SAR-E-PUL GOVERNOR'S POLITICAL HOUSECLEANING TARGETS OWN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000516

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM
STATE PASS TO AID FOR ASIA/SCAA
NSC FOR WOOD
OSD FOR WILKES
CG CJTF-101 POLAD

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM AF
SUBJECT: SAR-E-PUL GOVERNOR'S POLITICAL HOUSECLEANING TARGETS OWN
DEPUTY, BUT MOTIVES QUESTIONED


1. (SBU) Summary: The strained relationship between Sar-e-pul
Governor Bashir Qanat Chayabi and Deputy Governor Qamaruddin Shekib
has hit a new low with disclosure of Chayabi's proposal to the
Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) to have Shekib
replaced with an associate of Member of Parliament Mohammed Fahimi.
Chayabi has also recommended that IDLG replace four district
administrators and separately asked two ministries to replace their
provincial department heads, all allegedly for poor performance.
The governor justifies these personnel moves as "house cleaning,"
but they smack of political patronage. Six months into the job,
Chayabi, a former mujahideen commander with no previous government
experience, intends to shake up the status quo in his
administration, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. The story
unfolding in the Sar-e-pul governor's office is characteristic of
the kinds of challenges facing the IDLG as it attempts to build
credible sub-national government institutions throughout the
country.

Tensions Building Since Governor's Appointment
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2. (SBU) In a confidential letter to UNAMA written last November,
Deputy Governor Shekib outlined his problems with Chayabi, who was
appointed governor of Sar-e-pul last August. Shekib, a Sar-e-pul
native who has been deputy governor in his home province for the
past 5 years, accused Chayabi of stripping him of responsibilities
and of regarding the deputy governorship as an "appendage" rather
than as an intrinsic part of the provincial administration.
Governor Chayabi doesn't know how to delegate responsibilities to
his deputy because Chayabi doesn't understand what his own
responsibilities as governor are, claimed Shekib. It is unclear
whether Governor Chayabi is aware of Shekib's letter.

Governor Asks IDLG to Replace His Deputy
--------------

3. (SBU) Deputy Governor Shekib, fresh from an IDLG-sponsored trip
to the Philippines, disclosed to State PRT officer February 16 that
upon returning to Kabul, he met with IDLG deputy director Barna
Karimi, who informed him of Governor Chayabi's proposal to have him
replaced. Karimi showed him the letter that Chayabi sent to IDLG
accusing Shekib of creating distance between the people and the
government. Asked by Karimi to comment on that allegation, Shekib
rejected it as patently false, offered to resign on the spot if any
supporting evidence would surface, and encouraged IDLG to conduct
its own investigation into the matter. Karimi then told Shekib how
he had been visited by Member of Parliament Fahimi from Balkhab
district, Sar-e-pul, along with three other people who lobbied him
hard for Shekib's removal from office. One of the other three who
accompanied Fahimi is Mohammed Tahir, reportedly a business
associate of Fahimi who, like him, is a Hazara from Balkhab. (Note:
Shekib claims that Tahir is also a member of Fahimi's Inseljami Meli
Party.) Karimi told Shekib to return to his post in Sar-e-pul
pending a decision on the governor's proposal. Shekib doesn't know
how much longer he'll have a job. He remarked that if IDLG endorses
Chayabi's recommendation and removes him for "no good reason," it
would be a complete waste of the thousands of dollars spent by the
government on the Philippines trip to strengthen his capacity as
deputy governor.

MP's Motives For Seeking Deputy's Ouster
--------------

4. (SBU) Asked by State PRT officer to speculate as to why MP Fahimi
is seeking his ouster, Shekib said the MP has been pressuring him to
decide favorably on petitions submitted to the provincial government
by Fahimi's supporters. Shekib said he has refused to take sides in
what he says is a conflict pitting ex-commander Fahimi, a former
Wahdat-Mohaqqiq Party member, against ex-commanders of the
Wahdat-Akbari Party. (Note: Both parties are Hazara-based.) Shekib
said he told Fahimi that an MP should be a unifying force in the
province, not a divisive one. His refusal to show favoritism
precipitated Fahimi's push to have him replaced by working in tandem
with Governor Chayabi, assesses Shekib.

Governor: No Contact with MP in Seeking Deputy's Removal
-------------- --------------

5. (SBU) Later, in a separate meeting the same day with Governor
Chayabi, State PRT officer broached the subject of the governor's
relationship with his proposed deputy Tahir. When asked whether he
knew if Tahir had ties to MP Fahimi, Chayabi said he was not aware
of any. Pressed to explain how he - a native of Taka province -
settled upon Tapir - a Sar-e-pul native - to be his deputy, Chayabi
responded vaguely that he had conducted his own search for a new
deputy and that Fahimi had not contacted him about Tahir. Perhaps,
Chayabi suggested, Tahir had contacted Fahimi and enlisted the
latter's support. (Note: Chayabi's explanation is implausible in
view of the fact that the timing of Chayabi's letter to the IDLG and

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Fahimi's subsequent meeting with IDLG appear to have been
coordinated to coincide with Shekib's trip to the Philippines.)

Governor Also Targets District Governors...
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6. (SBU) Shekib said Governor Chayabi had written a letter to IDLG a
few months ago recommending that certain district administrators be
replaced. Shekib said Chayabi did not seek his opinion at any time
before sending the letter. In Shekib's view, some of the people who
Chayabi wants named to those positions are not qualified. For
example, he cited IDLG's rejection of Hamid Palawan - a Chayabi
nominee - as the new district governor of Gosfundi because Palawan
is illiterate. But Chayabi's other proposed changes in district
administrator appointments for Sozma Qala, Sayyad, and Balkhab
districts remain pending before IDLG. Chayabi's nominees are not
really his own people; each has been pitched to Chayabi by political
figures who have pressured Chayabi to support them, Shekib alleged.

...and Line Directors
--------------

7. (SBU) Governor Chayabi has requested the Ministries of Education
and Public Works change their Sar-e-pul line directors for
underperforming, and has submitted names of candidates to replace
them. But Shekib claims that Chayabi's nominee for education
director has not passed the civil service reform (CSR) process, and
that the Ministry of Education sent a letter to Chayabi rejecting
his recommendation for that reason. (Note: The current education
director has passed the CSR process.) Apparently not satisfied with
the Ministry of Education's response, Chayabi sent a letter to
President Karzai's office seeking the president's intervention in
the matter, but that effort doesn't appear to have borne fruit.
Chayabi is also engaged in a showdown with the Ministry of Public
Works (MoPW) by refusing to allow the provincial public works line
director to continue working in that capacity. Chayabi confirmed to
State PRT officer that MoPW had sent a letter to him requesting that
the director be allowed to resume his work. Shekib calls the entire
situation embarrassing because ministry officials assume that the
governor consults with his team before sending the names of nominees
to Kabul, and that's not the case at all in Sar-e-pul.

"Passing the Football"
--------------

8. (SBU) Asked what prompted his proposed personnel moves, Governor
Chayabi told State PRT officer that he was only exercising his right
to make changes when people don't perform up to his expectations.
He said he spent the first five months on the job listening to
district residents and evaluating the performances of his
administrators because he was new to the province. Now, having
formed his own opinions of his team, he wants to shake things up.
Noting Shekib's five-year tenure as deputy governor, Chayabi asked
rhetorically what Shekib had accomplished during that time. He said
he was disappointed that the experienced Shekib hadn't stepped
forward to help him learn the ropes of governance in Sar-e-pul when
he first arrived. Chayabi grew more animated as he laid out his
frustrations with his deputy, and used a soccer analogy to call him
a poor team player who "doesn't like to pass the ball." Asked if he
had ever met with Shekib to express dissatisfaction with his work
performance, Chayabi said that he had. (Note: Shekib disputes this.)
State PRT officer pointed out to Chayabi that if the IDLG rejects
Chayabi's nominee and allows Shekib to remain as his deputy, both
men will have to find a way to work together as a team. The
governor, as captain of the team, should make the first pass to his
deputy by giving him a project and seeing how well he can implement
it. If the governor is not satisfied with the outcome, then he
should tell his deputy directly, State PRT officer advised. Chayabi
agreed that was a good approach and expressed appreciation for the
advice, but he's still hoping for a favorable response from the IDLG
regarding his nominee.

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


9. (SBU) Governor Chayabi has had a tough time letting go of his
jihadi's commander's mindset when it comes to his provincial
management. That has strained relations with Shekib and other
members of the government, including the provincial council.
Chayabi admitted to State PRT officer that there is lots of
corruption in his administration and that he's determined to stop it
when he learns of it. While his desire to clean house might disrupt
some of the corrupt networks inside his administration, one wonders
if he may be paving the way for new ones to form if he gets his
nominees past the IDLG.


10. (SBU) What is happening in the Sar-e-pul governor's office is
indicative of the challenges confronting the IDLG as it strives to

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build credible institutions of sub-national governance across the
country. Political interference from power brokers continues to
undermine those efforts. It's no secret that politics - not merit -
is what landed Chayabi his job as governor. As IDLG's Barna Karimi
remarked recently at the ISAF PRT conference in Kabul, district
governors are the most important government figures for the tens of
millions of Afghans living in rural areas. A corrupt, incompetent
district administrator or provincial governor will only widen the
gap between the government and the people. With the stakes so high,
the IDLG can ill afford to give in to political pressures by
recommending unqualified people to be the "most important people" in
government.

DELL