FRAUD IN ZABUL'S FOOD FOR WORK PROGRAM UNDERMINING

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001018

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A
STATE PASS USAID ASIA BUREAU, DCHA/OFDA, DCHA/FFP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAGR EAID AF
SUBJECT: FRAUD IN ZABUL'S FOOD FOR WORK PROGRAM UNDERMINING
GOVERNANCE

Classified By: PRT and Sub-National Governance Counselor Valerie C. Fow
ler, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Corruption and fraud in the U.N. World Food Program's
Food For Work (FFW) initiative has started to undermine
governance efforts in Zabul province. According to
provincial officials, some local government officials are
complicit in falsely certifying uncompleted or non-existent
projects, and food is not reaching the intended
beneficiaries. FFW has given WFP a bad image in Zabul ) an
image of an international organization that chiefly enriches
those with connections or power, and fuels the popular
perception that the GIRoA is corrupt and not interested in
meeting the basic needs of the people. Embassy Kabul will
take the following steps: 1) press the WFP to freeze its FFW
program in Zabul until an audit is completed and a new system
with stronger oversight can be developed and implemented; and
2) encourage the Ministry for Rural Rehabilitation and
Development (MRRD),the WFP,s chief implementing partner, to
investigate its Zabul office, and enhance staffing of the
office to ensure better oversight and accountability. Until
oversight is increased, the U.S. PRT officers judge that FFW
will continue to do more harm than good in Zabul.


FFW Not Reaching Intended Targets
--------------


2. (S/NF) Both Deputy Governor Gulab Shah and Zabul's WFP
program manager Bazeed (strictly protect) have told PRT
officers on several occasions that few projects are actually
being carried out in exchange for the food stuffs provided.
Gulab Shah estimated that only 10 percent of the funded
projects were actually executed. Bazeed told PRT officers
April 5 that he knows that projects are not being done, but
the provincial MRRD department and the governor,s office
sign the paperwork certifying completion of projects. Bazeed
said the WFP office in Zabul lacked the ability to verify
independently the FFW projects, and thus must accept the
paper work submitted by the provincial government. (Comment:
The lack of actual work performed explains why more citizens
do not complain about the problems with WFP FFW deliveries )
few residents are actually aware they are being cheated out
of the potential to be compensated for their labor. End
comment)

Specific Examples
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3. (C) Three recent incidents involving FFW highlight how
the program,s poor management has started to interfere with
basic governance and rule of law:

-- In northern Zabul province, a FFW convoy intended for
Dehchopan district was stranded in Arghandab in January when
the single dirt road became impassible. The Dehchopan
District Chief verbally threatened the PRT officer that if
she did not deliver the food to Dehchopan, he would refuse to
cooperate with U.S. forces at the outpost in his district,
and that they would be "very sorry." The ANA managed to
deliver some bags via airlift, but the stalled food and
district governor,s threats highlighted a complete lack of
basic services and governance (as well as a fundamental
misunderstanding about the relations between the PRT and WFP
programs).

-- In Tarnak wa Jaldak district, south on Highway One from
the provincial capital Qalat, the ANP arrested a local
education department official and designated district FFW
contact, Najibullah, in December 2008 on suspicion of
stealing wheat. Najibullah was released at the provincial
level (thus disheartening those who tried to prosecute him
for theft). Local contacts report that in March, despite
receiving FFW shipments, Najibullah had no contracts, no
projects, no work, and charged the WFP for 20 employees when
he only hired ten. Local villagers ask the police and their
USG mentors to take custody of the FFW wheat because they
feared that Najibullah, along with District Chief Shodi Khan,
would distribute the wheat only to the Popalzai tribe to buy
influence. Note: PRT heard numerous allegations of Shodi
Khan sells wheat on the market in his home city of Kandahar.


-- Most recently, three well-known local Tukhi tribe

KABUL 00001018 002 OF 002


"troublemakers" blocked a provincial delegation from
distributing FFW to villagers from Surkhaghan, a particularly
insurgent-prone area. Deputy Provincial Council Chief
Assadullah and National Directorate of Security (NDS) chief
Nazir Ali reported that three men threw rocks and used
abusive language during the incident. The NDS chief claimed
later that arresting them would have created bigger problems,
and simply stopped the distribution until the new governor
could arrive and resolve the situation. In this case, the
Surkhaghan elders shrugged and went home, since they had not
actually done work for the project. However, the incident
highlights how FFW shipments have become commodities in the
province,s power struggles.

Efforts by Former Governor Arman
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4. (C) Former Governor Delbar Jan Arman tried to resolve the
WFP FFW problem in November 2008, when he arrested the
provincial MRRD Director, a local elder, and several other
bureaucrats for "not doing their job and distributing FFW to
the people." However, Arman's detractors claimed he wanted
more control over the same commodities, and Arman dropped the
effort amidst his own political woes. The current MRRD
director Mansoor, while not admitting to fraud, did tell the
PRT in March that he did not have enough staff to monitor
most projects outside Qalat. The PRT communicated these
concerns to UNAMA at several points in the last six months,
but has seen no response.

Comment
--------------


5. (C) At this stage, FFW is counterproductive and no longer
reaching its intended beneficiaries in Zabul, nor is it
generating the work projects designed for community
improvements. Provincial ANA, ANP, and NDS leadership are in
agreement that FFW and other humanitarian assistance often
ends up in the bazaars. In Zabul, it has become a program
that allows those with connections to falsify papers to earn
wheat that they can sell or distribute for political
influence. In a province where conditions are ripe for the
Taliban to take control of aid shipments in isolated
districts, this lack of oversight could eventually fuel the
counterinsurgents' efforts to build credibility for their own
movement. PRT recommends that the USG convey to MRRD and WFP
the immediate need for investigations into the FFW activities
in Zabul, and application of stricter controls and
monitoring.


6. (U) PRT Commander and USAID field program office
coordinated on this report.
RICCIARDONE