VZCZCXRO3427
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1152 0931838
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031838Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0530
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS BAGHDAD 001152
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KPAO ECON IZ
SUBJECT: PRT TIKRIT: PROVINCIAL BUDGET HAS MULTIPLYING
EFFECT ON GOVERNANCE, PC HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE
1. (U) This is a PRT Tikrit, Salah ad Din cable.
2. (SBU) SUMMARY. At an April 2 PRT/Coalition
Forces-initiated press conference, the Salah ad Din
Provincial Council (PC) Chair Sheikh Rasheed Ossman and key
PC members outlined the 2007 provincial budget and fielded
questions from members of the local media, including Salah ad
Din Television (reftel). During the press conference, Sheikh
Rasheed gave a thorough overview of the 2007 budget, compared
the current budget to the 2006 budget, discussed the PC's
oversight role in the budget execution process, and answered
questions.
3. (SBU) Sheikh Rasheed concluded the press conference by
calling the press "the power of truth" and encouraging them
to attend PC meetings and other legislative committee
meetings. The Governor and Deputy Governor plan to hold a
second press conference about the budget execution process
later in the week.
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COMMENT
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4. (SBU) This was the first press conference the Salah ad Din
Provincial Council has sponsored and marks a significant
change in the way Sheikh Rasheed and other PC members view
the media. Previously, the media had been barred from
attending PC meetings and arbitrarily banned from reporting
on certain topics. The PC's pride in passing a professional
provincial budget is proving to have a multiplying effect in
many governance areas: improving relations with the media, a
renewed desire to ensure proper checks and balances in
project contracting, and a vision for automating the
provincial accounting records. END COMMENT.
5. (U) For additional reporting from PRT Tikrit, Salah ad
Din, please see our SIPRNET Reporting Blog:
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Tikrit.
CROCKER