, provincial and district governors – who are main authorities representing the central government – are appointed by the President, albeit they should be elected by the people through holding proper elections. At current, the authorities at local level do not pay any significant attention to the public interests and are busy in promoting their own personal activities. Same is the case with the courts operating at sub-national level.

Afghanistan is one of the countries that have experienced many years of war, destruction, lack of good governance and civil service. Thus, creating an experienced bureaucratic system in Afghanistan is essential. Making the local government functional, accountable and transparent can reduce problems of central government and help people to participate in the social, economic and political activities. Prevailing problems at provincial and district levels have made grounds for Taliban and other insurgents/informal groups to operate openly and decide on public matters.

As Afghanistan nears 2014 by the end of which most of the US-led troops will be withdrawn, transferring more power to local administration and making them accountable to the public can play a very crucial role in long-term peace and stability in the country. Additionally, the provincial and district governors and mayors should be appointed by the people through a democratic process which is conducting free, fair and transparent election.

Bolstering sub-national governance and expanding the writ of Afghan government at provincial and district level can serve as an important process to build the confidence of common Afghan over the government. People’s confidence is crucial for getting Afghanistan out of the current challenges it is facing.