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