GHAZNI GOVERNOR FIRES TWO DISTRICT GOVERNORS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 004088 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM, INR/B STATE PASS USAID FOR ASIA/SCAA USFOR-A FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM MOPS AF SUBJECT: GHAZNI GOVERNOR FIRES TWO DISTRICT GOVERNORS, HINTS AT FURTHER DISMISSALS REF: KABUL 2807 Classified By: Interagency Provincial Affairs Deputy Director Hoyt Yee for Reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: The Governor of central Afghanistan's Ghazni Province, Usman Usmani, has fired two district governors due to corruption and dereliction of duty. Governor Usmani told us that he was considering firing other district governors for similar reasons. One of the dismissed officials, Mohammad Hassan, is a notorious figure in Ghazni who has long been believed to have engaged in criminal and corrupt practices. While we believe both district governors deserved to be fired, the timing of their dismissal raises interesting questions about Usmani's motivations and political calculations. End Summary. TWO DISTRICT GOVERNOR OUT, MORE TO FOLLOW? -------------- ¶2. (C) Ghazni Governor Usmani fired the District Governor of Zanakhan District, Mohammad Hassan, on December 2, and the Giro District Governor, Abdulwakil Matin, on December 4. Usmani told Task Force Yukon representatives that the dismissals were in line with his efforts to clean up his provincial administration following resolution of Afghanistan's presidential elections. Usmani said that Hassan's corrupt practices have alienated tribal elders and that Matin was dismissed for excessive absenteeism. Usmani indicated he was also considering firing other district governors, particularly Rashidan District Governor Ghulam Sakhi and Khogyani District Sub-Governor Abdullah Haliq Ahmadi. He noted that Sakhi is rarely at his post in the Rashidan District Center, and that ethnic Hazara Ahmadi could not effectively govern the Pashtun-majority in Khogyani district. HASSAN: A REAL LOWLIFE OF GHAZNI -------------- ¶3. (C) Mohammad Hassan has been one of Ghazni Province's most notorious figures in the past year, serving as Qarabagh District Sub-Governor until his arrest last spring on rape charges. Ghazni National Directorate of Security (NDS) contacts believe Hassan raped a woman, then informed her husband, who in turn handed her over to the Taliban for execution. While awaiting trial, Hassan was mysteriously released from custody. Ghazni NDS Chief Dr. Shah Jahan and Afghan National Police (ANP) Chief Brigadier General Qyalboz Sherzai were both informed that a significant bribe was paid to a Ghazni judge to secure Hassan's release. Deputy Governor Hajji Allahyar was also informed that the bribe and release were arranged by Deh Yak Sub-Governor and close Usmani associate Hajji Fazil. Following his release from custody just before the August presidential elections, Hassan secured the appointment as Zanakhan Sub-Governor. (Note: Governor Usmani has never adequately explained why he appointed Hassan to the Zanakhan post in the first place. He has complained numerous times about Hassan's release from custody, but ignores his own role in appointing a suspected rapist to a senior government post; the Governor concedes only that he was "under pressure" to make the appointment. End Note.) ¶4. (C) Upon assuming duties in Zanakhan, Hassan seemed to engage in prolific corruption, according to reports, playing a lead role in stealing wheat and cooking oil from World Food Program shipments to sell on the black market. One of these cases apparently led to his downfall, as Zanakhan elders were incensed. Hassan is also reportedly implicated in electoral fraud during the August presidential elections; Deputy NDS Chief General Samar stated Hassan bragged to him that the elections in Zanakhan were "completely transparent" -- because no one actually voted and Hassan had stuffed the ballot boxes. MATIN: MORE TIME AT PRT THAN IN GIRO -------------- ¶5. (C) Usmani's accusation that Giro District Governor Matin was absent from his district for significant periods is accurate. According to Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) representatives, he has spent minimal, if any, time in Giro since the August elections. An occasional visitor to the PRT, he made excuses, including false accusations about Polish military forces occupying his district government center. NDS and ANP investigators identified Matin, like Hassan, as having embezzled Arbakai (community defense) KABUL 00004088 002 OF 002 payments following their service securing Afghan election polling sites. (Per reftel, community based security payments were problematic in many provinces, and there was little transparency relating to the payment mechanisms.) Matin admitted to the PRT that he was using budget allocations meant for sub-governor's operational expenses for his personal use because he was not drawing a salary. (Note: It is unlikely that he was not receiving a salary. End Note.) "TEMPORARY" DISTRICT GOVERNORS -------------- ¶6. (C) By way of learning of these dismissals, PRTOFFs discovered that most district governors in Ghazni serve in what is in effect a temporary capacity. As Usmani explained, while the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) has the authority to appoint district governors, the provincial governor may name a "temporary" sub-governor should a particular slot go unfilled; and, the governor consequently has the authority to dismiss temporary appointments. According to Usmani, in Ghazni the majority of district governors are temporary and serve at his discretion. COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) We believe that both Hassan and Matin deserved to be fired, but, under the same standards, so do several other district governors in Ghazni. The fact Hassan was able to use political connections to escape prosecution for rape charges and secure another sub-governor appointment raises questions about whether he will be prosecuted. In the PRT's process of collecting information on corruption in Ghazni, Hassan's name has come up in connection with the stealing of WFP wheat. Governor Usmani's motives are likely complex and political and play into the appointments process in Kabul; his assertion that his actions are in line with his long-standing commitment to accountability in government rings hollow. U.S. civilians at PRT will continue to monitor Usmani's actions and make recommendations on how to strengthen governance despite the governor's apparently negative role. RICCIARDONE