KABUL, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) — The Afghan Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the country have launched a new five-year project, aiming to deliver improved public services, the IDLG said in a statement on Sunday.

The project called, Local Governance Project-Afghanistan (LoGo), which was launched on Saturday, will strengthen government institutions at provincial and district levels to deliver improved public services across the country, according to the statement.

“LoGo will enhance accountability, transparency and effectiveness in service delivery at the local level by supporting the implementation of subnational governance policies and improving capacity in provincial-and district-level institutions for outreach, planning, monitoring and budgeting,” it reads.

“It will also strengthen communities to hold government accountable for service delivery by supporting networking organizations and interest groups, and through awareness raising programs in local communities,” the statement said.

“UNDP Afghanistan is a critical partner in supporting the government to improve governance in Afghanistan,” Ghulam Jelani Popal, director general of IDLG, was quoted in the statement as saying.

“LoGo fully reflects the government’s priorities, and constitutes IDLG’s most critical program for the next five years,” he said.

The project was developed jointly by the IDLG and UNDP Afghanistan, in consultation with donors, the statement noted.

“LoGo is fully aligned with the government’s priorities,” Douglas Keh, UNDP Afghanistan country director said, adding that “at the same time, it emphasizes capacity development in order to support the government’s efforts toward self-reliance.”

“LoGo will support local governance institutions, including provincial governors’ offices, provincial development committees, provincial sector and technical services departments, provincial councils, municipalities and district governors’ offices. LoGo will also support the IDLG in Kabul, particularly in policy and planning,” the statement said.