DRC ambassador says Gono is profiteering

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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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

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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000971

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AF/S FOR BRIAN WALCH

NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR MICHELLE GAVIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2019

TAGS: PREL PGOV ZI CG

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

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