SOUTH AFRICA WILL SEEK USG SUPPORT FOR LOCAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 004590 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/S TABLER-STONE, AF/SPG SMALL, INL/AAE RICHARD DEPT PASS AID/W DAA/AFR KATE ALMQUIST E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2015 TAGS: EAID PREL SU SF SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA WILL SEEK USG SUPPORT FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND POLICE PROGRAMS IN SUDAN REF: A. PRETORIA 3007 ¶B. PRETORIA 525 ¶C. PRETORIA 2722 ¶D. PRETORIA 4136 ¶E. PRETORIA 4358 ¶F. TRENKLE/TABLER-STONE AND TRENKLE/SMALL EMAILS OF 11/17/2005 Classified By: Officer in Charge J. Jeff Hartley. Reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. South Africa will seek USG support for its expanding capacity-building program in southern Sudan, according to DFA Director Graham Maitland (please protect). The SAG is still discussing the proposal internally and will likely present it to Washington in the "coming weeks." South Africa plans to open a consulate in Juba. The South African Police Service is separately developing an ambitious USD 80 million, five-year project to assist with the integration and training of the integrated Sudanese police force. The Norwegians have already contributed USD 6.8 million to the project. Pretoria views the proposed joint South Africa-USG projects as concrete ways to "put into practice" the June 10 Presidential Joint Statement. South Africa continues to discuss increasing its troop contribution to AMIS in Darfur, but SANDF is already overstretched. End Summary. -------------- Capacity-Building Projects for GOSS -------------- ¶2. (C) South Africa plans to expand it capacity-building programs for the Government of South Sudan (GOSS),according to Graham Maitland, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Director for the Horn of Africa. The SAG initiated an SPLM training program, implemented through the University of South Africa (UNISA),in February 2005, and has trained nearly 100 officials in administration and diplomacy (Ref A-B). Maitland told PolOff November 14 that the next phase of training will focus on public service and finance. The SAG plans to bring Sudanese officials to Pretoria February - April 2006. The training will include "deployment" to relevant SAG departments, such as the Department of Public Service Administration and the National Treasury. To date, the SAG has funded the DFA/UNISA training with its own resources. Maitland noted that the Canadians have expressed interest in supporting the program, but have not yet provided funds. ¶3. (C) Maitland said that DFA plans to approach the USG directly for funding for its expanded capacity-building program in Sudan (and possibly in Burundi as well, although Maitland is not responsible for that region). The Horn of Africa office has developed a "comprehensive" joint SAG-USG proposal that will focus on "governance issues," particularly capacity-building at the local level. Maitland did not provide project costs, emphasizing that DFA is still discussing the proposal internally. DFA Deputy Director General: Americas, Ndumiso Ntshinga, is coordinating the DFA initiatives. Ntshinga and other DFA officials will likely travel to Washington to present the project package "in the coming weeks." The SAG views this initiative as a concrete way to "put into practice" the June 10 Joint Statement, agreed to by Presidents Bush and Mbeki in Washington. ¶4. (C) Maitland also noted that the SAG will need to discuss the projects with the Government of Sudan before presenting the proposals. South African Police (SAPS) Senior Superintendent Burger (strictly protect) told PolOff November 15 that a meeting of the South Africa-Sudan Bi-National Commission (BNC) is tentatively scheduled for late November, during which the two governments will discuss the SAG's proposed development projects (including the police program described in paras 7-8). Following the BNC, we understand that the National Treasury will convene a "donor meeting" on Sudan to solicit "partners," (i.e., funders) for its projects, much like it did for DRC in June 2005 (Ref C). ¶5. (C) Note: Pretoria is increasingly entering into "trilateral agreements," using funds from European and other governments to implement its programs in Africa (Ref D-E). The SAG model for such programs is the Euro 5 million Dutch contribution for security sector reform in the DRC, according to DFA Deputy Director in the National Office for Coordination of Peace Missions (NCOPM) Wooter Zaayman. The Dutch have not "micro-managed" the project, Zaayman said, comparing that experience with the Belgium SSR initiative, which has been mired in disputes about control of the project. End Note. -------------- Opening Consulate in Juba -------------- ¶6. (C) The SAG has formally decided to open a consulate in Juba, according to Maitland. He said that land has been set aside on the banks of the Nile, and DFA would like to move forward as quickly as possible. The problem is the lack of SAG capacity in Khartoum to manage the construction project. -------------- Police Training -------------- ¶7. (C) South Africa is also planning to initiate a major police training program in Sudan (Ref F). The program will assist with the integration of different Sudanese forces into a single national police force, help build capacity, and assist with a new legal framework for policing. SAPS's Burger told PolOff and NLEA Officer November 16 that the Norwegian Government has provided Rand 45 million (approximately USD 6.8 million) to SAPS for the Sudan program. The estimated cost of the five-year project is Rand 540 million (approximately USD 82 million). Burger noted that SAPS has not yet discussed the proposal with the GOS, nor has DFA or Treasury signed off on the project. (Note: In separate meetings, DFA and SAPS both complained about the lack of internal coordination on South Africa's "foreign assistance" programs in Sudan and DRC, and it does not appear that the Department of Defense has been consulted. End Note.) ¶8. (C) The proposed SAPS Sudan project would kick off with a series of regional conferences in Sudan beginning in February 2006, followed by a national conference in March, to discuss the future of the national police force. Burger emphasized that SAPS plans to work on the national police force, not local police structures in northern or southern Sudan. SAPS is working with the NGO Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) on organizing the conferences. IDASA was involved in the creation of the new South African police force in 1994 following the end of apartheid, and South Africa believes its experience in "melding" various security structures can be helpful in Sudan. The Government of Norway has separately funded the SAPS/IDASA conference project at Rand 2 million (approximately USD 30,000). -------------- Darfur -------------- ¶9. (C) DFA's Maitland said that the SAG is focusing its engagement on the North-South peace process, not Darfur. South Africa currently has approximately 325 soldiers serving as part of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) in Darfur. DFA Deputy Director Zaayman said that the SAG is discussing the AU request for additional troops for AMIS, but remains concerned about "overstretch." We understand from Dutch diplomats that FM Dlamini-Zuma has pushed aggressively for additional SANDF forces in AMIS, but that DefMin Lekota has refused because the SANDF was stretched too thin in DRC and Burundi (with additional small deployments in Cote d'Ivoire and Ethiopia/Eritrea). -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) We fear that the SAG has unrealistic expectations about the prospects for robust USG funding for its Sudan (and Burundi) projects. U.K. diplomats, who have also been approached informally for funding, have also raised questions about the capacity of the SAG to deliver on these ambitious programs, especially when the government faces domestic problems with local governance and policing. That said, Post encourages Washington engagement with the SAG on any project proposals offered, and consideration of funding for realistic and focused elements of the police program. Such engagement will help shape the programs, enhance donor coordination, and deepen the long-term USG partnership with Pretoria on the African continent. TEITELBAUM