PROVINCIAL DEVELOPMENMT STRATEGY IN MUTHANNA - A

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002647 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ SUBJECT: PROVINCIAL DEVELOPMENMT STRATEGY IN MUTHANNA - A SUCCESS STORY ¶1. This is a PRT Muthanna cable. ¶2. Summary: On July 25 and 26, Muthanna Province held the first public meeting in the long process of creating a Muthanna Provincial Development Strategy (MPDS). It was similar to a New England town council meeting, where citizens candidly articulated what they wanted their government to do for them. This is seen as a major milestone for the province in making the transition from the Saddam era where the direction came from the central government, to developing local government in Iraq that is representative to the needs of its citizens. The next step will be to use the MPDS to create a budget that will be presented to the central government, which ultimately is the source of funding for provincial public development. With no oil or other high value natural resources, the people of Muthanna must rely on the land, the central government, and their human resources to develop their province. The conference received extensive local media coverage. End Summary. -------------- Background -------------- ¶3. Muthanna is an overwhelmingly Shi'ite province, with no known oil reserves, and with an economy based primarily on agriculture. As such, it was neglected during Saddam Hussein's rule. During that time, local government was directed from above on what to do, how to do it, and given funds to do it. Since the overthrow of Saddam, it has not exhibited the same prevalence towards violence that has been displayed in other provinces, including the predominantly Shi'ite province of Basra. For this reason Muthanna Province was the first to "go PIC" (Provincial Iraqi Control). -------------- The MPDS Process -------------- ¶4. The MPDS process and document are designed to assess the needs of the citizens, articulate goals, and to identify capital projects to achieve those goals. The funding for these projects comes from the central government ministries; therefore the MPDS is also a tool for requesting the funding to achieve their goals. Since November, 2006, PRT Muthanna has worked with the provincial government to form Sector Working Groups (SWG) in order to create a blueprint for Muthanna's future development. The SWGs - composed of PRT members, government officials, academics, and NGO representatives - develop plans within the various sectors that are generally represented by the ministries' directors general (DG). SWGs met repeatedly at Iraqi Army bases, Tallil Air Base where the PRT is based, the Provincial Council building in Samawah, and at several conferences hosted by the British Department for International Development (DFID) outside of Iraq. The end products of the SWGs were combined into the draft MPDS. -------------- The Public Meeting -------------- ¶5. On 25-26 July, the open conference was held at the PC building for discussion of the final draft MPDS. Conference participants included PRT and SWG members, and local representatives of the provincial districts and sub-districts. PRT members had been working for months to bring more of these local representatives into the process, but this was the first event where all were present. The ensuing discussion reflected true representative government. Comments ranged from, "Why are there no road projects for my district," to, "There is no vision to develop the Iraqi people." At times the discussion became heated, and sometimes very pointed: when the Housing DG was asked why his ministry wasn't building houses in some districts, he responded, "Some local councils insist on deciding who will get the bid," to which people demanded, "Who, which ones?" -------------- What's Next -------------- ¶6. The final product from the conference was a list of comments and complaints from the representative participants, which will be reviewed by the full PC. The final MPDS is scheduled to be voted on by the PC next week, thereby completing a long and sometimes arduous process. The next step will be to connect the MPDS to the budget development and execution process. Muthanna PRT, in connection with RTI, has already started this process and completed a computerized template for the provincial budget. BAGHDAD 00002647 002 OF 002 ¶7. Comment: Completion of the development strategy marks a significant milestone for Muthanna province (and the PRT) not only for the development strategy itself, but also for the manner in which it was presented to the public for debate and comment. The conference received extensive local media coverage, including local television. Equally important has been the commitment shown by local officials to take ownership of the development strategy process. What began as a PRT/DFID sponsored initiative ended as a truly locally driven process. End Comment. CROCKER