The Democratic Republic of Congo’s ambassador to Zimbabwe Mawapanga Mwana Nanga said central bank governor Gideon Gono must have been profiteering from his actions because the things that he was doing did not make sense.
He told United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray that Gono had single-handedly destroyed the value of the national currency because instead of focussing on combating inflation and keeping the national currency strong, his actions had the opposite effect.
He said the DRC had sent its central bank governor to Harare to spend the whole day with Gono but the visit was a total waste because Gono persisted in doing things the way he was going them.
Mawapanga said the only explanation for this that made sense was that Gono was profiting from his actions.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE971, AMBASSADOR RAY’S COURTESY CALL WITH DRC AMBASSADOR
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO7232
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0971/01 3491327
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 151327Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5223
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000971
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR BRIAN WALCH
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR MICHELLE GAVIN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2019
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RAY’S COURTESY CALL WITH DRC AMBASSADOR
TO ZIM
HARARE 00000971 001.2 OF 002
Classified By: AMBASSADOR CHARLES A. RAY FOR REASONS 1.4 B,D
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In an uncharacteristic session of candor,
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ambassador to Zimbabwe
Mawampanga Mwana Nanga was critical of ZANU-PF and indirectly
President Mugabe. The parties here need to spend more time
talking to each other to meet the needs of the people, and
less time focusing on scoring political points. Land reform
here was inevitable, but ZANU-PF has handled it poorly,
distributing land to cronies rather than to the small farmers
who, with help, could revive agricultural production.
ZANU-PF needs to quit using western sanctions as an excuse
not to improve conditions in the country, but the West (U.S.
and EU) need to try and find positive things to focus on to
help the process along. MDC-M (the Mutambara faction of the
Movement for Democratic Change), though small, is the glue
that holds the two main parties together, and both MDC’s are
a stabilizing factor that has helped keep the former ruling
party from breaking apart and destroying the country.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gono has failed in
his duties, and it is the presence of Finance Minister Biti
that has stabilized the economy. Gono should have been
focusing on fighting inflation and keeping the currency
strong, but he did the opposite, which leads one to believe
he must have been profiteering. Mawapanga also acknowledged
that Mugabe had insulted DRC President Kabila when he visited
Harare, but the young Kabila, unlike his father, does not
believe in answering insult with insult. END SUMMARY.
¶2. (C) I met with DRC Ambassador Mawampanga Mwana Nanga on
December 14 at the DRC Embassy. He has been in Harare for
eight years, with his family remaining in the DRC, and he
says that as soon as Kabila is no longer President of the
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) he plans to
lobby to return home. Mawapanga, who served as DRC Finance
Minister before Laurent Kabila’s assassination and was
thought to have a role in designing the financial aspects of
Zimbabwe’s then-military support for the DRC, has been a
thorn in the side of many of the Western ambassadors here,
most notably the U.S. and UK, who have often been accused of
trying to overthrow the Mugabe regime. Surprisingly, during
our meeting he was friendly and in his criticism of Mugabe
and ZANU-PF, uncharacteristically candid and blunt. He said,
for instance, that while he is against sanctions because he
believes they don’t really work, ZANU-PF needs to quit using
them as an excuse not to govern the country properly. As an
example, he said he finds it strange that ZANU-PF will
complain of the crippling effect of sanctions on the one
hand, then spend millions on a large delegation going on a
trip, or claim to have US$10 million for agricultural inputs.
Furthermore, he said, they will distribute this largesse to
cronies rather than the small-holder farmers who could really
revitalize the country’s agricultural production. The West
could help advance the process of reform here if there was
less negative focus and more effort to find positive things.
It is important, he said, to maintain engagement with all
parties.
¶3. (C) Mawapanga said that he cannot understand why ZANU-PF
officials do the things they do. He gave as an example, RBZ
Governor Gideon Gono, who singlehandedly destroyed the value
of the national currency. At one point the DRC had its own
Qof the national currency. At one point the DRC had its own
central bank governor come to Harare and spend an entire day
with Gono. It was pointed out that his role was to combat
inflation and keep the national currency strong, and his
actions were having just the opposite effect. The visit,
Mawapanga said, was a total waste of time as Gono persisted
in explaining why he had to do the things he was doing. The
only thing that made sense, Mawapanga said, is that Gono was
profiting from his actions – in fact, the term he used was
profiteering. The same can be said for many ZANU-PF
ministers who do not seem to have the country’s best
interests at heart. MDC, which has its own problems, most
significantly lack of experience and no apparent plan to
govern, was the best thing that could have happened here.
ZANU-PF was on the point of fracturing and the MDC’s presence
has helped keep the feuding factions somewhat together. The
Mutambara faction of MDC (MDC-M), though small, is really the
glue that holds the whole thing together because it
criticizes the actions of both other members of the coalition
government. Mawapanga believes that in the end, the coalition
will hold together and be instrumental in moving the country
forward.
¶4. (C) No one here seems to be focusing on a post-Mugabe
Zimbabwe, Mawapanga said. Mugabe himself seems to be playing
HARARE 00000971 002.2 OF 002
a waiting game as he attempts to identify a figure in ZANU-PF
who can play a unifying role. I pointed out to him that
whoever that is needs to be able not just to unify the party,
but the country. He agreed that this was the case, but said
Mugabe’s physical frailty and advanced age could make it
impossible for him to identify a successor. In such a case
(either through his death or inability to physically
function) the ZANU-PF factions would go at each other. The
military, he believes, is professional and will tell the
politicians to get their act together and serve whoever comes
out on top. (COMMENT: Mawapanga is probably being a bit
naive himself on this point. No one is sure how the military
will react if there is a threat to their livelihoods or
security. END COMMENT.)
¶5. (C) On a parting note, I mentioned that in South Africa I
had seen television coverage of his president’s visit to
Zimbabwe and it looked to me like Mugabe had been rude to
him. He laughed and said that was nothing compared to the
way the Rwandan president had acted on his own visit to the
DRC, but that the younger Kabila had learned from Mobutu, his
father, and Mugabe, how not to rule. He refuses to answer
insult with insult, instead working to gain respect.
(COMMENT: This was the only time he came close to actually
criticizing Mugabe himself, though his critical comments
about ZANU-PF are indirect pans. END COMMENT.)
¶6. (C) COMMENT: Mawapanga is reported to once have told a
Western ambassador that he was sent here to defend Mugabe
against Western-initiated regime change. Since Kabila’s
visit, his attitude and demeanor has changed significantly.
This is probably the first time he has been so critical of
ZANU-PF to a Western official. While this is not likely to
be reflected in public condemnations of Mugabe and ZANU-PF,
it is an indication perhaps that Zimbabwe’s neighbors are
becoming weary of ZANU-PF and want to see stability on their
borders. END COMMENT.
RAY
(22 VIEWS)
