PRT MOSUL: USAID'S SNOWBALLING PROGRESS IN NINEWA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002346 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2017 TAGS: EAID ECON OIIP PGOV KDEM IZ SUBJECT: PRT MOSUL: USAID'S SNOWBALLING PROGRESS IN NINEWA REF: 06 BAGHDAD 04352 Classified By: Ninewa PRT Team Leader James Knight: 1.4 (B) and (D). This is a Ninewa Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) message. -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Ninewa PRT's robust USAID efforts are making exceptional progress, especially in Ninewa's most difficult areas. New sustainable programs coordinated with Coalition and Iraqi leadership have multiplied our efforts to empower Provincial government and promote economic recovery. USAID and its implementing partners are already key to Ninewa PRT operations and becoming their core as our PRT further matures. END SUMMARY. -------------- SUCCESS IN INSECURE AREAS -------------- ¶2. (C) Ninewa PRT's USAID component has focused its efforts on insecure neighborhoods of Mosul city and key Districts of Ninewa, in tight coordination with Coalition commanders and Iraqi provincial leadership. For example, USAID through its Community Stabilization Program (CSP) has underwritten 2,000 entry-level jobs including road repair and basic construction, created nearly 200 permanent jobs through business development grants, and just graduated its first class of 524 vocational training graduates -- many of whom will be absorbed into an apprentice program with the private sector. These efforts have been especially effective engaging military-age males in these difficult areas. -------------- BRINGING SUNNI AND SHI'A TURCOMANS TOGETHER IN TAL'AFAR -------------- ¶3. (C) CSP has also enrolled more than 8,500 youth in sports programs in Mosul and Tal'Afar. A watershed of this program was a soccer league championship game in Tal'Afar on 4 May that brought together the best Sunni and Shi'a teams on a neutral field, only weeks after a 27 March bombing which inflamed sectarian tension. By the end of the match, both Shi'a and Sunni players, team boosters, and security forces and political leadership were exuberantly cheering for players and teams of both sides. Tal'Afar District Mayor Najim was particularly enthusiastic, and happily proclaimed the key role of such programs for reconciliation in the city. -------------- LONG-TERM PROSPECTS EXCELLENT -------------- ¶4. (SBU) While CSP is focused on reducing insurgent threats in Ninewa, other USAID programs are underway to enhance longer-term development in the province. USAID's National Capacity Development (NCD) program has been especially effective. NCD conducted a well-advertised Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination in Mosul 18 March. More than 60 students took the exam offered at the PRT-supported Ninewa Business Center. Future TOEFL exams are planned to meet burgeoning demand in Ninewa. NCD has also provided training to over 100 senior staff of service ministries in computer literacy, procurement, financial management, and leadership. Significant progress has been made toward NCD's primary objective to establish a regional facility in Mosul to train civil servants in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning. ¶5. (SBU) Ninewa's longstanding Local Governance Program (LGP) has promoted effective decentralized governance through individual mentoring and technical training for the Provincial Council, in partnership with our PRT Governance Section. LGP's robust training has been extended to all nine District Councils of the province and 21 of its 22 Sub-District Councils. ¶6. (C) Two new USAID programs planned for Ninewa will further promote economic development. The Inma ('growth') Agribusiness Program will improve agricultural productivity and diversity and promote agribusiness. The Private Sector Economic Growth program will strengthen capital markets and provide a broad range services to businesses. -------------- LIBRARIES FOR TRAINING -------------- ¶7. (C) Our PRT has worked to reinvigorate the Mosul Public BAGHDAD 00002346 002 OF 002 Library for some time. CSP has mobilized that relationship to offer an outreach program that now includes computer training for 200 members of the community. PRT Public Diplomacy programming and outreach continue and may offer similar opportunities at other venues including libraries in Tal'Afar and other Districts administered by Mosul Public Library. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The impact of PRT Ninewa's USAID-led programs over the past year has been enormous, and far beyond even our ambitious expectations. Each new implementing partner has opened new vehicles in Ninewa for further progress toward the democratic, prosperous and vigorous Iraq that PRTs were established to promote. PRT Ninewa continues to work toward evolving into a USAID-led office that enjoys the same support from maneuver commanders and the Embassy that has enabled our PRT's effectiveness so far. END COMMENT. CROCKER