KABILA SUSPENDS SIX MINISTERS IN CORRUPTION SCANDAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 002168

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2014
TAGS: PGOV KCOR ECON CG
SUBJECT: KABILA SUSPENDS SIX MINISTERS IN CORRUPTION SCANDAL

REF: A. KINSHASA 2146


B. KINSHASA 1934

Classified By: Poloff Edward Bestic for Reasons 1.5 B and D


1. (C) SUMMARY: In the wake of a parliamentary report on
corruption, President Kabila on November 25 suspended six
ministers while the Minister of Porftolio minister suspended
the managers of ten state-owned enterprises. In our view,
this action is an attempt to seize the moral high ground
before a scheduled parliamentary vote on the issue November

26. Vice President Bemba's own party issued a statement
crediting Bemba with the anti-corruption drive, yet asking
that the accused (one of whom is in the MLC) be allowed to
defend themselves. Meanwhile, the CIAT called on the
Congolese to continue negotiating the subject of dividing up
state-owned enterprises, and said SOE managers should be
professional and apolitical -- the latter point likely to be
seen as pro-Kabila. END SUMMARY.


Kabila Suspends Ministers
--------------

2. (U) President Kabila suspended on November 25 six
ministers who were cited in a recent parliamentary report on
corruption (reftel A). The six mentioned in the presidential
communique include Minister of Mines Eugene Diomi (political
opposition),Minister of Energy Kalema Lusona (Kabila's
party, the PPRD),Minister of Public Works Jose Endundo (from
Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba's party, the MLC),Minister
of Transport Joseph Olengankhoy (political opposition),
Minister of Foreign Trade Roger Lumbala (RCD-N),and Minister
of Higher Education Joseph Mudumbi (RCD-Goma). The same day,
Minister of Portfolio Celestin Vunabandi also suspended the
executives of ten state-owned enterprises (SOEs),including
the national power, maritime transport, roads and
hydrocarbons companies. (Note: CEEC, the
diamond-certification authority, was not among these. End
Note.)


3. (C) According to a top aide to National Assembly President
Olivier Kamitatu, the National Assembly still plans to meet
in plenary on November 26 to vote on its commission's report.
Kamitatu is under great pressure from those cited in the
document, the aide said.


4. (U) Vice President Bemba's MLC issued a statement on
November 25, which praised the parliamentary commission's
work and gave Bemba the credit for leading the fight for good
governance. The MLC also asked the GDRC and commission to
give those accused in the report a chance to explain
themselves.


CIAT Position on State-Owned Enterprises
--------------

5. (U) The 17 ambassadors making up the International
Committee to Support the Transition (CIAT) issued their own
communique on November 25 on the subject of dividing up
state-owned enterprises. This was a follow-up to CIAT's
initial communique of October 14 in response to Vice
President Bembas's call for the CIAT to arbitrate his
long-standing dispute with the presidency over control of the
Congolese parastatals (reftel B). The CIAT called on
President Kabila and his four vice presidents to discuss the
matter among themselves and put it on the agenda for their
next meeting with the CIAT. The CIAT statement also
emphasized several principles, including: the parties should
continue to negotiate the matter; the management of SOEs
should be professional and apolitical; the parties must not
use SOEs to finance electoral campaigns; any solution must
conform to provisions set by the World Bank and the IMF;
there must be total transparency as called for by the
Congolese public; and strong support for Parliament's current
efforts to ensure transparency. (Note: Text of the
communique is being faxed to AF/C.)


COMMENT
--------------

6. (C) Kabila's action, coming just before the National
Assembly's own vote, is a belated attempt to seize the moral
high ground on this issue. The MLC's own statement hints at
Bemba's dilemma -- the desire to defend Endundo, yet also
present a "clean" public image. The CIAT statement may be
interpreted by some here as a minor defeat for Bemba and
support for Kabila, reflecting the expressed preference to
establish a new commission to appoint apolitical managers.
Prevailing CIAT sentiment which we fully supported, however,
was to convey a message that the politically-based
traditional "spoils" treatment of parastatals should come to
an end. The timing of the communique was deliberately set to
coincide with the public action suspending the ministers and
SOE executives, seeking to make it more difficult for
political leaders so inclined to defend publicly the old
approach. End comment.
MEECE