November Column

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP on Tue 6th Nov 2007

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In Afghanistan everything is a problem

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I have just returned from leading a delegation of seven MPs to Afghanistan. As part of the International Development Committee's investigation into delivering aid in challenging environments we are trying to assess the effectiveness of the UK's engagement in the country.

I believe this could prove an important moment as attention switches from Iraq. British troops are in the front line and the UK is the second largest donor

Malcolm Bruce in Afghanistan as part of the International Development Committee's inquiry into how aid is being spent in the region

to Afghanistan after the USA

It is important to stress that Afghanistan is not Iraq although there is no doubt that it represents a long and difficult challenge.

The US led invasion of Afghanistan gained international support in the wake of the 9/11 attacks as these were launched by Al Q'aeda from inside Afghanistan and the Taleban Government refused to co-operate in bringing them to justice.

The majority of Afghans, especially women and minorities, were almost certainly glad to see the back of the Taleban. The country has been ravaged by decades of war - first between the Mujahadin and the Soviets and then among the warlords and finally under the Taleban.

As one Government representative told us "The problem with Afghanistan is that everything is a problem."

The security situation has deteriorated with a growing number of suicide bombs aimed randomly and targeted attacks on the police and the armed forces including NATO's ISAF (the International Security Assistance Force).

People in the UK could be forgiven that all our efforts are going into Helmand province in the south of the country where British forces are taking on the insurgency and suffering casualties. Four members of the committee (including neighbouring MP, Sir Robert Smith) visited the area and saw how restricted movement is and how little development can therefore take place.

In fact most of the UK's development funds are going to the Afghan Government to support programmes all over the country. This is done on a co-ordinated basis with other donors and administered through the World Bank and independently audited.

Unfortunately by far and away the biggest share of aid comes from the USA which does not follow this pattern but awards the money to American contractors who top slice most of it. Pressure is on the USA to follow the example of other donors.

The situation is extremely complex but the crucial issues are these. Afghanistan is at the heart of a potentially explosive area situated between Pakistan and Iran. Turbulence in the area threatens global security.

The insurgence in Afghanistan is not driven by one single cause or group. The religious zealots who characterise the Taleban are probably a minority. The majority are criminal elements exploiting the growing of poppies and the opium/heroin trade. Others may just be disaffected young men who do not yet see employment opportunities.

Defeating the insurgents can only be done through political means led by Afghans. International forces can only help contain the situation short term while the Afghan army and police are trained and the Afghan Government gains strength.

In areas of the north and west where the security situation has improved, development is beginning to take place although from a very low base. Three members of the committee including myself saw this in Mazar e Sharif close to the borders with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Buildings are going up and business is developing.

Nevertheless farmers who have given up growing poppies are struggling to grow alternatives and need agricultural advice to deal with pests and improve yields. They are, however, benefiting from clean water schemes and irrigation and electricity provision although there is a long way to go.

We visited micro finance initiatives which supported the development of new businesses mostly by women and mainly in traditional areas of tailoring and crafts.

Gender is a very real issue in the development of Afghanistan. We met some articulate and outspoken women MPs who told us how important it was for the international community to promote the interests of women who have traditionally been repressed and kept out of the public eye.

Under the Taleban they were denied all rights including education. Now girls are going to school although not throughout the country and infant and maternal mortality is falling.

So, in the end, do I believe we (the UK and the international community) should be in Afghanistan? The answer is yes. Will we succeed? That depends what you count as success. If we fail Afghanistan will be plunged into a new dark age and the whole region will be destabilised.

The aim of our development funding is to help the Afghans help themselves by improving security, health, education, economic development and keeping the forces of darkness at bay.

This is not an occupation. It is support for security and development. Everything in Afghanistan is broken and there is no quick fix.

That is why Britain has its largest embassy anywhere in the world and a highly respected ambassador, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles.

On our last day we had a meeting with President Karzai. We pressed him on gender issues, corruption, law and order and security. He acknowledged the problems but expressed concern at the time frame to achieve change.

We made it clear that for the support of the public in the developed world for Afghanistan and its future required clear signs of progress by Afghanistan itself although we acknowledge that the donor community needed to get its act together.

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Time for a radical rethink on tourism

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When it was first announced a few months ago that the Inverurie Tourist Information Centre that I had campaigned for and opened was to close for the winter I wrote to VisitScotland to protest.

We have tried to persuade more attractions to stay open in the winter and to encourage weekend breaks. With no information centre many are likely to be discouraged from keeping open.

I am now asking VisitScotland to have a thorough rethink of its promotion strategy. Scotland is left behind by many much more aggressive and sophisticated tourist destinations and we need to raise our game.

The website on the occasions I have accessed it has proved virtually unusable and other people tell me the same. Services are only offered to members and many small businesses don't join because they can see little benefit for the charges. Indeed I have evidence of information centres deliberately misleading by denying the existence of attractions that are offered by non members.

We need a complete overhaul. Information centres are invaluable to visitors whether or not they attract enough revenue from incidental sales. We cannot keep rethinking our tourism strategy every few years because we have not come up with one that works.

We should take a leaf out of our successful competitors' books and adapt it to our own needs.

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Safety league tables raise questions

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The Health and Safety Executive have come up with a suggestion for safety league tables for oil and gas operating companies in the North Sea. I am in favour of any effective measure that optimises safety in any workplace.

I am asking the HSE for information as to how they think this will achieve such an improvement.

It is the Executive's job to receive a safety case for each operator and approve it. This was based on the rational belief that operators had the best detailed knowledge and understanding of the operation of their installations.

If this is the case it is difficult to know how they could be evaluated in comparison with each other. The unions are already calling it a naming and shaming process.

Will it improve morale and confidence or improvements in industrial relations? I doubt it and workers will be understandably reluctant to work on installations toward the bottom of the league table even though they have established the HSE's safety standards.

This needs more thought and explanation.

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Queen's speech - freedoms to debate

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This week saw the Queen's Speech that many thought would be the other side of a General Election. Now a Government that has been battered as a result of its own opportunistic uncertainty is hoping to rebuild public support.

The Queen delivers the legislative programme for the year at the State Opening of Parliament

A lot of it is familiar material including illiberal measures to lock people up for long periods without charge.

There is no doubt that this country faces home grown terrorists who represent a real threat - our ill thought out foreign policy in Iraq and the Middle East adds to that.

Measure will be needed to improve security - including more funding for counter terrorist intelligence. We must however make sure that we do not tear up our hard won and long held freedoms. That would be a victory for the terrorists.

It is also likely to be divisive to many communities - the overwhelming majority of whom are loyal and law abiding citizens.

We have to move carefully to keep the balance.