AMBASSADOR CANAVAN REENGAGES SADC MEMBERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 001982

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2017
TAGS: SADC PREL ETRD ECON POL SF
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR CANAVAN REENGAGES SADC MEMBERS

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Donald Teitelbaum. Reasons 1.4(b) and
(d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. As part of the Department's efforts to
reengage with the Southern African Development Community,
U.S. Ambassador to Botswana Katherine Canavan and PolEcon
Chief Charles Stonecipher on 21 May held discussions in
Pretoria with SADC's resident diplomatic corps and SAG
officials to elicit suggestions for U.S. reengagement.
Responses were cordial, but ranged from grateful to slightly
suspicious, with three key themes emerging. First,
infrastructure and capacity-building came out strongly in
every meeting as two of SADC's greatest needs. Second, SADC
member countries asked that the U.S. give them time to audit
their needs, ranging from trade and development to education,
peace, and security. Third, SADC members who met with
Ambassador Canavan indirectly expressed their frustration
with South Africa's dominance within SADC. END SUMMARY.

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SADC Diplomats Grateful, But Need Time
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2. (C) Embassy Pretoria hosted a roundtable with diplomatic
representatives accredited to South Africa from Botswana,
Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, and Zambia. After a briefing from
Ambassador Canavan on the reengagement process, and a request
to hear their views on how best to proceed, all High
Commissioners and Counselors relayed their sincere
appreciation for the consultation. They asked that the U.S.
give SADC members time to examine strategically the
organization's needs, which would allow a more thoughtful and
complete response. (Note: PolOff overheard the Lesotho High
Commissioner tell the Malawian High Commissioner on their way
out of the Embassy that they should take up Ambassador
Canavan's offer and perform an audit of SADC needs at their
next SADC meeting. END NOTE) Fearing that South Africa's
budget surplus this year may affect U.S. perceptions of SADC
countries, the Zambian High Commissioner also emphasized that
"South Africa is not Africa; Africa is poor while South
Africa pretends it's not poor."


3. (C) Reflecting on possible U.S. roles, the Lesotho and
Zambian High Commissioners both expressed gratitude for the
educational opportunities the U.S. has afforded southern
African countries over the years, but expressed
disappointment that the U.S. has cut back on these
significantly in recent years. (Note: The HC from Lesotho
attended Tuskegee Institute from 1986-88 and the Zambian High
Commissioner currently has two children studying at U.S.
universities. END NOTE). The Zambian High Commissioner also
suggested that the U.S. could assist in resolving border
demarcation disputes between SADC countries by providing
satellite-based geo-positioning equipment and expertise.

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DTI: FOCUS ON DONOR SHORTCOMINGS
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4. (C) Ambassador Canavan met with South African Department
of Trade and Industry's (DTI) Director for SADC, Mr. Hennie
Erasmus, to discuss regional trade issues, and to explain
current U.S. plans for assisting SADC monitor trade agreement
compliance between member states. The trade compliance
monitoring project will include the creation of a website to
make data available to all parties. Erasmus commented that
the monitoring database would be useful, but was skeptical
how such a system would work and who would manage it. He
said he lacked confidence that the economic and trade staffs
at SADC as well as in member capitols could productively
manage and utilize systems of this sort. Moreover, SADC is
currently amending its protocols and creating a dispute
resolution tribunal, though neither have been approved or
implemented. According to Erasmus, this and other
operational capacity constraints have created a vacuum for
trade disputes, in which there is no formal mechanism to
facilitate resolution. This has resulted in Ministers
"hashing out" problems as they arise, often without any
positive outcome. In the end, he said that the database
could provide an avenue for resolving this problem and
approved of the idea, especially coupled with the use of a
monitoring unit with full responsibility. However, he also
cautioned that without protocols and regulations in place to
deal with unresolved procedures, the database may be
premature.


5. (C) In regard to the trade framework, Erasmus suggested

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that all parties should take stock of current
and past International Cooperating Partner (ICP) projects.
The EU, in particular, has assisted with trade
so there are projects currently underway that no longer need
funding assistance. He suggested the U.S.
should focus on gaps in assistance, and suggested areas that
could include non-trade barriers and
industrial development in key sectors such as tourism,
services, and transportation. Capacity building
within SADC was also cited as an issue, but Erasmus explained
that short-term training of a few
individuals will not cure the problem. A more creative
long-term training strategy is needed to avoid
individuals using the training to market themselves and move
into more lucrative private employment,
leaving SADC again without skilled employees. Erasmus, on
behalf of DTI, said he would get back to
Ambassador Canavan with any SAG suggestions for regional
infrastructure, development, or other projects
in which the U.S. could reengage and assist SADC.

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DFA REVEALS WIDE INTEREST IN SADC
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6. (C) Department of Foreign Affairs Director for SADC, Mr.
Ghulam Asmal, appeared hesitant to discuss ideas for SADC
reengagement outside official SADC channels, which was
probably partly due to his recent arrival on the desk, but
also a reflection of South Africa's hypersensitivity to other
countries' views of its dominance in the region. Asmal also
questioned the timing of U.S. interest in reengagement,
telling Ambassador Canavan that the EU, China, and India have
all been extremely pro-active in getting involved recently,
and implying that there must be some unspoken reason for this
flurry of interest in SADC. Mr. Short, DFA Director for
NEPAD (and who was Mr. Asmal's predecessor) was in contrast
extremely informative and open to reengagement. Short added
that operationally, it is difficult from the vantage point of
the foreign ministry to make strong policy recommendations
regarding SADC because most SADC issues for the region are
trade, infrastructure, and customs-related and are usually
assigned to trade and finance ministries. Both Asmal and
Short mentioned infrastructure, specifically the technology
the US has in this area, and capacity, which "is a real
problem and which can't be developed overnight." Short
suggested that the U.S. look at SADC's early years at the
beginning of the 1980's as a guide to exploring how SADC can
be more relevant and effective. He noted that donors were
then under the impression that South Africa was about to
enter a civil war. Donor interventions in the areas of
broad-based development, physical infrastructure to
facilitate intra-regional trade, trade management and
administration made tremendous progress possible.

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ZIMBABWE: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
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7. (C) Responses from Canavan's interlocutors on Zimbabwe
were along the lines to be expected. The SADC diplomats all
believe that Mbeki's mediation effort is a step in the right
direction and should not be "constantly questioned by
outsiders." Moreover, Mbeki should be given time to produce
results. The Lesotho High Commissioner recognized that for
free and fair elections to occur, the playing field needs to
be leveled, but believes holding elections next year might be
too soon. The Zambian High Commissioner said that "Mugabe is
a difficult person who feels he has earned the right to be
President," and that Zimbabwe's purposefully fallacious
portrayal of U.S. sanctions as the cause of hardship suffered
by the masses probably rings true to many Africans who have
suffered under colonialism. The Malawian Ambassador told
Ambassador Canavan that "the same people who impose sanctions
should engage Zimbabwe," "that the U.S. Congress needs to be
sensitized to Africa," and also criticized the West for
encouraging and supporting an aggressive and robust civil
society, "even when countries have a democratic election like
you wanted."


8. (C) Ambassador Canavan emphasized that U.S. diplomacy
towards SADC is driven by our perception of the region's
importance and potential. U.S. interests in SADC are
comprehensive and should not be limited by our current
concerns about Zimbabwe. In essence, USG motivations for
reengaging with SADC were not about Zimbabwe, but rather
about SADC,s ability to promote stability and development

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throughout the region.


9. (U) Ambassador Canavan cleared this message.
TEITELBAUM