VZCZCXRO3161
RR RUEHDBU RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #0516/01 0660732
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 070732Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7636
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000516 
 
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OSD FOR WILKES 
CG CJTF-101 POLAD 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM AF
SUBJECT: SAR-E-PUL GOVERNOR'S POLITICAL HOUSECLEANING TARGETS OWN 
DEPUTY, BUT MOTIVES QUESTIONED 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The strained relationship between Sar-e-pul 
Governor Bashir Qanat Chayabi and Deputy Governor Qamaruddin Shekib 
has hit a new low with disclosure of Chayabi's proposal to the 
Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) to have Shekib 
replaced with an associate of Member of Parliament Mohammed Fahimi. 
Chayabi has also recommended that IDLG replace four district 
administrators and separately asked two ministries to replace their 
provincial department heads, all allegedly for poor performance. 
The governor justifies these personnel moves as "house cleaning," 
but they smack of political patronage.  Six months into the job, 
Chayabi, a former mujahideen commander with no previous government 
experience, intends to shake up the status quo in his 
administration, but perhaps for the wrong reasons.  The story 
unfolding in the Sar-e-pul governor's office is characteristic of 
the kinds of challenges facing the IDLG as it attempts to build 
credible sub-national government institutions throughout the 
country. 
 
Tensions Building Since Governor's Appointment 
--------------------------------------------- - 
¶2. (SBU) In a confidential letter to UNAMA written last November, 
Deputy Governor Shekib outlined his problems with Chayabi, who was 
appointed governor of Sar-e-pul last August.  Shekib, a Sar-e-pul 
native who has been deputy governor in his home province for the 
past 5 years, accused Chayabi of stripping him of responsibilities 
and of regarding the deputy governorship as an "appendage" rather 
than as an intrinsic part of the provincial administration. 
Governor Chayabi doesn't know how to delegate responsibilities to 
his deputy because Chayabi doesn't understand what his own 
responsibilities as governor are, claimed Shekib.  It is unclear 
whether Governor Chayabi is aware of Shekib's letter. 
 
Governor Asks IDLG to Replace His Deputy 
---------------------------------------- 
¶3. (SBU) Deputy Governor Shekib, fresh from an IDLG-sponsored trip 
to the Philippines, disclosed to State PRT officer February 16 that 
upon returning to Kabul, he met with IDLG deputy director Barna 
Karimi, who informed him of Governor Chayabi's proposal to have him 
replaced.  Karimi showed him the letter that Chayabi sent to IDLG 
accusing Shekib of creating distance between the people and the 
government.  Asked by Karimi to comment on that allegation, Shekib 
rejected it as patently false, offered to resign on the spot if any 
supporting evidence would surface, and encouraged IDLG to conduct 
its own investigation into the matter.  Karimi then told Shekib how 
he had been visited by Member of Parliament Fahimi from Balkhab 
district, Sar-e-pul, along with three other people who lobbied him 
hard for Shekib's removal from office.  One of the other three who 
accompanied Fahimi is Mohammed Tahir, reportedly a business 
associate of Fahimi who, like him, is a Hazara from Balkhab.  (Note: 
Shekib claims that Tahir is also a member of Fahimi's Inseljami Meli 
Party.)  Karimi told Shekib to return to his post in Sar-e-pul 
pending a decision on the governor's proposal.  Shekib doesn't know 
how much longer he'll have a job.  He remarked that if IDLG endorses 
Chayabi's recommendation and removes him for "no good reason," it 
would be a complete waste of the thousands of dollars spent by the 
government on the Philippines trip to strengthen his capacity as 
deputy governor. 
 
MP's Motives For Seeking Deputy's Ouster 
---------------------------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) Asked by State PRT officer to speculate as to why MP Fahimi 
is seeking his ouster, Shekib said the MP has been pressuring him to 
decide favorably on petitions submitted to the provincial government 
by Fahimi's supporters.  Shekib said he has refused to take sides in 
what he says is a conflict pitting ex-commander Fahimi, a former 
Wahdat-Mohaqqiq Party member, against ex-commanders of the 
Wahdat-Akbari Party.  (Note: Both parties are Hazara-based.)  Shekib 
said he told Fahimi that an MP should be a unifying force in the 
province, not a divisive one.  His refusal to show favoritism 
precipitated Fahimi's push to have him replaced by working in tandem 
with Governor Chayabi, assesses Shekib. 
 
Governor: No Contact with MP in Seeking Deputy's Removal 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
¶5. (SBU) Later, in a separate meeting the same day with Governor 
Chayabi, State PRT officer broached the subject of the governor's 
relationship with his proposed deputy Tahir.  When asked whether he 
knew if Tahir had ties to MP Fahimi, Chayabi said he was not aware 
of any.  Pressed to explain how he - a native of Taka province - 
settled upon Tapir - a Sar-e-pul native - to be his deputy, Chayabi 
responded vaguely that he had conducted his own search for a new 
deputy and that Fahimi had not contacted him about Tahir.  Perhaps, 
Chayabi suggested, Tahir had contacted Fahimi and enlisted the 
latter's support.  (Note: Chayabi's explanation is implausible in 
view of the fact that the timing of Chayabi's letter to the IDLG and 
 
KABUL 00000516  002 OF 003 
 
 
Fahimi's subsequent meeting with IDLG appear to have been 
coordinated to coincide with Shekib's trip to the Philippines.) 
 
Governor Also Targets District Governors... 
----------------------------------------- 
¶6. (SBU) Shekib said Governor Chayabi had written a letter to IDLG a 
few months ago recommending that certain district administrators be 
replaced.  Shekib said Chayabi did not seek his opinion at any time 
before sending the letter.  In Shekib's view, some of the people who 
Chayabi wants named to those positions are not qualified.  For 
example, he cited IDLG's rejection of Hamid Palawan - a Chayabi 
nominee - as the new district governor of Gosfundi because Palawan 
is illiterate.  But Chayabi's other proposed changes in district 
administrator appointments for Sozma Qala, Sayyad, and Balkhab 
districts remain pending before IDLG.  Chayabi's nominees are not 
really his own people; each has been pitched to Chayabi by political 
figures who have pressured Chayabi to support them, Shekib alleged. 
 
...and Line Directors 
------------------- 
¶7. (SBU) Governor Chayabi has requested the Ministries of Education 
and Public Works change their Sar-e-pul line directors for 
underperforming, and has submitted names of candidates to replace 
them.  But Shekib claims that Chayabi's nominee for education 
director has not passed the civil service reform (CSR) process, and 
that the Ministry of Education sent a letter to Chayabi rejecting 
his recommendation for that reason.  (Note: The current education 
director has passed the CSR process.)  Apparently not satisfied with 
the Ministry of Education's response, Chayabi sent a letter to 
President Karzai's office seeking the president's intervention in 
the matter, but that effort doesn't appear to have borne fruit. 
Chayabi is also engaged in a showdown with the Ministry of Public 
Works (MoPW) by refusing to allow the provincial public works line 
director to continue working in that capacity.  Chayabi confirmed to 
State PRT officer that MoPW had sent a letter to him requesting that 
the director be allowed to resume his work.  Shekib calls the entire 
situation embarrassing because ministry officials assume that the 
governor consults with his team before sending the names of nominees 
to Kabul, and that's not the case at all in Sar-e-pul. 
 
"Passing the Football" 
---------------------- 
¶8. (SBU) Asked what prompted his proposed personnel moves, Governor 
Chayabi told State PRT officer that he was only exercising his right 
to make changes when people don't perform up to his expectations. 
He said he spent the first five months on the job listening to 
district residents and evaluating the performances of his 
administrators because he was new to the province.  Now, having 
formed his own opinions of his team, he wants to shake things up. 
Noting Shekib's five-year tenure as deputy governor, Chayabi asked 
rhetorically what Shekib had accomplished during that time.  He said 
he was disappointed that the experienced Shekib hadn't stepped 
forward to help him learn the ropes of governance in Sar-e-pul when 
he first arrived.  Chayabi grew more animated as he laid out his 
frustrations with his deputy, and used a soccer analogy to call him 
a poor team player who "doesn't like to pass the ball."  Asked if he 
had ever met with Shekib to express dissatisfaction with his work 
performance, Chayabi said that he had. (Note: Shekib disputes this.) 
 State PRT officer pointed out to Chayabi that if the IDLG rejects 
Chayabi's nominee and allows Shekib to remain as his deputy, both 
men will have to find a way to work together as a team.  The 
governor, as captain of the team, should make the first pass to his 
deputy by giving him a project and seeing how well he can implement 
it.  If the governor is not satisfied with the outcome, then he 
should tell his deputy directly, State PRT officer advised.  Chayabi 
agreed that was a good approach and expressed appreciation for the 
advice, but he's still hoping for a favorable response from the IDLG 
regarding his nominee. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Governor Chayabi has had a tough time letting go of his 
jihadi's commander's mindset when it comes to his provincial 
management.  That has strained relations with Shekib and other 
members of the government, including the provincial council. 
Chayabi admitted to State PRT officer that there is lots of 
corruption in his administration and that he's determined to stop it 
when he learns of it.  While his desire to clean house might disrupt 
some of the corrupt networks inside his administration, one wonders 
if he may be paving the way for new ones to form if he gets his 
nominees past the IDLG. 
 
¶10. (SBU) What is happening in the Sar-e-pul governor's office is 
indicative of the challenges confronting the IDLG as it strives to 
 
KABUL 00000516  003 OF 003 
 
 
build credible institutions of sub-national governance across the 
country.  Political interference from power brokers continues to 
undermine those efforts.  It's no secret that politics - not merit - 
is what landed Chayabi his job as governor.  As IDLG's Barna Karimi 
remarked recently at the ISAF PRT conference in Kabul, district 
governors are the most important government figures for the tens of 
millions of Afghans living in rural areas.  A corrupt, incompetent 
district administrator or provincial governor will only widen the 
gap between the government and the people.  With the stakes so high, 
the IDLG can ill afford to give in to political pressures by 
recommending unqualified people to be the "most important people" in 
government. 
 
DELL