NIGERIA: NATIONAL INLAND WATERWAYS PROPOSAL FOR

UNCLAS ABUJA 002885 SIPDIS SECDEF PASS TO CDRUSAETAC WINCHESTER VA SECDEF PASS TO HQUSACE WASHDC SECDEF FOR DC//USDP-DSCA-ERASA// AND DC//UDP/ISA// SECSTATE FOR AFR/PM// E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MASS NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: NATIONAL INLAND WATERWAYS PROPOSAL FOR SUPPORT FROM ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS REF: A. NIWA MAY 28 LETTER TO AMBASSADOR JETER ¶B. HOPPER/OVERFIELD JUNE 19 EMAIL ¶1. The U.S. Mission to Nigeria cannot support at this time the proposed project presented by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) (Ref A). This decision is based on several considerations. First, it is impossible to tell from NIWA's proposal exactly what they wish the Army Corps of Engineers to do. There is presently no funding and virtually no prospects for significant funding for any major undertaking. ODC, USAID, and other Western donor agencies do not have funding to pay for a major project nor has the National Inland Waterway Authority demonstrated that they have the funds necessary for even a preliminary study. Given the current fiscal constraints in Nigeria, where many thousands of civil servants wait months for their salaries, it is highly unlikely that GON funds, even if promised, would be made available in the near term. ¶2. The Mission would be pleased to revisit this decision if the NIWA proposal were better defined and resources identified. Even at that point, the Mission would be hard pressed to support major undertakings, especially outside the metropolitan areas of Abuja and Lagos. Mission administrative offices are understaffed and in cramped temporary quarters in which they will remain for the foreseeable future, probably until the new Chancery is completed in 2004. The security situation outside the major cities is sometimes volatile with sudden, unanticipated, communal violence a possibility in some areas of the country. ¶3. An additional concern is the need for assurances that environmental and economic impact studies, as required by authorities in both Nigeria and the United States, are undertaken before a major project, such as dredging of the Niger River, begins. Moreover, there are political forces in Nigeria, including local communities that would be significantly impacted by the proposed activity. Nascent environmental groups would also become involved eventually, especially in the aggrieved and volatile Niger Delta. JETER