MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS ON MOSUL RECONSTRUCTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003330

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2018
TAGS: ECON PGOV EAID ECPS EINT EINV IZ
SUBJECT: MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS ON MOSUL RECONSTRUCTION
AND TELE-COMMS

REF: BAGHDAD 3267

Classified By: Economic Minister Counselor Marc Wall for reasons 1.4(b)
and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Minister of Communications Farouk
Abdul-Rahman claims to have spent all of the USD 100 million
provided by the Central Government for reconstruction in
Mosul. He said that Provincial Government budget-execution
lags behind, and he has asked Prime Minister Maliki to
reassign some of the provincial budget to his own use.
Abdul-Rahman was very critical of Ninewa Governor Kashmoula,
saying that he is not interested in reconstruction or
reconciliation, but made factually incorrect assertions that
cast doubt on his credibility. Mosul continues to be very
unsafe, he said, despite others' claims to the contrary.
While focused mainly on his efforts in Mosul, Abdul-Rahman
claims he has substantially increased budget execution in the
Ministry of Communications and welcomed foreign investment in
internet and e-Governance programs in Iraq. End summary.


2. (SBU) EMIN discussed Mosul reconstruction and
telecommunications issues during a courtesy call with
Minister of Communications Farouk Abdul-Rahman on October 9.
Abdul-Rahman was appointed Minister of Communications in July

2008. Abdul-Rahman is also the GOI's Reconstruction
Coordinator for Mosul. A Sunni Arab, he is a member of the
Iraq Islamic Party.


3. (C) According to Abdul-Rahman, the Central Government's
Mosul Reconstruction budget of USD 100 million has been fully
contracted. (Comment: These funds were actually fully
committed by his predecessor Zuhair Chalabi, and, we believe,
to little effect. End comment.) These projects have focused
on basic services, including healthcare and hospitals, water
supplies and sewage treatment, education, and improving roads
and transportation networks. He has asked the Prime Minister
to transfer some of Ninewa's IQD 650 billion provincial
budget to his control since he believes he will be more
effective in spending it. (Note: Abdul-Rahman's rival,
Governor Kashmoula, in turn blames the Central Government for
delays in executing his budget (reftel). End note.)

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"There is No One Safe in Mosul"...
--------------


4. (C) Abdul-Rahman said that security has not improved in
Mosul despite claims to the contrary. He was most concerned
that Al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) and criminal gangs forced all
companies doing reconstruction work to pay kickbacks and
"protection money." "There is no one safe in Mosul," he
said. He recounted the story of a local member of parliament
whose house was blown up despite being in a protected
neighborhood. According to Abdul-Rahman, Governor Kashmoula
spent the Eid (celebration of the end of Ramadan) with his
family, which is staying in Dohuk Province due to security
concerns. Real divisions exist between the political parties
and both the police and military forces are infiltrated by
AQI and gangs. Efforts were needed to "clean up" the police
and military by finding and removing those that have
infiltrated their ranks. "The commander of operations in
Mosul does not have control," he claimed, "and many of his
orders are not carried out."

--------------
...And the Governor Doesn't Care
--------------


5. (C) Abdul-Rahman said that Governor Kashmoula is not
interested in making the hard decisions necessary to bring
about reconstruction and reconciliation since he does not
expect to be re-elected in upcoming elections. "He only has
a limited mandate and the people of Mosul do not feel that he
represents them," he said. "If you just talk to the
Governor, I need to warn you, that if you only work with him,
you will not see any security or reconstruction in Mosul.
The Governor does not want reconstruction to succeed. Do not
only work with him," he said. Abdul-Rahman alleged the
Governor has prohibited all of the central government
ministries' directors-general in Mosul from attending
Governorate-level reconstruction meetings and complained that
he had not been invited to the Governor's meeting with the
Deputy Secretary (reftel). (Comment: Abdul-Rahman's
assertions are incorrect. For example, Ninewa PRT leader
chaired a reconstruction meeting just this past week that
included directors-general. Also, it was a USG decision not
to invite Abdul-Rahman to the meeting with the Deputy
Secretary. Abdul-Rahman's statements seem to derive from his
very strained relationship with Kashmoula. End comment.)


6. (C) Vice Governor Keshro Goran, a Kurd, is the person

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"truly in control," said Abdul-Rahman. By pursuing sectarian
gains, however, Goran has greatly damaged relations between
the Kurds and the Arabs in Mosul.

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Telecommunications Issues
--------------


7. (SBU) Abdul-Rahman said that the Ministry of
Communications continues to suffer from its outdated legal
framework and from problems inherent in the Coalition
Provisional Authority Order that created the Iraq
Communications and Media Commission. Corrective legislation
is pending in the Council of Representatives (COR),but the
COR lacks the experienced staff necessary to understand and
advance the bill, he said.


8. (SBU) Abdul-Rahman claimed that he has done what he can to
make internal reforms and focus on budget execution since his
July 2008 appointment as minister. He said that when he
became minister, the ministry had only spent IQD 23 billion
of its total 2008 budget of IQD 380 billion. Since then, he
has pushed through an additional IQD 105 billion in spending.
Budget execution problems have hurt the ministry, he said,
and as a result the Ministry of Communications will receive
less in FY 2009 than FY 2008.


9. (SBU) Abdul-Rahman said the ministry will concentrate on
creating a fiber-optic network backbone, replacing the
landline telephone exchange systems, extending internet
access more widely through Iraq, and installing a satellite
back-up system for the land-based phone network.


10. (SBU) Abdul-Rahman said that he would welcome foreign
investment in e-Governance systems that allow individuals to
pay electric and telephone utility bills online. He would
also like to develop an e-Government network that would
reduce paper flow between government offices and allow access
to government systems over the internet at kiosks.


11. (SBU) Abdul-Rahman was adamant that the GOI maintain
control over fiber-optic networks and that only the Ministry
of Communications' state-owned company is authorized to lay
fiber in Iraq. He complained that private companies and even
provincial governments are installing their own fiber. In
response to a question from EMIN, Abdul-Rahman said that he
would "not stand in the way" of the U.S. company OIFNET that
has completed a fiber project from Baghdad to Kuwait so long
as the only user of this network was the U.S. Government.

CROCKER