PROJECT LESSONS-LEARNED REPORT - Support to Payroll Management (SPM) Project - Afghanistan

Sep 12, 2026

The PROJECT LESSONS-LEARNED REPORT documents UNDP’s Support to Payroll Management (SPM) Project in Afghanistan, detailing a phased, conditions-based LOTFA transition approved in April 2015 and aimed at enabling the Ministry of Interior Affairs to independently manage payroll functions for the ANP and GDPDC. It describes six outputs covering legal and process frameworks, personnel capacity, linked payroll systems, infrastructure, and timely fund transfers for police pay. It also records suspension of LOTFA activities following events in August 2021 and the decision to close the project effective 4 December 2021.

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PROJECT LESSONS-LEARNED REPORT

Project Overview

Context and Key Lessons-Learned

Project Description and Outputs

United Nations Development Programme # PROJECT LESSONS-LEARNED REPORT | Project Title: | Support to Payroll Management (SPM)Project | | --- | --- | | Country: | Afghanistan | | Related CPAP
Outcome | Outcome 2:Trust in and access to fair,effective,and accountable rule of law
services is increased in accordance with applicable international human rights
standards and the government's legal obligations. | | Project Description and Key Lessons-Learned | | | Brief description of
context | In April 2015,the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan(GIROA),
UNDP and the donors supporting the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan
(LOTFA)received H.E.President Ghani's approval to proceed with the
restructuring of LOTFA and the development of a new programme document
that included the design of a LOTFA Transition Plan to succeed the LOTFA
Akheri beginning 1 July 2015.The LOTFA transition would ensure the full
handover of the payroll functions to the GIROA and to develop national capacity
for its effective,efficient,and accountable management. They agreed on a
three-phased,conditions-based transition period from July 2015 to December
2016,with clear targets and deliverables for each phase.Some twenty-three
conditions were agreed in a Donor Conditions document -for all the four
parties1—which set out the conditions for the transition of payroll management to
GIROA(MOIA).
Since the end of the three phases-i.e.,December 2016,the SPM project had
been subjected to series of extensions,as a result of mostly MOIA not meeting
most of its twelve donor conditions.The statuses of those conditions were
subjected to two separate independent assessments both of which identified the
same facts about MOIA's conditions.
As part of the US-Taliban peace deal,the US and NATO forces began their
withdrawal from Afghanistan from May 2021 which saw a deterioration in the
security situation in Afghanistan as a consequence.As the Taliban's offensive
continued,many districts and provincial capitals started to fall to the Taliban
further worsening the security in most parts of the country.On the 15th of August
2021 there came the invasion of Kabul and consequently the overthrow of the
Ghani-led government and consequent taking over of the government by the De
facto Authority.As the consequence of this,UNDP immediately suspended all
LOTFA related projects which was subsequently unanimously approved by
LOTFA donors.At the time of this suspension,there was no LOTFA fund in the
hands of the former government(Ministry of Finance)since the latest advance
request made by the MoF had not been processed.Based on this suspension of
project activities,both APPS and WEPS systems were shut down and taken out
of service.So far,for 2021,police payrolls were processed_for only_January to
July 2021.At its meeting of 4th November 2021,the LOTFA MPTF Steering
Committee decided to close the project effective on 4th December 2021. | | Brief description of
project | The LOTFA-SPM Project was a dedicated payroll management project with
approximately 40,mostly national staff and 3 international staff,working closely
together with MOIA staff from the Budget&Finance,HR and ICT departments to
ensure timely payment of salaries and incentives to the ANP and GDPDC officers.
The expected outcome of the SPM project was to build the Government of | Islamic Republic of Afghanistan(GIROA)'s capacity to independently manage allnon-fiduciary aspects of payroll for the ANP and GDPDC,including producingrelevant reports for donors in their specified formats.MOIA should also be ableto manage the full range of functions related to payroll,i.e.,human resources,accounting,and information and communication technology in a seamlessmanner. The LOTFA-SPM project w

FAQs

What was the main purpose of the SPM project in Afghanistan?

The SPM project aimed to support payroll management so that Afghanistan’s government could independently manage non-fiduciary payroll functions for the ANP and GDPDC, including accurate reporting to donors.

How was the LOTFA transition structured under the SPM project?

The transition followed three phases from July 2015 to December 2016, with clear targets and deliverables and agreed donor conditions recorded in a donor conditions document.

What led to the project’s suspension and closure in 2021?

Following the August 2021 invasion of Kabul and the shift in governmental authority, UNDP suspended LOTFA-related projects, systems were shut down, and the steering committee decided to close the SPM project effective 4 December 2021.

Sep 12, 2026

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