SUB-NATIONAL GOVERNANCE: AMENDED PROVINCIAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 001712 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG NSC FOR AHARRIMAN OSD FOR SHIVERS CG CJTF-82, POLAD, JICCENT RELEASABLE TO NATO/ISAF E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID KDEM PGOV AF SUBJECT: SUB-NATIONAL GOVERNANCE: AMENDED PROVINCIAL COUNCIL LAW INTRODUCES DEMOCRATIC REFORMS SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) President Karzai signed an amended Provincial Council (PC) law in late March. The law,s key elements give parliament and the president shared authority over PCs and give PCs a significantly expanded role overseeing appointed elements of the provincial governments, including the Provincial Development Committees (PDCs). The plan puts Provincial Councils at the center of the provincial development planning process and elevates their authority relative to the appointed Provincial Governors and Ministry Directors. The amended law is the most significant democratic reform of sub-national governance since the adoption of the post-Taliban Constitution. It represents an important first step in clarifying and empowering a key element in Afghanistan,s emerging system of sub-national governance. END SUMMARY. PROVINCIAL COUNCILS, OLD AND NEW -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Provincial Councils (PCs) are currently the only elected institutions at the sub-national level. District, Village, and Municipal Councils are called for in the Constitution, but elections have not yet been held. PCs play a key constitutional role in selecting from among their ranks two-thirds of the members of the upper house of parliament, the Meshrano Jirga. They were previously governed by the November 2005 Law on Provincial Councils, a Presidential decree which had the force of law until Parliament passed the new, amended version. Under the old decree, PCs played a weak advisory role in the provincial administration. They reported annually to the Ministry of Interior (MOI),which provided an administrative budget only sufficient to pay salaries. PCs also faced several problems in fulfilling even a minimal representational role, including an unclear division of responsibilities with other sub-national units, limited understanding of how to represent constituent interests, lack of budgetary authority, and competition with informal local power structures. ¶3. (SBU) In November 2006, Parliament offered amendments to the November 2005 Law. Five months later President Karzai signed a compromise version which clarifies the relationship between PCs and the central government, and gives them a more explicit role in provincial oversight. The amended law has yet to be published in the official gazette, and there is as yet no official English translation. REPORTING TO PARLIAMENT AND PRESIDENT -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The amended law clarifies the relationship between PCs and the Central Government by requiring that PCs submit quarterly reports to both the President and Parliament in place of annual reports to the Ministry of Interior. The MOI's anemic Administration Division thus loses authority over elected sub-national structures (i.e. PCs, and ultimately District, Village, and Municipal Councils),but retains responsibility for the executive branch's appointed sub-national officials (i.e. Provincial Governors, Deputy Governors, District Governors, Mayors and other Municipal Officials). Administrative responsibility for PCs -- and ultimately for all elected sub-national bodies -- passes from the MOI to Farook Wardak's Office of Administrative Affairs (OAA) in the Office of the President, and to its new Provincial Council Directorate head Karim Baz. ¶5. (SBU) According to Baz, the amended PC law represents a compromise between the President and Parliament by preserving the government's role in setting sub-national policies while formalizing existing linkages between elected bodies at the central and sub-national levels. PCs KABUL 00001712 002 OF 003 have ties to both houses of Parliament because they have common constituents. Wolesi Jirga members are currently elected on a provincial basis, and two-thirds of Meshrano Jirga members are selected by PCs from among their ranks. The compromise in the amended law acknowledges these ties while insulating PCs from dependency upon the parliament for salaries and administrative needs, particularly the Meshrano Jirga, whose members are selected by PCs. Baz told Poloff on May 8 that both President Karzai and the parliament want to develop closer relationships with the PCs, and that "the President plans to meet with the heads of PCs every two months." FROM AN ADVISORY TO A SUPERVISORY ROLE -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The amended law also substantially increases PC authority over other sub-national officials by substituting a more robust and explicit "oversight" role over the Provincial Administration in place of the previously vague "advisory" role. According to Baz, the amended law requires formal PC approval of Provincial Development Plans (PDPs),which feed development priorities into the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) framework. Under the old law, PCs only provided input into PDPs through two or three members who, together with Provincial Governors and Ministerial Directors, sat on the Provincial Development Committees (PDCs) responsible for developing the PDPs. Under the amended law, PDPs require the approval of the full PC, which will significantly increase their role in the development planning process and their accountability to their electorate for the projects that are ultimately implemented. ¶7. (SBU) The amended law also adds "oversight" to PC's role in advising on the "effective use of financial resources to the province." Baz told Poloff on May 8 that the extent of PC financial oversight over budget and spending decision by Line Ministry Provincial Directors is yet to be defined. How this role is interpreted could have considerable implications for PC authority and accountability, both at the sub-national level and vis-a-vis the central government. OTHER AMENDMENTS -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The amended law makes several additional changes. The most significant eliminates a moral hazard faced by current PC members by stipulating that the seat of a PC member murdered while in office will remain vacant until the term in office expires, rather than be filled by the runner-up in the previous election. Vacancies resulting from natural death, illness, resignation, or dismissal will continue to be filled by the runner-up. Other amendments include requiring annual elections for PC leadership (Chair, Deputy Chair, and Secretary),requiring PCs to meet once every 15 days, and giving PCs additional responsibilities pertaining to environmental protection and property rights. IMPLEMENTING THE NEW LAW; PC LEADERSHIP ELECTIONS -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Karim Baz told Poloff on May 8 that over the next two months his office would be implementing the amended law by: (1) completing translation and publication, (2) holding annual elections for new PC leadership, (3) developing rules and regulations interpreting the new law, including the new oversight provision, and (4) training PC members and informing other sub-national officials on the changes in the law. ¶10. (SBU) Provincial Councils in each of Afghanistan's 34 provinces are in the process of holding annual leadership elections from among current members for new Chairs, Deputy KABUL 00001712 003 OF 003 Chairs, and Secretaries. Results so far from 24 PCs indicate that less than 45 percent of the previous officials have been re-elected. Women have been elected to 15 positions (out of 72 so far),including one Chairperson in Bamiyan who was re-elected. With ten PCs remaining, elections have so far proceeded without incident. (NOTE: After a delay of several days, Energy Minister Ishmail Khan's son, a PC member who lost his seat after spending a year abroad, ultimately decided to withdraw his candidacy for a leadership position in Herat before the Supreme Court issued a decision on his eligibility. END NOTE.) TRAINING AND RESOURCES NEEDED -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Baz will distribute to the new PC leadership a draft of proposed rules and regulations for discussion, which will crucially determine the extent of the new oversight role. Once input is compiled and the rules approved by the Cabinet, Baz will convene a workshop later this summer to train PC members on their new roles and responsibilities, and several regional conferences with other sub-national officials to inform them of the implications of the amended law. ¶12. (SBU) Baz said the PCs lack secure transportation and facilities to fulfill their expanded role. He expressed appreciation for USG capacity building support, but lamented a lack of adequate facilities. While Provincial Governors have government-provided compounds, PCs lack dedicated, permanent facilities and often meet in rented houses. Baz asked for funds to provide secure transportation to help PC members reach out to the district and village levels, particularly women in the southern provinces. (NOTE: Opinions vary about whether PCs in fact lack adequate facilities, but Post will explore this question. Secure transportation assistance is already included in the expanded USAID LGCD Program to be implemented in the South and East Regions by DAI, which has yet to be made public. END NOTE) POSITIVE REVIEWS -------------- ¶13. (SBU) International observers agree that the amended PC law is a positive development. Shahmahmood Miakhel, an UNMIK Governance Officer and former Afghan Deputy Minister of Interior for Administration from 2003-5, sees the amended law an important step in elaborating the vague constitutional provisions for sub-national governance and increasing PC authority and accountability. NDI Afghanistan Director Allan Freedman told Poloff that the amended law made great strides toward expanding the role of the democratically-elected PCs relative to appointed provincial officials. According to Freedman, the amended PC law walks a delicate political line by increasing PC authority and accountability without undermining the central government. COMMENT -------------- ¶14. (SBU) The amended PC law is the most significant democratic reform at the sub-national level since the adoption of the post-Taliban Constitution. It reflects a heightened appreciation of the value of extending central government authority through formal, accountable sub-national structures, and an increased willingness to give authority to independently elected democratic bodies. PCs and their newly-elected leadership could increasingly become key partners for PRTs, a role previously dominated by appointed provincial governors. Capacity building assistance will play an important role in helping PCs assume their expanded role. END COMMENT. WOOD