FORMER MINISTER OF INTERIOR ARRESTED ON CORRUPTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000927 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2023 TAGS: KCOR KDEM PHUM PREL PGOV MZ SUBJECT: FORMER MINISTER OF INTERIOR ARRESTED ON CORRUPTION CHARGES REF: A. MAPUTO 748 ¶B. MAPUTO 502 Classified By: Poloff Leonel Miranda for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On September 22, police arrested former Minister of Interior Almerino Manhenje and eight other citizens on charges of corruption. Politics seems to have played a role in this particular case, and the timing coincides with growing concerns by donors that the Mozambican government (GRM) has not taken enough action to combat corruption during President Guebuza's first three years in office (ref A). Nevertheless the case involves the highest ranking former member of any FRELIMO government ever arrested on corruption charges in Mozambique's 33 year history. END SUMMARY. -------------- - $8.8 Million Missing from Ministry of Interior -------------- - ¶2. (SBU) On September 22, police arrested former Minister of Interior Almerino Manhenje on charges of corruption. The police were under orders from the Maputo City Attorney's office, who had been investigating the case since 2006. Their investigation resulted from a financial audit of the Ministry conducted by Manhenje's successor, Jose Pacheco, to investigate allegations that large sums of money were missing from the Ministry. The audit revealed that approximately $8.8 million (211 million meticais) were missing, in large part due to the fact that salaries were being paid to "ghost workers" ) people who either no longer worked at the Ministry or never existed. Pacheco subsequently, and apparently without consulting anyone, published the initial audit results to the press in late 2005 and then turned the case over to then-Attorney General Joachim Madeira in March ¶2006. -------------- WHY NOW? -------------- ¶3. (C) Commentators have questioned why, despite overwhelming evidence, the case sat with the Attorney General's office for more than two years only to be reopened so suddenly. Most NGO analysts and press reports point to two factors: internal FRELIMO politics and the increasing concerns of the donor community. On the first point, Manhenje was first appointed Minister of the Interior under former President Chissano and remained in that post for nine years. When Guebuza became President, Chissano remained President of FRELIMO, creating an uneasy power struggle in the party. It has long been suspected that Guebuza made an effort in his early years to protect Chissano's people in the government, which may account for the long delay in arresting Manhenje. ¶4. (SBU) Another important factor in the timing of the arrest is the recent "pressure" applied by the USG and the donor community to encourage the GRM to act on corruption. The detailed corruption report written by USAID and presented to President Guebuza in 2006 likely was a first step in demonstrating that countries providing financial assistance in Mozambique considered the fight against corruption to be a serious issue. In April 2008 the group of 19 donor nations providing direct budgetary assistance issued their annual report, which expressed concern about the lack of progress on corruption. In July several European countries, including Sweden, Switzerland, and Denmark announced they would reduce untargeted direct budget support to the GRM due to shortcomings in transparency, corruption, and good governance (ref A). -------------- -------------- HIGHEST RANKING GRM OFFICIAL ARRESTED FOR CORRUPTION -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) As a former minister, Manhenje is the highest ranking GRM official ever arrested on corruption charges. Until Manhenje, most corruption-related arrests involved low or middle-level government officials involved in petty corruption (ref B). The fact that Manhenje is not a current Minister does not diminish the importance of the case, particularly since he also holds the rank of Vice-President of the Verification Committee of FRELIMO, which ironically is responsible for handling ethics and moral discipline among FRELIMO members. -------------- COMMENT: SHOWING RESOLVE TO DONORS? MAPUTO 00000927 002 OF 002 -------------- ¶6. (C) The timing of Manhenje's arrest is noteworthy, particularly as Guebuza was in New York for the UN General Assembly, with numerous meetings scheduled with donor nations. Donors have stepped up the pressure on Guebuza recently, largely because they believe his administration has not fulfilled its 2004 campaign promise to root out government corruption. The most common phrase heard by donors is that "no high ranking GRM official has ever been charged for corruption in Mozambique." While it may have exacerbated the rift between the Guebuza and Chissano political factions within FRELIMO, the timing of this move was right to show donors the GRM's new-found resolve to go after higher-level officials. Guebuza now has a concrete example to point to in his fight against corruption. Chapman