Burkina Faso: AF DAS Moss Meeting with Prime Minister Zongo

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 OUAGADOUGOU 000490 AF/W FOR EPLUMB, JHUTCHISON NSC FOR KAREN O'DONNELL SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/9/2023 TAGS: PREL ECON EAID UNSC UV SUBJECT: Burkina Faso: AF DAS Moss Meeting with Prime Minister Zongo OUAGADOUGO 00000490 001.2 OF 003 Reftel: Ouagadougou 0432 Classified by Amb. Jeanine Jackson; reasons 1.4(b,d) ¶1. This is an action request for IO Bureau. Please see para 17. ¶2. (U) Summary: In a June 4 meeting with AF DAS Todd Moss, Prime Minister Tertius Zongo explained his government's efforts to promote good governance, fight corruption, improve Burkina Faso's business climate, and boost agricultural production. Zongo said that the land reform component of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact could help boost food production. ¶3. (C) Zongo stated that Burkina Faso's foreign policy priorities included promoting regional peace and security, and closer collaboration with the United States on the UN Security Council. Burkina Faso has had difficulties working with Libya (a fellow UN Security Council non-permanent member) since President Blaise Compaore visited Israel in May, Zongo said. DAS Moss told Zongo it would be a mistake to reduce the number of UNMIL troop in Liberia below currently planned reductions because this could put at risk efforts to rebuild that country. End Summary. Good Governance, Peer Review, Fight Against Corruption -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Zongo opened the June 4 meeting by recalling that DAS Moss, during their last meeting together with AF PDAS Linda Thomas-Greenfield (in August 2007),had inquired about policy measures that Zongo planned to increase the efficiency of the Burkinabe Government. Zongo also recalled receiving from Moss a copy of USAID's report on how roadblocks by customs and security forces in West Africa were an impediment to regional trade, and asked to receive a copy of the latest report. Zongo explained his interest in the USAID report by stressing that a key goal since becoming Prime Minister had been to deliver measurable results that positively impacted all classes of Burkinabe society. Zongo stated that his Government's three top priorities -- in both Burkina Faso and the sub-region -- were promoting democracy; good governance; and peace and stability. ¶5. (SBU) Regarding good governance, Zongo noted that he was in discussions with the National Assembly and civil society concerning reforms that might be undertaken this calendar year, such as the use of ID cards to establish electoral lists, financing of political parties, the (weak) status of opposition parties, and quotas for women electoral candidates. ¶6. (SBU) Zongo also stated that the African Union-endorsed, New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) African Peer Review Mechanism was a useful tool to improve governance. This peer review, he said, had helped Burkina Faso focus on four points: political governance; the economy; corporate governance and improving the business climate; and cross-cutting issues -- such as the role of women and environmental protection. President Compaore, Zongo noted, would be making a speech on June 29 responding to Burkina Faso's peer review with proposals to combat corruption and fraud, and "moralize" public life. ¶7. (SBU) Zongo also stressed that Burkina Faso had recently created a new anti-corruption entity, the Superior Authority of State Control (SASC),whose head would take office on June 9. SASC will have "real independence," Zongo said, including the ability to publish reports on its work, and refer corruption cases directly to the judicial system. Zongo consulted with Ambassador before creating the SASC, he recalled, and now asked for USG support for this new institution. ¶8. (C) Comment: Zongo is sincere in desiring to attack corruption, but we believe his efforts will have only minimal effect. In general, President Compaore will not allow high-level corruption cases to be prosecuted by the judicial system, which Compaore controls. Thus, while the SASC may be an institutional improvement on paper, its impact will be limited until there are reforms making the judiciary branch truly independent. End Comment. Improving the Climate for Investment and Business -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Burkina Faso was also improving its investment climate by making it easier to do business, Zongo said. The National Assembly recently passed a law making the labor code more flexible. It is also trying to improve the quality of education, which is also key OUAGADOUGO 00000490 002.2 OF 003 for business, and has emphasized girls' education in particular. There is a saying in Africa that when a woman is educated, a whole family is educated, Zongo explained. ¶10. (SBU) Moss inquired if Zongo had met with Omar Issa, the Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Climate Facility Fund for Africa, which is based in Dar Es Salaam-based and piloting work in Rwanda that could be a model for Burkina Faso. The United States was not a member of the Fund, Moss added, but was thinking of joining this initiative. Zongo responded that he was considering creating an Investment Council for Burkina Faso with at least one member who was a member of this Fund. Boosting Agricultural Production: Need for More Reform -------------- -------------- ¶11. (SBU) For Burkina Faso to solve its long-term challenges, it must also solve short-term problems as a matter of survival, Zongo said. As an example of the seriousness of the situation, Zongo noted that demonstrators (in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso) had recently protested against the rising cost of living by vandalizing street lights. As a local solution to price rises, the Government hoped in the current agricultural season to double rice production, increase substantially corn and cereal output, and relaunch the key cotton sector -- boosting output over 50%, from around 400,000 tons in 2007-2008 to over 600,000 tons in 2008-2009. To achieve these increases, the GOBF hoped to make available to farmers increased fertilizer, improved seed, and additional agricultural equipment, such as machinery to de-hull rice. To this end, the GOBF would also need donor assistance, Zongo added, and would soon be transmitting a request regarding food security to Ambassador. ¶12. (SBU) Moss said that the path of reform was not a "one-time deal," but rather a continual process. Even in the United States, for example, we are constantly trying fixes to reform our economy, such as rules to reduce the cost of listing shares in New York so that business is not lost to other financial centers such as London. It was also important that Burkina Faso compare itself not only to other countries in the sub-region, but also globally. The bar of needed reforms is not only high, but keeps moving upward, Moss stated. MCC: Agricultural Reform, Uncertainty About Compact -------------- -------------- ¶13. (SBU) In response to a question from Moss, Zongo said that Burkina Faso had no problems with regard to liberalizing its markets (for agricultural inputs and production). Instead, its problem was primarily one of supply, i.e. how to expand production. Burkina Faso needed to make its agricultural sector more like a business, and be able to attract investors to enter that sector. ¶14. (SBU) In this regard, the MCC Compact's land reform program will be important because, for example, it will allow a farmer with title to 1000 hectares to borrow and purchase agricultural inputs, Zongo said. If Burkina Faso is providing exonerations allowing the duty-free importation using in mining or even in making candies, he asked rhetorically, why did it not exonerate imports of entrepreneurs investing in agriculture? (Zongo also slipped in a pitch for the United States to invite President Compaore to the Compact signing scheduled for July 16 in Washington.) ¶15. (SBU) DAS Moss said there was uncertainty in Congress concerning funding for MCC that could impact Compacts for Burkina Faso and Botswana, but that he was hopeful that this funding would be fully restored. MCA was just one part of the USG's bilateral assistance programs with Burkina Faso, he stressed. The United States would also continue to encourage multilateral donors such as the World Bank to aggressively attack poverty in Burkina Faso, Moss said. Stability in Sub-Region and at Home; UN Issues -------------- -- ¶16. (SBU) Stability: Shifting to foreign policy issues, Zongo said the Burkinabe Government had made progress in advancing peace and security in the sub-region, most notably in Cote d'Ivoire and Togo, and was also promoting stability domestically through decentralization reforms that empowered citizens to make decisions and not feel excluded from the political process. ¶17. (SBU) UNSC Collaboration: Regarding Burkina Faso's collaboration with the United States in the UN Security Council, Zongo indicated OUAGADOUGO 00000490 003.2 OF 003 the two sides needed to "keep in touch" and exchange views on major issues from time to time. Burkina Faso's UN Ambassador is under instructions to maintain close contact with USUN. DAS Moss responded by stressing that, if Burkina Faso was not getting the level of communication that it expected from USUN, it could work through colleagues in Washington to gain more information. Zongo clarified that communication was fine, but that Burkina Faso wanted to make sure it "kept on being good." Action Request: We believe that Zongo was being polite, and in reality believes that the United States and Burkina Faso need to have a bilateral discussion of upcoming UNSC issues. Ambassador recommends that IO consider a bilateral exchange with Burkina Faso's UN Mission in New York about UNSC issues -- similar to one that IO led last December. End Action Request. ¶18. (C) Libya and Israel: Zongo noted that difficult questions concerning African countries continue to be placed on the agenda of the UNSC, where Libya is also a non-permanent member. (Like Burkina Faso, its two-year seat is 2008-2009). Burkina Faso has had difficulties working with Libya, however, since Compaore visited Israel in May (reftel). Burkina Faso resented remarks made by Libya leader Muammar Qadaffi that suggest that the leader of a sovereign country like Burkina Faso did not have the right to go where he pleased. ¶19. (C) Liberia: Burkina Faso was gaining extra attention because of its UNSC seat, DAS Moss said. In this regard, the United States felt strongly that it would be a mistake to reduce the number of UNMIL troop in Liberia below currently planned reductions because this could put at risk all the investment made into rebuilding that country. The United States has been rebuilding the Liberian army; the United Nations has been rebuilding the police, but neither is ready to act alone with significant UNMIL support. The United States does not agree with the iew expressed by some Europeans that Liberia hasbeen quiet for several years, and that therefore toop reductions can be made, Moss stated. Jacksn