Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KIRKUK63
2006-03-17 14:19:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
REO Kirkuk
Cable title:  

PROVINCIAL GOVT STRUGGLES FOR POWER, BUDGET

Tags:  PGOV EAID PINR IZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3008
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHMOS
DE RUEHKUK #0063/01 0761419
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 171419Z MAR 06
FM REO KIRKUK
TO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0529
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0565
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHKUK/REO KIRKUK 0593
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000063 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, NCT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV EAID PINR IZ
SUBJECT: PROVINCIAL GOVT STRUGGLES FOR POWER, BUDGET

KIRKUK 00000063 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000063

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, NCT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV EAID PINR IZ
SUBJECT: PROVINCIAL GOVT STRUGGLES FOR POWER, BUDGET

KIRKUK 00000063 001.2 OF 002



1. (U) Summary. Sulaymaniyah provincial leaders stressed the
need for the Kurdistan National Assembly (KNA) to grant them
legal authority and practical power to carry out projects.
Provincial Governor Dana Ahmad Majid requested U.S. technical
assistance for urban planning and taking a census of the
population, stating it was requisite for economic growth and
countering the Islamic parties in the region. End Summary.


2. (U) On March 13 Regional Coordinator and IPAO visited
Sulaymaniyah Provincial Governor Dana Ahmad Majid and members of
the Provincial Council (PC) to discuss governance issues.


Provincial Councils - Elected Without Powers
--------------


3. (SBU) Governor Dana said that the Sulaymaniyah Provincial
Council was handicapped by the dispute between the regional and
provincial governments over how much CPA Order 71 should govern
it. Order 71 created provincial councils in Iraq, and
Sulaymaniyah held PC elections under it; however, the order also
exempted the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and granted it
authority over local government in the region.


4. (SBU) Dana claimed that the KRG exploited the exception and
constricted the provincial council's influence by denying it
both a budget and a legal basis for the administration of the
province. Without the authority to function, the provincial
governments were left with Article 53, a law enacted under
Saddam Hussayn, for legal guidance. Article 53 does not provide
for the existence of provincial councils.


5. (SBU) Dana said the provincial councils of Sulaymaniyah,
Erbil, and Dahuk, had formed a Tripartite Committee to seek a
clear delineation of their powers. Dana said the KNA's Legal
Committee had discussed a proposal the Tripartite Committee had
drafted to resolve the issue, but the entire KRG was on hold,
awaiting certainty on whether the current power-sharing bargain
between Iraq President Talabani and Kurdistan Regional
Government President Barzani would continue. If Talabani failed
to secure a second term as President, no one knew who would take
which KRG posts. Moreover, Dana asked how the KNA could deal
with provincial matters when there still was no national

government.


Budget Insufficient to Run Government, Basic Services
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) According to Council Member Anwar Faraj, at the heart
of the power struggle is the budget. Dana said the budget
granted no control to the PC because the KRG continued to
distribute funds through the governor, who then allotted funds
to the Provincial Council. Moreover, the budget was too small
either to sustain a PC or meet the needs of the province. The
governor said the the KRG had granted a budget barely enough to
run the electricity generators for a month. Faraj added that
the distribution of the funds was further complicated by there
being two KRG's, each with its own ministry of finance.


7. (SBU) Council members disagreed over how much control the
PC should have over the budget. Deputy Chair Kawa Abdullah Ali
said the PC should control the budget and governor merely
implement it. Some PC members thought the national ministry of
finance should sign contracts, others thought the PC should
control this.


Assistance Requests for Planning and Census
--------------


8. (SBU) Dana said Sulaymaniyah needed technical assistance
from the U.S. to create a long term plan for development. A new
population census was important to determine unemployment and
other economic factors. He said that, even as the governor of
the province, he did not know whether the economy was based on
industry, agriculture, trade, or tourism. Saddam's regime had
done the last census and Dana doubted its accuracy.


9. (U) Dana also highlighted the need for technical assistance
in urban planning, particularly in regards to creating a master
municipal plan, transportation, hospitals, schools, and parks.
Dana felt the Provincial Council could not resolve these issues
without assistance.


Provincial Council Structure and Committees
--------------


KIRKUK 00000063 002.2 OF 002



10. (U) Kawa Abdullah Ali said that in accordance with CPA
Order 71, the citizens of Sulaymaniyah had elected the
Provincial Council. In turn, the council had elected a Chairman
and a Deputy Chairman and formed 13 committees, including:
economy, environment, reconstruction, religion, legal,
transportation, and women's affairs, among others. The council
has 41 members from 4 different political parties including the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Kurdistan Democratic Party,
Kurdistan Islamic Union, and Kurdistan Islamic Gathering; it has
13 female members. According to Dana, the Sulaymaniyah
Provincial Council was the first to function in Iraq.


11. (U) Council members shared some program successes thus far:

- The Economic Committee was developing a plan for the
market that included: determining the daily price of goods,
especially food, establishing product expiry and controlling
market fluctuation.
- The Transportation and Legal Committees had presented a
plan establishing a requirement for drivers to obtain licenses.
- The Legal Committee had established a Claims Department as
a mechanism for individuals to file claims and seek reparation.
- The Women's Rights Committee had prepared a proposal that
included 10 projects, including one aimed at educating women
about democracy.


12. (U) Council Members asked the U.S., through the new
RegionalReconstruction Team (RRT) in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, to
assist them in obtaining funding from donor countries to help
build the infrastructure of the Kurdish region. They also asked
for technical training, expressing gratitude for assistance
received through RTI training courses. Council Members
highlighted their challenges:

- The concept of decentralization, as it related to the
political system, was difficult for people to understand,
particularly when the government faced technical problems
inhibiting its implementation. Sometimes the public blamed
decentralization for their problems because they misunderstood
it.

- Sulaymaniyah planned to move to a free market system;
however, the public did not understand the principles and laws
that governed a free market economy. Further, Iraq's economy -
and therefore the Kurdish region's economy - was too easily
influenced by the instability of Iraq's neighbors.

- Technical assistance in planning and a census were needed
to equalize development in Sulaymaniyah on a more scientific
basis.

- The use of chemical weapons by Saddam Husayn's regime
continued to affect on environment and public health in
Halabjah.

- The Reconstruction Committee said the real need was to
raise the living standards in the cities. However, city and
district councils had not been elected. There was one municipal
head in each district, but there should be one representative
from each district and sub-district. There was no deadline for
this and the legal committee was following the issue.


13. (U) Council members attending included: Deputy Chair Kawa
Abdullah Ali, Patriotic United Kurdistan (PUK); Council Member
Ahmad Hama Rashid, Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG),Economic
Committee; Council Member Anwar Faraj, KIG, Religious Affair
Committee; Council Member Soz Abdulqadi Abdulrahman, PUK,
Women's Rights Committee; and Council Member Kazhal Ali,
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP),Environment Committee.


14. (U) Bio Note: Governor Dana speaks and understands some
English.


Comment
--------------


15. (SBU) The provincial government seems eager and internally
organized, but lacks power to make things happen, particularly
on spending. We suspect that clarity over the distribution of
power between the regional and provincial government will have
to await agreement between powerful politicos in the PUK and
between the PUK and KDP.
ORESTE