PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS MAKING A DIFFERENCE ON THE GROUND IN AFGHANISTAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KABUL 005549 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG EUR FOR PRM SHEAY NSC FOR HARRIMAN OSD FOR KIMMETT CENTCOM FOR CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PTER EAID NATO PREF MASS AF SUBJECT: PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS MAKING A DIFFERENCE ON THE GROUND IN AFGHANISTAN REF: KABUL 5414 ¶1. State Department officers and USAID representatives are working with military counterparts at Italian, Canadian, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, New Zealand, Icelandic, German, British and Lithuanian as well as U.S.-led PRTs. The difficult and often dangerous environment in which they work, coupled with the lack of governance experience on the part of the local counterparts, has made the work more challenging and the start-up less rapid than many anticipated. The lead-up to discussions at the NATO Summit in Riga provides an opportunity to offer examples of how the military-civilian initiatives led by the Provincial Reconstruction Teams are making a difference. The following reports, provided by U.S. Department of State and USAID officers working at the PRTs, reflect the breadth of the projects initiated across Afghanistan. Expanded and deepened support for the PRTs' efforts and outreach will be a wise investment in Afghanistan's stable, secure, and democratic future. ¶2. In Panjshir Province, the PRT does its development work through various partnerships, the most important being with the Governor himself. All agreed that roads were the most important infrastructure project, as they would connect the valley to the outside world. The main valley road is an AID project. But rather than spending the bulk of the development aid on side-valley road-building projects, the PRT put together a road-equipment package, including eight construction vehicles, as well as training and maintenance components. The Governor now employs these vehicles on small road projects, extending his authority by both the construction projects and use of the roads. Encouraged by the partnership, the Governor asked for the PRT's assistance in drafting his Provincial Development Plan. A native Panjshiri working in the PRT was assigned to the task, and worked with the Governor to draft a five-year strategic plan. The PRT makes every effort to team up with local contractors on all projects. In some instances, the PRT simply facilitates local projects. This includes a project in one remote village where the workers were building a high mountain pass literally with their hands. The PRT provided picks, shovels, hammers, and wheelbarrows -- and the job was completed. ¶3. PRT Asadabad, in Kunar Province, reached out to help the newly-appointed governor establish credibility in the province by quickly identifying and funding projects which showed the population that he could deliver needed new infrastructure. The projects included a community center, refurbishment of several mosques, and paving several roads around the provincial capital. These initiatives help demonstrate that the government is prepared to listen and respond to the population's needs. ¶4. Khost Province, on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, currently has the highest rate of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) of any province in Afghanistan. The recent rapid growth of mobile phone usage in the province created an opportunity for introducing a novel tool in the war on terrorism there. The establishment, in early 2005, of a 24-hour hot-line allows residents to report any suspicious devices they might find in their community. Supported by the PRT, the Provincial Coordination Center facilitates a rapid, coordinated response from Afghan police and military, and Coalition Forces. Provincial events and district-level meetings with elders and mullahs (held weekly in at least one district to promote dialogue) are used to explain and encourage use of the hotline. The message at the meetings emphasizes that every citizen has both the ability and the responsibility to combat the terrorist threat in their community. Call anonymity helps encourage participation. Since the hotline was initiated more IEDs have been reported before detonating than have detonated. KABUL 00005549 002 OF 004 ¶5. In Kandahar Province, work has already begun on the first leg of a USAID-funded road running to the east from Highway 4, south of Kandahar Airfield to the Afghanistan District center over 90 miles away. The road will cut vehicle travel time by more than a half, reducing isolation, improving security and communication, and creating market access for legitimate crops, including pomegranates, grown by local farmers. Residents of villages along the road will be the early beneficiaries of the project, as they will provide input and labor for the project through four community development groups. ¶6. Laghman Province, in the Northeast, is isolated, underdeveloped, and suspicious of outsiders. The opening of a new micro-hydroelectic plant capable of providing electricity to 300 homes in the area has given residents reason to see the international community, working through the Methar Lam PRT, as a partner. The project, begun in mid-2005, faced security and political challenges, but cooperation between the PRT, local government officials, and residents made completion possible. ¶7. In Zabul Province, the PRT worked closely with the governor to facilitate negotiations between the Nasir and Shamulzai tribes over disputed land in the southern portion of the province. The dispute had become violent, and the PRT accompanied the governor to the site for discussions. This action helped the governor establish credibility as an agent for resolving disputes. The same PRT houses a trade school offering basic courses in carpentry, welding, computers, rug weaving and nursing. The school has graduated over 1100 students since it began in November 2005. ¶8. The Italian-led PRT in Herat is a key donor for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the major regional pediatric rehabilitation hospital in Herat that serves three western provinces. Between the U.S. and Italy, approximately three hundred projects, including wells and health centers, have been established in Herat Province. ¶9. PRT Farah has used U.S. military CERP funds to support projects including construction of an orphanage, bridge repair, and providing motorcycles, bicycles and looms to encourage small enterprise. USAID money has been invested in the Ring Road as well in a new courthouse and women's center. The State Department officer works with the Governor, provincial council, and the Provincial Development Council in capacity-building efforts designed to allow local officials to take on the responsibility of self-governance. This effort is meant to create an increased sense self of self-sufficiency and responsibility on the part of provincial and local officials. ¶10. In Nangarhar Province, a group of some 400 families originally from Kunar Province returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan in 2005 and settled in a valley a few kilometers from Jalalabad, on barren and unused government land. The property was not sanctioned as returnee land, but the returnees built a community, including residential compounds. Using money they had saved in Pakistan and with some help from UNICEF and UNHCR, they built wells and became established. A school and clinic were built and operated using skills from within the group. When efforts by the community to gain official status and rights to the land stalled, the PRT officers took the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Mayor of Jalalabad to the settlement. Impressed by what they saw, the officials agreed to issue a letter of intent to sanction the property as returnee land. The PRT also hosted an intellectual shura in October, inviting writers, reporters, and professors to discuss the problem of corruption and the need for more qualified government officials. In this border province, participants cited these problems as more important than the insurgency. The PRT KABUL 00005549 003 OF 004 representatives emphasized the importance of citizens addressing their own problems rather than waiting for others to do it for them. ¶11. The New Zealand-led PRT in Bamyan regularly engages the local population with its work with a particular orphanage in nearby Mullah Gullam providing one example. The PRT has built a well there and makes regular visits, bringing humanitarian assistance including beds constructed by the New Zealand military personnel and clothing for the children. These low-key efforts have been praised by the Governor and helped establish a working relationship with the community. ¶12. Following threats to members of the Provincial Ministry of Women's Affairs, the UK-led PRT in Helmand Province responded with measures to increase security for the ministry's Lashkar Gah office. This initiative, meant to signal the importance of women's rights, involved encouraging the Afghan National Army to post a guard at the office and patrol the nearby streets. The PRT has also provided security training as well as paying for wall in front of the ministry's office. ¶13. Tarin Kowt PRT, led by the Dutch, recently initiated a number of projects designed to produce significant and visible benefits for the residents of Uruzgan Province, nestled just north of Helmand, Kandahar, and Zabul Provinces. The projects include refurbishment of the primary school in Chora, the second largest population center in the province, and bridge repair work near the town. Other projects include the repair of the USAID-funded district building which had been damaged by insurgents in May. In Tarin Kowt itself, the Dutch provided paint for shop owners to paint their establishments and funded the hiring of 60 people for a two-month Cash-for-Work project to clean the town's streets. Ten additional phases are planned in this "Clean-Up Tarin Kowt" project which reinforces the self-help values that can be translated into the governance process. ¶14. These specific examples are complemented by national programs that benefit all the provinces. Since 2004, USAID programs have funded the construction of over 100 government buildings, spread across the provinces. The construction projects provide employment, and the buildings, including courthouses, ministry buildings, and provincial and district offices, enabling the government to establish a presence in the communities. This effort has been reinforced by over 30 separate training or capacity-building programs for provincial-level officials. CERP-funded projects in the twelve U.S.-led PRTs have complemented these efforts by addressing the most pressing needs of provincial and local leaders, particularly in the area of rebuilding infrastucture and capacity in the regions. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶15. The examples are as varied as the PRTs and the provinces in which they are located. Local factors dictate that some PRTs are still building bridges to the communities and local governance structures. Others are using leverage already established to build partnerships to combat terrorism while encouraging development and institution-building. While not the subject of this cable, PRTs have coordinated with maneuver unit commanders. During offensives in the South and East, project work and support for governance have been parts of an integrated strategy. ¶16. Regardless of the province, the work is difficult, isolated, and often dangerous. Security restrictions make it challenging (and expensive) in many cases to identify and carry out projects, and the lack of local governance experience means that progress is often slow. Conversations KABUL 00005549 004 OF 004 with provincial and local officials in Kabul and during visits to the provinces confirm the efforts are making a difference. Governors in provinces without a PRT campaign endlessly to have PRT established. Wardak, Panjshir and Nuristan are only the most recent cases of governors successfully seeking PRT establishment in their provinces. A deepening and expansion of the human and financial support for these efforts, using military and civilian assets as complements, will be a wise investment in Afghanistan's stable, secure, and democratic future. NEUMANN