Paktikas Bermel District: Governance and Development

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000904 DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM STATE PASS TO AID FOR ASIA/SCAA USFOR-A FOR POLAD SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL AF SUBJECT: Paktikas Bermel District: Governance and Development Challenges Continue ¶1. (U) Summary: Bermel district is home to most of AfghanistanQs Waziri tribesmen, who remain closely connected with the Waziri tribes across the border in PakistanQs North and South Waziristan tribal agencies. Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Paktika found questionable distribution of USAID and World Food Program (WFP) humanitarian assistance. The district government remains unable to provide adequate educational and health services, although the district administratorQs engagement with tribes has improved security in and around the district bazaar. Security permitting, increased focus on roads, irrigation, and agricultural training could help orient BermelQs population toward the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) and increase positive cross-border interaction. End summary. Questionable Distribution of Humanitarian Assistance -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The PRT Paktika (Sharana) command team visited Bermel district, on PaktikaQs border with Pakistan, March 21-25 to meet with District Administrator Mobin and assess recent developments in security, governance, and development. Upon arriving at the Bermel district center on March 21, PRT members noticed bags of USAID-labeled wheat being removed from the district center by Afghan National Police (ANP) pick-up truck and more stocks of this wheat stored in a shed and storage building. Questioned at the site, the local representative of the Ministry for Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) explained that the wheat had been provided under the WFP Food-For-Work (FFW) program. When pressed, he said the wheat was being distributed evenly among all the Bermel tribes (Waziri sub-tribes) in order to prevent discord, rather than to Bermel residents who had cleaned irrigation ditches (karezes) as is intended under the FFW program. The Saifali tribe members who earned the wheat agreed to this arrangement in a shura organized by the district administrator, he said. ¶3. (U) Additionally, the MRRD representative said USAID winterization kits had not been given to the districtQs neediest families, but instead had been taken apart. At the district administratorQs direction, some of the food, jackets, blankets, and other items from the kits had been distributed and others remained stored at the district center. (Note: The winterization kit program was a joint USAID-GIRoA effort that not only provided much needed humanitarian assistance to inaccessible districts in the south and east, but was also meant to strengthen the capacity and increase the legitimacy of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD). USAID was responsible for procuring 14,000 kits, and MRRD was responsible for the delivery and distribution of these kits throughout Afghanistan.) ¶4. (SBU) District Administrator Mobin told a different story, saying no karezes had been cleaned in Bermel in exchange for wheat under the FFW program. He said the Saifali elders did not know they were supposed to clean karezes, and the district government was unaware of the program so did not take any measures to confirm work was done. For this reason, when the wheat arrived, the Saifali agreed that the wheat should be evenly distributed to all tribes. Regarding the winterization kits, Mobin said it was necessary to break up the kits and distribute the items widely because of lack of governance in order to avoid tensions. Mobin maintained Qjust some blanketsQ were left at the district center. MobinQs IVP: Missed Opportunity -------------- ¶5. (SBU) When questioned why Mobin missed his International Visitors Program scheduled for the previous month, he blamed the local maneuver unitQs failure to transport him to the provincial capital Sharana for onward travel to Kabul. When pressed further as to why he did not seek assistance from other USG elements, Mobin became evasive, but asked that the trip be rescheduled. State PRT Officer responded that the Embassy was disappointed that the opportunity had been lost and resources had been expended for naught, and that given the circumstances, the trip could not be rescheduled. (Comment: Although the PRT cannot confirm the allegation, a local contact reported that Mobin did not want to forego three weeks of illegal fees he collects from trucks carrying timber from Pakistan into Bermel. End comment.) Schools and Health Services Inadequate; More Human Resources Needed -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Asked about provision of government services in Bermel, Mobin said only three of 27 schools are functioning. Four had been open before the decapitation of the district education director last September. Mobin did not know if textbooks had been delivered for the functioning schools. He said one clinic run by the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) is open in the bazaar. Aside from this, the only health facility in the district is a private clinic near the district center that has no doctor. [Note: SCAQs contract for clinics in Paktika has been taken over by International Medical Corps. End note.] Mobin said the MRRD representative on detail from another district and a new education director he described as Qcompletely crazyQ are the only line ministry representatives from Bermel. Mobin said he needs National Directorate for Security (NDS),agriculture, tribal and border affairs, and other government representatives to provide services to the people. Mobin listed paved roads, a hospital, dams, and cell phone coverage as the greatest needs of the people. ¶7. (SBU) Shuffling and holding up apparently unrelated papers from his desk, Mobin talked at length about his initiative to understand and engage with the people of Bermel at the smallest sub-tribe level. He said it was necessary for GIRoA to engage at this level so as to address the problems of the people and arrest troublemakers. [Comment: Mobin has taken a proactive and apparently effective approach to tribal engagement. During an October 2008 visit to Bermel, locals complained about insecurity in and around the district bazaar, and Mobin called in the Malakshay sub-tribal elders to address the problem. He also called in QsuspiciousQ young men and asked their male relatives to guarantee their good behavior by placing their thumbprints on documents he keeps in his desk drawer. During the March visit, locals said security had improved around the bazaar as a result. End comment.] Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Strategically, Bermel is one of PaktikaQs most important districts. Owing to isolation, security and economic challenges, as well tribal affiliation, its Waziri population is in some respects more closely connected with its kinsmen in North and South Waziristan than with Afghanistan, and is likewise vulnerable to Taliban influence and intimidation emanating from those tribal agencies. Insecurity and difficulty of access are the main obstacles to developmental progress. If these factors improve, Bermel has strong potential for greater economic development and legal cross-border activities. Water projects, agricultural education, and improved agricultural inputs could improve the productivity of BermelQs main sources of income, fruit tree orchards and livestock farming; and timber management could help preserve and sustain its forest resources. More functioning health and education facilities and improved economic conditions would encourage more residents to remain in Afghanistan for these services, and to view GIRoA as a reliable source of support. A paved road that will eventually connect Bermel to Orgun district via Sarobi district will contribute to improvement in all these areas; work on the road (an Army Corps of Engineers project) could begin this year. Thoughtful GIRoA engagement with the Waziri tribes, supported by the PRT and Coalition Forces as appropriate, will be essential to these efforts. ¶9. PRT Sharana Commander, Maneuver Battalion commander and the DOS Regional Advisor for Task Force Yukon have reviewed this cable. RICCIARDONE