SOUTH AFRICA: PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 PRETORIA 000960

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR P, AF, AF/S, AF/RSA, IO, DRL/MLA, INL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD MASS PHUM SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA: PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF
PRESIDENTIAL JOINT STATEMENT

(U) This is an action message -- see paras 4 and 14.

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Summary and Introduction
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1. (SBU) Summary. The United States and South Africa have
made significant progress in implementing the June 10, 2005
Presidential Joint Statement. The two countries signed the
ACOTA agreement in August 2005 to enhance South Africa's
peacekeeping capacity, and training programs will begin this
year. South Africa joined the Wassenaar Arrangement in
December 2005. We continue to coordinate closely our African
conflict resolution strategies and to support South Africa's
post-conflict reconstruction programs. We are working to
enhance cooperation in other areas, such as the U.S.-SACU
FTA, where progress has lagged. The lack of an Article 98
agreement remains an impediment to deeper military
cooperation. Small amounts of funding could allow us to
initiate several new projects to further implementation. End
Summary.


2. (U) In their June 1, 2005 White House meeting, Presidents
Bush and Mbeki agreed to deepen U.S.-South African
cooperation on issues of mutual concern, focusing on building
peace and security, spreading economic growth and well-being,
and expanding democracy and freedom. Their June 10 Joint
Presidential Statement summarized their discussions on these
areas and outlined seven concrete steps to be taken in the
following twelve months. The Statement asks Secretary Rice
and Foreign Minister Dlamini-Zuma to report back to their
respective Presidents in June 2006 on concrete results in
implementing these seven "Next Steps."


3. (SBU) In the nine months following the presidential
meeting, we have made substantial overall progress in
implementing those Joint Statement elements actionable at
Post, although we have made greater progress in some areas
than others. We note that several of the action items relate
to the broader U.S.-Africa agenda and are beyond Post's
ability to advance alone. This message reports Mission's
contributions toward implementing the seven "Next Steps"
listed in the June 10 Joint Statement. It also reports
progress in the more general areas of cooperation addressed
in the Statement.


4. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST: On March 16th, Mission staff and
key SAG counterparts will hold a day-long off-site to review
implementation of the Presidential Joint Statement, and to
discuss areas in which additional progress is possible
between now and June. We intend to use the information
contained in this message as the basis for these discussions,
and request Washington agencies' input on additional items
that can be added -- either as actions completed or as
projects to be pursued. END ACTION REQUEST.

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U.S. Cooperation with NEPAD
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5. (U) Regarding the two presidents' agreement to "expand
U.S. cooperation with NEPAD to support its vision of improved
governance, better economic management, and regional
integration" Mission has done the following:

-- Mission announced in February 2006 a U.S. Trade and
Development Agency grant to the NEPAD Secretariat in the
amount of $360,000 to help in the preparation of a guide for
investors in Africa and in moving three regional
infrastructure projects toward implementation.

-- Mission staff participated in the December 2005 meeting of
the Africa Partnership Forum, held in South Africa, to
develop a Joint Action Plan to support NEPAD and its programs.

-- Mission maintains an open dialogue with the South
Africa-based NEPAD Secretariat, including informational
exchanges on U.S. assistance to Africa, the African
Partnership Forum, and other issues of mutual concern.


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-- Mission continues to promote AGOA by publicizing and
demonstrating its success including the fact that increased
AGOA exports from the region supported economic growth and
the objectives outlined in NEPAD and the 2002 Monterey
Consensus.

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Support for African Union and SAG Leadership
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6. (SBU) Regarding the two presidents' agreement to "work
with the African Union to promote development and good
governance in Africa, and that the United States would
support South African leadership in resolving conflict and
building peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, and Burundi" Mission has done the
following:

-- Mission maintains an active dialogue with South African
officials, non-governmental organizations, academics and
think tanks, journalists, religious leaders, refugee
communities and influential citizens on resolving conflicts
in Africa.

-- Mission supported Secretary Rice's meetings with Foreign
Minister Dlamini-Zuma on September 17, 2005, and on January
11, 2006, to discuss key African and global issues.

-- Mission supported A/S Frazer's consultations with the
South African leadership on key Africa policy matters and
global issues of mutual concern in October and December 2005.

-- Mission staff participated in the August 1 multilateral
meeting on DRC Security Sector Reform hosted by the SAG in
Cape Town, facilitated key SAG officials' attendance at the
next meeting in Washington in September, and organized
follow-on consultations with relevant Washington offices.

-- Mission successfully pressed the SAG to present briefings
on peace support operations contributions and post-conflict
reconstruction assistance to Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, the DRC,
Sudan, and Ethiopia/Eritrea during the bilateral Defense
Committee (DEFCOM) November mid-term assessment meetings in
Pretoria. We also championed SAG requests for briefings on
NATO involvement in Africa and on the USG perspective
regarding these conflict areas.

-- Mission encouraged and facilitated closer coordination
between South African officials in Cote d'Ivoire, Burundi,
the DRC, Liberia, Sudan and New York and their U.S.
counterparts, including on post-conflict reconstruction
projects.

-- Mission supported South African efforts to create
alternative structures for furnishing bilateral and
trilateral assistance in Africa through:
* USG/SAG partnership on OECD review of Implementation of
Paris Declaration of AID Effectiveness;
* provision of advice on alternative donor structures to the
National Treasury;
* participation in a SAG diplomatic training program for
SPLM officials held in Pretoria in July; and
* planned Emergency Search and Rescue training and technical
assistance.

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U.S.-South African Military Cooperation
--------------


7. (SBU) Regarding the two presidents' agreement to "enhance
U.S.-South African military cooperation, including training
and equipping a South African battalion and establishing a
joint training program to support the African Standby Force
and peacekeeping initiatives throughout the continent"
Mission has done the following:

-- Then-Ambassador Frazer and Defense Minister Lekota signed
a Declaration of Understanding on August 11, 2005, that
enables SAG participation in the African Contingency
Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program. ACOTA

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will enhance the operational readiness of SANDF for peace
operations in Africa.

-- The first ACOTA planning session took place in Pretoria
February 13-17, idntifying specific training and equipment
requirements, based on SANDF priorities, to be addressed in
the near term.

-- In addition to traditional ACOTA activities, Mission
initiated a discussion at the November DEFCOM midterm
assessment meetings in Pretoria on partnering with the SANDF
to provide additional ACOTA training to other countries in
the region who are also ASF contributors. We also are
working with the SANDF and AF/RSA to ensure that future
DEFCOM meetings include consultations on how to address SANDF
PSO assistance priorities that cannot be covered via ACOTA.

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Zimbabwe Crisis
--------------


8. (SBU) Regarding the two presidents' agreement to "work
together toward strengthening the efforts of the Zimbabwean
people to achieve a peaceful resolution to that country's
political and economic crisis" Mission has done the following:

-- Mission worked with SAG counterparts on collaboration with
WFP and FAO on providing food and other humanitarian
assistance to Zimbabwe and other countries in the region.

-- Mission continues its open dialogue with SAG officials,
non-governmental organizations, academics and think tanks,
journalists, religious leaders, refugee communities, and
influential citizens on Zimbabwe's economic and political
crisis. PDAS Pittman's February 27 - March 01 visit, in
conjunction with that of Ambassador Dell, helped generate
ideas that could allow for greater cooperation with South
Africa.

-- Mission facilitated SAG Department of Foreign Affairs
Chief Director for Southern Africa Mokuena's September 2005
trip to Washington and her consultations at the Department on
Zimbabwe policy.

-- Mission works closely with Zimbabwe refugee community in
South Africa, including providing small grants for torture
victims counseling and income-generation projects.

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Consultations on Human Rights, Women, Children
-------------- -


9. (SBU) Regarding the two presidents' agreement to "initiate
senior-level consultations on human rights, particularly for
women and children, including multilateral mechanisms"
Mission has done the following:

-- Mission facilitated SAG participation in the first round
of senior-level human rights consultations, held in
Washington in November. Topics covered included UN reform,
treaty body reform, cooperation at the UN, Third Committee
priorities, and bilateral cooperation on Africa democracy and
human rights.

-- Building from these highly successful initial talks,
Mission has expanded our human rights dialogue with
counterparts in Pretoria and is working to schedule the next
round of talks in Pretoria.

-- Mission is working with the SAG to implement the
Presidential Women's Justice and Empowerment Initiative
(WJEI),including agreement to expand program to the regional
level via a regional conference and dissemination of lessons
learned by the SAG to other participating WJEI countries.

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Terrorism and Proliferation of WMDs
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10. (SBU) Regarding the two presidents' agreement to "deepen

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cooperation to end terrorism and the proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction" Mission has done the following:

-- Mission worked closely with SAG counterparts to address
remaining impediments to full U.S. support for South Africa's
Wassenaar Arrangement candidacy. South Africa's
participation in Wassenaar was approved in December 2005. It
is the first African country to join the Arrangement.

-- Mission continued to push for creation of a Joint Standing
Committee on Nuclear Energy Cooperation.

-- The February visit of DCI Porter Goss strengthened
bilateral relations and cooperation on counterterrorism.

-- Mission continued to support bilateral cooperation on
terrorism financing, including post-funded travel for SAG
officials to attend financial intelligence unit meetings in
Washington and exchange information with FinCEN.

-- Mission coordinated the working visit of Resident Legal
Advisor (RLA) Mary Lundberg in October focused on asset
forfeiture issues. RLA Lundberg arrived in South Africa in
March for a 12-month assignment in the SAG's National
Prosecuting Authority/Asset Forfeiture Unit.

-- Mission supported Deputy Counterterrorism Coordinator
Virginia Palmer's January travel to Pretoria and Cape Town
for an initial round of senior-level consultations. She
briefed counterparts at lead South African agencies on U.S.
counterterrorism policy and discussed prospects for future
cooperation, training, and assistance.

-- Mission worked, in conjunction with counterparts from
other Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) participating
countries, to encourage South Africa to join PSI, broadening
our outreach to additional potentially affected SAG
Departments.

-- Mission has deepened its cooperation with South Africa as
South Africa acceded in July 2005 to the one-year presidency
of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF),the global
intergovernmental organization that combats money laundering
and terrorism finance. In February, U.S. Treasury led a U.S.
delegation to the annual FATF meetings in South Africa to
encourage continued multilateral and bilateral cooperation.

-- Mission is supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection
cooperation with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on
developing the World Customs Organization's Global Framework
for Standards. U.S. Customs is also working closely with
South Africa on the Durban-based Container Security
Initiative (CSI) to ensure more secure shipping.

-- Mission continued to work with South African law
enforcement and judicial authorities to investigate and
successfully prosecute proliferation-related crimes.

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U.S.-SACU FTA
--------------


11. (SBU) Regarding the two presidents' agreement to
"intensify efforts to conclude a U.S.-SACU Free Trade
Agreement" Mission has done the following:

-- Mission helped coordinate and assist with the discussions
on the U.S.-SACU FTA, which resumed in September 2005 with
the agreement to meet more frequently and to consult on
issues that SACU has been reluctant to negotiate. The two
sides were unable to schedule a meeting before the WTO
Ministerial in Hong Kong in December 2005 and during the
subsequent holiday season.

-- On February 17th, USTR Portman sent a letter to all five
SACU trade ministers noting that it appeared unlikely we
would meet the December 2006 target date for concluding an
agreement. He suggested that a trade deputies' stock-taking
meeting be convened to assess options, including whether an
FTA remains a realizable and mutually desired mid-term goal,

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or must be considered a longer-term goal.

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HIV/AIDS
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12. (SBU) In addition to the seven concrete "Next Steps," the
two presidents agreed in the Joint Statement to strengthen
our joint efforts to combat the devastating effects of
HIV/AIDS. We have made significant progress in this area
over the past eight months, including the following:

-- Mission is cooperating with the SAG on implementation of
the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in
South Africa, which is beginning its third year of
implementation working with public and private sector
prevention, treatment, and care programs.

-- To date, the U.S. has provided almost $239 million through
PEPFAR to support HIV/AIDS programs in South Africa, making
it the largest recipient of Emergency Plan resources. The
FY06 PEPFAR budget in South Africa is $221 million.

-- The Emergency Plan supports nearly 50,000 people in
antiretroviral (ARV) treatment through programs in all
provinces.

-- Deputy U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Chief Medical
Officer Dr. Mark Dybul visited South Africa February 15-20,
meeting with national and provincial health authorities,
visiting programs featuring innovative public-private
partnerships that will have a significant impact on HIV/AIDS,
and offering support and encouragement to PEPFAR implementing
partners as they continue to make a real impact on the lives
of thousands of South Africans.

-- The South African military has expanded prevention
programs and publicly collaborates with the U.S. military and
NIH on ARV-based AIDS treatment research. The fifth Phidisa
HIV/AIDS site was inaugurated on March 7, 2006.

-- President Mbeki provided specific kudos for Mission
coordination with the SAG on HIV/AIDS during his February
21st meeting with CODEL Pelosi.

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Areas for Additional Effort
--------------


13. (SBU) Mission suggests the following as areas in which
more work needs to be done:

-- While bilateral policy and legal consultations continue,
we may not be able to find a way to address our Article 98
concerns that is compatible with South African domestic
legislation. The lack of an Article 98 agreement is taking a
toll on our military relationship. The loss of IMET and FMF
programs reduces SANDF interest in remaining non-sanctioned
programs and is degrading our ability to influence future
SANDF leaders. Residual FMF funding (C-130
support/training),which supports the SANDF's eroding
strategic lift capability for PSO deployments, will be
exhausted within 18 months.

-- Although we have repeated oral commitments from Minerals
and Energy Minister Hendricks in support of creating a Joint
Standing Committee on Nuclear Energy Cooperation, most
recently at a January 30th meeting with Charge, we still do
not have a formal, written response to that effect which
would enable us to create the Committee.

-- We should follow up on January counterterrorism
consultations with concrete training offers tailored to SAG
requirements and priorities.

-- We need to schedule the trade deputies' stock-taking
meeting on the U.S.-SACU Free Trade Agreement proposed by
USTR Portman in his February letter to his SACU counterparts.
DUSTR Bhatia's likely visit to Cape Town for the May OPIC
"Housing Africa" conference offers a potential opportunity to

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do so.

-- We have solicited SAG ideas on further cooperation with
NEPAD, and suggest Washington consider what more can be done
via regional resources.

-- The SAG appears increasingly frustrated by the political
and economic crisis in Zimbabwe. This may provide an
opportunity for expanded engagement on this issue. The
February visit by PDAS Pittman may offer some new actions.

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Looking Ahead
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14. (SBU) We have a number of additional actions on the
horizon that will further contribute to Joint Statement
implementation:

-- We have scheduled a day-long off-site with key SAG
counterparts on March 16th to jointly review progress in
implementing the Statement and would appreciate Washington
input on additional actions taken to date and/or projects to
pursue.

-- Senior-level Africa Group consultations are anticipated to
be held in Washington this spring.

-- We intend to hold a U.S.-South Africa Partnership Forum
public event before June.

-- Mission is working with OPIC to organize an OPIC-hosted
"Housing Africa" conference May 2-4 in Cape Town, an
important, private sector-oriented initiative to support
housing development across sub-Saharan Africa. We understand
that DUSTR Karan Bhatia will attend. OPIC has invited
President Mbeki to speak, but has not yet received a response.

-- An ACOTA training strategy conference is tentatively
scheduled for April 24-26th.

-- Another round of senior-level human rights consultations
was proposed for late May, but may slip until July.

-- The next full DEFCOM session will take place in June in
New York.

-- We will deepen and expand our cooperation with the SAG on
HIV/AIDS programs.

-- The State Department Operations Center is prepared to
share best practices with DFA counterparts, as requested by
the SAG.

-- Several high-level U.S. officials plan to visit South
Africa in the coming months to deepen U.S.-South African
cooperation on the issues raised in the Joint Statement,
including Treasury Secretary Snow, Housing and Urban
Development Secretary Jackson, and Under Secretary Hughes.


15. (SBU) If funding is available, there are other programs
we could support which would help implement Joint Statement
goals. These might include:

-- Pursuing partnerships with the SAG and one or more South
African universities to establish a regional phytosanitary
capacity-building program. Such a partnership would forward
NEPAD goals by increasing countries' abilities to meet
international phytosanitary standards and enhance their local
expertise.

-- Funding the SAG's $1.6mil proposal to build a sterile
insect rearing facility in the Western Cape to address the
False Codling Moth -- a pest of serious concern to citrus
and, to a lesser extent, grapes. South Africa's continued
market access to the U.S. via AGOA is threatened due to
concerns pertaining to this pest. The project, pursued by
the SAG in collaboration with the IAEA and USDA, advances the
safe and beneficial use of nuclear technology.


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-- Enhancing South Africa's leadership role in NEPAD and the
AU through support for its development as an emerging donor.
This partnership would include support for trilateral efforts
in conflict resolution, post-conflict reconstruction, and
democratic and economic reform, as well as helping to
establish a transitional mechanism to: (1) assist South
Africa in structuring a new coherent development assistance
program to other African states, and (2) manage the myriad
development assistance activities which South Africa
currently extends across the continent.

TEITELBAUM