AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH ZIMBABWE MINISTER OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000050 SIPDIS AF/S FOR BRIAN WALCH NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR MICHELLE GAVIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2020 TAGS: EAGR PREL PGOV PINR ZI SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH ZIMBABWE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE Classified By: AMBASSADOR CHARLES A. RAY FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) During a courtesy call by the Ambassador, Zimbabwe Minister of Agriculture Joseph Made stated that the Global Political Agreement was deadlocked and there would be no movement by ZANU-PF unless sanctions were lifted. Hewing to the ZANU-PF party line, Made touted land reform, denied there had been violence associated with it, and blamed the plight of the agricultural sector on sanctions which he said prevented farmers from accessing credit. He proposed a working-level group be established between the Embassy and the Ministry of Agriculture to strategize about helping small farmers through projects such as irrigation and dam clearance. He also commented that a drought, superimposed on dry conditions, boded poorly for agricultural production this season. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador called on ZANU-PF Minister of Agriculture Made at the Ministry on January 25. Made was accompanied by his permanent secretary and a notetaker. In contrast to other meetings with ZANU-PF ministers, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not present. ¶3. (C) Acknowledging none of the problems generally associated with land reform in Zimbabwe, including violence and radical declines in production, Made told the Ambassador that restoration of land and the right to vote were the cornerstones of the liberation struggle. When the Ambassador stated that the U.S., as a matter of policy, did not object to land reform but was concerned with violence and lack of due process, Made countered there had been no violence related to land reform. Perhaps there had been 10 or so deaths because of hooliganism, but this was nothing compared to the over 4,000 deaths (with more to come) in South Africa associated with land reform in that country. Made added that all Zimbabwean farmers whose land had been acquired as part of the land reform process had contested the loss of their lands in court and had lost. ¶4. (C) The Ambassador asked whether a land audit would be carried out as stipulated in the Global Political Agreement (GPA). Made replied there would be no audit until sanctions were lifted. Sanctions were responsible for reduced supplies of electricity which in turn made irrigation difficult and curtailed fertilizer production. With agricultural production consequently reduced, it was impossible to determine the productivity of land, a determination which would be necessary in a land audit. ¶5. (C) Made asserted that sanctions (read ZDERA) were responsible for the state of the agricultural sector since they made lines of credit unavailable. We pointed out the IMF had ceased lending to Zimbabwe before the passage of ZDERA; Made responded that the IMF's actions were part of a coordinated process leading to ZDERA. He added that private lenders had refused to become involved in Zimbabwe because of sanctions. Made singled out sanctions on Agribank as Qsanctions. Made singled out sanctions on Agribank as particularly harmful since this was the bank that customarily made loans to peasant farmers. ¶6. (C) Claiming that he was a "chief strategist" for ZANU-PF, Made said GPA negotiations were deadlocked and there would be no ZANU-PF movement until sanctions were lifted. (NOTE: Made clarified that those sanctions which would have to be lifted were sanctions on parastatals and ZDERA. The parastatal sanctions would have to be removed en masse. END NOTE.) He maintained that the MDC and UK had asked for sanctions to be imposed; ZANU-PF was now happy that the UK had admitted that it was up to the MDC to request that HARARE 00000050 002 OF 003 sanctions be lifted. (NOTE: Newspapers here last week quoted British Foreign Secretary David Miliband as telling the House of Commons with respect to the lifting of sanctions that "...we have to calibrate our response to the progress on the ground, and, above all, to be guided by what the MDC says to us about the conditions under which it is working and leading the country." The UK Embassy in Harare tried to walk back Miliband's comment in a statement issued over the weekend which said the UK would respond to change and reform on the ground. Nevertheless, the ZANU-PF propaganda machine is claiming that Miliband has proved that the MDC has the power to end sanctions. END NOTE.) Made said he did not understand why the U.S. had imposed sanctions, that Zimbabwe's argument was not with the U.S., but with the UK; it was a battle between kith and kin. ZANU-PF was in the right and for this reason had the support of the AU and SADC. ¶7. (C) Made said he was aware that Minister of Finance Tendai Biti had called for the lifting of sanctions on some parastatals. He called Biti a strong person who had been under a lot of pressure, and who had broken with his party on the sanctions issue. ¶8. (C) Made acknowledged that despite sanctions, the U.S. continued to do business with Zimbabwe. Numerous John Deere and Case tractors and irrigation combines were in use, although without credit it was impossible for Zimbabwe to buy as many as they would like because they must pay cash for them. ¶9. (C) Turning to agricultural assistance, Made stated that NGO assistance was supplanting the private sector; this was not the way to do business. He expressed concern that some NGOs were partisan in their distribution of food and inputs. Nevertheless, he had no plans at this time to deny NGOs the ability to operate. ¶10. (C) Made stated that Zimbabwe was suffering from a mid-season drought. Such droughts usually occurred for two to three weeks; this year it followed a moisture deficit which had made planting impossible. The Ministry was about to begin a first crop assessment. Made said he was aware that USAID had satellite information on the crop situation, but because of land reform clashes, USAID was reluctant to cooperate and exchange information with the Ministry. He hoped that improving relations would allow for such cooperation. (NOTE: While USAID has participated in crop assessments that have included the GOZ, it has not shared USDA satellite information because of the lack of a relationship with the Ministry. END NOTE.) ¶11. (C) Made said that personal sanctions had precluded him from traveling to DC and European capitals to discuss agricultural policy with his counterparts. He suggested, however, that the Embassy and the Ministry put together technical teams at the working level to strategize about assistance to small farmers in areas such as irrigation and desilting dams. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶12. (C) The meeting was cordial, at times friendly, and Made Q12. (C) The meeting was cordial, at times friendly, and Made clearly relished the opportunity to meet with the U.S. Ambassador. It is impossible to know whether ZANU-PF stalwarts believe what they're saying, particularly in the case of an individual like Made who received his education in the U.S. and should know better. Regardless, in his conversation with the Ambassador, Made was clearly spouting the ZANU-PF party line. ¶13. (C) Made is close to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. He ran for a seat from Manicaland in the March 2008 HARARE 00000050 003 OF 003 parliamentary elections and was defeated. Mugabe subsequently appointed him to the Senate. Based on his performance as the Minister of Agriculture and previously as the Minister of Agriculture Mechanization (since merged with the Ministry of Agriculture) over the last several years, he is widely regarded as incompetent. END COMMENT. ¶14. BIO NOTE: Made received his B.A., M.A., and PhD from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His thesis was on land reform in Nicaragua and Zimbabwe. He has also done research on China. Made's wife is from Florida. His son was sentenced in Texas last year to five years in prison for tax fraud. END BIO NOTE. RAY