MEETING WITH THE MINISTER OF GENDER, SOCIAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000497

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EPET ECON SU
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH THE MINISTER OF GENDER, SOCIAL
WELFARE AND RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS



1. (U) Summary: On February 24, CG Juba met with
Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) Minister of Gender,
Social Welfare and Religious Affairs (MGSW) Mary Kiden
Wani, who is also one of four GoSS commissioners on the
National Petroleum Commission (NPC). Wani briefly
addressed the state of her ministry, including
organizational challenges, and called for closer
cooperation between line ministries and donors. She
explained in some detail the impasse between North and
South over the NPC and offered her view on the White Nile
vs. Total controversy over the Super Block B petroleum
concession. End summary.

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Computer Without Electricity
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2. (U) The Minister said that MGSW was busy organizing
itself in spite of daunting logistical challenges. As an
example, she pointed to a computer and printer that her
daughter had sent from England to help Kiden get the
ministry organized. For several days the electricity
supply to her office had been off, and she was unable to
access information on her computer, let alone tackle
additional work. She said that the price of a generator
for the building was not in her budget, and said that she
hoped the situation would improve within a few days.


3. (U) Kiden said that coordination between donors and
line ministries of the GoSS was of the essence.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to coordinate efforts
to address social welfare throughout the South. She
expressed satisfaction with the participation of USAID's
Lloyd Feinberg in the first half of the meeting: his
input would help her coordinate the training/personnel
activities of a project for disabled persons supported by
USAID in Rumbek with a larger project of the same nature
run by ICRC in Juba. She observed that a number of
donors were enthusiastic about gender initiatives, but
that a number of them were also running programs about
which the ministry was largely in the dark.

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Struggle Within the NPC
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4. (SBU) Kiden said that the NPC was at a standstill
after two unsuccessful tries to agree on modalities, and
she did not know when the Government of National Unity
(GNU) would call the southern commissioners to Khartoum
for a third try. She said that unresolved issues were
the fault of the North, which continued to attempt to
force the GoSS to accept the GNU Ministry of Energy and
Mining as the de facto executive arm of the NPC.


5. (SBU) Kiden said that President Bashir had attempted
to use his visit to the South to convince Salva Kiir to
co-sponsor a series of presidential decrees on the NPC
that would have effectively turned that body into a
rubber stamp for GNU Energy Minister El Jaz. The first
granted Bashir the right to dismiss commissioners at his
pleasure, and the second set a quorum of six, which meant
that the NPC could legally meet and take decisions by
assembling Bashir, the four northern commissioners and
Salva Kiir whenever Kiir happened to be in Khartoum. For
his part, Kiir had refused to agree and insisted that the
entire commission further discuss the issues.


6. (SBU) Kiden said that the GoSS wanted a body with
equal representation from both sides to examine
marketing, production figures, etc. to act as the NPC's
executive arm, in keeping with the spirit of the CPA. CG
observed that there were provisions within the CPA, such
as the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC),to
which contentions could presumably be addressed. Kiden
said that the GoSS intended to use that channel.

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White Nile Vs. Total
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7. (SBU) Kiden confirmed that any decision on the
partition of Super Block B remained on hold. She
described past action by the French government and French
companies that had helped the North in its attempt to
subjugate the South, but said that she wanted the case to
be decided on its merits and the basis of law (Note:
Kiden has reportedly supported WNL in the past. End
note.) She complained that she remained uninformed on
many details - neither WNL nor Total had sought to meet
with her to describe their proposals and answer her

KHARTOUM 00000497 002 OF 002


questions. CG agreed that the essential point was to
make a decision based on the facts and proper legal
interpretation, to include relevant portions of the CPA.
Above all, a transparent process was essential.

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Comment
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8. (SBU) Kiden commented that the GoSS failure to claim
the GNU energy ministry had been a fatal mistake. Kiir's
decision to yield on this point has probably been his
worst mistake in the eyes of many southerners.

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Bio Data
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9. (SBU) There is currently limited information on
Minister Kiden Wani, also known as Kiden Wari. She spent
considerable time in London and some period in Nairobi
during the war. She ran the UK-registered NGO Southern
Sudan Women Concern, a group active in Kajo Keji County
with female heads of household, particularly those
widowed by the war. Kiden is from Equatoria, ethnic
affiliation unknown. She is a vocal proponent of
entrepreneurship among women. Her ministry is the most
organized and businesslike CG Juba officials have seen:
office staff always present during business hours, and
meetings are scheduled and conducted on a professional
basis.

HUME