History of ANC and ZANU-PF not as close as people think

The history between the African National Congress of South Africa and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front was not as close as people think, South Africa’s High Commission to Zimbabwe Zola Skweyiya said.

While welcoming establishment of the media, elections, and human rights commissions, he said the commission leaders would be critical for progress.

He said South Africa would continue to push for resolution of the other outstanding issues: appointment of the MDC governors; swearing-in of Deputy Minister of Agriculture-designate Roy Bennett, the appointment in violation of the GPA of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana.

He concluded that UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband’s statements in Parliament that sanctions would be lifted when Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai requested were unhelpful.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 10LONDON361, AF DAS PAGE’S FEBRUARY 9 COURTESY CALLS ON

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VZCZCXYZ0009

PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLO #0361/01 0481200

ZNY CCCCC ZZH

P 171200Z FEB 10

FM AMEMBASSY LONDON

TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4984

INFO RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY 0014

RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 0768

RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA PRIORITY 0001

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C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 000361

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/FO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2020

TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID KE SF NI ZI ET UK

SUBJECT: AF DAS PAGE’S FEBRUARY 9 COURTESY CALLS ON

UK-BASED AFRICAN AMBASSADORS

Classified By: Political Counselor Robin Quinville,

reasons 1.4 (b/d).

¶1. (C) Summary. AF DAS Susan Page paid courtesy calls on

February 9 on Kenyan High Commissioner Ephram Waweru Ngare,

South African High Commissioner Dr. Zola Skweyiya, Nigerian

High Commissioner Dr. Dalhatu Tafida, Zimbabwean Ambassador

Gabriel Mharadze Machinga, and Ethiopian Ambassador Berhanu

Kebede, all appointed to the Court of St. James’s. The

African envoys greatly appreciated DAS Page’s outreach to

them as senior diplomats for their governments and took the

opportunity to brief on the political and economic situations

in their respective countries. End summary.

Kenya

—–

¶2. (C) Kenya High Commissioner Ephram Waweru Ngare painted an

optimistic picture of Kenya’s progress on the reform agenda,

asserting that the referendum on the constitution would take

place in April for an August adoption of the new governing

document. He acknowledged the domestic progress that needs

to take place before the next general elections and described

Somalia as a very serious threat to Kenya’s security.

Describing Eritrea as a major spoiler in the region, he

pledged the Kenyan government’s full support for the USG’s

counter-terrorism initiatives in the region.

South Africa

————

¶3. (C) South African High Commissioner Dr. Zola Skweyiya

raised Zimbabwe, noting that the history between the ANC and

ZANU-PF makes the parties “not as close as people think.”

While welcoming establishment of the media, elections, and

human rights commissions, he said the commission leaders will

be critical for progress. He said South Africa will continue

to push for resolution of the other outstanding issues:

appointment of the MDC governors; swearing-in of Deputy

Minister of Agriculture-designate Roy Bennett, the

appointment in violation of the GPA of Reserve Bank of

Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General

Johannes Tomana. He concluded that UK Foreign Secretary

David Miliband’s statements in Parliament that sanctions

would be lifted when Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai

requested were unhelpful. On bilateral issues, he took on

board the USG’s desire to see the South Africa-U.S.

Binational Commission up and running productively as soon as

possible. He noted that he and his staff are focused on the

upcoming March 2010 state visit of President Zuma to the UK.

Nigeria

——-

¶4. (C) Nigerian High Commissioner Dr. Dalhatu Tafida, flanked

by a host of political counselors, called attention to the

effective manner in which the Government of Nigeria dealt

with the violence in Jos and conducted credible elections in

Anambra state. He noted the GON’s concern about its recent

listing as a “country of interest” by the Transportation

Security Administration without consultation. His political

counselors raised issues related to investment in Nigeria,

follow-through on the Glen Eagles and G-20 commitments for

the developing world, post-Copenhagen climate change

follow-up, and USG policy on Western Sahara.

Zimbabwe

——–

¶5. (C) Former IVLP exchange participant, Zimbabwean

Ambassador Gabriel Mharadze Machinga, listed the

accomplishments of the Zimbabwean government under the

framework of the Global Peace Agreement (GPA) and argued that

the progress merited relief on sanctions, noting that the

listing of many of the parastatals limited the support and

services available to average Zimbabweans. Calling for a

more “positive approach,” he suggested a return to the “good

old days” of the bilateral relationship and encouraged the

USG to treat all three parties in the GPA equally.

Ethiopia

——–

¶6. (C) Offering an impressive assessment of the security,

political, and economic situations in the region, Ethiopian

Ambassador Berhanu Kebede said that Somalia and Eritrea are

Ethiopia’s top priorities in the region; Eritrea continues to

play a spoiler role through the region, especially in

Somalia; and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in

Somalia needs significantly more international support to

deliver on security, humanitarian issues, and economic

development. He said Ethiopia’s upcoming elections “will be

completely different than 2005″ because the ruling party is

committed to a fair contest and all parties have signed up to

the code of conduct, which was developed by an international

organization. He also provided a robust defense to the Civil

Society Law, arguing the importance of governance and human

rights organizations being home grown and domestically funded.

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