PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS MAKING A

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.


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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

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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.

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Comment
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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

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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