VZCZCXRO3479
RR RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #2937/01 3100948
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 050948Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6066
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 0704
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002937 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO AID FOR ASIA/SCAA 
THE HAGUE PASS TO POL 
NSC FOR WOOD 
OSD FOR WILKES 
CENTCOM FOR CG CSTC-A, CG CJTF-101 POLAD 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ETRD EFIN AF
 
SUBJECT: IDLG GOVERNOR'S ADVISORS PROGRAM IN URUZGAN: A WORK IN 
PROGRESS 
 
REF: KABUL 2641 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: The Independent Directorate of Local Governance 
(IDLG) dispatched nine advisors to Uruzgan Province in a direct 
response to Governor Hamdam's call for help as he undertook to 
coordinate the work of insubordinate and unqualified department 
directors.  The advisors are part of an IDLG provincial government 
capacity building program that was initiated in early 2008 in ten 
provinces.  The advisors, who are all equipped with impressive 
resumes, have given Hamdam a clearer picture of the challenges 
facing each department.  However, they lack training on the role of 
an advisor and generally have been unable to cultivate productive 
relationships with the directors.  The IDLG advisors program in 
Uruzgan could be strengthened by developing a robust training 
program for advisors, focusing the initial efforts of advisors on 
building the capacity of the departments (in an effort to earn their 
trust), and establishing closer ties between the IDLG advisors and 
the USAID-funded technical advisors assigned to the departments. 
End Summary. 
 
IDLG Advisors Deployed to Uruzgan 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Shortly after Assadullah Hamdam became Governor of Uruzgan 
in September 2007, he requested that the newly created Independent 
Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) send him a team of subject 
matter experts to expand his capacity to manage the provincial 
departments.  Hamdam, who is from Wardak Province, and a 
highly-educated professional by Afghan standards, was immediately 
treated as an outsider by the department directors and thus given 
little access to the inner workings of the departments (reftel). 
The directors, who generally possess little to no education and were 
selected more for tribal connections than competency, jealously 
protected their departments from the Governor's involvement.  Hamdam 
hoped that a large group of competent advisors would help to level 
the playing field. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Following a rigorous selection process, the IDLG 
dispatched nine IDLG advisors and two computer administrators over 
the last ten months.  Hamdam has requested an additional eight 
advisors.  The IDLG advisors have been tasked to: deepen the 
governor's understanding on the key challenges facing each 
department, extend the governor's reach and influence over the 
directors, and improve coordination among the departments and 
between the departments and the governor's office.  IDLG Deputy 
Director Karimi recently told PRTOFF that IDLG advisors were sent to 
nine other provinces and stressed that the IDLG was committed to 
meeting the needs of the governors.  (The Dutch Embassy funds the 
IDLG Advisors Program in Uruzgan through the Asia Foundation.) 
 
Advisors Have Helped Uruzgan Governor... 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The advisors have provided Hamdam a better understanding 
of the day-to-day activities of the departments through the 
preparation of daily and weekly reports.  In an effort to raise the 
level of financial accountability to the Governor, the advisors 
provide counsel to Hamdam on the approval of directors' requests for 
the use of government funds.  Before Hamdam signs off on the 
disbursement, the appropriate advisor verifies that the disbursement 
is in general accordance with the needs of the department and, 
afterwards, attempts to monitor the impact of the disbursement. 
Most importantly, the advisors have increased the capacity of the 
departments.  The advisors, who are typically under 35 years old, 
highly-educated, and have years of professional experience in large, 
functioning organizations, have helped the directors and their staff 
meet the increasingly high expectations of their respective 
ministries in Kabul. 
 
...But They Need Help Themselves 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The IDLG advisors have yet to earn the full confidence of 
Hamdam, and most departments remain reluctant to develop closer 
relationships with them.  None of the advisors received training on 
 
KABUL 00002937  002 OF 002 
 
 
the specific roles and responsibilities of an IDLG advisor, 
particularly in the field of proposing, assessing, and monitoring 
projects.  Moreover, many of the advisors lack the social tact and 
diplomacy to cultivate productive relationships in their respective 
departments.  The Governor told a visiting delegation of IDLG/Asia 
Foundation staff that his IDLG advisors were heavy on competency and 
light on "people skills;" thus, the Governor's relationships with 
most directors remained distant, if not adversarial.  The directors 
complained to PRTOFF that the advisors treated the directors as 
subordinates, "demanding" reports and communicating taskings 
allegedly on behalf of the Governor. 
 
Steps to Strengthen IDLG Advisors Program 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) After extensive conversations with Hamdam, the IDLG 
advisors, the directors, and a review of the IDLG/Asia Foundation's 
informal trip report, there is general agreement on the following 
suggested changes to the IDLG advisors program: 
 
-- Implement a training program.  Future advisors dispatched to 
Uruzgan should participate in a mandatory training course on the 
specific responsibilities, expectations, and the "do's and don'ts" 
of an IDLG advisor.  Current advisors should be sent back to Kabul 
for similar training. 
 
-- Focus on building capacity of departments.  Given the dearth of 
qualified personnel in the departments, directors have repeatedly 
expressed their readiness to receive technical assistance from the 
Governor's advisors, as long as they respect the position of the 
director. 
 
-- Strengthen ties with USAID-funded technical advisors.  Through 
USAID's Local Governance and Community Development (LGCD) program, 
technical advisors have been assigned to seven departments, and 
three more departments will be assigned technical advisors in the 
coming months.  Establishing linkages with the IDLG advisors would 
give the technical advisors greater insight into the needs and 
demands of the Governor, and in turn, the IDLG advisors would obtain 
a clearer picture of the strengths and challenges in each 
department. 
 
-- Involve IDLG advisors in Governor's meetings.  Hamdam rarely 
invites his advisors to his meetings with the directors, and as a 
result, the advisors are often unaware of the causes of the friction 
between the Governor and his directors and unable to help the 
Governor repair the relationships.  PRTOff has asked Hamdam to 
consider involving his advisors in more meetings, and the Governor 
has started to include his chief advisor.  Once Hamdam determines 
that his other advisors are sufficiently mature in their roles as 
counsel, he will likely invite them to more meetings. 
 
WOOD