RECONSTRUCTING AFGHANISTAN - USG PROCUREMENT AS DEMAND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KABUL 002071 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/RA, AND SCA/A DEPT PASS AID/ANE DEPT PASS USTR FOR GERBER AND KLEIN DEPT PASS OPIC FORZAHNISER DEPT PASS TDA FOR STEIN AND GREENIP CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A NSC FOR AHARRIMAN TREASURY FOR LMCDONALD, ABAUKOL, AND JCIORCIARI OSD FOR SHIVERS COMMERCE FOR DEES, CHOPPIN, AND FONOVICH ISLAMABAD FOR AG ATTACHE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAGR EIND ETRD EINV EAID MOPS AF SUBJECT: RECONSTRUCTING AFGHANISTAN - USG PROCUREMENT AS DEMAND CENTER FOR GENERATING LICIT ECONOMIC GROWTH Ref: Kabul 1746 (U) This message contains SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED information. Please protect accordingly. SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Beginning with Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan's (CFC-A) landmark Afghan First initiative, local procurement of goods and services by the U.S. and NATO military establishments and the international community is growing. It needs to grow more. An April 2007 study estimates that of the $1.36 billion spent in Afghan year 1384 (April 2005-March 2006) by all major donors, the local impact of the money was 31.2% or $424 million. Local procurement has four major benefits: cost savings, quick economic impact, national economy building, and winning Afghan hearts and minds. Significant steps have been taken within the U.S. government and international community towards procuring local goods and services, including an estimated $10 million contract to local mineral water company Crystal Water (an OPIC $14 million investment) which supplies the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A). On May 14, NATO ISAF issued a Standard Operating Procedure providing overarching guidance to all ISAF forces on how they can increase local procurement efforts. ¶2. (SBU) Key opportunities exist for U.S. local procurement efforts in the areas of agriculture, construction/engineering, and textiles. A concerted effort to raise agricultural production to meet U.S. military health standards could help change the nature of the rural economy away from subsistence and illegal crops to higher value commercial crops that can be consumed by U.S., NATO, and Afghan military and police forces. This will require a team effort by U.S. military food safety inspectors, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USAID, and Department of Agriculture (USDA) personnel. In particular, more USDA experts will likely be needed in Afghanistan to make this concept a reality. IMPORTANCE OF LOCAL PROCUREMENT -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Under the Afghanistan Compact in January 2006, donors agreed to increase the local impact of external assistance through using national partners rather than international partners to implement projects; increasing procurement within Afghanistan; and using Afghan goods and services, wherever possible, rather than imported goods and services. The USG has made significant progress since March 2006 toward achieving these goals. Expanding USG procurement of local goods and services will require increased U.S. attention and commitment at the highest civilian and military levels. ¶4. (SBU) The case of Crystal Water has demonstrated the four major benefits of local procurement: cost savings, quick economic impact, national economy building, and winning hearts and minds. Procuring Crystal Water locally has generated estimated savings of 30-60% from reduced freight and labor costs. The U.S. military estimates that if it procured all bottled water locally, it would save approximately $30 million per year in freight costs alone. CSTC-A estimates that local procurement of Crystal Water will inject close to $8 million into the Afghan economy this year, generating much needed employment and tax revenue. Afghan Beverage Industries' KABUL 00002071 002 OF 005 (ABI) factory in Kabul, which produces Crystal Water, employs over 200 Afghans, generating over 5,000 indirect jobs through the industry's multiplier effect. This is a promising first step given that total water purchases for Coalition forces have reached as high as $58 million per year. ¶5. (SBU) This kind of potential revenue stream attracts investment in new plants and equipment. There are now a total of 12 bottling facilities in Afghanistan competing to secure major contracts due, in part, to the success of ABI's contract with the U.S. military on Crystal Water. One of the twelve companies is Kabul's Coca-Cola bottling plant (see reftel). SUCCESS OF LOCAL PROCUREMENT EFFORTS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In 2006, Canadian NGO Peace Dividend Trust (PDT) began a pilot project in Afghanistan to increase local procurement, helping facilitate $40 million in local sales to international community buyers. This includes a $23 million contract for NATO/ISAF to locally procure heavy equipment, an internet service provider (ISP), copy equipment, printing, vehicle maintenance, and construction needs. ISAF estimates that its local procurement efforts have jumped to 53% from 30% out of a $100 million budget. CSTC-A recently awarded a contract to the Millie Factory to provide locally produced military boots for $900,000. One factory was restarted by the company in Afghanistan to fulfill the terms of the contract. ¶7. (SBU) U.S. Army Lieutenant General Eikenberry, former commanding general of the Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan (CFC-A), initiated the "Afghan First" campaign starting in March 2006 to reorient the military's procurement efforts towards local suppliers of goods and services. On May 14, 2007, NATO ISAF issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to provide overarching guidance to all ISAF forces on how they can contribute to the Afghan First policy. The SOP states that within the bounds of existing national and NATO quality control, food standards, and legal and regulatory frameworks, ISAF should aim to utilize Afghan services, purchase Afghan goods, purchase Afghan food and beverages, develop Afghan skills, support the local currency, and encourage competition. ¶8. (SBU) In addition to the military, Embassy Kabul and USAID Afghanistan have made significant strides regarding local procurement. For the current fiscal year, Embassy Kabul estimates it will spend approximately $5.85 million on local procurement, an increase of 216% from the previous fiscal year. This includes packing and shipping, diesel fuel, computers and other electronics, vehicles and vehicle parts, furniture and office supplies, personal services (including the foreign service national (FSN) cafeteria, dry cleaners, and barber and hair dressers),generators, and construction projects. The construction projects, in particular, are the first the Embassy has contracted for directly without off-shore middlemen to manage the project. As such, local vendors will receive 100% of the payment for several projects in the range of $5,000 - $25,000 each. ¶9. (SBU) Between 2002 and 2006, USAID Afghanistan awarded more than $300 million in reconstruction contracts to Afghan firms. When Afghan-American firms were included, this figure rose to $450 million. More than $1.39 million was spent in fiscal year 2005 and $1.1 million in fiscal year 2006 on the purchase of local goods and services. KABUL 00002071 003 OF 005 CHALLENGES -------------- ¶10. (SBU) This positive trend in procurement patterns reveals that a growing proportion of external assistance is spent locally and has local impact. The Afghanistan Compact Procurement Monitoring Project estimates that around 31% of the official development assistance (ODA) provided to Afghanistan has a direct impact on the local economy. Within the different ways donors spend their funds, funding to Afghanistan through trust fund arrangements has a significantly higher impact on the local economy (around 85%) compared to funds provided to local contracts (around 35-50%),to international companies or international NGOs (around 15%),or to contracts for technical assistance (around 10%). Peace Dividend Trust's (PDT) April 2007 study confirmed that of the $1.36 billion spent in Afghan year 1384 by all major donors, the local impact was 31.2% or $424 million. ¶11. (SBU) Some important obstacles are likely to impede efforts to expand local procurement efforts. International buyers often lack information on the local marketplace; trust in the capacity of Afghan businesses to deliver quality products; and direct access to the Afghan marketplace. Strict safety and quality regulations often set standards that Afghan firms are currently unable to meet. Afghan suppliers often lack good practices; have limited exposure to international markets; have difficulty accessing opportunities; lack capacity to competitively bid on contracts; and do not have the experience to gain access to capital. OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL INVESTMENT -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Nonetheless, key opportunities exist for American local procurement efforts in the areas of agriculture, construction/engineering, and textiles. The U.S. military additionally has a window of opportunity to shape procurement practices for the Afghan National Army (ANA),Afghan National Police (ANP),local jails, the Afghan air force, and the Afghan Border Police (ABP). ¶13. (SBU) U.S. government food safety regulations make it especially difficult to locally procure "class one consumables" such as produce, dairy, and meat products. Afghan farmers and ranchers face significant challenges in meeting these strict standards at all stages including production, harvest, cleaning, processing, cold-storage facilities, transportation, marketing, and certification. However, the heart of USG reconstruction policy is the transformation of Afghanistan's rural economy from its current anemic traditional base, susceptible to temptations to grow illegal drugs, to a modern, integrated, commercial agricultural economy growing licit high value crops, raising high value livestock, and exporting to high-priced demand centers. Eighty percent of Afghanistan's workforce works in the agricultural sector. U.S. military and NATO/ISAF procurement of Afghan agricultural products can provide an important demand stimulus to rural reconstruction. Proactive interventions by military health experts can elevate product standards to levels acceptable for consumption by U.S. and NATO military personnel. ¶14. (SBU) Construction/engineering is the one sector in which Afghan firms are showing a growing competitiveness. There are a large number of Afghan construction companies, and with the proper training, such as that provided by the Army Corps of Engineers, KABUL 00002071 004 OF 005 local firms have been able to meet international standards at a fraction of the cost of international contractors. Additionally, CSTC-A Commanding Major General Durbin's procurement program in support of the ANA and ANP has a large procurement budget, and the process allows in some cases for local contractors to bid without performance guarantees that had previously excluded them from participation in some types of tenders. ¶15. (SBU) Opportunities are growing for the development of an Afghan garment industry. The domestic market currently depends on small tailoring shops for custom work and vast quantities of imports for readymade items. The U.S. military's Afghan First policy has created demand for domestically produced apparel goods for the ANA and ANP. Until very recently, most of this multi-million dollar procurement process was vetted out to companies who sourced in China and Pakistan. This is starting to change. For instance, Afghan company Tarsian & Blinkely won a contract to produce ANA and ANP products, ranging from battle dress uniforms, field jackets, police uniforms, and tactical dress uniforms. Additional military items could be procured locally if the industry was further developed. An Afghan-American joint-venture, Safi Apparel, is expected to enter this market soon. ¶16. (SBU) Currently, the U.S. military is handling procurement for the ANA, ANP, Afghan jails, Afghan air force, and the ABP. Ishaq Nadiri, the GOA's Senior Economic Advisor to the President, is looking at the issue of local procurement for Afghan security forces. A window of opportunity exists to help shape procurement standards and suppliers for these Afghan services in favor of local Afghan producers. COMMENT -------------- 17.(SBU) In the short term, the U.S. and NATO military budgets will be the largest single source of demand for goods and services in Afghanistan. Thus, the U.S. government has a real opportunity to boost the Afghan economy and the development of the Afghan private sector through increasing local procurement. This can include contracts for companies that will train Afghans and build local capacity; companies with Afghans in their management chain; or companies that sub-contract to Afghan firms, as the U.S. military is currently doing. Creating jobs is one of the keys to success in Afghanistan, and expanding USG and international community demand for local products and services is one method that can attain this objective. 18.(SBU) With 80% of Afghanistan's workforce employed in tQrural economy and illicit poppy production in many parts of the country, the agriculture sector needs special attention. In the absence of reliable land transportation links to international markets, local purchase of meat and produce to feed U.S., NATO, and Afghan soldiers and policemen could increase demand for licit agricultural production and begin enticing farmers to shift cropping patterns from subsistence and illicit crops to licit commercial crops. However, Afghan agricultural products must meet strict food safety standards before they can be consumed by military and police personnel. To achieve this objective, U.S. military and FDA health inspectors should work with USAID and USDA personnel to raise the sanitary and phytosanitary standards on model farms around Afghanistan to meet U.S. military food safety standards. (NOTE: We will need more USDA experts in Afghanistan to make this concept a reality. END NOTE.) Once model farms are supplying foodstuffs to KABUL 00002071 005 OF 005 the military, the model farms can serve as magnets to train neighboring farms in proper sanitary and phytosanitary methods. As these practices spread, farmers will not only be able to supply the military here, but also export to higher value markets, assuming that transportation bottlenecks can be removed. In this way, we can sustain the pace of economic growth and create the jobs needed to absorb Afghanistan's unemployed and returning refugees. WOOD