Union of the Comoros Cabinet Reshuffle

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000835 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/FO AND AF/E E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON CN SUBJECT: Union of the Comoros Cabinet Reshuffle ¶1. (U) President Sambi announced a new cabinet December 12, reducing from 15 to 10 Union Ministers (including the two VPs who have ministerial portfolios),in line with IMF recommendations on the size of government. There are no new officials; all 10 were in the most recent cabinet. They took on portfolios from some of the former Ministers and the Spokesman responsibility was moved to the Minister of Education (from the Minister of Information): Vice President IDI Nadhoim (Transportation and Tourism) Vice President IKILILOU Dhoinine (Health and Solidarity) Minister of Foreign Affairs (MIREX) Ahmed Ben Said JAFFAR (External Relations, Diaspora, Francophonie, Arab World) Minister of Finance Mohamed ALI SOILIHI (Finance, Economy, Budget, Labor, Women's Entrepreneurship) Minister of Justice MMADI Ali (Justice, Prisons, Islamic Affairs, Legislative Affairs, Internal (Island) Relations) Minister of Agriculture and Energy HOUMADI Abdallah (Agriculture, Fisheries, Environment, Energy, Industry) Minister of Education and Spokesman Dr. Kamaliddine AFRAITANE (Education, Research, Culture, Spokesman) Minister of Land Management Mohamed Larif OUKACHA (Land Management, Infrastructure, Housing, Investment) Minister of Public Service Said ATTOUMANE (Public Service, Institutional Reform, Human Rights) Minister of Telecommunications Dr. Abdouroihim SAID BAKAR (Information, Telecommunications, Post, Technology) Director of Cabinet - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) Director of Cabinet Bacar Abdou DOSSAR is not listed as a Minister, but he maintains his position in the GOC. Dossar noted in a recent meeting of the Dip Corps that as Cabinet Director he does not really have a Ministerial staff. He also remains responsible for Defense, but most of the staff are military, under Chief of Staff General SALIMOU. Dossar remains among the most powerful officials in President Sambi's government, even if he is not counted against the new quota of 10 Ministers. Out Of the Cabinet? - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (SBU) Former Minister MOURAD Said Ibrahim (Institutional Reform) is not listed, though we expect he will remain as an advisor at the Presidency. Also not listed in the new line-up are former Minister Anissi CHAMSIDINE (Agriculture, Fisheries, and Environment),former Minister Ahmed ABDOU (Public Service and Human Rights),former Minister Said ATTOUMANE (Economy, Trade, and Labor), former Secretary of State Sitti KASSIM (attached to the Vice Presidency in charge of Solidarity and Gender - the only women in the cabinet). All of these portfolios were absorbed by existing Ministers in the new cabinet. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: Our main Embassy interlocutors remain in place. Most, if not all, of the former Ministers left out of the new Cabinet will maintain some role in Government as advisors - the key to the IMF recommendation was that the number of Ministers be reduced, so that the large Ministerial staffs maintained by each one could be phased out in order to reduce GOC salaries. END COMMENT. MARQUARDT