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Viewing cable 06KABUL5566, NEW ANP PAY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM A POSITIVE STEP

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06KABUL5566 2006-11-22 12:43 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Kabul
VZCZCXRO6549
OO RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #5566/01 3261243
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 221243Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4208
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUMICEA/JICCENT MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFIUU/COMSOCCENT MACDILL AFB FL
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3281
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3347
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 005566 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/FO DAS GASTRIGHT, SCA/A, S/CRS, S/CT, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN 
OSD FOR KIMMITT 
CENTCOM FOR CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SNAR MARR AF
SUBJECT: NEW ANP PAY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM A POSITIVE STEP 
 
REF: KABUL 5499 
 
1. Summary:  A recent reform of the pay distribution 
system in Afghanistan makes it possible for Afghan 
National Police employees in the provinces to 
receive their pay directly from a branch of the 
central bank or one of several commercial banks. 
Previously, pay was distributed by means of 
middlemen and much of it was pocketed by corrupt 
officials at all levels of the administrative chain. 
By the end of November the new system will be 
operational in 27 provinces, and it will reach 31 
out of 34 provinces by the end of December.  While 
remote districts cannot be covered under the new 
plan due to lack of banking infrastructure, a 
majority of ANP employees are now able to receive 
their salaries directly from a bank teller.  This 
should prove a positive impetus for recruitment and 
retention in the ANP, as well as mitigating a 
prevalent cause of administrative corruption.  End 
summary. 
 
2. Reliable payment of salaries for the Afghan 
National Police (ANP) is a critical element in 
building a reliable police force.  Traditionally, 
money for police salaries was transferred from the 
Ministry of Finance (MOF) to the Ministry of 
Interior (MOI), and then physically carried to the 
various districts within each province where it was 
distributed to patrolmen by a representative of the 
provincial police chief or governor.  There were 
plenty of opportunities for middlemen and senior 
officials to take a cut before the money ever 
reached the hands of individual employees. 
 
Afghan Interagency Cooperation 
------------------------------ 
 
3. In June 2006, Combined Security and Transition 
Command - Afghanistan (CSTC-A) began to develop a 
new payroll distribution system that would as much 
as possible eliminate the middlemen and tighten 
controls over distribution.  CSTC-A Finance 
Transition Team officers began by obtaining 
Government of Afghanistan interagency cooperation 
through a series of meetings with representatives of 
MOF, MOI, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB - the central 
bank), UNDP, and the INL contractor Dyncorp, which 
provides mentors to oversee the set up and pay 
process.  The German Police Program Office (GPPO) 
was kept fully informed and has been very supportive 
of this initiative. 
 
4. Logar province was chosen as a pilot, for a 
number of reasons:  it is close to Kabul (within 
easy driving distance), there are mentors in place, 
it has a relatively small police population, and 
there had already been some registration of 
patrolmen (unlike in other areas, where the actual 
number of policemen has not been verified).  The 
first payment under the new system was made in Logar 
in July.  More provinces were brought on line every 
month thereafter.  By the end of November, 27 of 34 
provinces will have converted to the new system; by 
the end of December the number will have increased 
to 31, with only Day Kundi, Nimroz, and Nuristan 
excluded. 
 
Funds Distributed to Individual ANP Employees 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
5. Under the new distribution system, payroll is 
wired to provincial branches of Da Afghanistan Bank 
and then distributed directly to the patrolmen at 
 
KABUL 00005566  002 OF 003 
 
 
the provincial bank branch (or in the case of Herat 
also in several district centers).  The first time 
the payroll is distributed in this manner, a 
verification process takes place consisting of a 
personnel officer (representing the police chief), 
an MOI finance officer, and an MOF Mustofiat 
(Finance Office) officer.  Having representation 
from the three offices minimizes opportunities for 
non-patrolmen to claim they are on the force when 
they are not.  At the same time as their employment 
is verified, patrolmen sign up for national ID 
cards, a process that includes digital photos and 
fingerprinting. 
 
6. A second stage of the program is the gradual 
transition from DAB to commercial banks.  Four banks 
(Kabul Commercial Bank, Azizi Bank, Afghan 
International Bank, and Milli Bank) have been 
chartered to handle ANP payroll.  Two have begun 
offering the service in Kabul and Nangarhar.  In 
Kabul, an electronic funds transfer program has been 
established that is being used by 4,000 ANP 
employees.  The commercial banks charge a nominal 
fee of 25 afghanis (50 cents) per transaction.  In 
Kabul that expense is paid out of the 
internationally-funded Law and Order Trust Fund 
Afghanistan (LOTFA) account; in the provinces it is 
paid by the MOF.  The commercial banks have 
indicated that they may eventually drop the fee, 
particularly if the new program results in ANP 
employees opening individual bank accounts. 
 
Challenges Remain 
----------------- 
 
7. While the program is very much on track, some 
challenges remain.  CSTC-A program designers 
estimate that it will take at least six months of 
monitoring in order for the systems to really take 
hold.  INL mentors have been asked to take on this 
duty for the three days per month during which 
payroll is distributed.  A larger problem is getting 
out to remote districts.  ANP employees within 
approximately 30 miles of the provincial center are 
now expected to come into the capital to collect 
their money, and this number is estimated to 
constitute 80 percent of the work force within most 
provinces.  However police in the most isolated 
areas are not able to participate due to a lack of 
banking facilities - and these are often the areas 
that have the highest security threat.   Lack of a 
DAB branch in three provinces has also made it 
impossible to extend the program there.  Another 
serious issue in the field is that the program makes 
no explicit provision for back pay: patrolmen are 
paid after the month they actually worked (as in the 
U.S. civil service), and previous irregularities in 
salary payments have to be addressed separately. 
Kickbacks remain a problem as well, even at Chief of 
Police level, as police in many areas are pressured 
to make payments to benefactors deemed responsible 
for getting them their jobs.  Finally, there have 
been reports of threats and night letters against 
central and provincial government officials involved 
in implementing the new program, probably emanating 
from those who had been able to take a cut of the 
profits under the old system. 
 
Auxiliary Police Also Included 
------------------------------ 
 
8.  The Afghan National Auxiliary Police (ANAP) also 
come under this new payroll distribution plan.  The 
delay in receiving the first paycheck due to the 
 
KABUL 00005566  003 OF 003 
 
 
need to formally enroll in the system, however, 
together with unfulfilled claims to back pay for 
those transferring from the disbanded highway 
police, has in some cases given rise to erroneous 
concerns that new recruits were not going to be 
paid, e.g. in Zabol (reftel).  This appears to have 
been resolved for the first 41 graduates of police 
training in Zabol Province, who were paid during the 
week of November 15-19.  CSTC-A has agreed to do 
everything possible to speed up the paperwork so 
that ANAP recruits can be paid as soon as possible 
after their training is complete. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
9.  Like everything else in Afghanistan, bringing a 
new, transparent payroll distribution system on line 
has required a tremendous amount of work, including 
countless hours of negotiations with all the 
parties.  It may take some time to work out all the 
kinks in the program, so we will probably continue 
to hear of irregularities over the short term. 
Within a few months, however, this new plan should 
go far to address one of the most basic complaints 
associated with the ANP:  that patrolmen often only 
receive half of their already low salary due to 
skimming along the way.   In an environment where 
police reform is a major challenge, CSTC-A,s Finance 
Transition Team should be commended for designing 
and implementing this important positive change. 
NEUMANN