Afganistan Infrastructure

Pro



1. Our time and money will be put to good use


At the event today, the United States also signed a Statement of Collaboration on Power Transmission, Expansion and Connectivity with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy and Water, and DABS, the national utility company to implement U.S. Government-funded Power Transmission Expansion and Connectivity Program (PTEC). This is a $1.2 billion four year on-budget program designed to modernize Afghanistan’s generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructures.
( Us aid 2011 )



In the last decade, Afghanistan has made some dramatic development achievements. Access to basic health services has rocketed from nine percent to 64 percent. Under the Taliban, only 900,000 boys and almost no girls were enrolled in schools, while today, more than seven million children are enrolled in schools, 35 percent of whom are girls. Afghanistan has averaged 10 percent per year economic growth, is using a single, stable currency, and government revenues have grown to $1.65 billion, with a 400 percent increase in customs revenues since 2006 alone. With GDP per capita doubling since 2002, some five million people have been lifted out of extreme poverty. In 2002, Afghan government institutions were barely functional. Most ministries did not have telecommunications, electricity, or even basic office supplies like pens or paper. Today, several ministries, like the Ministry of Public Health, which is led by a female doctor (who would not have been allowed to work, let alone lead, under the Taliban), are heading the development charge. Much of this progress has been possible due to the generous support of American taxpayers.

( Foreign Policy 2011)



argument: Aid to Afghanistan has work before why not now









2. Further stabilize the Afghan government


Economic and social services such as banking, retail, health, education cannot function
effectively without a modern and efficient infrastructure system. Critical requirements such as
defense and security must be supported by a sound and robust infrastructure. Information sharing,
social mobility, individual choice and consequently, the quality of life of individuals depends on a
responsive and efficient infrastructure system.
Thus, Africa cannot hope to develop and take its rightful place in the global economy without
a sound, modern and efficient infrastructure system. Further, as globalization and liberalization
take root, it will be increasingly difficult for Africa to remain competitive if its infrastructure systems
continue to be sub-standard and to under perform. Africa’s competitiveness in a global economy
requires that Africa’s infrastructure is overhauled and that African countries take concerted measures,
both individually and collectively, to modernize and transform the Continent’s infrastructure systems.
It is important to recognize that transportation systems and related infrastructure in Africa were
conceived and constructed to meet the economic needs of the colonial powers and were not
intended to support balanced economic development to meet the needs and aspirations of African
countries. This has given rise to what has often been termed, “Line of rail” economies.

( Africa Development Bank 2000)









3. With the help of government defections, the Taliban emerged as a force in Afghan politics in 1994 in the midst of a civil war between forces in northern and southern Afghanistan. They gained an initial territorial foothold in the southern city of Kandahar, and over the next two years expanded their influence through a mixture of force, negotiation, and payoffs. In 1996, the Taliban captured capital Kabul and took control of the national government.

Taliban rule was characterized by a strict form of Islamic law, requiring women to wear head-to-toe veils, banning television, and jailing men whose beards were deemed too short. One act in particular, the destruction of the giant Buddha statues in Bamiyan, seemed to symbolize the intolerance of the regime. The feared Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice authorized the use of force to uphold bans on un-Islamic activities.

Before its ouster by U.S.-led forces in 2001, the Taliban controlled some 90 percent of Afghanistan's territory, although it was never officially recognized by the United Nations. After its toppling, the Taliban has proved resilient. In June 2011, the International Crisis Group reported that the Taliban had expanded (PDF) far beyond its stronghold in the south and southeast to central-eastern provinces. "Insurgent leaders have achieved momentum in the central-eastern provinces by employing a strategy that combines the installation of shadow governments, intimidation, and the co-opting of government officials," it noted.

( Council of Foreign relations 2011)