AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH SOUTH AFRICA'S PERFORMANCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 000225

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2020
TAGS: PGOV SF CVIS EAID KJUS
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH SOUTH AFRICA'S PERFORMANCE
MONITORING MINISTER CHABANE

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Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring
and Evaluation Collins Chabane hosted Ambassador Gips on
January 26 at the Union Buildings. Chabane, who sets goals
and tracks progress for the entire government, has overcome
initial resistance from some government officials and is
beginning to establish preliminary structures for monitoring
ministries across all spheres of government. With a small
staff, the Minister is working to publicize the government's
goals and seeking to make the public aware that the
administration is trying to address South Africa's needs.
Chabane admitted his job is not easy and said "it may be two
to three years before we see any results." Ambassador Gips
relayed to Chabane that the USG is ready to help the Minister
address areas of mutual concern such as education, health,
corruption, police training, and youth programs. Chabane
promised to consult others in the administration and
follow-up with more specific ways the U.S. could help in the
future. End Summary.

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Chabane's Daunting Task
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2. (U) Ambassador Gips, Deputy Chief of Mission La Lime, and
Poloff (notetaker) met with Chabane on January 26 in his
office. As the Minister introduced himself and his aide, he
related that "nothing is well here" because "we are
struggling to make things work." The Minister agreed with
the Ambassador that he has one of the toughest jobs in the
South African Government. Chabane discussed generally how he
views his job and what he is hoping to achieve in the
ministry. He noted he is responsible for creating goals for
every ministry at all levels of government and emphasized,
"We create goals for the ministries, not the other way
around." He said his office, which is fewer than 10
staffers, is trying to change how the entire administration
functions by setting performance goals for the various
ministries. He noted the government must be restructured so
it can deliver and added "we must cut through red tape."



3. (U) Chabane hopes all preliminary structures for
monitoring ministries in the national, provincial, and
municipal governments will be in place within 12 months. He
said, "It may be two to three years before we see any
results." However, he admitted that even this time frame may
be unrealistic and said "sometimes a problem is too big to
point to only one challenge." One challenge he did point to
is the difficulty of convincing government leaders that
monitoring the administration's performance is a good idea.
He noted it had been a struggle to "get everyone onboard"
even though "we are working well now." The national level of
government has bought into the new style of government, but
the provincial and municipal governments have yet to do so
because they lack capacity and are "simply too busy."


4. (U) What the Minister views as most important is the need
for visible government outcomes so the public knows the
administration is trying to better South Africans' lives. He
said that President Jacob Zuma will outline the government's
goals in his State of the Nation address next month so
citizens could assess the impact of services and look at
government achievements. He added, "In this way, the public
Qgovernment achievements. He added, "In this way, the public
can judge us." He conceded that making goals public will
give the opposition political ammunition to use against the
African National Congress (ANC) should Zuma's administration
fail to meet its targets. However, Chabane said he believes
it will be best if everyone knows the goals because it will
help reduce the public's frustration. Ambassador Gips agreed
with Chabane, who said that such transparency is good for a
country with a multiparty democracy.

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Areas of Potential Cooperation
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5. (C) Chabane is open to the idea of increased assistance
from the United States. He said he has met with his

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counterparts from the United Kingdom and France, and he
responded favorably to the idea of meeting with USG officials
with the same portfolio. Chabane said he was unsure whether
he could travel to the United States because he was refused a
visa the last time he applied because of his activities in
the ANC during the party's liberation struggle. He said, "In
the end, I just gave up because it was such a hassle."
Ambassador Gips promised the USG would work to make the
process easier for him the next time he sought to visit the
U.S. (Note: We are following up on this. End Note.)
Chabane said South Africa is most interested in working with
the U.S. on education, health, corruption, police training,
and youth issues.


6. (U) On education, the Minister said the government is
turning its focus to early childhood programs so better
results could be reached sooner. He noted the government
needs to do "the simple things better" by ensuring teachers
and students are in class (which frequently does not happen
now),materials are delivered to all schools, and teachers
receive in-service days and training. He said, "There are
gaps in teachers' knowledge." The Minister argued the
country needs better principals because many are poor
managers. Ambassador Gips mentioned a new partnership
between the University of Johannesburg and Harvard University
that will focus on training for principals. Chabane welcomed
the partnership and lamented the government's decision in the
1990s to eliminate teachers' colleges and merge them with
universities. He said, "Universities can't cope with the
number of students." On health, Chabane said the goals for
performance include increasing life expectancy figures and
addressing mother-to-child health issues -- particularly on
HIV/AIDS.


7. (U) Chabane told the Ambassador that "Zuma wants me to
lead a team on corruption." He is particularly looking to
combat corruption through the Public Services ministry and
the Treasury. He said he finds that even with good
legislation, too many individuals are working the system to
enrich themselves and allegations of corruption are difficult
to prove because often officials are accused merely for
political reasons. He stated, "We should work with you to
identify areas where we can prevent it." Chabane welcomed
the idea of working with the USG on finding partners to
tackle corruption and public governance. (Note: We are
following up on this. End Note.) He said, "We need a forum
to discuss solutions with countries that combat corruption
well."


8. (U) The Minister said the government is worried about
forensic training for police officers. Too often cases go
unsolved or fail in the judicial system because of poor
evidence collection and tracking. Chabane was open to
public-private training to improve forensic training.
Ambassador Gips noted South Africa might benefit from greater
cooperation with USG law enforcement officers. The Deputy
Chief of Mission mentioned how USG police training in South
Africa has gone well so far and how South African law
enforcement officials have successfully taken training at the
International Law Enforcement Agency in Botswana. The
Minister said he would follow through on forensics training.
(Note: We are following up on this. Embassy INL-funded
Senior Law Enforcement Advisor currently is working with
QSenior Law Enforcement Advisor currently is working with
South African Police Service Training Commissioner Kruser on
a forensics gap analysis to determine future training needs.
End Note.)


9. (U) Chabane said he is in charge of youth issues for the
government and recently established a youth development
agency. He said the government is looking for help on youth
issues so the administration can tackle job growth among
young people. The Minister was open to discussing youth
issues in the future with Ambassador Gips, who discussed his
background in helping to establish AmeriCorps, and promised
to reach out to the Embassy after discussing with colleagues
ways of following up. (Note: We have been in subsequent
contact with the Minister's office on this issue and we are
following up on ways forward. The Minister's Director of
Communications said he would email us more information this
week. End Note.) Chabane did not seek assistance on rural
development issues, but did say that it remains a huge
problem for the government because there is no infrastructure
in many rural areas and cities are becoming overcrowded. He
said, "Rural development here is terrible."


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Comment
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10. (C) There are few jobs in South Africa tougher than
being the Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation in the
Presidency, overseeing the entire government, with a small
staff and limited budget. Given the scope of South Africa's
problems, it is not surprising that Chabane is struggling
with this task. However, he recognizes the daunting
responsibilities that come with his position and seems
prepared to conceptualize ways of tackling the country's most
staggering challenges with both government insiders and
outsiders. Ambassador Gips made it clear that the USG stands
ready to help the Minister address areas of mutual concern
such as education, health, corruption, police training, and
youth programs. In his own quiet way, Chabane made it clear
he would be ready for such cooperation and would seek to
follow up on assistance in the future. End Comment.
GIPS