HEALTH MINISTER PROMISES NGO RE-AUTHORIZATION AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000600 SIPDIS AF/S FOR S. HILL ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E. LOKEN AND L. DOBBINS STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/08/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID PHUM KHIV ZI SUBJECT: HEALTH MINISTER PROMISES NGO RE-AUTHORIZATION AND RELEASE OF FUNDS TO NGOS REF: HARARE 579 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Katherine Dhanani for reasons 1.4(b)&( d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On July 7 Charge and USAID Director called on Minister of Health Parirenyatwa at his request. Parirenyatwa appealed for USG support for Zimbabwe's Round Eight Global Fund application and denied that he had participated in electoral intimidation following the March 29 election. He said he expected the Reserve Bank to release frozen Global Fund money and the GOZ to reauthorize NGO field operations imminently. Emboffs welcomed the promised liberalization but refused to pledge support for further Global Funds disbursements or to absolve Parirenyatwa of responsibility for abuses. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Minister of Health Dr. David Parirenyatwa called Ambassador July 6, before Ambassador departed Zimbabwe on July 7 for consultations in Washington. Charge d'Affaires (CDA) and USAID Director met with Parirenyatwa July 7 to follow up. Ambassador and Mission officers have avoided Parirenyatwa since Post received credible reports that he was involved in orchestrated violence against MDC supporters in his constituency following the March 29 election. ¶3. (C) Parirenyatwa explained that he had called the Ambassador to request USG support for Zimbabwe's Global Fund Round Eight request. The Ambassador had refused to offer support, noting that funds from Round Five deposited with the Reserve Bank had never reached NGOs charged with implementing activities (Reftel). Parirenyatwa told CDA and USAID Director he had spoken with Reserve Bank Governor Gono during the previous week and would meet with him at 4 p.m. on July 8; he expected the funds to be released at that time. USAID Director pointed out that release of funds would not produce instantaneous results, since NGOs had suspended operations on the orders of the GOZ. Parirenyatwa noted that HIV/AIDS activities were later exempted from the NGO ban, and also said that he had persuaded Minister of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare Nicholas Goche to lift the suspension globally, except for any specific NGOs thought to have crossed the line and engaged in political activity. Parirenyatwa expected an announcement of this policy decision any day. District Administrators and District Police Superintendents would be advised the suspension of NGO activities was lifted and would be charged with facilitating the resumption of activities. ¶4. (C) Charge and USAID Director told Parirenyatwa that the release of funds and the reauthorization of NGO activities were critical next steps, but that the likelihood was extremely slim that Zimbabwe could meet required Round Five results before September's Round Eight review. It would be difficult for NGOs to develop trust and to assess field security, both critical prerequisites to a resumption of activity. They also noted that the USG would not support further disbursements to Zimbabwe until an improved mechanism was developed. They noted that the USG has done its best to protect humanitarian programs from falling victim to unfavorable political developments, but that GOZ actions in recent months had made that impossible. ¶5. (C) Parirenyatwa had a second item on his agenda for the meeting: defending his personal reputation. He claimed reports linking him to election-related abuses in his Murehwa constituency were false, and that he could prove that he had been outside of the country when some of the alleged incidents occurred. Charge agreed that the allegations were particularly shocking because of Parirenyatwa's medical status, but noted that the Embassy had received credible HARARE 00000600 002 OF 002 reports, including signed affidavits, linking the Minister to violence. She agreed that if he were aggrieved he should seek to prove his innocence, but noted that many innocent Zimbabweans are currently suffering much more severely from the effect of persecution. Parirenyatwa said he had visited victims in the hospital and the situation was tragic. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: GOZ release of Round Five funds and reauthorization of NGOs will be welcome developments, and Round Eight Global Fund disbursements would make a major difference to the GOZ's ability to address the impact of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. However, release of funds under current circumstances would undermine the credibility of demands for results and could lead to further abuses. Post cannot imagine that circumstances could change sufficiently to justify such a decision in September. END COMMENT. Dhanani