KEY FINANCE MINISTRY OFFICIAL ASSASSINATED

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 003393 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN ECON SUBJECT: KEY FINANCE MINISTRY OFFICIAL ASSASSINATED ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On October 3, Director General of Accounts at the Ministry of Finance (MOF) Mr. Gazi Faisal was assassinated 100 meters from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) building. Gazi worked closely with the Embassy and international donor community and was often the sole source of important information related to budget execution, expenditures, and Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) legacy and post kinetic financing. The MOF is taking steps to rebuild ministerial capacity in the wake of his death. Minister of Finance Bayan Jabr told TreasAtt he will be reorganizing his office to replace Mr. Gazi with three Directors General (DGs),and will be moving parts of the MoF to a safer location to better protect his people. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Early in the evening of October 3, Director General for Accounts Mr. Gazi Faisal was assassinated roughly 100 meters from the MoF building. He was in his 30s, and trained under influential MoF advisor Dr. Azez Hassan during his tenure as a professor at Baghdad University. Gazi was unmarried and lived with his mother in Baghdad ¶3. (SBU) As a Sunni working in a predominately Shi,a Ministry, Gazi had been an employee of the Ministry dating back to the Saddam era. He had been offered bodyguards by Jabr, but he turned down this additional protection, claiming that it attracted additional attention, made him more of a target, and caused his mother anxiety. Working in a an increasingly Shi,a dominated organization, Gazi,s life was repeatedly threatened by insurgent elements in the building. But because of his close ties with Jabr, Gazi was told that he would remain safe as long as he looked after the Minister,s interests. ¶4. (SBU) TreasAtt staff initially referred to Gazi as "Dr. No," because if he appeared to never approve any expenditure of GoI funds. Over time, however, our respect and understanding for him grew. His work on budget formulation, allocation, and execution was invaluable. He offered critical insights into how spending units related to the MoF, line ministries, and the provinces, and he played a pivotal role in the release of funds. Mr. Gazi made an uneasy peace for himself in a difficult situation because he insisted that all those seeking funding from the GoI adhere to strict regulations. Once necessary documentation was in order, he would make those payments authorized by Dr. Azez and Jabr in a timely manner. ¶5. (SBU) Gazi played a vital role in keeping the MoF functioning. With few automated systems to back him up, he invariably found the correct answers to questions on meticulously handwritten 14 column spreadsheets. Gazi worked closely with the Embassy and the international donor community. He was an active participant in the join MoF and World Bank Public Expenditure and Institutional Assessment Workshops, and he most recently participated in the PRT Budget Execution Conference at the Embassy. ¶6. (SBU) TreasAtt visited Jabr on October 6 to offer his condolences. During this visit, Jabr confessed to TreasAtt his shock that he could not protect such a key employee. TreasAtt discussed the difficulty in replacing a man so crucial in the budget execution process, and suggested that the Minister replace Gazi with 4 DGs who would cover, respectively: Provincial Accounts, Central Government Accounts, International Accounts, and a senior Administrator to oversee these units and take charge of the overall budget execution process. ¶7. (SBU) At a dinner a few days later, Jabr thanked TreasAtt for his recommendations. Jabr said he was moving key ministry offices to a safer location in an effort to better protect his people. Responding to TreasAtt's suggestions, Jabr indicated he intended to replace Gazi with three DGs. Emad al-Na,eb will oversee the two other DGs and will be responsible for Provincial Accounts. Mr. Awatef, who was Gazi,s assistant, will be responsible for either Ministerial or International Accounts. The third DG is yet to be determined. Given the increasing demands on budget execution, including financial reporting, this reorganization should position the MoF to improve budget execution despite the loss of Mr. Gazi. CROCKER