Payday in the Afghan National Army: from Western administrative liabilities to local realities

Abstract

Afghanistan is without a doubt one of the poorest countries in the world and it has all the characteristics of a failed state. In such a country, where there is neither a physical nor an economic infrastructure of any significance, the payment of salaries is an overwhelming problem for government organisations. The international community is providing advisers and trainers for Afghan government organisations, including the armed forces, in order to combat these kinds of problems. This article focuses on how the payment of salaries is organised within the 205th Corps of the Afghan National Army and ascertains if there are proper ways for a developing army to adopt Western ideas on financial and general management. Our research indicates that the payment and accountability ideas within the 205th Corps are fully in line with the processes in any Western armed forces or government organisation. Only when matters literally fall beyond the scope of the West-dominated organisation and payments are to be made in the outlying areas, uncertainties arise which can lead to questions and even friction. Furthermore, specific focal points derived from our literature review and our study are the concept of recording a number of basic details and keeping the disclosure relatively limited, and adapted to local needs.

Citation

Davids, C. and Soeters, J. (2009), "Payday in the Afghan National Army: from Western administrative liabilities to local realities", Caforio, G. (Ed.) Advances in Military Sociology: Essays in Honor of Charles C. Moskos (Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Vol. 12 Part 1), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 285-303. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1572-8323(2009)000012A021