Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09LUANDA197
2009-03-29 09:22:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Luanda
Cable title:  

ANGOLA'S FORGOTTEN ZAIRE PROVINCE: HOPING TO MAKE

Tags:  EIND EPET PGOV AO 
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P 290922Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5400
INFO SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS LUANDA 000197 


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EIND EPET PGOV AO
SUBJECT: ANGOLA'S FORGOTTEN ZAIRE PROVINCE: HOPING TO MAKE
TOMORROW BETTER THAN TODAY

REF: A. STATE 0410

B. STATE 1271

C. STATE 0527


UNCLAS LUANDA 000197


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EIND EPET PGOV AO
SUBJECT: ANGOLA'S FORGOTTEN ZAIRE PROVINCE: HOPING TO MAKE
TOMORROW BETTER THAN TODAY

REF: A. STATE 0410

B. STATE 1271

C. STATE 0527



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Ambassador's recent visit to Zaire
Province revealed a forgotten, isolated province that so far
has been largely by-passed by Angola's economic
reconnaissance. The wretched state of the province was
evidenced by the obvious poverty of the villages and their
inhabitants and the miserable condition of the "highway,"
linking Soyo, the province's largest city and economic hub,
to Luanda (the 280 mile one-way trip took over 20 grueling
hours spread over two days, a trip that was repeated for the
return to Luanda.) Soyo itself, however, was a ray of hope
as construction of a massive liquified natural gas (LNG)
plant by the American firm Bechtel continues, creating
thousands of desperately needed jobs. End Summary.

ZAIRE, THE FORGOTTEN PROVINCE
--------------


2. (U) Angola's Zaire Province in the country's northwest
corner on the Congo River was ravished during both the
country's independence struggle, beginning in 1961, and the
subsequent civil war, which continued until 2002. The
devastation is manifest in the trail of destroyed bridges and
buildings, abandoned plantation farms, mine fields, large
swathes of depopulated countryside, and wretched villages
whose inhabitants were thin and poorly clothed. The
bone-jarring two-day, 20 hour, 280 mile overland trip from
Luanda to Soyo, the Province's largest city and economic hub,
explained the Province's isolation. Ironically, when asked
what has been the biggest change in the Province since the
2002 end of war, Governor Gen.(R) Pedro Sebastiao responded,
"Improved roads," adding that until recently land
communications among the province's six municipalities
(districts) were impossible because of land mines and
destroyed bridges.

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
--------------


3. (SBU) The GRA's decision to locate the Angola LNG plant in
Soyo, although other locations might have been more suitable
from a technical perspective, reflects Luanda's efforts to
bring greater prosperity to the province and to improve
relations with an area that during the civil war had long
sided with opposition elements. The LNG project offers Zaire
Province the prospect of a brighter future, featuring more
jobs, development of a service industry, and expanded

economic activity. Soyo is the province's largest city with
a population of 70,000 compared to Mbanza Congo, the region's
even more isolated capital, which has 50,000 inhabitants.


4. (SBU) Bechtel Corporation, the American company
spearheading the plant's construction, will eventually expand
the workforce from the current 2500 to more than 7000 as
construction accelerates. About 4000 of these employees will
be Angolan. Bechtel is committed to hiring as many local
employees as possible, but is challenged by the reality that
many locals lack the basic education, i.e., the ability to
read and write, needed to work on the project. The
construction project should conclude by 2012; once the plant
is fully operational, a staff of about 350 employees will run
the highly-sophisticated plant. When queried about the fate
of local construction workers after plant construction is
finished, the Governor responded that the government intends
to use them to build LNG-associated industries, such as a
fertilizer plant and power generation facility. Angola LNG
and Bechtel have good relations with the local community.
The area's most prominent traditional leader, Rei do Povo
(King of the People),told the Ambassador that he and the
people appreciate the jobs that the plant's construction is
creating. Similarly, Governor Sebastiao exclaimed to the
Ambassador that the plant would be the engine that will drive
the province's growth and development. Angola LNG and
Bechtel both reach out to the local community by giving tours
of the construction site, explaining steps to mitigate the
plant's environmental impact, and contributing to local
development through volunteer work and other contributions.


5. (SBU) The USG, too, is contributing to Zaire Province's
growth, particularly in helping the battle against malaria,
which decimates the province's population, especially the
children. The Ambassador visited a project funded by the
President's Malaria Initiative through the Danish
organization ADPP. Interestingly, ADPP's local coordinator
for the project is Lina Fu, a Chinese national from the Macau
area. When the Ambassador commented on the international
dynamic of a Chinese national working with a Danish NGO to
implement a U.S.-funded malaria project, Ms. Fu reflected on
the changing times, adding that she wants to show that
Chinese can do more than just construction projects in Angola.


A SIMILAR JOB-CREATION CHALLENGE IN BENGO
--------------


6. (SBU) On the return leg of his trip, the Ambassador
visited the Italian oil services and logistics company
Petromar in Ambriz, a small port town in Bengo Province just
across the border from Zaire Province. Petromar is
rebuilding a logistics base that had been completely
destroyed during the war. Petromar, like Angola LNG and
Bechtel, seeks to utilize mostly Angolans to run its
operations, but also is challenged to find locals who meet
the basic employment requirements, such as being able to read
and write. Nonetheless, the company has identified some
qualified locals, and is training them to be welders and
pipe-fitters, two of the most needed skills. Petromar
officials opined that in the end many of the 600 employees
needed to run the facility will need to come from other parts
of Angola.

COMMENT
--------------


7. (SBU) The Angola LNG plant is a big shot-in-the-arm for
impoverished Zaire Province. The plant's construction,
estimated to cost nearly $8 billion, will leave behind a
local pool of skilled workers. The challenge will be for the
government and the private sector to generate follow-on
projects to keep and expand that body of skilled workers in
the Soyo area. Otherwise, the workers will leave for
opportunities elsewhere in Angola, thus depriving the region
of the skilled manpower it needs to sustain growth. Also, if
Zaire Province is to end its isolation, the government must
build a highway to connect the province to the rest of the
country. In light of the region's sandy soil, steep hills
and heavy rains, such a highway will be difficult and
expensive to build, given the need for a solid roadbed and
extensive drainage. Current indications are that the Chinese
intend to slap down a layer of tar over the existing roadway,
a "solution" that would not survive even a single rainy
season. End Comment.


MOZENA