ANGOLA LANDMINE CLEARANCE: 2006 GOALS AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000151 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/S (JMALONEY) AND PRM/WRA (DNETLAND) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PREL EAID PGOV PHUM MCAP KHDP AO SUBJECT: ANGOLA LANDMINE CLEARANCE: 2006 GOALS AND CHALLENGES REF: 05 LUANDA 01583 ¶1. (U) Summary: Representatives of mine action organizations operating in Angola remain upbeat on the progress of demining in Angola, but look for the GRA to complete its Landmine Impact Survey and strategic plan in order to facilitate their 2006 workplans. While the GRA has earmarked USD 27.6 Million for demining related activities, challenges remain in strengthening the GRA indigenous capacity for landmine clearance, quality control, and infrastructure rebuilding in areas certified as demined. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Pol/Econ Chief and Pol Officer hosted a roundtable discussion with key representatives from mine action organizations operating in Angola on February 13, 2006, to get an update on their goals and challenges for 2006. Representatives of Halo Trust, Mine Action Group (MAG),and UNDP Mine Action participated. The UNDP Mine Action representatives also serve as direct technical advisors to the Angolan National Commission on Demining and Humanitarian Assistance (CNIDAH). Note: USG funds Halo Trust and MAG through PM/WRA funds. Other donors supporting demining operations in Angola include Norway, Great Britain, the EC, Japan, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. End Note. GRA Emphasizing Demining in 2006 -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In October 2005, the GRA,s Council of Ministers created an Executive Commission on Demining (reftel). The UNDP Mine Action representative noted that this body will serve as the central coordinator and funding mechanism for the GRA,s mine action operators, such as the Armed Forces of Angola (FAA) and the National Institute for Demining (INAD). While the UNDP representatives shared concerns of possible overlap between the Executive Commission and the CNIDAH, they did not believe that this would impede the work of either government body. Their biggest concern regarding the Executive Commission are its plans for the training of new demining brigades. If this Commission, led by the Minister of Assistance and Social Reinsertion, calls for a rapid increase in the number of FAA or INAD demining brigades, the consensus was the GRA did not have the capability to properly train the new brigades. ¶4. (U) CNIDAH,s main task this year is the completion a country-wide strategic plan for demining based on the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS). The LIS has been completed for 14 of Angola,s 18 provinces. In addition to the information on the impact of landmine contamination, it contains GPS data on population centers, roads, bridges and other key infrastructure. In the absence of recent census data, this information also has enormous potential benefit for organizations involved in community development, democracy building, HIV/AIDS, health education, etc., since it locates and quantifies provincial population centers. However, while CNIDAH has said the information would be available to all stakeholders, it has not yet been shared with mine action operators. ¶5. (U) The GRA, in its 2006 budget, has earmarked USD 27.6 Million for the National Program for Demining, though this represents the total of demining funding allocated among ministries and organizations. Most funding will go directly to the Ministry of Social Reinsertion and the Ministry of Defense and then flows from their coffers into INAD and the FAA. The GRA has emphasized demining as a high priority in 2006 and has linked the timing for upcoming elections with the ability of provincial Angolan voters to reach polling stations without risk of stepping on landmines. The NGOs view: Progress but Constant Challenges -------------- -- ¶6. (SBU) The demining organization program directors, both of whom have had on the ground demining experience in Afghanistan and Cambodia, commented on the challenges faced in Angola. They considered the greatest challenge to be the lack of government follow-on in areas they have successfully cleared. For example, they mentioned the discouraging situation when the demining group is asked to clear a school area or an area surrounding a destructed bridge. The groups comply, but once cleared there is no funding for providing a teacher for the school or for the construction of the bridge. They also commented Angola,s indigenous capacity for clearing is weak in comparison to other countries in which they had worked. Given this situation, they see the work here requiring a longer and larger commitment by the international NGOs. The NGOs aim to increase their efficiency by using the LIS data to target high impact mine fields and to more effectively staff and train Angolans in middle management LUANDA 00000151 002 OF 002 positions. ¶7. (U) Neither group has trouble recruiting new employees, commenting that if there is an advertisement placed for new hires a line appears outside their doors. Both make efforts to employ workers from rural areas in order to better distribute wealth outside provincial capitals. Entry level deminers receive 3 weeks intensive training and are paid $180-190 a month compared to the national minimum wage of $70 a month. Within each organization workers can assume positions of higher responsibility with higher pay. Lately, they have noticed a movement of trained deminers hired away to work on GRA demining brigades, clearing areas in conjunction with Chinese-funded road projects. However they have seen no Chinese involved in actual demining. ¶8. (SBU) The UNDP representatives outlined a number of 2006 challenges for CNIDAH. On strategic planning, they hope to institute a timetable to finalize the current strategic plan and streamline future planning efforts. They discussed the growing role of commercial operators in Angola and the need to help CNIDAH strengthen its quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that these operators are meeting humanitarian standards. Also, they noted CNIDAH,s need to prove its value added by completing the strategic plan and providing quality assurance. EFIRD