PRT/GHAZNI: PROVINCIAL COUNCIL BEGINS WORK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 004988

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/FO AMBASSADOR QUINN, S/CT, SA/A
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND
CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFA-A, CG CJTF-76
USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KDEM AF
SUBJECT: PRT/GHAZNI: PROVINCIAL COUNCIL BEGINS WORK

REF: KABUL 4708

Classified By: AMBASSADOR RONALD NEUMANN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Members of Ghazni's recently seated
Provincial Council met cordially on December 3, their
second official meeting since a contentious election for
Council officers and Meshrano Jirga members. Council
members agreed that the main purpose of the Council is to
keep the Provincial Administration accountable to the
people they represent, and to ensure that development funds
are distributed evenly. The Council has already requested
work plans from key provincial departments (health,
education, power, etc.),and will review these plans to see
whether they treat all districts fairly. The Council also
plans to form sub-committees which will travel around the
province to survey actual needs. In spite of the
collegiality of today,s meeting, given the Council,s tense
beginnings it is likely further disputes will erupt along
ethnic lines as the Council deals with the reality of
scarce resources which must meet the needs of both Pashtun
and Hazara areas. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) DOS Rep met December 3 with twelve of the nineteen
members of the recently seated Provincial Council,
including Chair Engineer Nafisa, vice-chair Ustad
Habiburrahman, and Meshrano Jirga nominee Dr. Abdul Ahmad
Zahedi Niqala. In spite of a contentious process to elect
Council officers and delegates to the Meshrano Jirga
(REFTEL),the Provincial Council members present seemed
relaxed and at ease with each other. They took turns
discussing their individual goals and the overall purpose
of the Provincial Council, which they agreed is to make the
Provincial Administration accountable and transparent to
average citizens and to ensure development funds are
distributed equitably. The meeting included a mix of
Hazaras, Pashtuns, and the one Tajik on the Council.

COUNCIL'S WORK PLAN
===================


3. (U) The Council has now met twice since the November 21
session at which they elected two representatives to the
Meshrano Jirga. The first session was to discuss their
work plan and assign initial tasks; the second, on December
3, was to discuss the needs of refugee returnees. In
keeping with what it sees as its responsibility to ensure
fair distribution of development resources, the Council has
requested one-year work plans from key provincial
departments (health, education, power, etc.),and will
review these plans to see whether they treat all districts
fairly. The Council has already reviewed the recent
records and plans of the Department of Power & Electricity.
The Council plans to form multi-ethnic sub-committees
focusing on areas such as health, education, and human
rights, which will travel around the province to survey
actual needs. The Council members have not yet set a
schedule of meetings for the coming months.

LOGISTICS & EQUIPMENT:
======================


4. (U) The Provincial Administration has ensured that the
Council has the basic requirements to begin work. The
Council is currently using three offices in the Public
Works building, across the street from th Governor's
Office. The Governor has provided two clerical staff, and
the Council has received two old Russian jeeps which UNAMA
left behind when they departed Ghazni after the September
elections. The Council also has one computer donated by
UNAMA.


5. (U) However, remaining needs are many. Currently there
are no drivers for the two UNAMA-donated vehicles, and none
of the Council members or staff has the skills to use the
computer. (NOTE: PRT plans a computer course for
provincial officials over the winter, and will invite
Council staff to attend. END NOTE.) The Provincial
Administration has requested additional support staff from
the Ministry of Interior, including a cook, drivers, and
security personnel.

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA
=================


6. (C) Biographical information on the members who
attended today's meeting follows:


A. ENGINEER NAFISA AZIMI: Engineer Nafisa, the chair of
the Council, is about thirty-five years old and comes from
the Hazara district of Jaghuri. She ran for a general
seat, and received the most votes of any Provincial Council
member, an impressive accomplishment for a woman. (When
PRT visited Jaghuri and neighboring districts in October,
posters of Engineer Nafisa were plastered in almost every
village we visited.) Nafisa, a slight and quiet woman who
nonetheless seems to command respect, has degrees in law
and in building construction from Kabul University. She
listed her priorities as ensuring security, defending
Islamic law, increasing the budget of the district
governments proportionate to population, and supporting
women's rights and education. (NOTE: Some of these
priorities are unrealistic given the limited legal powers
and minimal budget of the Provincial Council. END NOTE.)


B. USTAD HABIBURRAHMAN: Habiburrahman, the vice-chair of
the Provincial Council, is a steely-eyed middle-aged
Pashtun from the restless eastern district of Andar. He
graduated from the Ghazni Teacher Training Institute, and
has been a teacher in Kabul, Kandahar, and Zabul provinces.
During the communist years, he lived in refugee camps in
Pakistan.


C. DR. ABDUL AHMAD ZAHEDI NIQALA: Dr. Ahmad, a middle-
aged Hazara, received his medical degree from the
University of Kabul. He worked for some time for a clinic
run by the Swedish Committee in Qarabagh District. After
that, he started his own practice in Qarabagh, and helped
the mujahaddin during the jihad. During the Taliban years,
he lived in Iran. He says his main goal for the Provincial
Council is to stop bribery and corruption.


D. AHMAD ALI NASIRI: Nasiri, a genial Hazara in his 60s
who has been a PRT contact for some time, is a respected
mullah from primarily Hazara Jaghuri District. He studied
Islamic studies in Iraq, and taught there for a time before
returning to Ghazni Province, where he has taught religion
for more than ten years. He was a judge in Jaghuri for
four years, and then was district governor for three years.
In the November 3 meeting, he made a case that Jaghuri is
large enough geographically and population-wise to be its
own province, and that his main goal is to get the central
government to recognize this fact. The rest of the Council
members jokingly said, "We don't want Jaghuri in Ghazni
Province either."


E. MALIM MOHAMMAD RAHIM TARAKI: Taraki, is a Pashtun of
about 65 years who hails from Qarabagh District, where he
teaches high school Pashto, history and social studies.


F. HAJI TAJ MOHAMMAD MOSA: Taj Mohammad, a burly Pashtun
in his 50s from Gelan District, graduated from high school
in Ghazni and then went to Pakistan, where he joined the
mujahaddin. He said his major concerns for Ghazni Province
are to stop corruption and ensure security.


G. DR. ABAAS ALI RAMOZI: Ramozi, a middle-aged Hazara,
graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Mazar-e-Sharif.
He worked in the hospital in Mazar for several years. When
the Taliban took over, he came to Ghazni to work in the
Swedish Committee clinic in Qarabagh.

H. MOHAMMAD ISMAEL MOMIN: Momin, a 45-year-old Hazara
from Malistan District, lived in Peshawar during the early
jihad years. He studied medicine and helped the
mujahaddin. He later returned to Ghazni and helped with a
program that immunized children, until the Taliban took
over and gave his job to one of their supporters.


I. ARIFA MADADI: Madadi, a Hazara from Jaghatu District,
graduated from the University of Mazar-e-Sharif with a
degree in medicine and is now a surgeon. She has worked in
a hospital for three years.


J. MARZYAH RAHIMI: Marzyah, a young Hazara woman, was
born in Iran, where her father had moved during the jihad
years. She studied Islam in Iran, and taught there. Her
family returned to Ghazni just one year ago. She said her
goal on the Provincial Council is to educate about women's
rights under Islam.


K. ZHOLINA FAIZI: Faizi, the only Tajik on the Council,
has been elected Secretary. She has a law degree from
Kabul University and worked for the Supreme Court before
the Taliban took over. During the Taliban years, she ran a
girls school in her home. When the Taliban left, she began
working at Jan Malika High School in Ghazni, and is now
vice-principal there. She said her concerns are to make
sure that the rights of "all people" are heard - which
likely means she wants to make sure that the Tajik minority
is not ignored.


L. BAKHT BIBI RAHIMI: Bakht Bibi, an older Pashtun woman
who arrived a few paces behind a male relative and seemed
withdrawn during earlier Provincial Council sessions, was
articulate when asked directly about her life experiences
and her goals for the Provincial Council. She said she
graduated from high school in Kabul, and then moved to
Pakistan, where she became a nurse. She worked at a clinic
in Muqur District for two years. She spoke proudly about
her greatest achievement - delivering quintuplets, all of
whom survived. She said her priorities are women's rights
and health issues.
NEUMANN