VZCZCXRO7632
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0781/01 1750927
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 240927Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3985
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000781 
 
DEPT FOR SE GRATION, S/USSES, AF A/S CARSON, AF/E 
NSC FOR MGAVIN 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN, DCHA/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: USAID AND AECOM SIGN IMPLEMENTATION PROTOCOL WITH MIC 
 
REF: A) KHARTOUM 535 
B) KHARTOUM 210 
C) KHARTOUM 225 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  USAID and implementing partner AECOM (formerly 
operating in Sudan as PADCO) signed an Implementation Protocol (IP) 
with the Government of Sudan's Ministry of International Cooperation 
(MIC) on June 8, 2009.  The new relationship with MIC restores the 
programming of the USAID Office of Transition Initiatives' (OTI) 
primary partner in Sudan.  PADCO was among the thirteen 
organizations expelled after the March 4 International Criminal 
Court indictment against President Omar al Bashir.  With the signing 
of the IP, AECOM - doing business in Sudan as AECOM International 
Sudan (AIS) - can officially resume activities that had to be 
suspended in the  Three Areas due to y the expulsions.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) After several weeks of discussions, the IP was signed by 
Charge d'Affaires Whitehead, the Minister of International 
Cooperation, the USAID Mission Director, AECOM representative and 
the Governors of Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, as well as by the 
Abyei Administrator.  The IP encompasses the rapid-response, in-kind 
small grants mechanism of USAID/OTI and AECOM, estimated at $30 
million over the life of the project from 2009-2011.  [Note: USAID 
already had obligated $20 million to PADCO-AECOM. End Note.]  The 
program will be managed by USAID/OTI and AECOM, with oversight 
provided by a National Committee comprising MIC, the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, the Governors of Blue Nile and 
South Kordofan, and the Chief Administrator of the Abyei Area 
Administration.  State-level sub-committees consisting of 
representatives named by the Governors and Chief Administrator will 
work closely with USAID/OTI and AECOM to develop work plans in line 
with their regional priorities. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The signed IP with USAID, MIC, and AECOM represents a fresh 
start for a partner previously registered through the Humanitarian 
Affairs Commission (HAC).  This is the second IP that USAID has 
signed with MIC in the past two months (Ref A).  The IP lays out a 
program focused primarily on priority peace-building and conflict 
mitigation activities in the Three Areas, which constitute  a 
politically-sensitive and potentially- explosive fault line along 
the North-South border.  The IP provides for the possibility of 
implementing civic education activities in Khartoum similar to those 
PADCO managed prior to March 4.  However, USAID will approach 
resuming this aspect of the portfolio cautiously, as these are the 
activities that most likely led to PADCO's inclusion on the 
expulsion list.  The IP also includes the provision to undertake 
similar activities in Darfur, should political and security 
conditions permit. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Following the U.S. Special Envoy's first visit to Khartoum, 
when the Government of Sudan agreed to the return of four 
U.S.-funded partners under new auspices, , AECOM requested, and was 
granted, visas for the former PADCO Country Director - who was 
expelled from Sudan on February 10 (Ref B) - and the former Deputy 
Country Director.  With their visas in hand, and with the process of 
negotiating the IP with MIC well underway, these two staff traveled 
to Sudan and began to mobilize as AIS.  With guidance from USAID/OTI 
and written assurances from state-level government officials to 
ensure protection of staff and sub-contractors, AIS organized the 
resumption of several critical priority activities in the Three 
Areas that had to proceed before the rainy season began in earnest. 
These activities, including establishing and equipping the Abyei 
Area Administration's temporary offices, as well as several 
strategically important infrastructure peace dividends in areas of 
Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, are already underway and can 
now be completed. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The completion of start-up formalities includes opening new 
bank accounts and the hiring of expatriate and local staff.  In 
addition, PADCO assets seized by HAC will be returned to USAID as 
agreed to by the GoS and the Special Envoy.  As a result, USAID/OTI 
and AECOM will also be able to undertake new activities in the Three 
Areas.  Many of these activities were already under development 
prior to March 4, and include significant investments in water 
points in the western sector of Southern Kordofan state, 
rehabilitation of the Abyei electricity network and the setting up 
of youth, peace and vocational centers throughout the region. 
USAID/OTI and AECOM are also exploring the possibility of a joint 
NCP-SPLM study tour outside Sudan.  This would allow both to examine 
successful popular consultation processes regarding center-periphery 
relations and models of federalism and statehood elsewhere.  Such a 
study tour would inform decisions by state-level Legislative 
Assembly members and other relevant officials as they move toward 
the Popular Consultations mandated by the Comprehensive Peace 
 
KHARTOUM 00000781  002 OF 002 
 
 
Agreement. Other projects in the planning stage include a series of 
three policy workshops between Misseriya and Ngok Dinka leaders that 
consider different options for resolving the most critical issues 
related to the Abyei border arbitration. On June 7 and 8 joint 
NCP/SPLM delegations officially requested OTI support for the study 
tours and policy workshops respectively. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment.  Thus far, MIC, and in particular the 
Undersecretary, have been helpful in facilitating the early stages 
of establishing AECOM in Sudan.  This included encouraging AECOM 
staff to move ahead with program and operations prior to the formal 
signing of the IP.  The thorny issue of returning assets from HAC 
still remains, and its resolution is central to AECOM's ability to 
quickly resume implementation of activities.  Unlike the other 
twelve NGOs that operated in Darfur, and thanks in large part to the 
interventions of local government stakeholders in the Three Areas, 
PADCO-AECOM emerged from the March 4 expulsion with its assets 
largely intact.  The latter are being held in former PADCO offices 
by HAC, and are available for transfer as soon as HAC and MIC agree 
on the process.  If operational aspects such as asset return and 
staffing, which t are subject to GoS approval, move forward 
smoothly, USAID and AECOM expect to resume full operational capacity 
in the Three Areas within a matter of weeks. 
 
ASQUINO