“When poverty walks in through the door, happiness flies out through the window.”
 (Afghan proverb)
After the demise of the Taliban in October 2001, many positive changes have occurred in Afghanistan. More than three million students and 30,000 female teachers returned to schools . Radio and television began broadcasting cultural programs such as music, drama, and film (During the Taliban era these art forms were banned in the Afghan society). As an indicator of a flourishing press, dozens of new publications with relative freedom entered the market. The new interim government began to rebuild and repair many of Afghanistan's institutional, and economic infrastructure.  From an almost nonexistent state, the economy enjoyed a growth rate of 16% by the year 2003, and experts are confident that within the next decade the GDP of Afghanistan could increase by 10 to 12 percent .  Moreover, one of the most important political achievements of the country was the design and ratification of the constitution in January 2004.  In November of the same year, presidential elections took place and Afghans elected their president successfully.  Although political analysts disagree in regard to its fairness, some believe that this election's success could serve as a stepping-stone for movement towards a new democratic political order.  It is also important to note that billions of dollars in economic aid, a tremendous amount of assistance in the form of human capital, as well as tireless efforts on part of the Afghan people made these achievements possible. 
In spite of these achievements, what is surprising is that according to a recent report released by the United Nations Development Program in February 21st 2005, Afghanistan ranks 175th among 177 nations on the Human Poverty Index (HPI) .  This report thoroughly discusses the predicament of Afghans in the context of human insecurity, social injustice, economic disparity, scarcity of opportunity, the lack of basic human needs, and the critically dysfunctional state of the education system.  It clearly demonstrates that Afghanistan is in fact one of the poorest nations on the international arena.  As it becomes evident that only 28.7 percent of the Afghan population is literate, the poverty level at which society struggles looses its element of surprise .  The report paints a vivid picture of the severity of the socio-economic conditions in Afghanistan by comparing the life expectancy of Afghans (44.5 years at birth) with that of its neighbors as well as other least developed countries of the world.  Life expectancy in Afghanistan, where 50 percent of the population is poor, remains "at least 20 years lower than all of its neighboring countries, . . . and 6.1 years lower than the average of the least developed countries ."  In a society where “One out of five children dies before the age of five, and one woman dies from pregnancy related causes every thirty minutes,” life expectancy at such low level could only be viewed as predictable outcome of these sad realities .  In addition, it is not difficult to understand the conditions in which many Afghan women struggle (to a great extent unsuccessfully) for survival suffering from maternal mortality rates “60 times higher than for women in industrial countries ."  The facts presented above clearly exhibit that the Afghans are an extremely poor nation.  Unfortunately, as in many underdeveloped countries, the plight of poverty has the greatest impact on women and children in this country.
            Finding the causes of poverty is no arduous task.  The drought of the nineties, the destruction of basic infrastructure, the damage to the state's institutional organization, the scarcity of skilled and experienced professionals, and most recently the influx of millions of repatriates increasing the supply of cheap labor, are among the primary causes of widespread poverty.  More than two decades of war and foreign invasion has greatly distorted Afghanistan’s political and social map, and essentially destroyed its economy.  Yet, after almost four years of economic reconstruction and billions of dollars in expenditure, it is fair to ask why poverty remains at such high level. 
To answer this question, one must look closely at political and economic factors in play.  Political causes have deep roots in the weakness of the state’s capacity to establish legitimacy and consolidate political power.  Therefore corruption continues to spread within its own bureaucratic apparatus as well as in the society at large.  Bribery, nepotism, and racial discrimination are among the most prevalent forms of corruption within the Afghan government institutions .  This subsequently reduces the state's authority and capability to design and implement poverty alleviating policies effectively.  It also limits government's ability to cooperate with, support, and at the same time, hold international aid agencies accountable while executing short and long-term development programs. 
Moreover, economic frailty, and dependency of the government on foreign aid hinders state's ability to address the issue of poverty in an effective manner.  Lack of adequate economic power leads to state's inability to employ and train sufficient civil service, military and police force to implement the law, defend the right of the poor, and end war-lords' claim to authority.  This means that the Afghan government has not yet achieved the political and economic capacity to create the conditions necessary to implement successful anti-poverty policies.
It is safe to say that the consolidation of political power by subordinating war/drug lords to its authority could help the state fight poverty.  Centralization of government's authority within the framework of democracy could help strengthen security and social justice, preparing grounds for fighting poverty.  Numerous research papers and news articles show that the state continues to struggle maintaining complete military and political control, especially, in rural areas of Afghanistan.  Warlords and drug-lords have proven as intractable rivals to government’s authority.  In addition, Afghanistan is the leading producer of opium worldwide.  The problem of poppy cultivation in rural Afghanistan serves as a major hurdle on the state's path to fostering a peaceful and stable society.  As a result of successful drug production and distribution, many warlords have gained tremendous economic power via accumulating “narco-dollars .”  With military power already in their disposal, they resist against the center by refusing to yield to the rule of law.  As an example, one can point to the incident in June of 2004, when a warlord enriched by opium revolted in the town of Chekh-cheran, and declared independence .  Based on such socio-economic realities, Barnette R. Rubin, a prominent scholar in Afghan politics, argues that drug cultivation and trafficking has boosted the warlords' consolidation of power, and their control over various regions outside Kabul.  Utilizing revenue from drug cultivation and trade, they have established sophisticated networks based on a “violent Klashinkov culture. "  It is precisely this Klashinkov culture that leads to human rights abuses, and reinforces social and economic injustice, which tend to impact the poor and powerless the most. 
            Also, drug cultivation affects the agricultural sector, which constitutes a significant part of the Afghan economy.  In fact, 85% of the Afghan population depends on it for survival .  Large-scale poppy cultivation restrains farmers’ ability to grow legal agricultural products.  Subsequently, this perpetuates dependency of the Afghan economy on drug cultivation to a great extend.  Mr. Atmar, The Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, has plausibly stated that "drug economy" negatively affects nation's security and stability .  As the country's ability to provide food for itself diminishes, it becomes increasingly dependent on foreign aid to meet its agricultural needs.  Agriculture provides a large percentage of income for most Afghans. Therefore, by improving this sector, and its rescue from the grip of drug-lords, the vast majority of poor farmers would most likely enjoy economic benefits. 
However, As of present, Afghanistan does not benefit from a military or police force capable of effectively eradicating drug production, and disarming local power brokers to pave the road for further assistance to farmers, and undertaking agricultural revitalization programs as part of its poverty alleviating efforts.  A recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office testifies to the fact that the Afghan National Army and police force is not being adequately trained and equipped.  The report also indicates that in the absence of a long-term integrated plan, especially between the German and American authorities, the future of Afghan security forces remains uncertain.  Surprisingly, the Afghan army is experiencing equipment shortage.  Plus, the number of embedded trainers within the army does not meet the needs to sustain instructions with a rapidly progressive pace .  These shortcomings undoubtedly place the Afghan government at great disadvantage while trying to deconstruct a flourishing economy based on heavy drug production and trade, and rebuild the basic infrastructure for establishing a free market economy.  This in turn will restrain the availability of economic opportunities for the poor.     
In addition to consolidating political power, economic muscle will enable the government to gain the legitimacy to wage war against poverty.  To do so, it has to control institutional fraud by providing higher wages and benefits to its employees, and taking more unyielding disciplinary actions against those who do not abide by the law.  Nepotism, bribery, embezzlement, and racial discrimination are among the bureaucratic ills that severely affect the ability of the state to provide basic social and economic services to the public, and particularly to the poor .  Corruption also jeopardizes the state's ability to cooperate with, and monitor international aid agencies . Therefore, in the absence of the government’s support, and guidance, the participants in economic reconstruction of Afghanistan would continue to face major impediments to coordinate efforts while trying to reach those struggling in destitute. 
Furthermore, state’s weakness in creating a safer environment for the investors and business owners discourages their participation in the economy in full capacity.  This could negatively impact the creation of new jobs, particularly in rural parts of the country where the state’s power is highly destabilized by the presence of various militant groups.  If Afghanistan is to achieve any substantial gains in its quest for eradicating poverty, the formation of an empowered state with the economic capacity to provide basic social services such as health, education, and employment opportunity is an absolute necessity. Thus, the question is how could the government augment its economic power in order to fight corruption, and help the poor to rise above poverty? 
One of the main venues through which a government is able to generate revenue is to collect sales, payroll and property taxes.  Nevertheless, the Afghan state has limited or no institutional and technological capacity to do so.  In the absence of sufficient military power, the state's authority is limited in collecting taxes from small business, property owners, and producers of agricultural products.  The fact that total tax revenue relative to GDP is only four percent means that the state, in the absence of any other major revenue sources, continues to remain weak and dependant on foreign aid.  In another words, economically it remains fragile because it has insufficient capacity to generate budgetary revenue.  Consequently, the government is unable to offer competitive salaries to its own employees, and afford sufficient controlling and or guiding measures for the overall growth and direction of the economy. 
Having said that, let's not forget that the Afghan government has been able to collect some taxes, primarily, from the large corporations operating in central cities.  Roshan Communications, one of the largest telecommunication companies, serves as a good example.  Afghan News Network reports that Karim Khoja, company’s chief executive officer, has complained about different types of unfair (in his view) taxes imposed on his company – 20 percent corporate tax, 12.5 percent gross receipt tax, and five percent withholding tax .  High taxes forced on the newly established businesses alone could prove as a serious threat to the health and growth of the economy, especially when coupled with the burden of expenditures that businesses ought to allocate to bribing the agents of the state. 
            Once again, it is imperative to remember that Afghanistan has made gains in rebuilding its economy.  The Afghans have successfully built parts of the infrastructure (roads, water system, power plants) on which the economy is dependant.  Enjoying political freedom for the first time in many decades, they have also managed to ratify a new constitution and elect Hamid Karzai as their president.  However, it is also important to acknowledge that poverty remains a serious threat to the security of life, dignity, and future of the Afghan citizens.  Primarily, what sustains it is government's limited effectiveness in defending human and political rights of the poor.  Factors such as illiteracy, disease, inequality, unemployment, and lack of social services to provide for basic human needs are the realities through which poverty manifests itself.  Yet, its persistence is mainly, if not exclusively, a consequence of the current economic and political system's failure to offer new opportunities for the poor to advance.  In order to gain the ability to lead and coordinate anti-poverty projects, to implement its own short and long term social and economic programs effectively, and to regulate a free and open market economy, the government is in desperate need of strengthening its economic muscle, and centralizing its political power.  If and when that happens, one could hope that on the next UN Human Development Index, Afghanistan will be better positioned than 175th among 177 countries.

Political analyst, writer and poet, Wali Shaaker was born in Kabul Afghanistan. 
He is a graduate student at San Francisco State University.  To read his Dari poems, visit:  www.afghanartist.persianblog.com