OVERVIEW

The Assistance to Legislative Bodies of Afghanistan (ALBA) project supported the development of the Afghan Parliament as a strong, effective and independent legislative institution. The United States Agency for International Development has assisted Afghanistan’s current National Assembly since its inception and continued to provide training to the members in both houses, political staff, administrative and leadership offices. ALBA focused on committees as the driving engine for the Parliament. In addition to institutionalizing parliamentary procedures and development, ALBA activities improved Parliament’s constituency outreach efforts, communications, and coordination at the sub-national level.

ACTIVITIES

• Strengthened the legislative process within both houses of Parliament through training and mentoring on legislation drafting and analysis
• Provided issue-based, hands-on training to enable parliamentary staff to conduct budget analysis and legislative research
• Improved the capacity of the Parliament to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch through the Commission Support Units (CSU) for all Upper House legislative commissions
• CSUs were designed to assist in planning, research, and analysis and for preparing bill summaries, proposed amendments, and a final commission report.
• Enhanced outreach efforts of the Parliament to constituents and the public through public forums and transparent commission meetings
• Increased institutional development of the Parliament with a major focus on building strong legislative commissions to actively review legislation and conduct policy oversight

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Strengthened the Parliamentary Anti-corruption Caucus’s ability to gather information from civil society and government, oversee government spending, and hold governmental offices accountable for activity and mandate achievement
• Launched two initial commission support units within the Parliament, which improved implementation and oversight of legislation concerning Banking and Tax Management Law and to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism
• Supported the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to facilitate the cabinet confirmation process after the establishment of the National Unity Government
• Supported the passage of 95 laws and amendments
• Advised on 235 Executive Oversight Actions (questionings, hearings, reports)
• Sponsored 61 Provincial Oversight Trips with commissions from both houses
• Placed 229 (72 female and 157 male) Top Graduates in Parliament through the ALBA Fellowship Program; 28 of them have been employed in the public and private sectors or by international NGOs
• Conducted 232 trainings of 6,995(4,909 men and 2,086 women) Secretariat and MOPA staff, advisors and ALBA Fellows.
• Sponsored 37 public forums attracting over 7,140 participants to encourage parliamentarians and the public to interact
• Published 263 publications for Parliament, including Ayan Magazine, Official Gazette, Budget Oversight Bulleting, and Legislative Bulletin in three languages
• Conducted 18 conferences involving Parliament, civil society, provincial governors, and other stakeholders to improve legislative outreach and public engagement