Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund: The World Bank Needs to Improve How it Monitors Implementation, Shares Information, and Determines the Impact of Donor Contributions
Abstract
Since its establishment in May 2002, the multi-donor Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) has been one of the largest sources of funding to Afghan government operations outside the security sector. The ARTF, administered by the World Bank, is a partnership between 34 donors and the Afghan government to improve the effectiveness of the reconstruction effort. Donors have paid over $10 billion into the ARTF to provide direct assistance to the government. The United States, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is the largest contributor to the ARTF, having contributed over $3 billion as of December 2017. ARTF funds are allocated between two primarywindows that have separate, distinct priorities: the Investment Window (IW) and the Recurrent Cost Window (RCW). The IW funds development projects that the Afghan government implements. The RCW reimburses the Afghan government for predictable, recurring, non-security-related Afghan government expenses such as non-uniformed government employee and teacher salaries and government operations and maintenance costs. The World Bank uses two third-party monitorsthe Monitoring Agent and Supervisory Agentto monitor the RCW and IW respectively. SIGAR issued its first audit report on the ARTF in July 2011. SIGAR found that while the World Bank and the Afghan government had established several mechanisms to independently monitor and account for ARTF funds, additional opportunities existed for strengthening these mechanisms and for enhancing oversight of ARTF funds.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1139411
Entities
People
- Aimee Falkum
- Chelsea Cowan
- Eugene Gray
- Mable Stanford
Organizations
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction