SOUTH AFRICAN ASSISTANCE TO SUDAN

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000248 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR D, AF/SPG AND INL/CIV E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID MOPS PGOV PHUM PREL AU SU SA SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICAN ASSISTANCE TO SUDAN ¶1. (U) In a meeting January 30, Counselor of South African Embassy Ebrahim Edries provided Pol/Econ officer with an overview of South African assistance programs in Sudan. The main focus of the programs is on capacity building, especially on Southern Sudan. Edries said within the next few weeks, 120 Sudanese will be sent to South Africa for a three-month training course with the expectation that they will return to take up government positions. Edries said that a group of 30 Sudanese had already received training at the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare them to work as diplomats. He said the total value of the program is about USD 3 million. ¶2. (U) Edries said that South Africa, through its AMIS contingent, is also providing assistance in Darfur to strengthen the police force. South Africans are assigned as CIVPOL officers under the AU mission. Police stations have been set up in the IDP camps in Darfur, and South African police, in a program Edries described as a bilateral effort, are training Sudanese in police procedures. Edries said that the South African commander in Darfur will complete his tour soon and the intention is to rotate him to Southern Sudan to initiate a similar effort to bolster police capacity there. ¶3. (U) Edries expressed some disappointment with the pace of implementation of the CPA. He commented that in recent meetings, South African officials have urged the SPLM leadership to be more proactive in taking up positions within the Government of National Unity. Edris noted that while the CPA gives the SPLM 28 percent of key positions, many remain unfilled. He said that he has encountered some of the first 30 trainees, now returned from training in South Africa, unemployed in Khartoum. ¶4. (U) Edries will return to South Africa in about two months to take up an assignment as Deputy Chief of Staff to Minister Zuma. HUME