US embassy cable - 05MAPUTO682

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MAPUTO 000682 
 
SIPDIS 
PASS TO PM/WRA DNETLAND AND PPOPE 
AF/S - HTREGER 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT, EAID, KHDP, MARR, MOPS, PREL, MZ, MAS 
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: UPDATE ON USG HUMANITARIAN DEMINING 
ASSISTANCE 
 
Summary 
------- 
1. PM/WRA Program Officer Deborah Netland and PM/WRA Foreign 
Affairs Officer Peggy Pope visited Mozambique April 26 - May 
6. During their visit they examined the impact of USG 
humanitarian demining assistance and strongly urged the GRM 
to play a much more active role in supporting its mine action 
program. Although GRM financial and institutional support 
for national capacity building has been modest to date, the 
GRM appears to be making stronger efforts in the area. 
Visits to Department of State (DOS) sites in the northern 
provinces of Zambezia and Cabo Delgado showed steady progress 
towards reaching targeted task completion dates of 2005 and 
2007, respectively. End summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
2. Since the 1992 signing of the Rome Peace Accord, 
Mozambique has worked to rid itself of land mines laid by 
combatants both in the struggle for independence and the 
ensuing civil war. The total number of land mines is not 
known, but cumulative clearance statistics over the past 
decade indicate that the land mine contamination is 
significantly less than early estimates of one to two million 
mines. 
 
3. The presence, suspected or known, of land mines and 
unexploded ordinances (UXOs) has had a direct impact on the 
GRM's ability to achieve its poverty reduction objectives, 
and remains an obstacle to rural development and 
reconstruction efforts. Though demining activity has allowed 
rehabilitation of most key transportation links, more 
demining must occur to enable farmers to return to extensive 
areas of agricultural land, to provide access to water 
sources in many areas and to make safe travel along many 
tertiary roads. Economic development is the focus of a 
substantial amount of USG assistance, and demining assistance 
is a key aspect of this effort. To date the USG has provided 
Mozambique with over USD 36 million to the country's 
Humanitarian Demining Program. 
 
4. According to the National Demining Institute's (IND) 2004 
Annual Report, demining operators removed 18,539 mines and 
2,712 UXOs in 2004. The IND recorded 13 land mine accidents, 
in which three people were killed and 27 injured. Twenty-one 
donors provided USD 14.5 million for Mozambique's Mine Action 
Program in 2004, including USD 1.5 million provided by the 
USG. The GRM provided approximately USD 9 million in support 
of IND activities. According to IND's 2005 Mine Action Plan, 
15 donors have pledged support of USD 10.6 million, including 
USD 2.3 million promised by the USG. 
 
National Capacity Building: FADM Humanitarian Demining Unit 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
5. The USG has long recognized the importance of building 
and supporting a national capacity for mine clearance in 
Mozambique. Since 1993 the USG has contributed more than USD 
11 million in the training and equipping of a demining unit 
in the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM). Currently made up of 
approximately 50 technicians and support staff, this unit is 
engaged in mine clearance in Boquisso, Maputo province and 
plans to deploy to the Zimbabwe border in mid-2005. 
 
6. To date GRM financial and institutional support for the 
FADM demining unit has been limited; virtually all of its 
demining funding has been devoted to IND. However, in the 
face of decreased donor funding, the GRM appears to be 
willing to provide more support. During an April 26 meeting 
with Program Officer Netland and Foreign Affairs Officer 
Pope, Mozambican Minister of Defense Joaquim Dai pledged to 
try to increase capacity within the FADM to support 
Mozambique's future mine action needs. He recognized that 
NGOs would be exiting Mozambique soon, many as early as next 
year, leaving the GRM to deal with any residual land mine 
issues. Netland cautioned Minister Dai that expansion of the 
current USG program would only occur if the GRM demonstrated 
more support (e.g. budget) for maintenance of the existing 
unit. (Note: Currently, the DOS program not only provides 
essential equipment and training, but it also covers 
operational costs such as food stipends and fuel. End note.) 
Minister Dai agreed that GRM budget support for the program 
was warranted, and stated he would work within his capacity 
as a member of the Council of Ministers to address the issue. 
 
7. On April 28, accompanied by Poloff, DATT, RONCO 
Contractor Steven Brown, Ministry of Defense Director of 
Administration Adelaide Gutha, and Commander of the Practical 
Engineering School Colonel Dias, Netland and Pope visited 
FADM's National Demining Training Center and nearby 
operational site under clearance by the FADM demining unit. 
Netland was pleased with the increased level of 
professionalism and operational skill demonstrated by the 
unit, noting that standard operating procedures, such as 
sign-in sheets, were being used, unlike on previous site 
visits. In response to requests by Colonel Dias to expand 
USG-funded training to an additional two units, Netland 
reiterated the need for demonstrated support by the GRM 
before growing the program could be considered. Director 
Gutha expressed confidence that Minister Dai had picked up on 
the message, and stated that the new Guebuza government 
considered demining a national priority under its poverty 
alleviation plan. 
 
8. During an April 27 meeting with IND Director Gamiliel 
Mungumbe, Netland and Pope received further indications that 
the Guebuza government intends to make FADM the operational 
unit of Mozambique's national demining capacity. He also 
stated that demining had been identified as a national 
priority by the new administration, which he believed should 
facilitate budget support in the future, though he conceded 
any provision would initially be modest. 
 
HALO Trust in Zambezia and Cabo Delgado 
--------------------------------------- 
9. The GRM's poverty reduction and development strategy 
focuses largely on the northern provinces. The presence of 
land mines still impedes the continued rehabilitation of 
infrastructure and development of fertile agriculture areas, 
particularly along the Tanzanian border in Cabo Delgado 
province. Three mine belts approximately 100 meters in width 
and totaling approximately 96 kilometers in length were laid 
with more than 130,000 mines by the Portuguese military 
during colonial times. Clearance of these belts is vital to 
the facilitation of cross-border trade and increased 
agricultural development. HALO Trust is the only long-term 
humanitarian demining operator in northern Mozambique. The 
DOS currently funds six manual teams at the northern border 
in Cabo Delgado and two manual teams in Zambezia province. 
 
10. On May 4, Netland and Pope, accompanied by Poloff and 
HALO Trust Country Manager Tim Turner, conducted a site visit 
of HALO Trust's northern border operations. As these 
minefields were laid in keeping with Geneva Convention 
standards (e.g. marked), local residents are aware of their 
existence and have remained off the land. However the areas 
immediately adjacent to the minefields are fertile and 
increasingly cultivated by local peasant farmers. Demand for 
land has made the clearance of this area critical to the 
economic development of the local population. DOS-funded 
teams continue to make steady progress, lifting approximately 
2,000 mines and UXOs a month. Despite setbacks, including 
the discovery of a two km section of mine belt laid with 
undetectable anti-personnel mines, Turner projects a 
completion date of early 2007 for the northern border project. 
 
11. Earlier, on May 2, the group visited the operational 
site at Derre, Zambezia province. DOS-funded teams were 
deployed to the area following a mine accident in 2004, which 
occurred 300 meters beyond where HALO ceased clearance 
operations in December 2003. Subsequent survey and clearance 
of the area uncovered a defensive mine belt laid by FRELIMO 
forces during the civil war that, unbeknownst to the local 
population, crossed a heavily trafficked pedestrian path 
leading from the village chief's home to the central market 
area. 
 
12. Clearance in Derre is expected to conclude by late 2005, 
with final work done by Japanese-funded teams who will take 
over operations once the DOS task order ends on August 31, 
2005. With expectations of a mine-safe Zambezia province by 
the end of 2005, DOS funding for HALO Trust operations will 
be focused on accelerating the northern border clearance 
project (Note: The DOS is the currently the sole donor for 
the mine removal along the Tanzanian border. End note.) 
 
The Adopt-a-Minefield Experience 
-------------------------------- 
13. On April 27 Netland, Pope and Poloff met with Isabel dos 
Santos, IND Program Officer for the Adopt-a-Minefield (AAM) 
program to discuss progress on USG-funded AAM clearance 
sites. DOS provided USD 68,184 in FY03 to clear three small 
minefields in the southern provinces of Maputo and Inhambane. 
Though two of the tasks are completed, clearance continues 
on the remaining site located in Vilankulos, Inhambane 
province. Netland expressed disappointment over the lag 
between fund allocation and task completion under the AAM 
program. Santos attributed the delay to the AAM's complex 
fund disbursement system, which requires monies be funneled 
through the UN Association of the United States (UNAUSA) and 
UN Development Program (UNDP) in Mozambique before they are 
passed to the IND for tasking. Netland stated she was 
doubtful DOS would work with the AAM program again unless the 
funding mechanism could be streamlined. Santos expressed 
hope that AAM would be able to accommodate the needs of DOS, 
should funds for the program become available in the future. 
 
14. During an April 29 site visit to the active USG-funded 
AAM site, under clearance by NGO Handicap International, 
Netland and Poloff received a comprehensive project briefing 
and demonstration of the manual mining techniques employed by 
HI. Coordinator of Mine Action Planning and Monitoring for 
Handicap International (HI) Patricio Bitunga, who accompanied 
the delegation, expected the task to be completed by the end 
of May. (Comment: As of May 27, clearing was still underway. 
End comment.) The site, which lies next to a lake adjoining 
the town of Vilanculos, is fertile agricultural land. 
Despite warning signs posted in the area, accidents continue 
to happen as people attempt to fish and cultivate the 
affected land. Poloff will remain in close contact with 
Santos and Bitunga to coordinate USG participation in the 
formal handover ceremony. 
 
Comment: Next Steps 
------------------- 
15. The planned withdrawal of international demining NGOs 
and decreased donor funding for mine action in Mozambique 
have pushed the GRM to think more strategically about the 
future of its Mine Action Program. For the first time, 
significant space has been given to mine action in the new 
administration's "Five Year Plan," and there is every 
indication that mine action will be streamlined into GRM 
policy making. The GRM still faces significant budgetary 
constraints, however, and it is unrealistic to expect it will 
fund mine action without some continued donor support, at 
least in the short- to mid-term. The Embassy will continue 
to work with the GRM to build government budget support for 
the FADM demining unit to ensure Mozambique is left with an 
indigenous demining capacity for long-term application. End 
Comment. 
 
16. Netland cleared this message in draft. 
La Lime