CARE INTERNATIONAL WILL CLOSE ERITREAN OPERATIONS

UNCLAS ASMARA 000143 SIPDIS LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS NAIROBI FOR GPLATT KAMPALA FOR DSUTHER DEPT FOR AF/E PLEASE PASS TO USAID SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREL PGOV ECON ER SUBJECT: CARE INTERNATIONAL WILL CLOSE ERITREAN OPERATIONS ¶1. (U) On March 3, CARE International Country Director Dr. Claudia Futterknecht informed the Eritrean Ministry of Labor and Human Welfare (MLHW) that CARE would cease Eritrean operations in three months. CARE provided a letter to the MLHW stating that its decision to close the office was based on an internal reassessment of the organization's global priorities. ¶2. (SBU) Futterknecht informed the ambassador that the actual reason for the closure was the difficulty in implementing programs in Eritrea. She said agreements made with the MLHW were often ignored by the regional (zoba) administrators, and the Government of the State of Eritrea (GSE) had not allocated diesel fuel to CARE since December. The final straw, she added, was when zoba administrators required that potato seeds, intended for free distribution to farmers, be sold instead, violating the project agreement and causing the donors to pull funding. ¶3. (SBU) Futterknecht said GSE auditors had examined CARE's list of in-country assets on March 10 and specifically questioned the amount of funds in CARE's Eritrean bank accounts. The auditors noted that the bank accounts did not hold the entire amount of funding required to implement existing CARE projects. (Note: NGO proclamation 145/2005 requires NGOs to surrender all assets when they cease operations in Eritrea. End Note.) Futterknecht explained to the auditors that CARE and other NGOs keep only two weeks of operating funds in Eritrea, not the entire amount required for the full duration of their projects. The auditors seemed to accept this reason, but Futterknecht remains concerned that the GSE will make unrealistic demands about the handover of assets in the lead-up to CARE's full closure in May. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: CARE's frustrations with the GSE mirror the sentiments of the other NGOs still hanging onto their programs in-country. Post remains more surprised that half a dozen international NGOs are still trying to persevere in the face of GSE obstacles and obstinacy, than that CARE has decided to close shop. End Comment. MCMULLEN