UN ACCEPTS MALAWI FOR MISSION IN CHAD, BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000348 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2019 TAGS: MARR MOPS KPKO PREL MI SUBJECT: UN ACCEPTS MALAWI FOR MISSION IN CHAD, BUT DEPLOYMENT STILL UNSURE REF: LILONGWE 85 Classified By: Ambassador Peter Bodde for Reasons 1.4 b, d ¶1. (C) Summary: During its recent inspection, the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO),accepted a Malawi Defense Force (MDF) infantry battalion for deployment to the U.N. Mission to Chad and the Central African Republic (MINURCAT). Coming on the heels of a nine-week African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program, the U.N. inspection team spoke highly of the training and motivation of the MDF troops. MDF officials said ACOTA was critical to the force's strong performance during the inspection. Initially, the MDF told UNDPKO it could deploy in September. Despite strong U.S. advocacy for the government of Malawi to provide timely financially support to the MDF, the GOM was unable to allocate $15 million to purchase equipment for the deployment. Facing an uncertain funding picture and long lead times for new orders, the GOM has asked UNDPKO to delay their planned deployment until March 2010. Comment: The ultimate success of a MINURCAT deployment rests with the GOM and their ability to finance critical equipment orders in a timely manner. End Summary. ¶2. (C) The U.N. Department for Peacekeeping Operations recommended acceptance of the Malawi Defense Force's offer to deploy an infantry battalion to MINURCAT during its recent inspection. The U.N. team noted that significant equipment shortfalls still existed, but the MDF stated they expected the government to purchase the additional required equipment. The MDF had already ordered 11 additional armored personnel carriers from a vendor in South Africa and expected arrival in Malawi in mid-June. The U.S. is assisting the MDF by purchasing $950,000 USD of communications equipment through ACOTA. The MDF told emboffs that it has negotiated with a South African firm to supply the rest of the equipment, but the vendor requires a deposit of $15 million USD to sign the contract. The MDF plans to use U.N. equipment payments to pay off the balance of the equipment purchase. ¶3. (SBU) The U.N. inspection team was particularly impressed with the training and motivation of the MDF troops. The inspection visit came just one week after ACOTA completed a nine-week training program for the battalion. The MDF told the U.N. that the ACOTA program was a critical component of their pre-deployment preparation. ACOTA staff told emboffs that the MDF troops were individually among the best they had trained in Africa. ACOTA did note that the due to the composite nature of the battalion, the MDF troops needed to concentrate future training efforts on working together at the company and battalion level. To further assist, ACOTA currently plans to perform a two-week refresher training before deployment. The French military will follow ACOTA with a desert warfare training session. ¶4. (C) Initially, the MDF and UNDPKO agreed to a September deployment to Chad, but the MDF was unable to secure government funds to purchase new equipment in time for a July shipment deadline. The GOM has now asked UNDPKO to allow the MDF to delay its deployment until March 2010. Director of Military Operations, Gen. Mecres Chinjala, told emboffs he believes the delay will allow Parliament to authorize the $15 million USD expenditure on equipment and give the supplier adequate time to deliver all equipment to Malawi. Chinjala admitted that UNDPKO, fearing further delays, could pursue a new troop contributing country if Malawi cannot show progress soon on the its purchase of equipment. ¶5. (C) The Embassy advocated strongly for the GOM to financially support the MDF's equipment purchases. Emboffs met repeatedly with the Director of Military Operations, the Deputy Military Commander, and the Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Defense to stay abreast of financial needs and shipment timelines. The Deputy Chief of Mission and Ambassador both placed calls to Chief Secretary Bright Msaka and the Ambassador met with Dr. Peter Mutharika, the top advisor to the President, regarding the issue. Mutharika assured the Ambassador that the deployment remained a top priority of the government, but Msaka said there was no legal way for the government to fund such a large expenditure without Parliamentary approval. (Note: Due to elections, Parliament was not called into session for the year until June 23.) Post will continue to encourage the prompt resolution of the funding issue by the GOM. LILONGWE 00000348 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Comment: The U.N. acceptance of the MDF battalion was a positive first step and ACOTA training played a large part in the MDF's successful inspection. The Ambassador and emboffs have leveraged our ACOTA partnership to further advocate for strong GOM support of the MDF. The ultimate success of the MINURCAT deployment now rests on the ability of the Parliament to approve funding for the MDF's critical equipment purchases. The MDF and the new Minister of Defense will push for immediate funding and we will continue to advocate on their behalf, but if the newly-elected Parliament fails to act quickly, the deployment to MINURCAT may be in jeopardy. End Comment. BODDE