US embassy cable - 02HARARE2342

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 HARARE 002342 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR J. FRAZER 
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY 
PARIS FOR C. NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2012 
TAGS: EAGR, EAID, PHUM, SOCI, ZI 
SUBJECT: MIDLANDS PROVINCE: A  PROVINCE OF COOPERATION 
 
REF: HARARE 02127 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Kimberly Jemison.  Reasons 1.5(b) and 
(d). 
 
 1. (C) SUMMARY: Ambassador and Political Officer visited 
Midlands province October 17 and 18 to meet with USAID, CDC, 
and WFP beneficiaries, NGO and UN staff, and GOZ officials. 
Against the backdrop of the HIV/AIDS, land, and food crises 
gripping the country, Midlands province seems to be the model 
of moderation and cooperation.  Government, community, 
business, and NGO leaders are working together to tackle the 
HIV/AIDS and food issues in a relatively peaceful and orderly 
manner.  The visit to Midlands also illustrated the internal 
contradictions in the Zanu-PF leadership and the enourmous 
pressures on those who would take a moderate course. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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MIDLANDS: THE MODEL IN LAND REDISTRIBUTION 
------------------------------------------ 
2. (U) Ambassador and Political Officer visited Midlands 
province October 17 and 18 to meet with USAID, CDC, and WFP 
beneficiaries, NGO and UN staff, and GOZ officials.  The 
overarching concerns of the people we met were the HIV/AIDS 
and food security crises.  (NOTE: Midlands has been held up 
as the model province in the government land redistribution 
exercise.  On the morning of October 17, BBC Radio 
interviewed a white, commercial and newly resettled, black 
farmer in a highly favorable report on the land 
redistribution in Midlands.  A few weeks prior to our visit, 
the GOZ showed off the land redistribution in theis province 
to a group of African Ambassadors. END NOTE.) 
 
3. (U) In a meeting with Cephas Msipa, provincial governor of 
Midlands, Ambassador and PolOff learned about his efforts at 
land redistribution in his province.  Msipa said unlike some 
of his colleagues, he was resisting the call to take more 
land from the whites and that he personally had taken far 
less land himself than the law allowed.  He also added that 
he had sought to resolve land disputes amicably and that the 
land exercise in Midlands had brought blacks and whites 
together and forced them to get to know one another.  In 
fact, the white farmers in Midlands were helping the newly 
resettled farmers with their crops to minimize the reduction 
in crop production. The Ambassador asked if lack of seeds or 
the cost of seeds would be a problem for next season,s 
agricultural production to which Msipa replied that inputs in 
general would be a problem.  Communities were pooling their 
resources to buy seeds so seed acquisition was not a problem. 
 
4. (C) Msipa claimed that his, along with Vice President 
Joseph Msika, Social Welfare Minister July Moyo, also the 
ZANU-PF Chairman for Midlands, and Speaker of Parliament 
Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is from the Midlands, was the voice 
of moderation regarding the land issue among the party elite. 
 (See REFTEL for Mnangagwa,s comments on land redistribution 
in Midlands.) Msipa said he had successfully stopped the 
acquisition of the dairy farms, arguing that to seize the 
farms would adversely affect milk production.  (NOTE: There 
is currently a milk shortage in the country.  END NOTE.)  He 
also claimed to have convinced national authorities to delist 
a successful game lodge in Midlands, although the owners have 
not received confirmation of this. 
 
5. (C) Governor Msipa said that Zimbabwe's political impasse 
was profound.  ZANU-PF leaders recognized that President 
Mugabe needed to retire, but were anxious that a ZANU-PF 
succession be secured.  He sharply criticized Ministers 
Jonathan Moyo and Ignatius Chombo, ministers of information 
and local government respectively, and cited a &wildcat8 
committee promoted by Chombo, which had visited Midlands and 
sought to force nature conservancy owners off their land in 
contradiction to national policy on nature conservancies 
recently agreed by Vice President Msika and Tourism Minister 
Francis Nhema.  Governor Msipa said he had intervened to 
expel this committee and get the necessary political backing 
for his position.  Regarding the MDC, Msipa claimed he had 
been generally able to ensure amicable dealings with the MDC, 
although Mberengwa MDC activist Sekai Holland was a difficult 
character. (COMMENT: We agree with his characterization of 
Holland. END COMMENT.) He claimed that MDC was running real 
risks if it embarked on adventurous courses like mass action, 
given its likely penetration by the Central Intelligence 
Organization (CIO). 
 
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FOOD INSECURITY WIDESPREAD 
-------------------------- 
6. (C) Msipa was very concerned about the food situation and 
dismayed at the level of obstructionism by his government. He 
said that even though politicization of food aid is not 
tolerated at the higher levels of government, he knew it was 
happening on the ground and was visibly disturbed by this 
fact.  Msipa seemed excited that we were traveling to his 
home district of Zvishavane (we met in the provincial 
capital, Gweru) to look at food distribution and asked that 
we meet again upon our return to exchange notes. He was 
anxious to find out if CARE, one of World Food Program,s 
implementing partners, had enough food to distribute and how 
things were going.  (NOTE: Zvishavane is one of the most food 
insecure districts in Zimbabwe.  END NOTE.)  Msipa said he 
was trying to secure additional storage for CARE from Blue 
Ribbon Foods Limited, so they can expand relief operations 
into the northern districts.  Msipa said he had lobbied with 
Minister July Moyo to get additional NGOs--including Save the 
Children-UK and Africare--registered for food distribution. 
He said he had told July Moyo not to believe much of what the 
CIO told him about these NGOs. 
 
7. (U) On October 18, Ambassador and Political Officer also 
met with the Catholic Bishop of Gweru, Bishop Mugadzi.  At 
the conclusion of the meeting, Bishop Mugadzi admitted that 
he had been nervous about our visit but midway through it he 
felt at ease with meeting Western diplomats viewed as 
controversial by the authorities.  The Bishop said the food 
situation was bad in Gweru and among his parishioners but 
because of GOZ legislation restricting food imports, the 
Catholic Church had not been able to help as they have always 
done in the past. The Bishop said the Catholic Church had 
been shut out of food distribution but that the government 
had no problem with the Church sourcing food as long as it 
went through the government's Grain Marketing Board (GMB). 
After our meeting, the Bishop seemed reenergized and ready to 
try to do something about the food situation in Gweru, 
probably through Catholic charities and Catholic Relief 
Services. 
 
MAJORITY IN ZVISHAVANE RECEIVE FOOD AID 
--------------------------------------- 
8. (U) We saw a general food distribution and supplementary 
feeding in Mutambi village in Mutambi ward, Zvishavane 
district. WFP through its implementing partner, CARE, has 
been feeding people in Zvishavane since September 2002 but 
began operations in Mberengwa in March.  The supplementary 
feeding was at the local school and served every child in the 
ward.  Children under 5-years old were served in the morning 
and school-aged children were fed in the afternoon. 
According to the principal, most students received at least 
two meals a day and attendance in school has been very high. 
CARE representatives said that while there had been some 
problems in Mberengwa around the time of elections, feeding 
programs had generally gone well with CARE able to designate 
beneficiaries through open meetings, as WFP requires. 
 
9. (U) According to the principal, teachers, nurses, and 
other professionals were suffering the most because they did 
not qualify for food aid, could not take time off to wait for 
corn from the Grain Marketing Board, and could not find corn 
to buy. The principal wondered if the GMB could set aside 
corn for other working professionals as it does for members 
of the uniformed services.  (The Governor later told us he 
was working to achieve this.) 
 
10. (U) WFP is providing food to 75 percent of the people in 
Mutambi.  A number of beneficiaries reported that they had 
cut down their food consumption to one or two meals a day. 
On October 17, WFP was distributing 13 50-kg bags of 
whole-kernel yellow corn and 2 cans of vegetable oil for each 
member group of 10 families.  One 50-kg bag of corn (which 
mills to about 33 kg of corn meal) will last a family of five 
one month.  The remaining 25 percent of the population not 
receiving food aid directly (mostly teachers and others with 
work in the formal sector) were most likely given food by the 
rest of the community.  According to the distribution 
manager, people from the urban areas have been migrating back 
to the rural areas in search of food. 
 
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FAIR 
------------------------ 
11. (U) The WFP/CARE officials said that when they first 
began operations in Midlands, the ruling party tried to 
interfere with the ward designation and beneficiary selection 
process.  According to these officials, local ZANU-PF 
officials were not happy with the process and wanted to use 
the GOZ-appointed district administrators, who are notorious 
for politicizing beneficiary lists, rather than the 
traditional leaders.  The NGO community prevailed and the 
beneficiary selection process described to us seemed very 
transparent with the entire community involved in the 
process.  They said that Governor Msipa had been helpful in 
resolving disputes and that the Governor,s efforts to secure 
free warehouse space were extraordinary. 
 
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HIV/AIDS PERMEATES EVERYTHING 
----------------------------- 
12. (U) On October 18, Ambassador and Political Officer 
visited an impressive local NGO, Midlands AIDS Service 
Organization (MASO), a local chief, and the Catholic Diocese 
of Gweru to discuss HIV/AIDS.  MASO is a CDC grantee and was 
established in 1991 to provide training, prevention, home 
based care, and orphan care throughout the province.  The 
visit included a presentation by a youth group and a meeting 
with the uniformed services.  The Youth Alive Club is for 
elementary-aged boys and girls with the goal of educating 
them about HIV/AIDS and of developing skills they will need 
to delay the age of first sexual encounter and to insist upon 
the use of prophylactics.  The children performed skits in 
which members of their families died from AIDS.  (COMMENT: 
The fact that this community needs HIV/AIDS-specific clubs 
for elementary-aged children is a good indicator of the 
severity of the HIV problem in Zimbabwe.  END COMMENT.) 
 
13. (U) The Catholic Church in Gweru has HIV/AIDS programs 
too.  Bishop Mugadzi said the hospitals and clinics in the 
province all have AIDS awareness and outreach programs and 
the Church allows Youth Alive Clubs in the Catholic schools 
as long as they skirt around the condom issue.  The Bishop 
also said they were able to discuss HIV/AIDS with 
parishioners where as a few years ago that was not the case. 
 
14. (U) We also met with Chief Cyprian Malisa, a traditional 
chief from Silobela.  Chief Malisa was quoted in the 
state-run newspaper, The Herald, on September 19 advocating 
more open communication about HIV/AIDS and acceptance of 
voluntary testing as a way of life.  Malisa said he first 
noticed an increase in deaths about five or six years ago, 
particularly those attributed to TB.  He said the symptoms 
before death were coughs, swollen legs, and then thinning 
out.  Malisa claimed that within a 5-km radius from his 
house, 2-5 people died per week.  Malisa told us he had seen 
an increase in women resorting to prostitution because of the 
food crisis and he worried about the consequences of this. 
He worried that as the food situation deteriorates HIV 
infection rates would increase and only viable economic 
alternatives would slow the spread of the disease but lack of 
money, inputs, and water made economic development difficult. 
 
 
15. (U) Malisa said AIDS deaths are having a terrible toll on 
the community.  One of the traditional coping methods 
available for widows--that of marrying one,s 
brother-in-law--is no longer viable because it is assumed the 
widow has AIDS too and will only infect the brother-in-law. 
The number of orphans is overwhelming the community  and 
there has been an increase in street children in Gweru.  When 
asked whether home based care through MASO was available in 
Silobela, Malisa said it existed but was hampered by 
transportation problems--everyone must go on foot.  He said 
bicycles would go a long way towards helping the caregivers. 
 
MEETING WITH UNIFORMED SERVICES ON HIV/AIDS 
------------------------------------------- 
16. (U) MASO has been working with the uniformed services 
(Air Force of  Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Military Academy, Zimbabwe 
Prison Services, and Zimbabwe Republic Police) since 1998 to 
raise awareness and increase responsibility.  In all the 
services, representatives reported an increase in awareness 
about HIV/AIDS, increased demand for condoms, a decrease in 
the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (Air Force 
representatives reported a decrease from 21 to 3 percent), an 
increase in the willingness to talk about HIV/AIDS, and less 
stigmatism.  Constraints to further success and program 
expansion were the lack of audiovisual equipment (TV, VCR, 
projectors), condoms, literature, and medicines. (COMMENT: 
According to our MASO guides, the uniformed services were 
wary of meeting with us and initially denied the request when 
MASO first proposed a meeting.  After MASO explained our role 
in supporting their projects and the purpose of the meeting, 
the uniformed services agreed to meet with us and were very 
open about the HIV situation in their respective 
organizations.  The uniformed services have historically been 
very unwilling to discuss HIV/AIDS with the USG sufficiently 
for us to be able to work with them.  Consequently, we will 
explore further the possibility of working indirectly through 
MASO.  END COMMENT.) 
 
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GOLD PANNING ON THE RISE 
------------------------ 
17. (U) In most of our meetings the rise in the level of 
illegal gold and chrome panning and its effect on the local 
community came up and one of the local newspapers had an 
article on the topic too.  People have been resorting to gold 
panning as the economic environment has worsened.  None of 
our interlocutors thought the rise in gold panning was 
helping fuel the HIV/AIDS crisis but doing nothing to help 
alleviate the food crisis.  WFP representatives said the 
youths who are typically engaged in this activity do not 
remit payments to their less fortunate relatives but rather 
spend it all in town on entertainment and Chief Silobela said 
gold panning increased the level of prostitution in the area. 
 
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COMMENT 
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18.  (C) The information we learned from Midlands most likely 
reflects the situation in the rest of the country--high 
HIV/AIDS levels, severe food shortages, and intensified land 
redistribution--but it is different in that public, private, 
and civic leaders are working together to improve the 
situation.  The efforts of a strong, respected, moderate 
governor have meant less disorder, chaos, disruption, and 
political conflict in the region. 
SULLIVAN