VZCZCXRO4748
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RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #1242/01 2611237
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171237Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1577
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 4317
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RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 1994
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 2565
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0892
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 2905
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001242 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM ECON TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: ELECTIONS, GOVERNMENT ACADEMY AND 
MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENT MARK CABINET MEETING 
 
REF: ASHGABAT 0912 
 
¶1.  (U)  Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  During an expanded session of the 
Cabinet of Ministers on September 12, the president and 
cabinet officials discussed plans for December's 
parliamentary elections, which the international community 
will be invited to observe, and the establishment of a new 
academy for civil servants.  The Minister for Economy and 
Development was also dismissed, and is to be replaced by a 
longtime functionary from the Central Bank of Turkmenistan. 
The establishment of an institution for government service 
demonstrates the government's awareness that it has a human 
capacity problem.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  During an expanded session of the Cabinet of 
Ministers on September 12, the president and cabinet 
officials discussed plans for December's parliamentary 
elections, which the international community will be invited 
to observe.  The president noted that parliamentary elections 
will be held on December 14, and election campaigning should 
begin on October 14.  He recommended that several candidates 
compete for each parliamentary seat.  He also announced that 
"observers from foreign countries and international 
organizations" should be invited to monitor the elections, 
but he did not identify any specific organizations.  (NOTE: 
All the original 65 deputy seats are up for grabs, and an 
additional 60 seats will be added upon adoption of the new 
constitution on September 26.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The president also signed an order establishing a 
two-year government academy for public service.  The 
academy's main mission will be to train a cadre of new young 
government personnel in an effort to improve current human 
capacity problems in government institutions.  The academy 
will be subordinate to the presidential administration. 
Representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Supreme 
Council for Science and Technology, and the Ministry of 
Justice were tasked with developing the curriculum, an 
organizational structure, and admission policies for the 
academy within 30 days.   The decree includes a provision 
allowing the academy to bring in foreign experts and 
instructors as needed. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  During the session, the president also dismissed 
Minister for Economy and Development Gurbanmurat 
Gurbanmuradov for shortcomings at work and failing to fulfill 
his duties.  Former Deputy Minister for Economy and 
Development Bashimmurat Hojamammedov was appointed minister. 
Gurbanmuradov had held the ministerial post for only seven 
and a half months.  He had been appointed in February 2008 
when the Ministry of Economy and Finance, where he had been 
serving as deputy minister, split into two separate finance 
and economic development ministries. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  USAID representatives met with Central Bank of 
Turkmenistan representatives in early July to discuss 
extending its Accounting/CIPA program.  Hojamammedov met with 
the USAID representatives, having been introduced as CBT's 
Chief Accountant (reftel).  He was an engaged interlocutor, 
and was very appreciative and supportive of the program. 
Since then, there had been no decree published announcing his 
appointment as Deputy Minister for Economy and Development. 
If he truly served as deputy minister, it would have only 
been for two months at most. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Hojamammedov's official biography noted that he 
was born in 1966 in Akoba village in Balkan province.  He 
graduated in 1990 from the Turkmen State Institute of Economy 
and Management with a major in Economics.  From 1990 to 1993 
he worked as an economist in the department of operational 
records at Turkmenistan State Commercial Bank.  From 1993 to 
 
ASHGABAT 00001242  002 OF 002 
 
 
2008 Hojamammedov held various positions at the Central Bank 
of Turkmenistan, including management posts in the department 
of accounting and reporting, and an auditing section.   He 
was appointed Deputy Minister for Economy and Development 
sometime in 2008. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  Although it is too early to assess how a 
new government service academy will affect the Turkmen 
government's deficiencies within the ranks of the 
bureaucracy, it is a sure sign the government is aware that 
it needs to develop expertise and capacity in order to 
facilitate institutional reform.  It is a further positive 
sign that the decree leaves room for the academy to bring in 
institutional experts from abroad to ensure the academy's 
curriculum meets the government's needs.  END COMMENT. 
CURRAN