VZCZCXRO8637
RR RUEHAG RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL
RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #1006 2221117
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101117Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3266
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 5518
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3238
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3103
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 3761
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 3780
RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001006 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN 
AID/W FOR ASIA/EA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID KDEM TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN:  USAID SEMINAR ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE 
 
REF: ASHGABAT 0230 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  On August 5-6, 25 Turkmen parliamentarians, 
local government leaders and other officials participated in a USAID 
sponsored seminar on local governance.  The Turkmen parliament is 
currently considering reforms to the local government system in 
Turkmenistan.  The USAID seminar explored international examples of 
local governance systems and offered participants the opportunity to 
discuss challenges facing systematic reform.  Newly elected 
officials were critical of the slow pace of reform.  END SUMMARY. 
 
SEVERAL HIGH-RANKING OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE 
 
¶3.  (U) Of the 25 participants, 10 are heads of local government 
bodies, most are newly elected as of July.  Four parliament 
deputies, including two committee chairs, participated in the 
seminar as well as a number of ministry officials.  The two-day 
seminar was supported by UNDP and Turkmenistan's parliament. 
 
¶4.  (U) The chairperson of the parliamentary committee on local 
government, Gurbangul Bairamova, participated in the seminar.  She 
was elected in December 2008 and continues to be active in USAID's 
efforts to promote local governance reforms, including participation 
in a group that visited the United States in April to study U.S. 
local government structures. 
 
PARLIAMENT CONSIDERS REFORM TO LOCAL GOVERNANCE SYSTEM 
 
¶5.  (U) Parliament is currently considering several pieces of 
legislation that would affect the local governance system in 
Turkmenistan.  These include rewriting the People's Councils law, 
Local Executive Government Bodies law, and the Code of Turkmenistan 
Budget System.  During the seminar, the parliament's legal expert, 
Professor Murad Haitov, highlighted the challenges involved in 
implementing local governance reforms, including outdated 
legislation as well as social and cultural factors. 
 
SEMINAR FOCUSED ON INTERNATIONAL EXAMPLES OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND 
TURKMEN REFORM 
 
¶6.  (U) The seminar covered basic principles of effective local 
governance and service delivery, including budgeting and finance. 
It also explored international examples of local government 
structures and engendered participant discussion on local governance 
reform in Turkmenistan.   Participants were particularly eager to 
discuss topics related to budgetary issues, requiring the 
facilitator to rearrange the agenda of the seminar so that these 
issues would be addressed the first day. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Local government officials revealed a willingness to 
criticize the central government on a number of occasions during the 
two-day seminar.  They noted the slow pace of local governance 
reform and a lack of support from the central government for 
community-based economic growth.  Moreover, several participants 
expressed frustration with the lack of independent revenue sources 
for local governments.  One seminar participant complained that the 
government only talked about reforms but no action has taken place. 
Another participant expressed a desire for a U.S. style local 
government system, stating that "the people are ready for 
self-governance." 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT: These rather unexpected and energetic criticisms 
of the central government during the seminar may be indicative of a 
stronger inclination by newly elected local government leaders to 
challenge the central government on a broader range of issues.  This 
may suggest an emerging desire for greater community-based 
decision-making and governance.  It may also suggest the nascent 
growth of independence and a decreased fear of repercussions on 
behalf of local leaders, at least among newly elected officials. 
END COMMENT. 
 
MILES