Afghan President Launches Effort to Overhaul Local Government - Ashraf Ghani Fires Officials in Kunduz Province, Installs Governor With More Sway

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan—President Ashraf Ghani has found a laboratory for his sweeping effort to overhaul Afghanistan’s local governments in the northern province of Kunduz, which is beset by an emboldened Taliban insurgency, a thriving drug trade and prowling militias.

Since Mr. Ghani came to office three months ago, his fragile coalition government hasn’t been able to agree on the formation of a cabinet. But the infighting in Kabul hasn’t stopped the new administration from a policy experiment aimed at creating clearer lines of responsibility for security in Afghanistan’s provinces—starting with Kunduz.

The Afghan president recently fired all top officials in this province on the border with Tajikistan, replacing them with a handpicked team. On his first day in the job as the newly appointed governor, Mohammad Omer Safi acknowledged he faced a challenging task.

“Kunduz is highly insecure right now,” said Mr. Safi, wearing a striped silk cape, a sign of officialdom in Afghanistan. “The government has no control in most places.”

“Disarming the militias should be the top priority for the new government in Kunduz,“ said a tribal elder in Kunduz city who didn’t want to be named. “It’s because of them that people join the Taliban.”

Afghan governors can be hired and fired at will by the president. In the past, they didn’t have a formal say on the appointment of top provincial security officials, who report to their respective departments in Kabul.

“The governor is the representative of the state and of the president; he is the chief commander of the province—that’s the message,” said Matin Bek, the acting head of the central government’s department of local administration.

Officials say the Afghan president wants to roll out the model in several other provinces across Afghanistan: Badghis, Helmand, Ghazni and Nangarhar.

“Influential leaders in Kunduz are being supported by important people in Kabul—if we want to take disciplinary actions against corrupt people, they complain,” said Mr. Safi. “I received some calls from influential elders from Kabul, but I don’t care.”  Read More ay WSJ

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