VZCZCXRO6075
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHGB #0792/01 0711440
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121440Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3226
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BAGHDAD 000792 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.  12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON MOPS PREL IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQ PRTS ASSESS PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS - JAN 
2006 
 
 
¶1. (U) INTRODUCTION.  Each Provincial Reconstruction 
Team (PRT) in Iraq reports monthly the status of the 
provincial level government's ability to function 
effectively and the obstacles that prevent full self- 
governance. The PRTs assess provincial governments in 
the three areas (pillars) of governance, 
infrastructure, and economic development; the Multi- 
National Corps assesses the fourth area, security 
(which is included in the overall assessment). 
"Governance" includes the governor's office, 
provincial council (PC), directors general (DGs), and 
rule of law/transparency.  "Infrastructure" 
encompasses basic needs; capacity of electricity, 
fuel, telecom, transportation, and irrigation systems; 
and education systems.  The "Economic Development" 
category measures finance, banking and business; labor 
and unemployment; transportation; and agriculture and 
food. The sub-categories are broken down even further 
to ensure full consideration of the various functions 
that fall into the respective categories. 
 
¶2. (U) PRT members evaluate each area and assign a 
color to identify its current status. Considering each 
sub-category's status, the three main pillars are 
assigned status color codes that roll up into the 
overall evaluation for the respective PC.  Green 
indicates good progress with no identified problems; 
amber (or yellow) means progress being made with only 
minor problems; orange indicates slow progress with 
significant problems; and red means very slow progress 
with major problems.  The following paragraphs 
summarize the January 2006 assessments for the PRTs in 
Ninawa, Kirkuk, and Babil Provinces.  END 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
--------------- 
NINAWA PROVINCE 
--------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) OVERALL AND GOVERNANCE. All three main 
pillars were rated orange for the Ninawa provincial 
government for January 2006, resulting in an overall 
assessment of orange.  The PRT members cited the 
difficulty in obtaining resources and legal authority 
from the national government as an obstacle that must 
be overcome in order for Ninawa provincial leaders to 
execute an essential services master plan and show 
progress.  Although the Governor currently executes 
his duties well, he is unable to effect the changes 
necessary to improve conditions within the province. 
The PC needs to establish and enforce greater 
attendance at meetings and demonstrate the ability to 
function even during absences of the chairman.  Other 
actions that could help to improve the orange 
governance assessment to amber would be to fund and 
fully staff provincial courts with trained clerical 
personnel, develop an effective method of 
communication between the PC and Ninawa citizens, and 
develop a strategy to provide essential services and 
encourage economic growth in the province. 
 
¶4. (U) INFRASTRUCTURE.  Infrastructure was rated 
overall orange with basic needs coded orange, capacity 
of the various systems such as electricity, fuel, 
telecom, etc., coded red; and the education system 
coded amber.  To move the basic needs rating to amber 
the sanitary and sewage systems' directorates 
(currently rated red) must demonstrate responsiveness 
to issues affecting the region and citizens of the 
province.  The municipality must re-establish basic 
maintenance of existing sewer systems and eliminate 
illegal taps into the storm water system, which 
empties directly into the Tigris River.  It also must 
reinvigorate a solid waste collection and removal 
program.  Emergency and fire services, rated orange, 
need an additional six fire stations, personnel and 
equipment.  Ninawa Province needs to establish a 
coordinated communication system integrating police, 
fire, medical, and other agencies in an emergency 
response network. 
 
¶5. (U) Some actions necessary to move the electricity, 
fuel, telecom, transportation, and irrigation systems 
to amber include the electricity directorate 
development of a strategy to achieve self-sufficiency 
independent of Coalition Forces and increased 
electricity availability of at least twelve hours per 
day.  Fuel system capacity is rated red and must show 
an increase in storage capacity and an increase in 
production or importation.  Rail network capacity 
 
BAGHDAD 00000792  002 OF 004 
 
 
needs to increase by 25 percent. 
 
¶6. (U) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.  Economic development 
factors were rated overall orange. Some actions that 
would increase the rating include retrofitting and 
rebuilding state-owned companies and moving them 
towards a privatization program.  Another major 
concern is unemployment, estimated to be between 14-16 
percent.  Job creation must be a top priority.  There 
must be growth in businesses and industry to drive 
those jobs.  Government must invest in this process 
and encourage outside investment. 
 
----------------------- 
TAMIM (KIRKUK) PROVINCE 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) OVERALL AND GOVERNANCE.  Kirkuk was rated 
overall orange, as were the three main pillars.  The 
PC has limited effectiveness as it is affected by the 
central government's control of the budget.  Some 
actions that would improve the governance rating 
include appointment of the deputy governor and 
increasing the Governor's power base beyond Kirkuk 
city.  The PC must adopt a viable charter and follow 
its by-laws.  Attendance at the PC meetings needs to 
improve.  The courts system must establish a facility 
that is physically secure, as well as provide adequate 
protection of judges away from the courthouse. 
Handwritten court logs and ledgers need to be 
automated. 
 
¶8. (U) INFRASTRUCTURE. Infrastructure was rated 
overall orange with basic needs and capacity of the 
various systems such as electricity, fuel, telecom, 
etc., coded orange, the education system coded amber, 
and civil service coded red.  Actions that would 
increase the infrastructure rating include expanding 
the capacity of a water plant to 51 percent or more 
and increasing access to potable water.  Sewage 
treatment plant capacity, availability of trash 
removal, vaccinations of children against communicable 
diseases, and the ratio of fire stations to fit the 
needs of the population must all increase as well. 
 
¶9. (U) Electricity capacity needs to increase to 10-12 
hours per day, and the percentage of houses connected 
to the electrical grid or private generators needs to 
reach 90 percent.  Rail network and airport capacity 
needs to increase by 25 percent or more.  The 
education system needs to increase the percentage of 
teachers meeting minimum qualifications to 90 percent 
or more.  Enrollment in secondary school needs to 
increase for girls.  Two areas in civil service were 
rated red:  no provincial vehicle registration program 
exists, and there is no computerized record system for 
the province.  The province needs a viable civil 
service code from the central government in Baghdad, 
and the percentage of civil service jobs that are 
based on patronage should be reduced. 
 
¶10. (U) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.  Factors affecting the 
economic development rating were overall orange. High 
unemployment, estimated at 30 to 40 percent, is a 
major concern in Kirkuk.  Banking facilities should be 
expanded; there is currently only one bank in Kirkuk. 
The province needs a master plan to improve 
agricultural production and must have increased 
irrigation to put such a plan in place. 
 
-------------- 
BABIL PROVINCE 
-------------- 
 
¶11. (U) OVERALL AND GOVERNANCE.  Babil Province was 
overall assessed at orange.  Governance was coded 
amber, while infrastructure and economic development 
were coded orange.  Most governance sub-categories 
were rated as functioning well. The PC is making rapid 
but cautious progress.  It is now holding its weekly 
meetings at Council Hall with high participation and 
attendance by council members.  The only governance 
area rated red was transparency under rule of law. 
Public access to records and agency information is 
restricted and requires special permission from the 
PC. 
 
¶12. (U) INFRASTRUCTURE.  The overall infrastructure 
assessment for Babil Province was rated orange. 
Indicators that would increase the rating include: an 
 
BAGHDAD 00000792  003 OF 004 
 
 
improved sewage system, greater water capabilities in 
both rural and urban developments, and improved supply 
distribution of healthcare items. 
 
¶13. (U) Power supply, as in the other two provinces, 
is not sufficient to meet the demand. Fuel for 
cooking, heating, and transportation, especially 
diesel and benzene, is not readily available. The 
average purchase wait time was reported to be 5-6 
hours long. 
 
¶14. (U) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. The economic development 
category was rated overall orange.  Many areas of 
economic development were not rated during January. 
The Team Leader noted that further assessment is 
necessary to depict an accurate overall status.  The 
provincial leadership identified tourism as a top 
priority for economic development.  Babil Province has 
a rich historical culture, is home to many cultural 
and ancient ruins, and is widely known throughout Iraq 
for its monuments and green space. 
 
------------- 
SUMMARY TABLE 
------------- 
 
¶15. (U) The following table summarizes, by province, 
the assessment report in governance, infrastructure, 
economic development, and security, the four areas 
that contribute to the overall assessment. 
 
NINAWA PROVINCE: 
Overall Assessment               Orange 
 
Governance Overall               Orange 
--Governor's Office              Orange 
--Provincial Council             Orange 
--Directors General              Orange 
--Rule of Law and Transparency   Orange 
 
Infrastructure Overall           Orange 
--Basic Needs                    Orange 
--Economic Infrastructure        Red 
--Education                      Yellow 
 
Economic Development Overall     Orange 
--Finance/Banking/Business       Orange 
--Labor and Unemployment         Orange 
--Transportation                 Orange 
--Agriculture/Food               Orange 
 
Security                         Not Reported 
 
TAMIM (KIRKUK) PROVINCE: 
Overall Assessment                 Orange 
 
Governance Overall                 Orange 
--Governor's Office                Orange 
--Provincial Council               Orange 
--Director's General               Orange 
--Rule of Law and Transparency     Orange 
 
Infrastructure Overall             Orange 
--Basic Needs                      Orange 
--Economic Infrastructure          Orange 
--Education                        Yellow 
 
Economic Development Overall       Orange 
--Finance/Banking/Business         Red 
--Labor and Unemployment           Orange 
--Transportation                   Orange 
--Agriculture/Food                 Orange 
 
Security Overall                   Orange 
--Capable Iraqi Army               Orange 
--Capable IPS                      Orange 
--Detention                        Red 
--PJCC                             Green 
--PSC                              Green 
 
BABIL PROVINCE: 
Overall Assessment                Orange 
 
Governance Overall                Yellow 
--Governor's Office               Yellow 
--Provincial Council              Yellow 
--Director's General              Orange 
--Rule of Law and Transparency    Yellow 
 
Infrastructure Overall            Orange 
 
BAGHDAD 00000792  004 OF 004 
 
 
--Basic Needs                     Orange 
--Economic Infrastructure         Orange 
--Education                       Orange 
 
Economic Development Overall      Orange 
--Finance/Banking/Business        Orange 
--Labor and Unemployment          Orange 
--Transportation                  Not Assessed 
--Agriculture/Food                Yellow 
 
Security Overall                  Orange 
--Capable Iraqi Army              Orange 
--Capable IPS                     Yellow 
--Detention                       Orange 
--PJCC                            Red 
--PSC                             Yellow 
 
¶16. (U) CONCLUSION.  The assessment is performed each 
month by the PRTs and evaluates information existing 
at the time.  In some cases, the PRT members do not 
have sufficient data to make a fair evaluation without 
further research.  The rating identifies areas that 
need improvement to pursue the provincial governments' 
path to self-sufficiency.  It serves as a roadmap for 
future PRT training efforts, as well as a measurement 
of progress made. The items cited in the above 
paragraphs are not totally inclusive, but rather a 
sampling of the actions necessary for further 
progress. 
 
KHALILZAD