VZCZCXRO4753
PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHMK #0441/01 2041436
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231436Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8826
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000441 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR UNDERSECRETARY KENNEDY FROM AMBASSADOR ERELI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT ABLD ECON BA
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR U/S KENNEDY'S JULY 28-30 VISIT TO 
MANAMA 
 
------------ 
INTRODUCTION 
------------ 
 
¶1. (SBU) Embassy Manama warmly welcomes your visit.  Bahrain, 
though small in size, figures prominently in our ability to 
achieve key policy objectives in this region.  The bilateral 
relationship is strong, and the ruling family regards the 
U.S. as the guarantor of Bahrain's security.  The 
headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet is the 
cornerstone of our expanding security relationship, which 
includes cooperation with the Coalition mission in 
Afghanistan, substantive counterterrorism cooperation, and 
the deployment of two Patriot batteries to the island.  With 
Crown Prince Salman's recent op-ed calling upon Arab states 
to make positive gestures toward Israel, Bahrain has gone out 
on a limb in support of a shared interest in regional peace. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Accomplishing these missions and maintaining 
stability and security in the region requires resources.  The 
Embassy is currently supporting a CENTCOM Chiefs of Mission 
conference that includes a long list of Department and DoD 
principals such as General Petraeus, Special Envoy Mitchell, 
AA/S Feltman, and S/CT Benjamin.  During a recent five-week 
stretch, we hosted all three regional Special Envoys 
(Mitchell, Ross, and Holbrooke) and A/AS Feltman.  CODELS, 
STAFFDELS, and DoD officials also stop regularly in Bahrain 
to consult with the Fifth Fleet Commander. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Among the most pressing issues for Embassy Manama 
are the need for new USDH and LES positions, LES wages, and 
maintaining a chancery that has reached middle age.  We are 
also looking at ways to improve the quality of life for our 
personnel, and we appreciate OBO's assistance as we evaluate 
the possible purchase of as many as 24 housing units to 
modernize our housing pool.  I look forward to discussing 
with you ways that we can ensure this Mission has the 
resources it needs to succeed. 
 
------------------------------ 
USDH and LES Position Requests 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) Manama has 79 State and other-agency USDH positions, 
96 LES, and 114 EFMs at post. Given the increasing workload 
to support high profile regional policy objectives and the 
ever-increasing number of VIP visits, Post requested in its 
most recent MSP two new USDH positions and six new LES 
positions.  Currently, we have only two political reporting 
positions, an FS-02 section chief and an FS-04 political 
officer.  Much of their time is devoted to preparation of 
mandated annual reports, VIP visits, managing programs, 
demarches, and reporting on Bahrain's external and security 
affairs.  We have requested an additional FS-03 political 
office to allow us to engage more closely with both the Shia 
and Sunni communities here, better understand sectarian 
politics, and better promote moderation and stability. 
Likewise, we have requested a Foreign Service Nurse 
Practitioner position to better serve an increasing ICASS 
customer base.  Constant dust, sand, and air pollution 
contribute to chronic minor health compla 
ints, which our two part-time health care personnel can only 
refer out to local clinics.  Requests for three LES positions 
in GSO, two in Facilities Maintenance, and one in our ISC 
section reflect growth in the Mission's support workload and 
the need to maintain an aging chancery. 
 
--------- 
LES Wages 
--------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Like many posts worldwide, LES compensation in 
Manama continues to lag well behind comparable employers and 
affects the Embassy's ability to hire and retain qualified 
staff.  LES are the backbone of a Mission, and we neglect the 
pay gap issue at our own peril. 
 
¶6. (SBU) In 2008, Post funded an average 12% increase for our 
LES in an attempt to compensate for years of inflation and 
lagging LES salaries.  Despite this, we continue to find it 
difficult to compete with private sector employers that offer 
housing and educational allowances that we cannot.  In 
calendar year 2008, we had four advertised openings for which 
we had no qualified applicants.  Depending on the position, 
it has taken us an average of six to twelve weeks to fill 
vacancies, and the most often cited reason for qualified 
applicants declining a job offer with the Embassy is that the 
offered salary is too low.  Seven LES resigned their 
positions in the past year to take better paying jobs outside 
 
MANAMA 00000441  002 OF 002 
 
 
the Embassy. 
 
¶7. (SBU) You will hear from the LES Committee that the number 
one concern of the LES community is the salary gap.  They 
will tell you that, while Manama's LES enjoy high job 
satisfaction, they find it ever more difficult to make ends 
meet.  Private sector companies provide housing, education, 
and other allowances as part of an overall compensation 
package.  Those allowances were discontinued for LES 
personnel in the mid-1990s following a recommendation from 
the Inspector General.  Steadily rising rents, stagnant 
salaries, and high rates of overall inflation that have 
plagued the Gulf for many years have forced some non-Bahraini 
LES to choose between providing a reduced standard of living 
for their families, and sending them back to their home 
countries to save on rent and school fees. 
 
----------------- 
CHANCERY OVERHAUL 
----------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Manama's chancery, the last to be completed prior to 
the Inman Standards, is nineteen years old and is beginning 
to show its age.  Over the past year, aging pipes have begun 
to leak and repeatedly flood areas of the building. 
Extensive security upgrades are necessary to bring the 
chancery up to modern standards.  Growth in the Mission has 
also necessitated rewiring and remodeling of many parts of 
the building.  Our Facilities Maintenance Officer will lead 
you on a tour of the facility and brief you in detail on 
planned FEBR upgrades, the plumbing replacement project, 
construction of a new CAC for consular customers, and planned 
rewiring and remodeling projects. 
 
------------------------- 
POSSIBLE HOUSING PURCHASE 
------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Embassy officers have also felt the pinch of 
spiraling rents over the past several years as it has rents 
have outstripped our authorized lease ceilings.  This has 
meant that the Embassy has been forced to settle, in many 
cases, for second class housing.  As the housing sector has 
grown and new compounds have come online, we have continually 
found ourselves priced out of the market, able to afford 
rents only at 20-30 year-old compounds with long-in-the-tooth 
facilities. 
 
¶10. (SBU) We have identified a new residential development, 
Riffa Views, which offers an opportunity to purchase as many 
as 24 units (representing roughly 40% of our housing pool). 
OBO just completed a survey of the properties and has entered 
into a 90-day option, having negotiated to buy a mix of 2, 3, 
and 4-bedroom homes and townhomes at a price of USD 12 
million.  As OBO completes its due diligence, we will take 
the pulse of the Embassy community to ensure that we have 
consensus on Riffa Views.  You will have the opportunity to 
view these properties with our Acting Management Officer 
during your visit. 
ERELI