CAUTIOUS HOPES FOR ZUMA AMONG SOME SOUTH AFRICAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 001614

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KIRF SA KJUS KDEM SF
SUBJECT: CAUTIOUS HOPES FOR ZUMA AMONG SOME SOUTH AFRICAN
NGOS

PRETORIA 00001614 001.2 OF 003


--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) South African civil society groups are cautiously
optimistic about President Jacob Zuma, believing his promises
of openness and meaningful dialogue will improve their
working environment. Under former President Thabo Mbeki,
many groups felt isolated from leadership and shut out from
meaningful work. With the country grappling with tough
issues like xenophobic attacks, poverty, inadequate health
care, and crime, NGO sources felt the need was urgent to
engage the state and strengthen its advocacy. Poloff met
with a small sample of civil society organizations to
understand how their roles may evolve under the new
administration. These organizations were chosen to reflect
some of the most pressing issues in South Africa and the role
civil society would undertake to improve current conditions.
End Summary.

--------------
A A Look at Select NGOS in South Africa
--------------


2. (SBU) AfriForum Youth, the pro-Afrikaner civil rights
group, respected Zuma personally but was cautiously waiting
for him to act on his campaign promises. Secretary General
Ebert Grobler said, "Zuma can have the best or worst
administration ... It is too early to judge." Funded by
members rather than the SAG, AfriForum Youth was unconcerned
about financial support from the Zuma administration.
AfriForum has over 1,000 members with membership costs
ranging from $5 to $11. The group was lobbying for a shift
in affirmative action policy. AfriForum felt the policy's
current focus solely on race (people of color),was unfair to
other ethnic groups from lower socioeconmic backgrounds.
AfriForum is advocating for a new policy based on
socioeconomic status alone. Grobler was hopeful that under
Zuma's leadership the SAG would soon undertake such changes.


3. (SBU) Human Rights Watch is an independent organization
focused on defending and protecting human rights. Some of
their direct action is specifically geared toward
investigation of human rights abuse and presenting these
reports to government and policy makers. The group indicated
that fundraising can be problematic at times, but is
extremely grateful for the help from American-based
foundations. The operating budget of Human Rights Watch
specifically geared to Africa is $5,532,631, 75 percent of
which comes from individual donors. Senior Researcher Tiseke
Kasambala reiterates a common theme heard from other
groups... that Zuma is more open in terms of policy
implementation and is very aware of past human rights issues
and those that are currently surfacing. She indicated that
Zuma is more flexible and open to meeting with Human Rights
Watch than Mbeki was. Kasambala indicated that she could
call government on the phone as a representative from Human
Rights Watch and "be sure to get an answer." She also said
that if she did not get an answer immediately, government
would call back, which shows the leverage of the
organization. The group is very hopeful of their mission in
South Africa. Kasambala said, "There are so many issues for
our organization to deal with and funding is another barrier
to our progress, but we are heavily depending on our partners
to help us continue our mission."


4. (SBU) Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition is comprised of three
Q4. (SBU) Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition is comprised of three
hundred civic groups that are currently organized under five
committees: Information, Advocacy, Youth, Human Rights and
Peace Building in Zimbabwe. The total operating budget of
the organization is $190,840. Eleanor Sisulu, director of
the organization and daughter-in-law to legendary ANC leader
Walter Sisulu, indicated that her organization was able to
raise awareness and make the government conscious of issues
surrounding Zimbabwe. However, she noted, "The organization
is still trying to assess the direction of the government
under Zuma." She admits that on foreign policy engagement,
it will not be easy because this sector of government is
still stuck in old Mbeki policies. Sisulu expects her
organization to continue thriving under the current political
conditions. She has indicated that most civil society
organizations need to be more articulate in their engagement
and need fresh approaches to lobbying the state.

PRETORIA 00001614 002.2 OF 003




5. (SBU) The South African Liaison Office (SALO) is an
international liaison, dialogue and research organization
most active on building consensus around South African and
international response to the situations in Zimbabwe and
Swaziland. Its roots lie with student and other activists
who saw a need for steering government to support democracy
in Zimbabwe by creating linkages between former Zimbabwean
opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leaders
and their counterparts in the ANC and South African
Government (SAG). Lucian Segami, a member of the ANC's
International Relations committee and manager of SALO, said
civil society had access to the SAG through people like him,
who were also active members of the ANC. He believes that
civil society's influence on government policy is likely to
increase under Zuma for several reasons. Segami thinks the
new SAG is more sensitive to public opinion than Mbeki was
and more interested in internal democracy within the ANC. He
said, "Definitely government will listen to civil society."
According to Segami, the ANC is currently implementing a
mechanism for branch level input on policy issues. He added
that the ANC itself, as well as its alliance partners, the
South African Communist Party and Congress of South African
Trade Unions, which both sympathize with the MDC, will have a
much more influential role under Zuma. Segami believes the
SAG will be receptive to MDC input on South Africa's role and
policies towards Zimbabwe.


6. (SBU) Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) --
which has often been accused of being too pro-American -- is
driven by several programs that include Community and Citizen
Empowerment, Economic Governance, Governance and Aids and
Initiative for Leadership and Democracy in Africa. IDASA's
operating budget is $9,659,421 and about 90 percent of this
budget comes from international donors (including the United
States). Yvette Geyer, acting director of IDASA, is very
hopeful regarding the leadership of President Zuma. She
indicated that her organization rarely disagrees with
policies implemented by government. Instead, she claimed
that their role is to effectively communicate to the public
the governments, rationale on specific issues. To do this,
Geyer said, they work with the South African Government by
publishing press statements and holding meetings in local
municipalities. Through this, she said, "We have been able
to influence government on foreign policy, as well as
facilitate a political discussion with leaders from the ANC."
Geyer noted that IDASA is one of the few civil society
groups granted access to the government.


7. (SBU) South Africa Cares for Life is a NGO that supports
women, children and families affected by unplanned
pregnancies, abortion, dire poverty, HIV and AIDs. Their
current operating budget is $273,463. South Africa Cares for
Life indicated that it is too early to truly understand the
direction the Zuma administration will take. However, the
organization did say that Zuma made a visit, out of courtesy,
to one of its facilities before his election. (Note: South
Africa Cares for Life officials say when Zuma visited the
facility, he held "as many babies as he could" because he was
so intrigued by the group's work. End Note.) Managing
Qso intrigued by the group's work. End Note.) Managing
Director Rieke Van Der Berg indicated that she is inspired by
SA Cares for Life's mission. She credits this optimism to
her organization's spiritual background and calling to render
this form of service to the South African community. Van Der
Berg said, "As far as government support is concerned, most
of our work does not rely on government intervention but
rests heavily with committed individuals willing to make a
difference."


8. (SBU) Treatment Action Campaign (TAC),which was one of
the most marginalized groups under the Mbeki administration,
is a consortium of community health advocates. The driving
force behind their direct action is rooted in awareness
campaigns and in researching health related issues. The
operating budget for TAC is $5,087,527. Over 80% of funding
comes from 14 international donors. TAC indicated that the
new government at least acknowledges health disparities
whereas under the Mbeki administration, there was a sense of
denial in government due to the fact that there was a
self-serving and closed-minded health minister in office,
said Mokhunda. TAC challenged many policies under the Mbeki
administration. Mbeki refused to meet with TAC. However,
Zuma is showing signs of greater flexibility and a desire to

PRETORIA 00001614 003.2 OF 003


be accessible. Zuma has accepted the fact that HIV can be
minimized through treatment, and the ANC has made a
commitment to fighting HIV. Neo Mokhunda, representative
from TAC, is very hopeful about the future of TAC,s mission.
This hopefulness is credited to the national commitment from
government, its acknowledgment of serious health issues and
its desire to remove health deficiencies with the
availability of funding. TAC will continue to monitor
government implementation.

--------------
Comment
--------------


9. (SBU) Zuma is closely approaching the 100 day mark in
office. He is making it a personal mission to visit
different communities and thank them for their support during
the election. From a civil society perspective, Zuma must do
more than thank them with his words, but also with his
tangible actions that bring results. According to Civil
Society, these results include being more action-driven
around civil rights, human rights, health care and improving
the quality of life for the citizens of South Africa. Most
groups feel that it is too early to label Zuma as an ideal
leader, but they are remaining optimistic in their mission to
build a better South Africa regardless of difficult issues,
limited funding and support from government. Only time will
tell how Zuma treats civil society over the long term --
particularly when groups criticize him -- but his creating
space for dialogue is an important first step to regaining
the trust lost under Mbeki.
LA LIME