Mnangagwa chairs First National Bank of Congo

Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa, who as the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front secretary for administration was in charge of the party’s businesses, was to chair the First National Bank of Congo which had given the ZANU-PF owned First Banking Corporation of Zimbabwe a five-year management contract.

John Mushawara was to manage the bank.

Mnangagwa was the government’s point man in the Democratic Republic of Congo but he told United States embassy officials that he was no longer involved.

The embassy, however doubted this prompting ambassador Tom McDonald to comment: “The tight-lipped Mnangagwa is clearly trying to give us the impression he is no longer deeply involved in the DROC, but his ongoing and ever-growing financial interests there belie that claim.

“Although he may not participate in all the high-level DROC meetings he used to, he still has a paramount interest in maintaining his old contacts.”

Full cable:

Viewing cable 00HARARE5579, MNANGAGWA ON KABILA’S VISIT TO HARARE

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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

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PAGE 01       HARARE 05579 291329Z

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PRM-01   DRL-02   G-00     NFAT-00 SAS-00   SWCI-00   /009W

——————8B92C8 291329Z /38

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7238

INFO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE

NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE

SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

RWANDA COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 005579

SIPDIS

NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR GAYLE SMITH

LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY

PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS

USUN FOR HOLBROOKE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/10

TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS ZI CG

SUBJECT: MNANGAGWA ON KABILA’S VISIT TO HARARE

REFS: A) HARARE 5464, B) HARARE 5137

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PAGE 02       HARARE 05579 291329Z

CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR TOM MCDONALD. REASONS: 1.5 (B) AND (D).

¶1. (C) SUMMARY: AMBASSADOR MCDONALD VISITED SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT

AND DROC INTERLOCUTOR EMMERSON MNANGAGWA SEPTEMBER 29 TO TRY TO GET

A READOUT OF KABILA’S BRIEF HARARE VISIT THE PREVIOUS DAY. ALTHOUGH

MNANGAGWA DID NOT SIT IN ON KABILA’S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT MUGABE

(HE IS TRYING TO “PHASE OUT” HIS OFFICIAL INVOLVEMENT IN THE DROC),

HE LATER SPOKE BY PHONE TO KABILA, AND THE GOVERNOR OF KATANGA, WHO

ACCOMPANIED THE CONGOLESE PRESIDENT. MNANGAGWA ASSERTED THAT KABILA

INTENDED TO ENSURE THAT HE AND HIS PRINCIPAL ALLY STAY ON TRACK VIS-

A-VIS LUSAKA AND AVOID ANY “DRIFT” IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP. WE WILL

DIG DEEPER WITH OTHER INTERLOCUTORS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS TO

DETERMINE WHETHER KABILA SUCCEEDED IN THAT OBJECTIVE. END SUMMARY.

¶2. (C) AMBASSADOR AND POLOFF CALLED ON SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT AND DROC

INTERLOCUTOR EMMERSON MNANGAGWA SEPTEMBER 29 TO OBTAIN A READOUT

OF KABILA’S VISIT WITH PRESIDENT MUGABE THE PREVIOUS DAY. ONCE AGAIN,

MNANGAGWA COYLY STATED THAT HE WAS NO LONGER “OFFICIALLY” INVOLVED

IN DROC MATTERS. THE SPEAKER DID SAY THAT HE SPOKE TO KABILA BY PHONE

AFTER THE MEETING, AND THAT FOREIGN MINISTER MUDENGE, GENERAL

ZVINAVASHE, COMMANDER OF THE ZIMBABWE DEFENSE FORCE, AND THE

GOVERNOR OF KATANGA PARTICIPATED IN THE MEETING. KABILA CAME TO

HARARE AT THE INVITATION OF PRESIDENT MUGABE TO KEEP LUSAKA ON TRACK

AND ENSURE THERE WAS NO “DRIFT” IN THE BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP,

ACCORDING TO MNANGAGWA. THE SPEAKER ALSO SPOKE AT LENGTH BY PHONE

WITH THE KATANGAN GOVERNOR, BUT WOULD NOT DIVULGE THE SUBJECT OF

THAT CONVERSATION.

¶3. (C) WHEN ASKED ABOUT ZIMBABWE’S APPARENT PLANS TO PARTIALLY

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE DROC (REF A), MNANGAGWA SAID THE PLANS FOR

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PAGE 03       HARARE 05579 291329Z

WITHDRAWAL ARE COMPLETE AND HAVE BEEN FOR A WHILE. GENERAL

ZVINAVASHE WAS DUE TO BRIEF HIM LATER IN THE DAY ON THE KABILA MEETING

AND WITHDRAWAL PLANS. MNANGAGWA DID SAY THAT THE NUMBER OF

ZIMBABWEAN TROOPS IN DROC IS ALREADY FEWER THAN THE 11,000 FIGURE

COMMONLY QUOTED IN THE MEDIA, BUT DID NOT PROVIDE HIS OWN FIGURE.

¶4. (C) MNANGAGWA REVEALED THAT HE IS GOING TO LUBUMBASHI WITH

PRESIDENT MUGABE ON OCTOBER 2 TO OPEN THE NEW FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF

CONGO, WHICH HAS GIVEN A FIVE-YEAR MANAGEMENT CONTRACT TO THE FIRST

BANKING CORPORATION OF ZIMBABWE. THE NEW CONGOLESE BANK WILL BE

CHAIRED BY MNANGAGWA AND MANAGED BY JOHN MUSHAWARA, A ZIMBABWEAN

NATIONAL. THE ZIMBABWEAN MANAGEMENT COMPANY WILL TRAIN ENGLISH-

AND FRENCH-SPEAKING CONGOLESE STAFF AND MANAGERS, AND THE BANK WILL

HELP FACILITATE TRADE BETWEEN ZIMBABWE AND THE DROC. MNANGAGWA

ADDED THAT HE HAD NOT YET BEEN TO THE DROC THIS MONTH; AS REPORTED REF

B, HE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT HE WOULD BE TRAVELING THERE A FEW WEEKS AGO.

¶5. (C) COMMENT: THE TIGHT-LIPPED MNANGAGWA IS CLEARLY

TRYING TO GIVE US THE IMPRESSION HE IS NO LONGER DEEPLY

INVOLVED IN THE DROC, BUT HIS ONGOING AND EVER-GROWING

FINANCIAL INTERESTS THERE BELIE THAT CLAIM. ALTHOUGH HE

MAY NOT PARTICIPATE IN ALL THE HIGH-LEVEL DROC MEETINGS

HE USED TO, HE STILL HAS A PARAMOUNT INTEREST IN

MAINTAINING HIS OLD CONTACTS. HIS CONVERSATION WITH THE

KATANGAN GOVERNOR COULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT THE EXTENSIVE

MINING CONCESSIONS MNANGAGWA HAS A STAKE IN THERE, OR IT

COULD HAVE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH A PARTIAL TROOP

WITHDRAWAL, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF HIS PENDING BRIEFING

WITH ZVINAVASHE (MOST OF ZIMBABWE’S TROOPS ARE IN

KATANGA). WE WILL DIG DEEPER WITH OTHER INTERLOCUTORS

OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS TO DETERMINE WHETHER KABILA’S

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PAGE 04       HARARE 05579 291329Z

VISIT WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON ALLAYING ZIMBABWE’S

FRUSTRATION WITH ITS RECALCITRANT ALLY, AND ITS EVENTUAL

WITHDRAWAL. END COMMENT.

MCDONALD

CONFIDENTIAL

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