US embassy cable - 02HARARE2469

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 002469 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USAID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA FOR HAJJAR, HALMREST-SANCHEZ 
KHANDAGLE, MENGHETTI AND MARX 
DCHA/FFP FOR LANDIS, BRAUSE, SKORIC AND PETERSEN 
AFR/SA FOR POE AND COPSON 
AFR/SD FOR ISRALOW AND WHELAN 
STATE FOR AF/S DELISI AND RAYNOR 
NAIROBI FOR DCHA/OFDA/ARO FOR RILEY, MYER AND SMITH 
REDSO/ESA/FFP FOR SENYKOFF 
GENEVA PLEASE PASS TO UNOCHA, IFRC 
PRETORIA FOR USAID/DCHA/FFP FOR DISKIN 
DCHA/OFDA FOR BRYAN, AND FAS FOR HELM 
ROME PLEASE PASS TO FODAG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREL, US, ZI 
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS: 
UNDP/ZIMBABWE'S RELIEF AND RECOVERY UNIT 
 
REF: (A) U.N. Humanitarian Co-ordinator Letter Request and 
 
attached Proposal for Additional RRU Support dated 
September 16, 2002; (B) Harare 2310; (C) Harare 2318 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. On October 25, donors, including USAID/Harare, met with 
U.N. management to discuss current problems and a way 
forward for UNDP/Zimbabwe's RRU.  Following a frank 
discussion of the Unit's several shortcomings, the U.N. 
Humanitarian Co-ordinator proposed a revised structure for 
the RRU to address these concerns.  With some 
reservations, all concerned parties generally accepted 
this proposed revised RRU structure and framework by, and 
all donors present agreed to renew pursuit of additional 
RRU funding support.  On November 4, in response to 
expressed donor concerns on this same subject, UNDP and 
OCHA deployed two representatives to Harare to assess the 
current and proposed management structure of the RRU and 
make recommendations to improve its effectiveness.  The 
Mission and USAID/DCHA/OFDA are awaiting the results of 
this assessment before reaching any conclusions regarding 
possible additional support to the UNDP/RRU.  END SUMMARY 
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UNDP/RRU BACKGROUND 
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2. The U.N. Development Programme in Zimbabwe's 
(UNDP/Zimbabwe) Relief and Recovery Unit (RRU) is a 
Zimbabwe-specific entity created with donor (including 
USAID/DCHA/OFDA) support in late CY 2000 to assist 
UNDP/Zimbabwe in addressing general information, 
coordination and monitoring requirements associated with 
the country's then emerging humanitarian crisis.  As such, 
it occupies a key central position in on-going efforts 
aimed at promoting an informed, coordinated and 
appropriate response to this complex crisis.  The RRU is 
administered through UNDP/Zimbabwe, under the direct 
management of the UNDP Resident Representative, who is now 
also the U.N. Humanitarian Co-ordinator (HC) for Zimbabwe, 
Mr. J. Victor Angelo.  Donors supporting the RRU to date 
include: USAID, the British Department for International 
Development (DfID), the Swedish International Development 
Agency (SIDA) and the Norwegian Agency for Development 
Cooperation (NORAD). 
 
3. At its inception, the RRU was envisaged as a relatively 
small unit, composed of an expatriate Resident Co- 
ordinator, a Deputy Resident Co-ordinator, a national 
Programme Officer and administrative support staff. 
However, as the country's humanitarian crisis has grown 
considerably since that time, far beyond initial 
expectations, so has the workload and scope of the Unit's 
operations.  In this regard, Mission notes the recent 
request and proposal (Ref A) for approximately USD 2 
million in additional funds to support the new Internally 
Displaced Persons (IDP) and Humanitarian Information 
Verification (IV) monitoring components within the RRU, as 
well as continuing support for on-going RRU general 
information and coordination, and Government of Zimbabwe 
(GOZ)/UNDP liaison operations. 
 
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DONOR MEETING WITH UNDP/RRU 
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4. Aidoff and OFDA Humanitarian Response Advisor 
(OFDA/HRA) attended a meeting on October 25 to discuss 
current problems and a way forward for UNDP/Zimbabwe's 
RRU.  The meeting was chaired by HC Angelo and was 
attended by the Deputy UNDP Country Representative and 
representatives of all donors currently assisting or 
planning to assist the RRU's activities in the future. 
Donor's present at the meeting included the European Union 
(EU), DfID, SIDA, NORAD, as well as USAID.  The purpose of 
this meeting was to discuss perceived problems in the 
RRU's on-going efforts to fulfill its increasingly 
important mandate, and to chart a consensus way forward 
for it to be able to meet an expanding scope of priority 
functions. 
 
5. The meeting proceeded directly into a frank discussion 
of the RRU's perceived problems, including it's management 
shortcomings and donor concerns regarding the Unit's sub- 
standard performance to date in addressing greater donor 
and NGO community needs and interests (vs. UN-specific 
needs and interests) in the response to the country's 
worsening humanitarian crisis.  Following prior separate 
preparatory discussions on this subject, at the meeting's 
outset, HC Angelo readily acknowledged the RRU's 
shortcomings to date and proceeded to propose a revised 
operational structure for the RRU to address these 
concerns.  The discussion also considered the possibility 
of an increased OCHA presence in Zimbabwe, either in 
conjunction with or in addition to the RRU.  While not 
vetoing this proposal outright, HC Angelo made it clear 
during this discussion that he did not favor this OCHA 
option as a way forward. 
 
8. In response to Aidoff's query regarding additional 
funding requirements, HC Angelo affirmed that all of the 
proposed structural adjustments could be implemented 
within the USD 2 million proposal submitted by UNDP in 
September for donor consideration (Ref A).  While some 
donors expressed lingering reservations, the proposed 
revision of the RRU structure and operational framework 
was generally accepted, and all donors present agreed to 
renew pursuit of additional RRU funding support. 
 
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U.N. RESPONSE TO DONOR CONCERNS 
--------------------------------- 
 
9. On October 30, the Director of OFDA and OFDA's 
Emergency Disaster Response Coordinator (EDRC) for 
Southern Africa met with the Director of OCHA, the head of 
UNDP's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR), 
and other OCHA staff to discuss the U.N.'s humanitarian 
coordination for the Southern Africa food security crisis. 
In particular, OFDA expressed concerns about the RRU's 
effectiveness in Zimbabwe and cited similar concerns by 
DfID and other donors.  Areas of concern surrounding the 
RRU include their slowness to staff emergency personnel in 
key positions, their lack of general reporting, and their 
lack of expertise in leading an emergency response.  The 
U.N. representatives assured OFDA that the RRU structure 
would be examined at carefully and a determination would 
be made with the best interests of the humanitarian 
response in mind.  In response to donor concerns, the U.N. 
deployed a two-person team with representatives from OCHA 
and UNDP/BCPR on November 4, to assess the current and 
proposed structure of the RRU and the effectiveness of the 
humanitarian response leadership in Zimbabwe thus far. 
The team will make its recommendations to the U.N. and the 
donor community in coming weeks. 
 
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RECOMMENDATIONS 
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10. In light of the on-going U.N. assessment, Mission and 
OFDA are waiting for the U.N. team's recommendations on 
the RRU structure before they consider the request for 
additional funding for the RRU.  At that time, Mission and 
OFDA will consider the provision of additional funding if 
the stated concerns are addressed to the satisfaction of 
the donors and the greater humanitarian community. 
 
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COMMENT 
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11. These recent events have provided the opportunity for 
a frank discussion on this important subject, where all 
issues are being aired in an open and constructive manner. 
At the donors meeting, it was clear that HC Angelo was 
aware of the RRU's shortcomings and was receptive and 
forthcoming in his willingness to discuss, accept and 
effect changes deemed necessary to address these problems. 
Although willing to discuss the option, it was also clear, 
however, that the HC was not supportive of relinquishing 
primary/direct responsibility for RRU management to any 
alternative OCHA-centered arrangement.  We therefore look 
forward to the results of this current U.N. assessment, so 
that we can all move forward towards ensuring an effective 
response to Zimbabwe's worsening humanitarian crisis. 
 
SULLIVAN