US embassy cable - 04MAPUTO487

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000487 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
DEPT FOR AF/S, INL/AAE AHENRY-PLOTTS 
DOJ FOR OPDAT JSILVERWOOD AND ICITAP EBEINHART 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KJUS, KCOR, EAID, KCRM, MZ 
SUBJECT: ATTORNEY GENERAL SEEKS GREATER SUPPORT TO BUILD 
PROFESSIONALISM 
 
REF: MAPUTO 83 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified -- Not for Internet Distribution 
 
1. (U) Attorney General Joaquim Madeira gathered donor 
country ambassadors on March 26 and appealed for greater 
support to help create more professional and effective 
prosecutors. He reiterated the need for his staff, also 
referred to as the "Ministerio Publico" (MP) or Procuradoria 
Geral (PGR), to have more staff resources, and emphasized the 
need for better training. Following on his annual report to 
parliament March 10, he stressed the obstacles he faces in 
successfully prosecuting corruption. He opening the meeting 
by making comparisons between his situation and international 
counterparts in Panama, South Africa, Guatemala, and 
elsewhere, whose investigations lead them to high-level 
political figures. While acknowledging US support (USAID DA 
funding as well as INL funding), Madeira appealed to the 
donor community to fund further professionalization and an 
increase of his staff resources. 
 
2. (U) In the meeting at the Attorney General's office, 
Madeira and his Assistant Attorneys General were present, as 
well as representatives of ten donor countries, including 
five heads of mission. The AG opened by describing the 
situation when he took office three and half years ago. On 
that occasion, he asked the Danish mission why they had 
chosen the court system for a large-scale assistance program, 
but not considered the AG's office. They replied that the 
donor community would not waste their resources on an office 
noted for apathy, negligence, corruption, and crime. 
Pointing to the progress made during his tenure, and the 
formation of the Anti-Corruption Unit (UAC), he launched an 
appeal for reconsideration as a worthy recipient of 
assistance, alluding to the worldwide emphasis on combating 
corruption. He described this year as a year of 
consolidation for his office and laid out their training 
needs. 
 
3. (U) In the context of thanking the donor community 
(primarily Denmark, but also the US) for their support to the 
Judicial Training Center, he expressed a desire to see 
Mozambican judges continue to receive scholarships for 
completion of law degrees. He noted that almost all 
provincial level judges now have degrees, but that district 
level judges should also all have such qualifications. 
Citing ten candidates from his prosecutors, Madeira appealed 
to donors to fund scholarships for law studies in Maputo, 
Beira, Nampula, and Quelimane, including funding to defray 
financial hardship to the beneficiaries, as well as to 
increased staffing levels required for releasing employees 
for necessary training. Describing the problems resulting 
from the MP's lack of a "training float," he mentioned 
INL-funded participation at ILEA Botswana, which he highly 
values, and the negative effects caused by the absence of 
seven of his staff for six weeks. 
 
4. (U) Madeira also referred to the need to improve 
financial management within the PGR to facilitate management 
of donor funds. This has been a constraint to efficient USG 
support. The Norwegians funded a financial management 
assessment, which USAID is using as the basis to provide 
financial management training, with the goal of making the 
PGR capable of directly managing USG funds within six months 
to facilitate direct implementation of USG support to the 
Anti-Corruption Unit. Achieving this goal will also trigger 
funding from European donor countries. 
 
5. (U) The Anti-Corruption Law passed in November 2003 has 
still not fully been promulgated and implementing regulations 
have not yet been drafted. This lack of full approval by the 
GRM is another constraint to the UAC, as the law formally 
creates the Unit as an independent department within the PGR, 
entitled to its own line item in the budget and an allotment 
of prosecutors. Until now, the Unit has functioned with 
staff on loan from provincial offices and other departments 
and lacks its own dedicated resources. 
 
6. (SBU) After making his appeal for donors to reconsider 
supporting his office, Madeira took questions. In a reply to 
the Spanish Ambassador, he agreed that combating corruption 
is an effort that should be collective and not just the 
domain of one government agency. He used that opportunity to 
criticize the Criminal Investigation Police (PIC) as an 
unreliable partner in the fight and to display some 
impatience with the pace of legal reform. Responding to the 
Dutch Ambassador he directed donors to the English version of 
the UAC's annual report (reftel) for details on the personnel 
issues he raised. The Italian Ambassador inquired if the PGR 
utilized specialized consultants from other government 
agencies or outside the government, prompting the AG to 
describe significant problems created by use of expert South 
African specialists' English-language evidence in previous 
trials. Madeira mentioned interest and offers of specialized 
assistance from Brazl, Italy, Portugal, and Spain for the 
investigation of the Siba-Siba Macuacua murder case and 
reiterated that his goal is to raise the PGR to same standard 
of professionalism as in those countries. In a meeting with 
the World Bank on March 29, he stated that he is very 
interested in this type of support. The Swedish commented 
that the appeal for support was timely, due to the ongoing 
joint review session of donors who provide direct budget 
support to the GRM. 
 
6. (SBU) Comment: Madeira's appeal to the donors comes just 
two weeks after his annual report to the National Assembly, 
during which he emphasized the weaknesses still prevalent in 
his office and reiterated his severe criticism of the PIC, 
citing cases of intentional sabotage of investigations, and 
individuals from the PIC arrogantly extorting bribes from 
those under investigation. Since the PIC is already widely 
considered to be corrupt, headlines focused on his admission 
of insufficient professionalism within the PGR. In 
describing this as a year of consolidation, the AG also 
implied that the political leadership is not going to back 
any dramatic investigations, revelations, or trials, that 
could damage FRELIMO's prospects in this election year, such 
as the long-awaited Siba-Siba case. The USG is the only 
donor providing assistance to the Attorney General, with our 
support of the Anti-Corruption Unit. As the GRM moves 
forward on public sector reform, and post coordinates with 
the British in our approach to the GRM as a pilot country for 
the G-8 Evian Transparency Initiative, it can be hoped that 
other donors respond positively to Madeira's request for more 
support. While dramatic results may not prove forthcoming in 
the short term, post sees the investment in the UAC as an 
important element to achieve our MPP goal of reducing 
corruption in Mozambique. 
Hankins