TURKMENISTAN: USAID SEMINAR ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001006 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR SCA/CEN AID/W FOR ASIA/EA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID KDEM TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: USAID SEMINAR ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE REF: ASHGABAT 0230 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On August 5-6, 25 Turkmen parliamentarians, local government leaders and other officials participated in a USAID sponsored seminar on local governance. The Turkmen parliament is currently considering reforms to the local government system in Turkmenistan. The USAID seminar explored international examples of local governance systems and offered participants the opportunity to discuss challenges facing systematic reform. Newly elected officials were critical of the slow pace of reform. END SUMMARY. SEVERAL HIGH-RANKING OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE ¶3. (U) Of the 25 participants, 10 are heads of local government bodies, most are newly elected as of July. Four parliament deputies, including two committee chairs, participated in the seminar as well as a number of ministry officials. The two-day seminar was supported by UNDP and Turkmenistan's parliament. ¶4. (U) The chairperson of the parliamentary committee on local government, Gurbangul Bairamova, participated in the seminar. She was elected in December 2008 and continues to be active in USAID's efforts to promote local governance reforms, including participation in a group that visited the United States in April to study U.S. local government structures. PARLIAMENT CONSIDERS REFORM TO LOCAL GOVERNANCE SYSTEM ¶5. (U) Parliament is currently considering several pieces of legislation that would affect the local governance system in Turkmenistan. These include rewriting the People's Councils law, Local Executive Government Bodies law, and the Code of Turkmenistan Budget System. During the seminar, the parliament's legal expert, Professor Murad Haitov, highlighted the challenges involved in implementing local governance reforms, including outdated legislation as well as social and cultural factors. SEMINAR FOCUSED ON INTERNATIONAL EXAMPLES OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND TURKMEN REFORM ¶6. (U) The seminar covered basic principles of effective local governance and service delivery, including budgeting and finance. It also explored international examples of local government structures and engendered participant discussion on local governance reform in Turkmenistan. Participants were particularly eager to discuss topics related to budgetary issues, requiring the facilitator to rearrange the agenda of the seminar so that these issues would be addressed the first day. ¶7. (SBU) Local government officials revealed a willingness to criticize the central government on a number of occasions during the two-day seminar. They noted the slow pace of local governance reform and a lack of support from the central government for community-based economic growth. Moreover, several participants expressed frustration with the lack of independent revenue sources for local governments. One seminar participant complained that the government only talked about reforms but no action has taken place. Another participant expressed a desire for a U.S. style local government system, stating that "the people are ready for self-governance." ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: These rather unexpected and energetic criticisms of the central government during the seminar may be indicative of a stronger inclination by newly elected local government leaders to challenge the central government on a broader range of issues. This may suggest an emerging desire for greater community-based decision-making and governance. It may also suggest the nascent growth of independence and a decreased fear of repercussions on behalf of local leaders, at least among newly elected officials. END COMMENT. MILES