UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000487

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
DEPT FOR AF/S, INL/AAE AHENRY-PLOTTS
DOJ FOR OPDAT JSILVERWOOD AND ICITAP EBEINHART
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KJUS KCOR EAID KCRM MZ
SUBJECT: ATTORNEY GENERAL SEEKS GREATER SUPPORT TO BUILD
PROFESSIONALISM

REF: MAPUTO 83

Sensitive But Unclassified -- Not for Internet Distribution


1. (U) Attorney General Joaquim Madeira gathered donor
country ambassadors on March 26 and appealed for greater
support to help create more professional and effective
prosecutors. He reiterated the need for his staff, also
referred to as the "Ministerio Publico" (MP) or Procuradoria
Geral (PGR), to have more staff resources, and emphasized the
need for better training. Following on his annual report to
parliament March 10, he stressed the obstacles he faces in
successfully prosecuting corruption. He opening the meeting
by making comparisons between his situation and international
counterparts in Panama, South Africa, Guatemala, and
elsewhere, whose investigations lead them to high-level
political figures. While acknowledging US support (USAID DA
funding as well as INL funding), Madeira appealed to the
donor community to fund further professionalization and an
increase of his staff resources.


2. (U) In the meeting at the Attorney General's office,
Madeira and his Assistant Attorneys General were present, as
well as representatives of ten donor countries, including
five heads of mission. The AG opened by describing the
situation when he took office three and half years ago. On
that occasion, he asked the Danish mission why they had
chosen the court system for a large-scale assistance program,
but not considered the AG's office. They replied that the
donor community would not waste their resources on an office
noted for apathy, negligence, corruption, and crime.
Pointing to the progress made during his tenure, and the
formation of the Anti-Corruption Unit (UAC), he launched an
appeal for reconsideration as a worthy recipient of
assistance, alluding to the worldwide emphasis on combating
corruption. He described this year as a year of
consolidation for his office and laid out their training
needs.


3. (U) In the context of thanking the donor community
(primarily Denmark, but also the US) for their support to the
Judicial Training Center, he expressed a desire to see
Mozambican judges continue to receive scholarships for
completion of law degrees. He noted that almost all
prov

incial level judges now have degrees, but that district
level judges should also all have such qualifications.
Citing ten candidates from his prosecutors, Madeira appealed
to donors to fund scholarships for law studies in Maputo,
Beira, Nampula, and Quelimane, including funding to defray
financial hardship to the beneficiaries, as well as to
increased staffing levels required for releasing employees
for necessary training. Describing the problems resulting
from the MP's lack of a "training float," he mentioned
INL-funded participation at ILEA Botswana, which he highly
values, and the negative effects caused by the absence of
seven of his staff for six weeks.


4. (U) Madeira also referred to the need to improve
financial management within the PGR to facilitate management
of donor funds. This has been a constraint to efficient USG
support. The Norwegians funded a financial management
assessment, which USAID is using as the basis to provide
financial management training, with the goal of making the
PGR capable of directly managing USG funds within six months
to facilitate direct implementation of USG support to the
Anti-Corruption Unit. Achieving this goal will also trigger
funding from European donor countries.


5. (U) The Anti-Corruption Law passed in November 2003 has
still not fully been promulgated and implementing regulations
have not yet been drafted. This lack of full approval by the
GRM is another constraint to the UAC, as the law formally
creates the Unit as an independent department within the PGR,
entitled to its own line item in the budget and an allotment
of prosecutors. Until now, the Unit has functioned with
staff on loan from provincial offices and other departments
and lacks its own dedicated resources.


6. (SBU) After making his appeal for donors to reconsider
supporting his office, Madeira took questions. In a reply to
the Spanish Ambassador, he agreed that combating corruption
is an effort that should be collective and not just the
domain of one government agency. He used that opportunity to
criticize the Criminal Investigation Police (PIC) as an
unreliable partner in the fight and to display some
impatience with the pace of legal reform. Responding to the
Dutch Ambassador he directed donors to the English version of
the UAC's annual report (reftel) for details on the personnel
issues he raised. The Italian Ambassador inquired if the PGR
utilized specialized consultants from other government
agencies or outside the government, prompting the AG to
describe significant problems created by use of expert South
African specialists' English-language evidence in previous
trials. Madeira mentioned interest and offers of specialized
assistance from Brazl, Italy, Portugal, and Spain for the
investigation of the Siba-Siba Macuacua murder case and
reiterated that his goal is to raise the PGR to same standard
of professionalism as in those countries. In a meeting with
the World Bank on March 29, he stated that he is very
interested in this type of support. The Swedish commented
that the appeal for support was timely, due to the ongoing
joint review session of donors who provide direct budget
support to the GRM.


6. (SBU) Comment: Madeira's appeal to the donors comes just
two weeks after his annual report to the National Assembly,
during which he emphasized the weaknesses still prevalent in
his office and reiterated his severe criticism of the PIC,
citing cases of intentional sabotage of investigations, and
individuals from the PIC arrogantly extorting bribes from
those under investigation. Since the PIC is already widely
considered to be corrupt, headlines focused on his admission
of insufficient professionalism within the PGR. In
describing this as a year of consolidation, the AG also
implied that the political leadership is not going to back
any dramatic investigations, revelations, or trials, that
could damage FRELIMO's prospects in this election year, such
as the long-awaited Siba-Siba case. The USG is the only
donor providing assistance to the Attorney General, with our
support of the Anti-Corruption Unit. As the GRM moves
forward on public sector reform, and post coordinates with
the British in our approach to the GRM as a pilot country for
the G-8 Evian Transparency Initiative, it can be hoped that
other donors respond positively to Madeira's request for more
support. While dramatic results may not prove forthcoming in
the short term, post sees the investment in the UAC as an
important element to achieve our MPP goal of reducing
corruption in Mozambique.
Hankins