NGO COMMUNITY TARGET OF GOZ HARASSMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 HARARE 000712

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

AF/S FOR S. HILL
AF/RSA FOR M. HARPOLE
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN
USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND E. LOKEN
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2017
TAGS: PHUM PREL ZI ASEC
SUBJECT: NGO COMMUNITY TARGET OF GOZ HARASSMENT

REF: HARARE 00657 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Poloff Scott Higgins, reason: 1.4 d

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The GOZ's recent push to strictly enforce price
controls and immigration regulations has sent shock waves
through the international NGO community. In recent weeks,
government officials have inspected NGO warehouses,
temporarily impounded relief supplies, scrutinized the use of
foreign currency exchange facilities, and arrested and
deported NGO staff. Many in civil society suspect the GOZ is
intentionally targeting international NGOs to disrupt any
activities, especially those related to democracy and
governance or humanitarian assistance, in order to deny
support to the opposition and its supporters heading into
next year's elections. NGOs will survive this latest crisis;
however, such disruptions are another example of the Mugabe
regime's tried and true tactic of using intimidation and
diversions to dictate the agenda to its opponents -- real and
perceived. End Summary.

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NGO Operating Environment Keeps Getting Tougher
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2. (U) The Government of Zimbabwe's (GOZ) recent push to
strictly enforce price controls, foreign currency exchange,
and immigration regulations has sent shock waves through the
community of 40 registered international NGOs. In recent
weeks, international NGO directors have scrambled to answer
questions about relief supplies, to provide depositions about
the use of foreign currency exchange facilities, and to get
staff out of jail. Many in civil society suspect the
government is intentionally targeting international NGOs to
disrupt any activities, especially those related to democracy
and governance or humanitarian assistance, in order to deny
support to the opposition and its supporters heading into
next year's elections.


3. (C) The latest trouble for NGOs began on June 26 with
President Mugabe's announcement of price controls, which
quickly led to panicked buying and widespread shortages
throughout the country (reftel). Price control teams went
after anyone suspected of hoarding commodities, including
NGOs. In early July, for example, pricing commission
inspectors demanded access to warehouses used by C-SAFE, a
consortium of US-sponsored NGOs providing food aid.
Inspectors told C-SAFE staff they had received reports that
the NGO was allowing others to stash commodities in its
warehouses. CARE warehouses were also inspected. Nothing
was seized; however, government interest in NGO activities
and relief supplies was a cause for concern for many NGO
directors. Compounding their anxiety, the UN IRIN news
service reported on August 3 "sporadic" incidents of
government officials temporarily impounding relief supplies
destined for drought-stricken areas in the country. (Note:
We have not received confirmed reports of these incidents
from our partners. End Note.)


4. (U) Humanitarian assistance has been a contentious issue

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in Zimbabwe for a number of years. In recent elections, the
ruling ZANU-PF party used access to food aid and other
assistance to ensure voter support. For example, Zimbabwe
Election Support Network (ZESN),an independent NGO that
conducts election observation and democracy education,
reported that during rural district council elections in
October 2006 the ruling party used local chiefs to threaten
villagers with denial of access to government-controlled
grain supplies and other assistance for anyone that supported
the opposition. With an estimated 4.1 million Zimbabweans in
need of food aid in the coming months, ZESN contacts told us
that preventing the politicization of humanitarian assistance
is one of the key factors in ensuring free and fair
elections. (Comment: The GOZ's manipulation of food aid is
very subtle. It is not that government officials restrict or
outright seize commodities. Rather, they use distribution
schedules, which must have their prior approval, to make
claims in the communities that it is the ruling party that is
responsible for the delivery of food, or they coerce
community organizers to include ruling party faithful on
targeting lists. USAID and World Food Program are currently
increasing predistribution monitoring and reporting to
address some of these concerns. End Comment.)

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FOREX Exchange Rate -- NGO's Achilles' Heal
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5. (U) Price control enforcement has also brought added
scrutiny to foreign currency exchange facilities used by many
international NGOs. For the past several years,
international NGOs (as well as some diplomatic missions,
private businesses and government entities) have used Global
Currencies Ltd, a London-based company, to exchange foreign
currency. (Note: Global Currencies offers a rate of about 70
percent of the parallel market exchange rate. The parallel
market rate currently is about Z$200,000:US$1. End Note.)
According to one international NGO director with whom we
spoke, representatives from Global Currencies provided him a
letter from the Zimbabwe Central Bank sanctioning the
arrangement when he agreed to use their facilities. (Note:
We have not seen a copy of this letter. End Note.) In recent
weeks, however, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officials
working on price control teams have requested that at least
15 international NGOs provide depositions detailing their use
of these facilities.


6. (SBU) Global Currencies has been engaging in commodities
deals to source Zimbabwe dollars for use in foreign currency
exchange transactions with international NGOs and other
clients. What caught the ZRP's attention is that when
examining records of these deals it appeared as if the
commodities actually belonged to the entity exchanging the
foreign currency (e.g., an international NGO),which was not
the case. Despite the letter from the Central Bank, ZRP
officials were dubious about the legality of the facilities
and opened an investigation. ZRP investigators told NGO
directors involved not to leave the country.


7. (C) At this point, Global Currencies considers the case
closed. NGO directors, however, have not received any
official notification from ZRP to this effect. They continue
to use Global Currencies for lack of a viable alternative.
The other "official" foreign currency exchange rate available

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for such transactions is an untenable Z$15,000:US$1. Closing
access to the Global Currencies facilities would have an
enormous impact on the ability of many NGOs (including
several of our primary implementation partners) to carry out
their work.

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Work Permits Hard to Come By
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8. (U) Stepped up enforcement of immigration laws has also
left many in the international NGO community feeling like
targets. In April, a new immigration administration made up
of former senior ZRP officers (rumored to actually be from
the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO)) was installed,
and tasked with enforcing immigration regulations to the
letter of the law. Since that time, the number of denials of
Temporary Employment Permits (TEPs) for international NGOs
and religious organizations has increased compared to
previous months, according to OCHA Head of Office Agnes
Asekenye-Oonyu. Additionally, in recent weeks, eight foreign
staff at international NGOs have been forced to leave the
country and 10 others have been served notice to leave the
country within 21 days for immigration violations.


9. (C) While international NGOs and religious organizations
have endured long delays in the TEP process for several
years, this sudden change in enforcement caught many off
guard. Zimbabwe immigration law requires NGO staff and
missionaries to apply for a TEP outside the country; however,
the rules allow the director of immigration to grant
exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Asekenye-Oonyu reported
that the previous immigration administration often "turned a
blind eye" to applicants who remained in country working on
business visas until a TEP was issued or an extension was
granted. This is no longer the case.


10. (U) On July 16, for example, police raided the offices of
GOAL, an Irish humanitarian organization, and arrested two
foreign staff, including the spouse of a British diplomat,
for working without proper immigration status. One was made
to leave the country the next day. The spouse of the British
diplomat was released and remains in the country while
authorities determine if she is allowed to work based on
bilateral agreements. Then, on July 20, police arrested the
director of GOAL, an Irish citizen, and held her for four
days on charges that she aided and abetted GOAL staff in
contravening immigration laws. Her case is still pending.


11. (C) Religious missionary groups, many of which provide
humanitarian assistance such as medical care in rural areas,
have also been affected by the new enforcement policy. We
received a report from the AMCIT director of one missionary
group that CIO officers had visited all their locations
throughout the country questioning missionaries about their
foreign exchange transactions and checking passports and
TEPs. No one was detained or deported, but CIO officers told
one group that their activities would be closely watched.

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NGOs: Targets or Just Playing Loose With the Rules?
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12. (C) Despite having their staff questioned and warehouses

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inspected by price control officials, country directors for
World Vision and CARE told us they did not believe the GOZ
was intentionally targeting NGOs. Both said that if you play
by the government's rules you will not have problems. Both
directors had chosen not to use Global Currencies because
they said the deal appeared "too good to be true."
Conversely, several directors from other NGOs, including
Catholic Relief Services and Counseling Services Unit, said
other organizations do not have the resources, financial or
human, to so easily accept excessively restrictive conditions
and rules arbitrarily enforced by the GOZ. Additionally,
they pointed out that the smaller NGOs, especially those with
democracy and governance activities, suffer far more
government harassment then large organizations like World
Vision and CARE.

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Comment: Ruling Party Setting the Stage for Elections
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13. (C) The Mugabe regime is following its tried and true
tactic of using intimidation and diversions to dictate the
agenda to its opponents -- real and perceived. This latest
iteration started in March with government's methodical
dismantling of the opposition's organizing structures. Then,
in June, Mugabe used price controls to show businesses --
many controlled by ZANU-PF bigwigs -- that he was still in
control of both the party and the country. Now, the GOZ
appears to be intimidating international NGOs with an eye
toward next year's elections. The NGOs will survive this
latest crisis, but the harassment will distract from their
ability to carry out democracy and governance programs and
deliver humanitarian assistance at a time when they are
needed most. End Comment.
DHANANI