Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe told United States ambassador James McGhee less than a month after joining the inclusive government that they were dealing with a “crazy” man meaning President Robert Mugabe.
She said although there were challenges it was important to open schools, get health facilities working again and pay civil servants to demonstrate both to ZANU-PF and the voters, the MDC’s ability to get things done.
Khupe said that she, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara needed help to understand how to oversee ministries, how the government worked and assistance in enhancing their own individual capacity to govern.
She said that though she had the right to recommend that ministers be fired and replaced; both she and Mutambara lacked the management experience to help them oversee ministers and fire underperformers.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE168, AMBASSADOR CALLS ON DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER KHUPE
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
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VZCZCXRO7074
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0168/01 0611738
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 021738Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4114
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2666
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2787
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1257
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2055
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2411
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2835
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5263
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1956
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000168
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
DRL FOR N. WILETT
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E. LOKEN AND L. DOBBINS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM KDEM ZI
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR CALLS ON DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER KHUPE
Classified By: Ambassador James D. McGee for reason 1.4(b) and (d).
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SUMMARY
——-
¶1. (C) In a cordial courtesy call in her freshly-painted
office, Ambassador McGee and Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani
Khupe discussed the immediate needs of the new government and
how the U.S. government can assist. DPM Khupe acknowledged
the serious challenges facing government and the forces
within ZANU-PF that are working against its success. She
also admitted that she, the Prime Minister, and Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara all need assistance and guidance in
managing ministries and in such basic public relations issues
as speech development. Khupe expressed her appreciation for
the U.S. government’s humanitarian assistance and
specifically requested further assistance with capacity
building for government, technical assistance within
ministries, conflict resolution training for MDC and ZANU-PF
ministers and deputy ministers, and continued humanitarian
assistance. Ambassador McGee promised to investigate how the
USG can further help. END SUMMARY.
————————————
New Government Needs Deliverables…
———————————–
¶2. (C) Ambassador McGee called on the Deputy Prime Minister
in her freshly-painted and modestly-adorned new office,
housed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a frank and
friendly discussion, Khupe acknowledged the serious
challenges facing government, particularly health, education,
and lack of access to clean water. She expressed concern for
the humanitarian crisis and said the government needs help in
securing deliverable accomplishments to both help the
Zimbabwean people and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the
MDC in governance.
¶3. (C) Noting specific challenges including political
detainees, recent farm invasions, breakdown in the rule of
law, and lack of secure property rights, Khupe glanced at
Mugabe’s photo and indicated they were dealing with a “crazy”
man. She went on to admit that while some in ZANU-PF are
working to derail the new government, some are open minded
and have been shocked with the unity government’s
accomplishments to date. She told the Ambassador that
quickly delivering on opening schools and health facilities
and paying civil servants in foreign currency were vital to
demonstrating–both to ZANU-PF and to the voters–the MDC’s
ability to get things done.
—————–
…But Needs Help
—————–
¶4. (C) Khupe and the Ambassador specifically discussed
several gaps that the USG may be able to fill: technical
assistance to ministries, capacity building, conflict
resolution training, and continued humanitarian assistance.
Khupe understood USG limitations against funding salaries for
government officials and development assistance.
¶5. (C) In terms of technical assistance, Khupe said there
were only a handful of people in each ministry that
understand both how the ministry works and that have the
Qunderstand both how the ministry works and that have the
technical knowledge needed in each sector. She conceded that
some ZANU-PF ministers confessed they hadn’t been doing
anything. The Ambassador responded that while the USG
couldn’t provide salary assistance to civil servants, we
might be able to fund local experts to fill technical
knowledge gaps.
HARARE 00000168 002 OF 002
¶6. (C) Capacity building is another key gap. Khupe said that
she, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and fellow Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara all needed help understanding how
to oversee ministries, how government works, and assistance
enhancing their own individual capacity to govern. Khupe is
responsible for overseeing ministries in the social cluster
(Education, Sport, Art and Culture; Higher and Tertiary
Education; Health and Child Welfare; Public Service; Youth,
Development, Indigenization and Empowerment; and Women’s
Affairs, Gender, and Community Development) and the rights
and interests cluster (Foreign Affairs; Justice and Legal
Affairs; Media, Information, and Publicity; and
Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs). She said she had
the right to recommend that ministers be fired and replaced;
however, she and DPM Mutambara both lacked the management
experience to help them oversee ministers and fire
underperformers.
¶7. (C) Khupe also described conflict resolution training as
an urgent priority. Ministers and deputy ministers alike
would benefit from training that would enable them to work
more effectively together and to diffuse conflicts.
¶8. (C) Khupe acknowledged the U.S.’s lead role in providing
humanitarian assistance. She noted that she would be touring
hospitals and schools in the area later this week to better
familiarize herself with the reality on the ground.
¶9. (C) Ambassador McGee acknowledged these concerns and
promised to meet with Khupe again to identify specific areas
in which the USG can assist.
——-
COMMENT
——-
¶10. (C) Our meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Khupe was a
breath of fresh air. Her ready acknowledgment that she and
other MDC officials are unsure how to govern reflects an
honest self-evaluation one rarely finds in the upper echelons
of government. She is fully committed to doing her best to
make this imperfect arrangement work and to ensure the MDC
remains a credible political party. However, the MDC can
only achieve success with help. Post will investigate means
to provide assistance to humanitarian efforts within the
boundaries of our legal obligations. END COMMENT.
MCGEE
(26 VIEWS)
