ANGOLA PROVINCIAL NOTES: SLOW DEVELOPMENT IN LUNDA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000696

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EMIN ECON PREF PINR SOCI KDEM AO
SUBJECT: ANGOLA PROVINCIAL NOTES: SLOW DEVELOPMENT IN LUNDA
NORTH, ANGOLA'S WILD WEST (PART 1 OF 3)


Classified By: CDA Francisco Fernandez for reason 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Summary: Diamond-rich Lunda North province is on the
slow track to development. Despite the important role of the
diamond sector in contributing to Angola,s non-petroleum
derived economy the province remains rural, underdeveloped
and isolated from the rest of the country. Few employment
opportunities exist outside of the diamond and public
sectors, and economic growth and development is restricted to
urban areas. Voter registration is moving slowly, and large
swathes of the province have not been reached by registration
brigades. Government officials believe the extended
registration period will allow them to reach eligible voters,
but the opposition parties remain skeptical and critical of
the GRA's efforts in the province. End summary.


2. (U) This cable is part one of a three part series on Lunda
Norte province. Poloff visited Lunda Norte province from
June 6-8th, 2007 with Dutch and British Emboffs. This cable
focuses on economic development and voter registration;
septels cover human rights and village life. The delegation
met with the provincial government, electoral officials,
police, opposition party, civil society and religious
leaders, and also paid a visit to a small village. The visit
touched on economic development, human rights, electoral
registration, and the political climate in the province.

Background: Lunda Norte, the Forgotten Province
-------------- --


3. (U) Lunda Norte has an estimated population of 850,000 and
covers 103,000 square kilometers in the northeastern corner
of Angola, bordering the DRC on the north and east. The
province has nine municipalities and the provincial capital
of Dundo is located in the northeastern corner of the
province. The Lunda-Chokwe people are the dominant ethnic
group, and the province is a stronghold for the opposition
PRS (Party for Social Renovation).


4. (U) The province is known for its vast diamond reserves
and has scant economic activity outside the diamond and
government sectors. In a meeting Emboffs, Provincial
Governor Manuel Francisco Gomes Maiato described the province
as still suffering from the lack of colonial-era investment.
The Portuguese lacked the capital to develop infrastructure
in the vast region; the little development found there was
done by Diamang, an English-Belgian-French-Portuguese joint
venture that was granted an exclusive concession for diamond
exploration and mining in 1917. Diamang built roads and
factory towns that remain the base of development in the
province. Diamang was nationalized in 1977 and became
Endiama, the Angolan diamond parastatal.


5. (U) In the civil war period Lunda Norte saw relatively few
military skirmishes and UNITA's need to access the diamonds
fields discouraged it from laying many landmines. Roads laid
in the 40s and 50s have never been maintained and are now
littered with enormous, truck-swallowing holes. Downed
bridges and bad roads make it virtually impossible to drive
through the Province from west to east, leaving the
provincial government in Dundo effectively isolated from the
interior.

Trickle Down Benefits of the Peace Dividend
--------------


6. (SBU) The province's economic development is driven by
government spending and the diamond industry. Governor
Maiato's priorities are building schools, medical centers,
distribution systems for potable water, and roads that link
the provincial capital to the rest of the province. The
Provincial Government is also working to diversify the
economy and encourage investment outside the diamond sector.
In a county known for its bureaucracy Lunda Norte is said to
be the most bureaucratic province; one must show a letter
from an employer stating the dates and purpose of travel to
even embark on a plane to Lunda Norte.


7. (SBU) Urban centers are the main recipients of public
works projects, most of which are line items on the GRA's
budget. A new branch of the Education School of Agostinho
Neto University recently opened, and a Chokwe art museum and
two new hospitals are under construction. Most of these
projects are driven by Governor Maiato, who is a long-time
member of the ruling MPLA, a former Minister of Commerce and
a close associate of President dos Santos. Articulate,
passionate and clever, he often avoided direct questions
about Lunda Norte by instead talking about the country
overall, especially when discussing the GRA's work to rebuild
and develop the country. Maiato's private passion is tennis;
he is head of the Angolan Tennis Association and Dundo is
home to the post-war completed three-court National Tennis

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Center.

Progress Limited to Urban Areas
--------------


8. (C) Economic growth and development has been slow to move
outside of urban centers, and the lack of human resources and
capacity remains a serious problem. Most medical personnel
in the province are GRA-contracted third country nationals,
and civil society leaders openly question how new hospitals
and schools will be staffed and supplied. The government
also has a lock on hiring in the province. Development
Workshop, an international NGO working on the USAID-funded
Municipal Development Program, was not allowed to
independently hire local staff for its Lunda Norte office.
They were required to submit the job requirements to the
provincial government, which then gave them a list of names
from which they could interview and hire.


9. (U) The Governor said that the traditional attitude of
suspicion and discrimination against non-diamond sector
businesses and strong security concerns in the diamond sector
has effectively immobilized the business community. He said
that diamond industry outsiders have complained that the
province has a "you can't work here" attitude. To counter
that perception and encourage entrepreneurs and private
investors to come to Lunda Norte, the provincial government
hosted a Small Business Conference in May 2007. Note: The
Governor stated that foreign investment currently accounts
for 90% of investment in the province. End note.


10. (C) PRS opposition leaders criticized the GRA's
management of Lunda Norte's massive diamond resources.
Concerned that diamond profits are not being used for
provincial development, they would like to see social
investment plans and corporate social responsibility built
into diamond contracts and concessions. They criticized the
GRA's environmental record in the region and stated that
companies leave dangerous mines open and pollute rivers with
dredging operations, issues that affect the party's largely
rural and ethnic Chokwe supporters. Civil society leaders
also condemned the provincial government's extravagant
spending on pet projects and events, such as sponsoring the
travel for tennis players, musicians and dance troupes from
the DRC, Cabo Verde and Brazil, and guests brought in for a
tennis tournament and lavish party on Provincial Day.

Slow Progress on Voter Registration
--------------


11. (U) Electoral registration has been slow in the province,
and Governor Maiato and the bi-partisan members of the
Provincial Electoral Commission described in separate
meetings the various logistical hurdles faced in the largely
rural province. Thirteen registration brigades were planned
for the province, but only seven operated through most of the
first phase of registration. Only three of nine
municipalities were reached in the first six months of
registration; over 180,000 people were registered. All 13
brigades are now functioning as mobile brigades that move
from village to village, and the Ministry of Territorial
Administration supplied a helicopter to reach rural areas.
Electoral officials are confident the brigades can quickly
access the other six municipalities, but the opposition PRS
is skeptical that electoral officials will be able to finish
the registration process during the three month extension.
The PRS criticized the government's rollout of its brigades,
stating that brigades had yet to reach even easily accessible
urban areas.


12. (C) Comment: The Governor talks the talk about the less
restrictive business climate and large long-term investments
in infrastructure, health and human resource development
needed to jump-start economic growth in the province.
Reality, however, is an economy tightly controlled by the
provincial government, development funds spent on pet
projects that show little long-term planning or input from
citizens, and use of government influence to direct jobs.
There is little reason for the central government to
intervene as long as diamond revenues keep rolling in, and
without outside pressure the provincial government will be
slow to change its ways. End comment.
FERNANDEZ