VZCZCXRO6931
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0965 1830522
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 010522Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1194
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000965 
 
DEPT FOR AF A/s FRAZER, AF/SPG, S/CRS, AF SE WILLIAMSON 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: DARFUR: PAE WILL STOP WORK JULY 14, BUT A 45-60 DAY 
TRANSITION PERIOD WILL FOLLOW 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Visiting PAE President John Moore, resident 
Project Director Bruce Smart, and Support Manager Claire Sanford 
told CDA Fernandez June 29 that PAE will stop work on all projects 
July 14 ("the date for no more shovels in the ground") but that 
UNAMID and PAE have discussed a 45- to 60-day transition period 
following this date to hand-over vital functions currently provided 
by PAE.  PAE said SAF Military Intelligence approvals had slowed the 
transit of equipment and materials for UNAMID projects (customs and 
MFA approval was quickly obtained but not final approval from SAF 
military intelligence).  On a brighter note, PAE spoke highly of the 
new UNAMID Deputy Director of Administrative Support Services. End 
summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Moore told CDA Fernandez and poloffs that although work 
will stop all on projects July 14, the final date of PAE's contract 
with UNAMID, PAE and UNAMID have discussed a 45- to 60-day 
transition period beyond the final contract date.  PAE will not do 
any construction projects during that time but rather will focus on 
hand-over of equipment and projects.  Moore said PAE will be 
hard-pressed to complete a hand-over within that time-frame even 
assuming that all work on projects stops on July 14.  Moore said 
ESCO will also be leaving as they don't like the new, stripped down 
conditions UNAMID offered on their contract. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Moore said that no replacement contractor has been named to 
takeover the number of current PAE functions and UNAMID intend to 
fill the gap itself.  He noted that while the UN can hire the 
PAE-trained local staff, there appear to be no Sudanese contractors 
who can undertake the complete package of services.  Regarding the 
critical Canadian APC maintenance contract - the most difficult of 
PAE's functions from a mechanical perspective - Moore said he is not 
aware of any follow-on contract but indicated that UNAMID wishes to 
discuss this particular contract further with PAE (perhaps only to 
seek advice but Moore seemed to hint at an opening for an extension 
for PAE).  Moore noted that food service, because of its impact on 
health and morale, is also a pressing issue for UNAMID.  Bulk food 
deliveries are the easy part, but the hard part is proper 
preparation and service, noted Moore. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Moore listed a number of additional challenges that UNAMID 
faces (until now managed by PAE) such as construction of roads 
during the rainy season and installation/protection of fuel and 
water bladders - which requires a level of experience that UN 
management's "thin" technical background do not possess.  Moore 
agreed with CDA Fernandez that Chinese engineers could perhaps pick 
up some of responsibilities but that, once again, UNAMID has placed 
itself in a situation where it will be hard pressed to maintain its 
current level of operation much less expand quickly. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Moore said Sudanese customs had provisionally cleared 70 
PAE cargo flights (52 are currently staged in Brno in the Czech 
Republic and 18 in Dubai) but that Sudanese Military Intelligence 
and the Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) still had not cleared the 
flights.  He also blamed UNAMID inefficiency for some of the delay, 
noting the "incompetence" of UNAMID management in getting paperwork 
done.  On a bright note, Moore and Sandford noted that the new 
UNAMID Deputy Director of Integrated Support Services based in 
Khartoum, Peter Iskandara, has already made a positive difference in 
UNAMID's capacity and responsiveness.  "We could have accomplished a 
lot more if he had arrived six months ago," said Moore. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: PAE management and employees are disappointed to 
be leaving Darfur "without having finished the job" and concerned 
that UNAMID won't be able to easily pick up the slack.  In the 
long-term, the UN system will likely be able to adjust to the loss 
of PAE, but in the short-term there are likely to be significant 
headaches.  As we told PAE in our meeting with them, the 
non-extension of the PAE contract has nothing to do with their 
performance and everything to do with the GOS' desire to punish US 
companies for its frustration related to US sanctions policy. 
Although these two issues should not be linked, the Sudanese will do 
whatever they can to pressure the US in this regard.  The loss of 
PAE will also hurt the Embassy's ability to support our field office 
in El Fasher, especially in emergencies, and we will need to rely 
more on a less than trustworthy UNAMID in this regard. 
 
FERNANDEZ