Afghanistan: The Unreported News in Canada

The ISAF mission in Afghanistan to which Canada and it's NATO allies are currently committed is a complex mission fraught with frustration, danger and yes, loss of life. Pictures of flag-draped coffins, exploded vehicles and national and international casualties pepper our daily print and video media.

Afghanistan is a nation hampered by decades of strife, attempting to construct a government and all it's related institutions from scratch, while at the same time continuing the efforts at securing their borders and applying the rule of law throughout the country.

There will be successes and failures. Our job is to help ensure that the successes outnumber the failures.

Listening to the various partisan rhetoric and ongoing scandals in local, Provincial and National legislative bodies in Canada and other institutions throughout the world, what would lead people to believe that Afghanistan is going to develop our supposedly perfect "western" governance model in a timely enough manner to suit a parade of critics?

In our hyperactive world of 24 hour news and fast food to go, we expect our solutions like our news or food - fast, easy and cheap.

Building democracy and it's related institutions in Afghanistan will fall into none of those categories.

The World Bank's director for Afghanistan, Alastair McKechnie
McKechnie: Well, firstly, the Afghan economy has already achieved double-digit economic growth. It's been the fastest-growing economy in South Asia, if you look at the last five years. There's been some year-to-year fluctuation, particularly caused by agriculture as rainfall varies from year to year. But what these high rates of growth mean is that there is increasing prosperity, there is a recovery of the economy, recovery of normal business activity. And for those of us who have been visiting Afghanistan for the past five years, the differences between early 2002 and today are quite staggering -- whether it's the number of shops that are trading, whether it's the condition of buildings that have been rehabilitated, whether it's the capacity of government to implement programs, [or] whether it's the amount of traffic on the road, which to some extent is a negative aspect as well. All of these things indicate that this is an economy that's moving.

Growing pains:
AFGHANISTAN: Gov't questions effectiveness of foreign aid billions
Some Afghan officials challenge the current criticism of weak capacity in state bodies, saying it is an ineffective metaphor. "Only in the last three months," said Ehsan Zia, Afghanistan's Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), "we have lost eight professional staff all of whom have been absorbed by international organisations offering attractive salaries." "Donors and international organisations buy capacity in our modest human resource market at the cost of public institutions," she added.

Afghanistan Trying To Curb News Media

Aqa Fazil Sancharaki -- director of the Afghanistan National Journalists' Union, which has been fighting the amendments -- said he was not optimistic. He said one of his main concerns is the possible establishment of a media commission under strong government control.

"The government does not want to see and hear about its corruption and weaknesses on the media," said Shukria Barakzai, a member of Parliament and a former journalist.