RoadstoSelfSuffic ciency: AnIRDR Responset totheWallStreetJo ournal

IRDd disagreeswith hDionNissen nbaumsconc clusionsabout ttheUSAIDS StrategicProv vincialRoadsProgram(SPR R)in Afghanistan.Thisambitiousprogram,uniqu ueinitsscale, ,scope,andm methodology y,aimedtodo omuchmorethan rehabilitatevitalr ruralroads.It tsoughttobu uildlocalcapa acity,createe economicopp portunities,a andsupportth he coun nterinsurgencyandstabilizationobjectiv vesoftheUSandAfghang governments s. SPRu undertookun nprecedented dcommunityoutreach,wh hichwasesse ntialtoachie evementofth heprojectsobjectives.SPR R creat tedanetwork koflocalcom mmunitymobilizerswhohe elpedbuildsu upportforthe enewroads,mitigateddis sputes,and rallycommunitym memberstoresistdisruptionsandtheinsurgency.To odothis,SPR Rworkedwith hlocalcomm munity elopmentcouncilstoidentifyneeds,cre eatelistsoflo ocaldevelopm mentprioritie es,andhelpth hecouncilsap pplyfor deve grant tstocomplet tetheproject ts.Nearly200 0grantsworth hmorethan$ $7millionwe ereawardedo overtheprog gramsthree years s,and70ofth hemdirectlyaddressedwo omenspriorities.Mr.Niss senbaumtriv vializesthiswhenhesayst thegrants supp portedflowerliteracyprograms.Onth hecontrary,t theybenefitt ednearly400 0,000peoplewithliteracyand livelihoodstrainin ng,includings startingasma allbusinessandhomebas sedagricultur re.Thegrants sprogramiso oneofSPRs bestachievement ts. ContrarytoMr.Nissenbaumsassertions,IR RDfullyorsub bstantiallyim mprovedover400milesofroadstointe ernationaland d USst tandardsatanaveragecos stofabout$6 670,000not t$2.8million permile.T Thiscostwasnotforroadc construction only, ,butincluded dconstruction noftwomajo orbridgesins someofthem mostdangero ousareasofA Afghanistan.Inaddition, costcoveredc capacitybuild dingandcommunityoutre each,aconstr ructionindust trymentoring gprogram,an nd thec comp pletionofdet taileddesigns sforover620 0milesofroads.Moreover r,roadconstr ructioncostsinAfghanista anvary depe endingonloca ation,security,andstanda ards,withcom mparable,hig ghquality,gra avelroadscostingbetwee en$480,000 and$ $800,000per rmileonaver rage.IRDscostsfallwithin nthisrangea ndarelowerthansomep previousUSAIDroad const tructionproje ectsinAfghan nistan,asare esultoftheAfghanfirstap pproach.Improvementsin nroadquality yandsafety achie evedbySPRh havehelpedc communitiesgainaccessto ohealthcare, education,g governments services,andm markets,and prom motedregiona alintegration.Thesearenotroadston nowhere,bu utroadsforandtorealpeoplestrugglin ngto overc comedecade esofconflicta andrebuildth heirlives. IRDc eswithitssubcontractorsandsettlean continuestow workcloselyw withUSAIDto oresolveouts standingissue nydisputesas s quick klyaspossible e.IRDhaspai iditssubcont tractorsforco ompletedcon ntractedwork k,butaswith hanylargescale const tructionproje ect,somefina alclaimshave ebeenreceiv ved.Thesecla aimsarebeing gprocesseda accordingtoU USAID guide elines.Ascare efulstewards sofUStaxpay yerfunds,IRD Dcanaskfor nolessthanf fullcompliancewithUSgo overnment andi itsownbusinessperforma ancestandard dswhenrevie ewingthesec laims. Mr.N Nissenbaums sstoryacknow wledgesthatIRDimpleme entedSPRina awarzone.In nsomecomm munities,SPRstaffarrived beforecoalitionfo orcescouldcl learorsecure ethearea.Inmanycases, staffcontinu uedtoworkw whileunderat ttack.Such cond ditionsdramat ticallyslowed dconstruction nandincreas sedcostsonc certainroads segments. Wea appreciateMr r.Nissenbaum msefforttor reportthissto ory.Intheen nd,however,hemisunders stoodtheaim mofthe programandmisledWallStree etJournalrea adersaboutit tsrealandlas stingaccompl lishments.