UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LUSAKA 000667

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

PASS TO USAID AND STATE FOR AF/S

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID ZA
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S VISIT TO ZAMBIA'S NORTHERN PROVINCE

REF: A. LUSAKA 583

B. LUSAKA 471

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Ambassador received an outpouring of local
appreciation for the USG's efforts to support provincial
sanitation, health, and poverty reduction projects during his
September 21-24 visit to Northern Province. He noted that
USG assistance there is serving as a catalyst to improve
local health and sanitation conditions. He also observed
many challenges to local economic development, including
insufficient capacity to tap natural resources, substandard
infrastructure, and inefficient farming methods.
Ambassador's visit to the provincial capital, Kasama,
coincided with Vice President George Kunda appearance in town
before a key October parliamentary MP by-election.
Ambassador's visit generated substantial goodwill for the
United States and highlighted the USG's positive impact on
local development. END SUMMARY.

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AMBASSADOR'S PROVINCIAL TOUR
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2. (U) Ambassador presided over the launch of the School
Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) and Quality Education
Project at Sabwa Basic School in Mpika during his September
21-24 visit to Northern Province. He attended a ceremony at
Chibansa Rural Health Center in Mpika marking the end of a
bilateral Health Communications Partnership (HCP) Program.
He also toured Our Lady of Hope (OLH) Hospital in Chilonga
and Community Recreation Center at the Zambia College of
Agriculture in Mpika, two other recipients of USG assistance.
Ambassador discussed local development initiatives with the
district commissioners of Kasama, John Chanda, and of Mpika,
John Chinyanta, and gleaned insights from Peace Corps
volunteers (PCVs) working in Serenje and Kasama districts.
Ambassador ended his trip with a brief visit to Chengelo
School in Mkushi, Central Province, where he hosted a
roundtable discussion with high school students and faculty.

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USG ASSISTANCE WELL RECEIVED
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3. (U) Ambassador noted that USG assistance to the remote
Northern Province is serving as a catalyst to improve local
health and sanitation conditions. Deputy Education Minister
Clement Sinyinda and Ambassador highlighted the Septemb

er 23
launch of the WASH and Quality Education Project at Sabwa
Basic School. The school is one of many in the province that
will benefit from a three-year USG and Ministry of Education
initiative to construct or refurbish school latrines and
water wells; train educators on hygiene practices; provide
teaching materials; promote behavioral change in schools and
surrounding communities; and mobilize communities to support
additional water and sanitation projects. The project will
ultimately benefit 240,000 students in 800 schools throughout
Northern Province by 2012. Deputy Minister Sinyinda and
school administrators thanked the USG for its assistance
funding this project.


4. (U) Ambassador attended a September 23 ceremony at
Chibansa Rural Health Center marking the end of the Health
Communications Partnership (HCP) Program. The five-year
USAID-Ministry of Health partnership mobilized communities to
improve local health conditions, promote positive hygenic
behaviors, and produce communication materials in support of
community health priorities. The HCP's "Theatre for Life"
training educated performing groups to use drama and
discussions to promote community involvement on key health
and social issues such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, child health,
community apathy, and conflict resolution. HCP helped the
Chibansa community reduce its high maternal death rate by
mobilizing local resources to construct a maternity wing and
latrine at the health center. Health center officials
thanked the USG for its assistance, and a drama group
demonstrated how the local community planned to continue its
outreach efforts in the absence of USG funding.


5. (U) OLH Hospital Director Dr. Nsumpi Kanemesha told
Ambassador during his September 21 visit that the hospital
appreciated the USG's financial support for its
Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) Program. He noted that the
PEPFAR-funded program served 712 patients in Mpika, Northern
Province's largest district. Kanemesha said that the
hospital's quality care attracted patients from throughout

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northern Zambia and that the hospital deployed mobile patient
units to attend patients in rural areas. He said that
USG-sponsored programs such as ART had positive impacts on
local communities by raising awareness of sanitary practices
and encouraging more people to seek HIV/AIDS testing and
treatment. Zambian College of Agriculture Community
Recreation Center (CRC) Director Leonard Mulenga thanked the
USG September 23 for funding the construction of the CRC
building and purchasing equipment for the center. Mulenga
said that the CRC provided local youths with extracurricular
activities and training opportunities. During his September
24 meeting with students and faculty at Changelo School, one
of Zambia's premier high schools, Ambassador discussed
President Obama's September 8 education speech and
educational opportunities in the United States to promote the
Embassy's education outreach program.


6. (U) Kasama District Commissioner John Chanda and Mpika
District Commissioner John Chinyanta thanked the USG
September 22 for its support in the areas of sanitation,
health, and poverty reduction. They said that local
residents increasingly responded to efforts to prevent
HIV/AIDS and malaria through awareness campaigns such as
dramas and community radio programs, as well as by promoting
hygienic practices, spraying, and using mosquito nets.

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CHALLENGES TO LOCAL DEVELOPMENT
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7. (SBU) Ambassador observed many challenges to local
economic development, including insufficient capacity to tap
natural resources, substandard infrastructure, and
inefficient farming methods -- particularly slash-and-burn
farming. Chanda and Chinyanta told Ambassador that the
province sought to diversify its economy by promoting
agriculture, small-scale mining, and tourism. They said that
the GRZ established a farm bloc near Mpika to promote
agricultural development. However, they stated that the
province lacked key infrastructure, including storage dams
and micro-dams, and an irrigation program to utilize the
province's significant water resources. Chanda and Chinyanta
said the provine lacked programs to exploit its potential
minera wealth. They further noted that the province's"Northern Circuit" tourism initiative was well undrway and
included building resorts and an airpor at Kasaba Bay on
Lake Tanganika; constructing rads in the northern reaches of
the province; openng the military air base in Mbala to
civilian aicraft; and refurbishing Kasama's airport. Chanda
also said that Kasama's airport terminal refurbishment was
completed this year and that commercial flights to Kasama
would resume once the tarmac was paved in 2010. Despite
these development efforts, Ambassador observed during his
visit that the major highway and railway passing through the
province were in poor condition and in desperate need of
maintenance.


8. (SBU) Ambassador gleaned insights from PCVs serving in
Serenje and Kasama districts. PCVs working in rural villages
told Ambassador September 21 and 23 that GRZ officials had
limited contact with villagers and that the villagers were
generally apolitical. They said that perceptions of American
culture and the USG in rural areas were positive but
generally limited to awareness of President Obama, U.S.
action movie stars, and the PCVs themselves. They stated
that rural residents were primarily preoccupied with crop
cultivating, aquaculture, and beekeeping -- although they
were aware of macroeconomic issues that affected them such as
the global financial crisis. Although PCVs worked closely
with villagers to improve productivity -- including teaching
alternative methods to slash-and-burn farming -- they
indicated that many villagers remained opposed to change or
risk-averse. PCVs observed that rural alcoholism was rampant
as a result of homebrew beer parties villagers threw to earn
extra income but that no rural programs existed to treat
alcoholism. They confirmed that alcoholism is a significant
factor behind the risky behaviors that are driving the
HIV/AIDS pandemic.

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VEEP VISITS BEFORE BY-ELECTION
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9. (SBU) Ambassador's September 22 visit to Kasama coincided
with Vice President George Kunda's appearance in town before
the October 15 member of parliament (MP) by-election -- a key
race that could prove a harbinger of the region's political
mood. Former Patriotic Front (PF) MP Saviour Chishimba
vacated his seat July 27 when he left the PF to launch his
own political party. Kunda visited Kasama to participate

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obstensibly in the annual "Ukusefya Pan'gwena" Bemba
festival. However, he also met with the Provincial Minister
and other key provincial political leaders. Chanda,
Chinyanta and some PCVs indicated that PF candidate Geoffrey
Bwalya Mwamba was favored to win. Nevertheless, the Movement
for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) could mount an electoral
challenge should it employ tactics it used to win the
Chitambo by-elections -- buying votes, misusing government
vehicles, and distributing free food and clothing -- or
benefits from the August 17 acquittal of former president
Frederick Chiluba (ref A). Chinyanta noted that this
by-election would not be a test of the PF-United Party for
National Development (UPND) alliance because the UPND lacks
political support in the north (ref B).

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COMMENT
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10. (SBU) Ambassador's visit generated substantial goodwill
for the United States and highlighted the USG's positive
impact on local development. The strong outpouring of
appreciation for USG assistance in Northern Province
indicated that our engagement is paying dividends in goodwill
at a local level. Provincial leadership and residents alike
credited the USG for improving sanitation and health
conditions in the area and increasing awareness of these
issues. END COMMENT.
BOOTH