VZCZCXRO6768
RR RUEHAST RUEHDBU
DE RUEHDBU #0248/01 0611357
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021357Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0106
INFO RUEHAST/USOFFICE ALMATY 0004
RUEABND/DEA HQ WASHDC
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 0139

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000248 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AID/W FOR SCAA/FLYNN FULLER 
ALMATY FOR USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT KMPP ASEC EAID APER ABLD TI
SUBJECT: MISSION RIGHTSIZING GOAL 
 
¶1. Introduction and Summary: A recent review of the Mission 
Strategic Plan provided a snapshot of what we achieved in the 
last year and our top priorities looking ahead. This is the 
fifth cable to provide a goal-by-goal look at what Embassy 
Dushanbe is doing. For our rightsizing goal all agencies and 
offices coordinate through the ICASS Budget Committee to provide 
the management platform to support Mission staff carrying out 
the work to achieve U.S. goals, to manage U.S. government-funded 
projects and to oversee prudent use of taxpayer funds. End 
introduction and summary. 
 
Accomplishments 
 
¶2. The Mission has high levels of local staff turnover, as 
static local salaries cannot compete with other opportunities 
available to skilled English-speaking staff. The Mission 
successfully argued for an off-cycle salary review which 
resulted in a 12.5% across the board increase, the first for 
some years, in local staff compensation. The HR office prepared 
information to allow a multiagency group to review our local 
leave plan and is working with HR/OE bring it into compliance 
with local labor law. 
 
¶3. The winter of 2007/2008 was extremely difficult, with bitter 
cold temperatures that cut off power and water supplies for 
weeks at a time.  The Mission had to supply generator fuel and 
water to all Embassy housing during these weeks, and the 
Department contemplated drawing down Mission staff. Heroic 
efforts by the team kept the embassy functioning and the staff 
in country. For winter 2008/2009 the Mission undertook a 
thorough winter planning effort. With OBO support, we obtained 
extra temporary fuel storage for diesel, so that we could keep 
generators and delivery trucks running in case of fuel 
shortages. Although a warmer winter meant the severest hardships 
did not come to pass, by mid-February post was managing lengthy 
power outages each day. 
 
¶4. Working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs we gathered 
information on the government's recently implemented VAT refund 
process, submitted our first VAT refund request and got our 
first refund. We installed water meters and got a written 
agreement with the water company, validated by the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs to ensure that bills to the Embassy for water 
reflect actual water use versus the previous method of estimated 
usage based on the size of the intake pipes. This resulted in 
significant cost savings. Construction was started on recreation 
facilities next to the Chancery building. 
 
¶5. The Mission has grown 250% in physical size and 500% in 
direct hire staff in the last five years, but growth in the 
ICASS staff has not kept pace. Post made a major push to get 
three new positions, an HR/FM officer, an S/GSO and another IM 
officer. Until these positions are created and filled, the 
Ambassador has implemented a moratorium on new NSDD-38 positions 
at the Mission. We got one of these positions and the new HR/FM 
will arrive in March 2009. Post is short of ICASS local staff 
and has been filling what are essentially full-time slots via a 
labor contract. Post has gotten ICASS Council approval to create 
direct hire positions to regularize this situation, and has a 
plan to implement that change by the end of the fiscal year. 
 
Priorities for the Coming Year 
 
¶6. The electrical wiring in a large portion of our housing pool 
does not meet U.S. safety standards. In the recent months we 
have had two serious electrical fires in post housing. This 
problem was a major issue noted by the OIG in our last 
inspection.  As people turn over, Facilities Maintenance has 
been upgrading the wiring of homes during make-readies. This is 
a major job in each house and takes eight-twelve weeks, often 
delaying our ability to have arriving staff move directly into 
permanent quarters. There is only one contractor able to do this 
work to the needed standard, and this contractor cannot handle 
multiple houses simultaneously. This summer we will turn over or 
add twenty houses, which can not all be upgraded in the short 
window available. Establishing a plan to upgrade the electrical 
wiring of houses is a top priority in the coming year. 
 
¶7. Post is experiencing high and increasing turnover of skilled 
local staff. We lost more than 25 people in 2008 and about 20 
current FSNs have indicated plans to leave this year. Under our 
local compensation plan, the highest paid FSN makes less than 
$20,000 per year, with most of our key staff getting $14-16,000. 
Skilled staff with good English can make much more in Russia or 
elsewhere. Further the deteriorating living conditions in the 
country, including long months with limited power, the 
deteriorating quality of schooling for children, and the lack of 
healthcare are strong incentives for people to leave. The pool 
of applicants to refill these jobs is getting smaller and 
 
DUSHANBE 00000248  002 OF 002 
 
 
applicants have less experience and fewer skills. Getting a 
further increase in local compensation will be important to 
improving the stability of our local staff. In addition, we put 
a high priority getting post specific ICASS training in Dushanbe 
in FY 2010, in part because of high staff turnover. 
 
¶8. Post hopes to make further progress on bringing on direct 
hire management staff up to the level needed to support our 
operations and assistance programs. Getting a senior GSO and an 
additional IM position remain top priorities. Once we have 
stopped using contract labor for core positions and we will 
present a plan to bring our Facilities Maintenance local staff 
into line with the amount of property post maintains. OBO is 
helping by providing analysis of the standard staffing needed to 
maintain and manage a compound and housing pool of our size. 
Post will use this to create a plan for bringing the number of 
staff in Facilities Maintenance up to the number needed to 
properly manage post facilities. 
 
¶9. Finally, post will be working OBO both to reconfigure our 
existing space to meet our needs, and to move our warehouse and 
motorpool from a condemned Soviet kindergarten several miles 
away from the NEC onto the compound. 
 
Key Challenges and Opportunities 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶10. Besides managing the ongoing turnover of local staff, in the 
summer of 2009 we will face an unusually large turnover of 
American staff, including virtually all of the management 
section, except for one IM officer. As mentioned, the large 
turnover coinciding with staffing gaps means that housing make 
readies will be a challenge and the needed electrical upgrades 
will need to be phased over time 
 
¶11. GSO faces additional constraints trying to manage motorpool 
and warehouse operations at a separate site. Post faces 
exceptional logistical and transport difficulties, few local 
sources for most supplies, and a lack of qualified local 
contractors for many services and tasks. There are limited 
international flights into and out of Dushanbe, often on smaller 
planes with limited cargo space. Rail cargo often faces long 
delays in transiting neighboring Uzbekistan, requiring a long 
lead time for anything ordered. Likewise, pouch service faces 
many serious delays. 
 
¶12. In facing these challenges we are getting good support from 
OBO and look forward to the team coming to chart a path forward. 
In dealing with local utilities the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Diplomatic Services Office has been constructive. NEA/SCA/EX has 
returned recoveries fund to us. This has been key to managing 
our budget, and we look forward to continue support in this 
area. NEA/SCA/EX has also helped in providing WAE coverage 
during summer gaps in the management team, which has also been 
important for us to meet our goals. 
JACOBSON