Attachment_J.13_-_Unoff_Tran._of_ToR_of_MABs.pdf

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Independent Directorate for Local Governance

Deputy Policy and Professional Affairs

General Directorate of Municipal Affairs

Terms of Reference for Establishment of Municipal Advisory Boards

Article 1: The Basis

These Terms of Reference (ToR) are enacted pursuant to articles of the Sub-national

Governance Policy (approved by high council of ministers) of the Independent Directorate of

Local Governance (IDLG) and using some articles of Municipal Elections Law (published in the

Official Gazette No 814), facts, and current necessities of sub-national governance to encourage public participation, advice, and good governance in local municipalities until the establishment of municipals electoral assemblies (Article 141 of the Constitution of the Islamic

Republic of Afghanistan).

The Municipal Advisory Board can give advice and make recommendations to Mayor and to the municipal administration. It has no decision-making authority and cannot veto any municipal plans, activities or the budget.

Article 2: Election of new members for Municipal Advisory Board and its conditions

2.1. The number of Municipal Advisory Board is dependent to the number of districts (Nahias) and each district should have two representatives, one from Gozar representatives (Wakils) and one from other residents of the community.

2.2. Municipalities that do not have districts or Gozars, one representative is elected from each big mosque, Takya Khana (Shia Congregation Hall) and other holy places through public gathering or election. After that, seven representatives from among all the elected representatives will be elected through a general, secret, and open election and introduced to the related Municipal Advisory Board.

2.3. Municipalities that have districts and Gozars, but the councils of Gozars and districts have not been established there, a public gathering process or election will be conducted in the mosques and Takya Khanas (Shia Congregation Halls) and with cooperation of municipal, one representative will be elected from each mosque, Takya Khana (Shia Congregation Hall) and other holy places. And after that, one representative from mosque and Takya Khana and one from Gozar’s Wakils, which become two representatives, will be elected in the district level and introduced to Advisory Board officially.

2.4. In some districts that have some Gozars with councils and without councils, one representative from the existing councils and one from each mosque, Takya Khana (Shia

Congregation Hall) and holy places that have not council will be elected. One representative from among all the representatives of mosques, Takya Khana (Shia Congregation Hall) and other places and one representative from Gozars’ representatives (Wakils) which become two representatives will be elected through gathering or election in the district level and introduced to Advisory Board officially.

2.5. In districts and Gozars that have councils, two representatives, one from district council and one from Gozar councils, will be elected through an open, secret, direct and general election and officially introduced to Municipal Advisory Board.

2.6. To represent the various social organizations that have working relations with municipality, one representative will be elected through election or gathering from each social organization such as women, civil society, youth, martyrs, disables, media, private sector, and tradesmen and introduced to related Municipal Advisory Board officially.

2.7. A minimum of 10% of the seats of the Board are allocated to women.

2.8. If women cannot win the seats through gathering or election, 10% of the total seats of the

Advisory Board are allocated for designated women.

2.9. Members of Municipal Advisory Board will be elected for two years, and the election date will be determined based on the consent of the relevant mayor and approval of the General

Director of Municipal Affairs (GDMA) of IDLG.

Article 3: Composition of Municipal Advisory Board

3.1. Terms of Candidacy for Municipal Advisory Board Members

Members to the Municipal Advisory Board shall be men and women who meet the following criteria:

Afghan citizenship, Minimum 20 years of age, Being a resident of the municipal election district for at least two years, Minimum baccalaureate’s degree, No staff member of the municipal administration, No immediate family relationship (husband, wife, mother or father, son, brother, nephew, niece, uncle, and cousins) with mayor or heads of municipal departments, No serving government official and member of provincial development committee, No serving member of police, army, security, judiciary and attorney entities, Have good reputation and will not be under prosecution, and

Committed and deserved.

3.2. Municipal Advisory Board Inauguration

Municipal Advisory Board Inauguration Meetings

The eldest member of the Board chairs the inauguration meeting.

3.3. Resignation, death, sickness or lack of attendance in the meeting for more than two months

When one or some representatives (chairman, deputy chairman, secretary, and members) of

Municipal Advisory Board resign, will be absent for two months in the meeting or pass away, the election is held again under the leadership of Municipal Advisory Board in the related district, Gozar and institution providing that the board term should not expire less than six months.

Article 4

Internal Structure of Municipal Advisory Board

4.1. Board Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Secretary

In the inauguration meeting, at least two thirds of Board members shall be present. The Board members elect a member of the Board as Chairman, one as Deputy Chairman and another as

Secretary. Election is based on simple majority.

If women cannot win the seat of chairman, deputy chairman, and secretary, then second seat of deputy chairman is designated for them. And after understanding and gathering, women member will introduce one woman as the deputy chairman.

The candidates for the positions of chairman, deputy chairman and secretariat shall announce their candidacy one hour earlier the election and each candidate will have five minutes to present their programs.

The chairman, deputy chairman and secretary are reelected for one year after their election.

The Board Chairman has the following responsibilities:

Chairing the Board meetings, Speaking for the Board in public and giving the Board’s suggestions and advices for the people, Representing the Board towards the Mayor and the municipal administration and in other governmental and non-governmental institutions, Determining the dates and setting the agenda of the Board meetings, and

Monitoring and ensuring the implementation of the Board’s decisions and recommendations.

Deputy Chairman has the following responsibilities:

- Supporting the Chairman in his routine tasks,

- Performing the Chairman’s duties in his absence, and

- Being an active member of the Board.

Secretary has the following responsibilities:

Filing records and keeping documentation regularly, Counting and recording the votes of the members of the Board in internal elections, Publicly announcing time and location of Board meetings and disseminating the agendas to the public, Arranging meetings with citizens and the Board or individual Board members, and

Ensuring good communication with relevant government and non-government institutions at Municipal, District and Province level.

If the Board Chairman resigns from or otherwise terminates his post, the Deputy Chairman will be acting Board Chairman for one month. The position of Board Chairman will be newly elected within one month.

If the Deputy Chairman or the Secretary of the Board resign from or otherwise terminate their posts, the Board elects a replacement through the election.

4.2. Inviting External Technical Expertise and Internal Working Committees of the

Advisory Board

The Board members can form internal technical committees on specific themes, depending on the technical expertise of the Board members. All matters related to inviting technical experts and internal technical committees are regulated in the municipalities’ internal policies, which the

Municipal Advisory Board has to follow.

4.3. Pay and Expenditures for Municipal Advisory Board Members

The members of the Board do not receive financial remuneration (including transportation facility, mobile phone top-up cards and etc) for their services and their services are volunteer and honorary until formal elections of Municipal Councils are held.

Municipality also introduces a facilitator to cooperate with Advisory Board.

Article 5: Meetings

Regular Meetings of the Advisory Board

– The Board meets every two weeks, and the meetings last for 3 hours maximum. The municipality should provide space for the Board meetings. Emergency meetings can be held at any time if requested by at least one third of the Board members or the Mayor.

– Meeting agendas are published at least two days in advance. Citizens can make suggestions about agenda items to the Board Secretary.

– Meetings are held if the majority of the Board members are present, otherwise the meeting will be rescheduled. The consent of the two third of Board members is required for the Board to make decisions, proposals and recommendations. When there is an equal vote for and against a suggestion, the Chair shall have the final say.

– By and large, the meetings of the Board are open unless there are security reasons. The reasons and the resolution or approval agreed upon by the two-third of the Board members shall be made public.

– The Board can invite the Mayor or Municipal Officials to attend the meetings of the

Board and to respond to questions.

– The Board Secretary will prepare minutes of the meetings, consultations, resolutions, recommendations, and the attendance sheet of the Advisory Board, and share them with the Mayor and the public.

– The municipality will specify an appropriate space for the Advisory Board members to meet, archive and maintain their documents and files.

– The municipalities have to establish advisory district, sub-district and Gozar councils within three months from the receipt date of this ToR.

– The General Directorate of Municipal Affairs (GDMA) may assign and post their representatives to all municipalities to inaugurate advisory councils.

Article 6: Functions and Responsibilities of Municipal Advisory Board

6.1. Citizen Representation

The Advisory Board has the following responsibilities regarding citizen representation:

– Advocating for the rights of citizens in municipality,

– Promoting a culture of urbanism,

– Encouraging citizen participation in municipal affairs,

– Holding public sessions on public interests,

– Supporting the collection mechanism of citizens’ suggestions and objections to the performance of municipality, and sharing it with the people for improved transparency and accountability, and

– Assisting with citizens in settlement of disputes.

6.2. Addressing Citizen Complaints

The Advisory Board has the following responsibilities regarding citizen complaints:

- Supporting and monitoring the mechanism established by the municipality to hear and address citizen complaints about municipal affairs,

- Referring citizen complaints to the municipality, and

- Assessing, addressing and following up on the complaints.

6.3. Monitoring and Evaluation of Municipal Service Delivery

The Advisory Board has the following responsibilities regarding municipal service delivery:

- Monitoring and evaluation of municipal service delivery, and making recommendations for improvement of services such as solid waste management, cleaning and asphalting streets, roads and sidewalks, recreational parks, toilets, and other infrastructure, cultural and economic activities, as well as recreational places;

- Giving advice on the delivery of municipal services to women, children, youths and vulnerable class (the poor, the disabled, the elderly and orphans);

- Supporting the municipality in implementing urban development and economic plans;

and

- Giving advice and recommendations to prevent land grabbing and construction of informal settlements and illegal buildings.

6.4. Participation and giving advice on Municipal Budget and Development Plans

The Advisory Board has the following responsibilities regarding the municipal budget and development plans:

- Participating in the consultation process of designing and drafting municipal budget and development plan, as well as private partnerships with the municipality;

- Facilitating participatory planning and budget formulation through consultations with citizens; and

- Monitoring implementation of the budget, development plans and contracts, and making recommendations in this regard to the municipality.

If the Board disagrees with the municipal budget, development plan or contract, it will provide its reasons and suggestions in writing to the Mayor prior to signing of contact and final decision, and then to GDMA/IDLG through the Mayor to request a review.

6.5. Participation in the assessment of Municipal income

The Advisory Board has the following responsibilities regarding municipal fees and charges:

- Reviewing and giving advice on the amount of municipal fees and charges and rents, lease and sale of municipal properties, as well as identification of new revenue sources for the municipality;

- Encouraging citizens to pay municipal fees and charges;

- Giving advice to the Mayor on municipal revenue enhancement based on the economic conditions of citizens; and

- Encouraging and promoting the commitment of private sector for economic development programs of the municipality (public-private partnerships).

6.6. Accountability of the Municipal Administration

The Advisory Board has the following oversight functions:

- Reporting municipal activities transparently to the public,

- Giving advice to the municipality regarding activities that need to be reformed,

- Providing reports on the performance of municipality to the governor’s office, and

- In case of any problem and the negligence of municipality and governor’s office to solve that, the Advisory Board shall refer the issue to GDMA/IDLG.

6.7. Advice on legislations

The Advisory Board may propose to the Mayor amendments to bills, terms of reference and regulations applicable to the municipality based on conditions in the city.

Article 7: Relations with GDMA and other Government Entities

The Municipal Advisory Boards provide their quarterly work reports to relevant mayors and

GDMA/IDLG.

GDMA/IDLG can, when necessary, amend these Terms of Reference to improve the performance of the Board.

The Municipal Advisory Board cooperates and builds up relations with other Municipal

Advisory Boards, Provincial Councils and other institutions concerned with municipal matters.

Article 8: Suspension of Municipal Advisory Boards

8.1. State of Emergency

Municipal Advisory Boards can be temporarily suspended when the state of emergency is announced in the country, province or district, and will resume operation after the state of emergency is lifted.

8.2. Violations of the Terms of Reference

If the Municipal Advisory Board violates the Constitution of Afghanistan, other applicable laws, and these Terms of Reference in a way considered to be threatening public security, the

Provincial Governor may suspend the Board.

GDMA/IDLG will investigate the matter and decide on the Board’s reinstatement or new elections.

Article 9: Establishment of Municipal Advisory Boards

All provincial municipalities shall establish Municipal Advisory Boards. District municipalities selected by GDMA of IDLG have to create their own advisory boards.

Article 10: Entry into Force

These Terms of Reference enter into force after signed by the head of IDLG.