The Next Generation

My team has done quite a bit since coming here that I can look back on with pride: Increased Martyr pay, helped them learn to balance their books, get decent pay actually into the pockets of the Police, and put funding in place to repair damaged facilities.  But those will be forgotten when I leave here.  Of the significant sums we have spent in this place, probably one of the most enduring legacies will likely be one of the most inexpensive.  This year, someone had the novel idea of selectively populating the Ministry with young, smart college educated functionaries to help bring some procurement and fiscal savvy and discipline to their processes.  These “Subject Matter Experts” are not Civil Servants, having little if any protection other than a letter from the Minister and placed with a one year contract.  But if they are good, then maybe after a few years get placed in civil service.   Did you know there are 14,000 Indian-trained college graduates in Afghanistan, with 13,000 more on the way? 

 We started with 50 or so of these SMEs split between Kabul and the Provinces in the hopes that they would help the Police get their books and procurement packages in order, tracking the budget and the like.  It was a calculated risk.  If these young kids were seen as tools of the coalition, then they would be shut out by those they were sent to help, or worse yet, their lives would be in danger.   Fortunately, the program has taken off and these young folk are coming into their own and networking with each other on how best to do their job.  The program is seen as one of the most transparent around here as we do the testing, interviewing, hiring and paying of their salaries.  This year we plan to hire 75 and hopefully 400 more before we leave.  We interview about a dozen every few days who travel hours and days from the provinces to our camp.  Generals are now sending me emails asking me to hire their relatives, but we all resist telling them that we dont bypass the process.  The young ones seem to know about this and have thanked us for standing our ground.   Of all the tasks I have had so far, interviewing bright, young Afghans, hungry for jobs in their own country has been the most rewarding.  The seeds of the next generation have been planted.