US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT2410

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 002410 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO PASS USAID/W 
STATE PLEASE REPEAT TO IO COLLECTIVE 
STATE FOR PRM/ANE, EUR/SE, NEA/NGA, IO AND SA/PAB 
NSC FOR EABRAMS, SMCCORMICK, STAHIR-KHELI, JDWORKEN 
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/RMT, DCHA/FFP 
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, ANE/AA 
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA:WGARVELINK, BMCCONNELL, KFARNSWORTH 
USAID FOR ANE/AA:WCHAMBERLIN 
ROME FOR FODAG 
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH 
ANKARA FOR AMB WRPEARSON, ECON AJSIROTIC AND DART 
AMMAN FOR USAID AND DART 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREF, IZ, WFP 
SUBJECT:  DART UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF IRAQ'S PUBLIC 
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  The Iraqi MOT called a meeting in Baghdad on 20 May of 
the Governorate MOT directors to discuss preparations for 
the first countrywide public food distribution since the war 
ended, set to begin in June.  Representatives from ORHA, the 
DART, WFP, and Iraqi MOT attended.  MOT officials raised 
several issues that they feel must be resolved immediately, 
and they agreed to work closely together toward the goal of 
resuming the distribution of food rations in June.  In 
Basrah, a 23 May meeting of ORHA's "Lower South" PDS working 
group was called to examine the food pipeline, ration 
composition, and progress on re-establishing PDS 
infrastructure.  Issues common to the meetings were security 
concerns, and infrastructure constraints.  End Summary. 
 
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MOT BAGHDAD CALLS MEETING OF ALL GOVERNORATE MOT DIRECTORS 
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2.  The Ministry of Trade (MOT) and the Office of 
Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA), summoned 
MOT officials representing each of the eighteen Iraqi 
Governorates to a meeting held at a conference center near 
the former Republican Guard Palace in Baghdad on 20 May. 
Members of the DART and the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) 
also attended.  The ORHA official responsible for the 
Minister of Trade, Ambassador Robin Raphel, chaired the 
discussions, with an interpreter simultaneously translating 
her comments from English into Arabic. 
 
3.  Ambassador Raphel assured the group that she was aware 
of a multitude of problems facing the MOT.  She asked that 
each Governorate assess the status of the MOT buildings, 
furniture, computers and personnel needed to revive the 
public distribution system (PDS).  She said ORHA would 
provide the MOT in each Governorate with USD 50,000 to make 
emergency repairs to warehouses, silos, grain elevators, and 
office buildings to facilitate a resumption of the PDS in 
June. 
 
3.  She also asked each Governorate representative to 
provide the Ministry with a point of contact for the 
program, which will be shared with the Coalition Civil 
Affairs units in each region.  (Note:  As of 27 May, no DART 
or WFP member is aware of the USD 50,000 payments yet being 
provided.  End Note.) 
 
4.  Ambassador Raphel introduced Yousef Abdel Rahman as the 
Iraqi point of contact in the Ministry in Baghdad, and said 
he will work with officials in each Governorate to compile a 
report describing the status of the grain elevators and 
silos in each area of the country. 
 
5.  PThe articipants repeated several times that the lack of 
security is a primary concern in trying to revive the PDS. 
Ambassador Raphel said there are plans to create a guard 
force to secure the Ministry of Trade warehouses and silos. 
(Comment: This process has begun in all Governorates in the 
south; however, no single consistent approach is being used. 
In some areas, MOT guards are being trained and armed by 
Coalition forces.  In other areas, MOT guards are to be 
drawn from a broader pool of guard trainees -- a subset of 
newly trained police forces.  End Comment.) 
 
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LOCAL PURCHASE 
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6.  After security, MOT managers' next greatest concern is 
the question of the purchase of local grain production for 
the National Strategic Reserves (NSR). Traditionally, Iraq's 
MOT Grain Boards purchased locally-produced wheat at the end 
of every harvest season.  This year, there has been 
confusion over how much grain would be purchased, where the 
funds would come from, and how a severely damaged Grain 
Board infrastructure could undertake the necessary quality 
control and management of newly purchased stocks. 
 
7.  MOT managers were informed that ORHA, with assistance 
from WFP, would purchase up to 1.2 million tons of grain 
this year, and that an agreement was being developed which 
would set the modalities of the purchase process, including 
the purchase price.  MOT managers stressed the need to act 
quickly, because in many Governorates in the south, local 
produce was already arriving at MOT warehouses and silos. 
 
8.  A related problem facing ORHA and the MOT are the 
reported hundreds of thousands of tons of grain from last 
year's crop remaining in the NSR.  Anecdotal reports 
indicate that large quantities of this grain may be 
contaminated with aflotoxin at levels far exceeding those 
acceptable for human or animal consumption.  (Note: 
Aflotoxins are carcinogenic and associated particularly with 
liver cancer in humans.  Aflotoxin contamination is common 
in Iraq, and "acceptable" levels of aflotoxin contamination 
are reported to far exceed international standards. End 
Note.) 
 
9.  The ORHA/WFP/MOT local purchase agreement does establish 
a mechanism of quality control for this year's harvest. 
However, there is no plan in place for the assessment and 
testing of grain currently in the NSR, nor recognition of 
time and resources, which will be required to sample, test, 
transport and destroy large quantities of grain. 
Significant time will also be required for the cleaning of 
silos and warehouses storing contaminated grain. 
 
10.  Ambassador Raphel has said she will determine if Iraq 
has a facility to conduct a proper analysis of the wheat 
before any action is taken to destroy it.  DART and WFP will 
discuss this issue further with the Food and Agricultural 
Organization, and are proposing the immediate collection of 
samples in each Governorate for independent testing in 
Kuwait. 
 
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BASRAH LOWER SOUTH WORKING GROUP MEETING 
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11.  At the weekly task force PDS meeting in Basrah on 23 
May, members of the Coalition military forces, DART, ORHA, 
MOT, and WFP discussed the status of the food commodities in 
the "Lower South" - the four southern Governorates of 
Maysan, Dhi Qar, Muthanna and Basrah.  WFP stated there are 
enough food supplies in the pipeline to begin the PDS on 1 
June.  However, quantities of powdered whole milk, part of 
the adult PDS ration, are extremely low. 
 
12.  WFP reported that the MOT in Baghdad was in the process 
of establishing a countrywide ration for the month of June, 
which follows the pre-war practice.  Coalition forces 
expressed concern over this prospect, stressing the fact 
that it was in the southern Governorates where distributions 
at the end of March had been disrupted, and in Basrah 
specifically, where the distribution shortfalls have not 
been filled.  (Note:  Setting the ration involves taking 
stock of the tonnage of each PDS commodity and making a 
determination of the quantities of each commodity that each 
person is to receive, if the quantities needed for the 
optimal ration are unavailable.  Transport among 
Governorates is then required to ensure that sufficient 
quantities are present in each Governorate.  Before the war, 
the MOT announced each month the quantities of each 
commodity and the date the distribution would begin.  End 
Note.) 
 
13.  Because of these concerns, it was decided that 
Ambassador Ole Olssen, the regional coordinator for ORHA in 
the Lower South, would send a communication to ORHA/Baghdad 
and MOT, outlining the Lower South preparations for the 1 
June distributions.  These preparations include: a) the 
establishment of a ration consistent with existing and 
expected stocks; b) the transport of commodities between 
governorates to ensure a uniform ration; and c) finalization 
of a distribution timeline by district for each Governorate. 
 
14.  While in Basrah on 27 May, the DART learned from WFP 
that the MOT is due to notify WFP late on 28 May what the 
ration will be for the June distribution. 
 
JONES