VZCZCXRO4601
PP RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #0951/01 0831259
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241259Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7003
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3807
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000951 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CR, S/CT, SCA/PAB, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN 
OSD FOR KIMMITT 
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, AND POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV AF
SUBJECT: PRT/PANSHJIR: FUTURE PLANS OF THE PROVINCE I 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  Panjshir Province has progressed in 
formulating plans for its future.  The current Provincial 
Development Plan (PDP), a synthesis of three processes, 
represents a prioritization of projects, mostly 
infrastructure.  It does not, however, match these priorities 
against available resources.  Yet it does embody a new, more 
systematic approach to developing the province.  The Governor 
wields it as a marketing tool to attract resources.  The PRT 
uses it to channel the multitude of individual requests into 
a Panjshir framework for decision-making.  Even in its 
embryonic state, the PDP is a breakthrough.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. This is the first of a two-part series on the future of 
Panjshir Province.  This message analyzes specific provincial 
plans.  The second part examines general provincial visions. 
 
¶3. "We have a provincial plan, no insurgents and no poppies." 
 With this overview, the Governor introduced his province 
March 6 to a visiting UN Undersecretary.  Earlier, his 
"provincial plan" amounted to no more than a pair of sector 
priorities he had identified himself - namely, education and 
agriculture.  Thanks to the PRT's Commander Emergency 
Response Program (CERP) funds, which is financing the 
construction of seven schools in the province, the Governor 
no longer deems education a top priority.  He has warmed to 
his PDP, in part because he sees its potential to attract NGO 
interest and outside investment.  The Governor is now 
beginning to use the PDP, along with the Provincial 
Development Committee (PDC), as a framework for identifying 
key sectors and projects.  Its top three priorities are 
irrigation canals, micro-hydro power and secondary roads. 
 
----------------------------- 
Planning the Province's Plans 
----------------------------- 
¶4. Over the past year, there have been three planning 
processes in Panjshir, one initiated locally and the other 
two mandated by the Central Government.  The Panjshir 
administration has managed to blend these various planning 
processes into one organic document, the PDP. 
 
¶5. Provincial Development Plan:  Panjshir has been holding 
PDC meetings for over a year.  During the October 30 session, 
the Governor presented a draft of the Panjshir PDP, laying 
out a five-year plan for the province.  The Department 
Directors prepared inputs for their sectors.  The Office of 
the Governor then compiled the document into one plan.  The 
PDP is now in final draft form.  Its core is a list of 
priorities, some relating to sectors, others to projects.  In 
no instance, however, are identified priorities matched with 
available resources. 
 
¶6. District Development Plan (DDP):  Late last year, a series 
of District Development Assemblies (DDA) took place. 
Representatives from the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and 
Development (MRRD) characterized the DDP, as mandated by the 
Afgan Cabinet, as the twenty-year plan for the province that 
should inform the PDP.  In light of the progress already made 
by November in the PDP, local government officials and MRRD 
representatives agreed to present DDPs as the premise for PDP 
discussion.  In this way, Panjshiris vetted and approved the 
PDP at the district level. 
 
¶7. USAID District Planning Process:  In April and May 2006, 
USAID funded a program to identify priorities at the district 
level.  The subject matter expert (SME) held workshops in 
each district to identify priority projects.  In attendance 
were members of the Community Development Councils (CDCs), 
district managers and local elders.  A plenary session 
followed, chaired by the Governor and attended by directors 
of departments and members of the provincial council.  Each 
of the districts presented their priority projects.  The 
session then prioritized districts by need.  Although the 
funding never materialized, the PDP incorporated the 
grass-roots work. 
 
 
KABUL 00000951  002 OF 002 
 
 
----------------------- 
Supporting the Planners 
----------------------- 
¶8. The PRT has strongly supported the PDC and actively 
participated in its deliberations.  Former Commanding General 
of CJTF-76, MG Freakley, encouraged the Governor to take 
seriously the PDP drafting.  Military PRT officers use PDC 
sessions to present an overview of CERP projects, thereby 
demonstrating the principle of accountability.  The PDP can 
also be a tool to coordinate the activities of donors in the 
province.  The USAID Field Program Officer has created a 
"wedding registry" out of the PDP.  This registry is helpful 
in identifying the projects of various donors, as well as 
those of the Afghan government itself. 
 
¶9. The PRT is working to ensure that the PDP is not a paper 
exercise.  The PRT announced at a December PDC meeting that 
it will no longer accept petitions from individuals or 
villages for projects.  When individuals come to the PRT with 
projects, the PRT refers them to their PC members or their 
district administrators.  If that project ranks high as a 
priority, then the appropriate Line Director considers it 
further.  If it is again deemed a priority, the PDC will 
consider it for inclusion in the PDP.  A PC member, in a 
meeting March 15 with the PRT, lauded the PRT,s insistence 
on a PC role in planning.  He added that he supports the 
draft law in the National Assembly on strengthening the role 
of PCs by requiring their formal approval of the PDP. 
 
¶10. The PRT emphasizes it is not a parallel government 
structure and will not prioritize projects, nor become 
involved in local disputes.  The PRT is also working to 
identify where the provincial administration may need 
technical assistance to maintain an up-to-date PDP.  USAID,s 
subject matter expert (SME), at the Governor,s request, 
helped edit and organize the draft into the pillars of the 
ANDS.  The SME also helped translate the plan into English. 
 
¶11. COMMENT:  The PDP represents a blueprint, a breakthrough. 
 When the PRT first opened in November 2005, little existed 
of planning or funding in Panjshir.  Then CERP started a 
steady stream of funding.  Now the province has reached a 
juncture where there is both funding and planning.  The next 
step will be to integrate more closely the priorities 
identified within the PDP/PDC framework and the funding 
provided by Afghan and international sources.  The big 
challenge will be for the Panjshiris to claim 
one-hundred-percent ownership of the PDP and make it a living 
document.  END COMMENT. 
NEUMANN