US embassy cable - 02HARARE2497

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 002497 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2007 
TAGS: PREL, ZI 
SUBJECT: HEALTH MINISTER PARIRENYATWA FOCUSES ON POLITICAL 
IMPASSE 
 
Classified By: Joseph Gerard Sullivan for reasons 1.5b/d 
 
 1. (C) Summary: At one-on-one lunch Nov 14, Health Minister 
David Parirenyatwa acknowledged to the Ambassador that 
Zimbabwe's deep social, economic and humanitarian crises 
could not be resolved without addressing Zimbabwe's equally 
deep political crisis. He doubted that Zimbabweans could 
resolve their political crisis on their own and suggested 
that major powers such as the US and UK needed to take a 
hand.  His early ideas for resolution led, unsurprisingly, 
with international and domestic recognition of Mugabe's 
legitimacy, but he did not exclude other ideas and was very 
interested in promoting dialogue to address the political 
crisis.  Comment:  Parirenyatwa is not a political heavy, but 
does hold strong liberation credentials and has been a voice 
of reason on health issues and even on GM/BT maize where 
Mugabe turned to him to override the extremist advice of 
Agriculture Minister Made and Information Minister Jonathan 
Moyo. End Summary 
 
2.(U) Parirenyatwa and the Ambassador began by discussing a 
number of operational issues on health cooperation where 
Parirenyatwa was his usual thoughtful and cooperative self on 
these issues.  In the course of these discussions, 
Parirenyatwa noted that he was struggling to get increases in 
his health budget, but that inflation was rapidly eroding the 
value of these increases.  He also noted that his foreign 
exchange limitations were even more extreme.  While the EU 
would be providing basic medicines, his clinics now often 
lacked stethoscopes. 
 
3.(C)  The Ambassador then turned to a conversation begun at 
a large dinner several weeks before to note that resolution 
of Zimbabwe's many crisis could only come with resolution of 
the country's political crisis.  Parirenyatwa, unlike many of 
his ZANU-PF colleagues, did not disagree, but urged taking 
into account Zimbabwe's historical context; i.e. the need for 
land redistribution.  He conceded that the land 
redistribution contained many errors, but that distribution 
of multiple plots to individuals was a problem which was 
being corrected through an ongoing land audit.  While not 
contesting questions regarding the freedom and fairness of 
elections, he claimed that the MDC's refusal to accept 
election results had damaged prospects for a political 
rapprochement. (Comment:not very credible since GOZ 
repressive legislation had already been put in place.) 
 
4.(C) Parirenyatwa, acknowledging that political polarization 
was extreme, doubted that Zimbabweans had the ability to 
overcome their differences on their own.  He suggested, 
instead, that major international players like the US and UK 
bring their weight to bear to put together a solution.  He 
noted that IMF and World Bank presence and loans were 
critical and that US support would be necessary for this to 
happen; he said that the GOZ's economic policies could change 
quickly if it was not functioning as an economy under siege. 
He suggested that Presidents Bush and Mugabe could meet to 
find a solution to the problems. The Ambassador replied that 
no one should expect President Bush to meet with President 
Mugabe, but that the Ambassador was available to dialogue 
with anyone in the Party or the Government who recognized 
that there was a crisis and was interested in finding 
solutions.  The Ambassador suggested that the two political 
parties needed to find ways to address  Zimbabwe's national 
emergency together and that ZANU-PF had to cease efforts to 
crush the opposition. 
 
5. (C) Comment:  Minister Parirenyatwa is son of the first 
black doctor in Southern Rhodesia/Zimbabwe.  His father was 
Vice President of ZAPU before there was a ZANU and 
consequently Minister Parirenyatwa's liberation credentials 
are impeccable.  He is not a political heavyweight, but is 
someone Mugabe listens to, particularly on health and 
technical issues.  This conversation reflects the growing 
recognition among some Government insiders of the hole they 
are in and the beginning of recognition of the need to 
address the country's political crisis by other than crushing 
the opposition.  Parirenyatwa shows too much inclination to 
find the solution outside the country rather than with fellow 
Zimbabweans and he still believes it important that Mugabe be 
part of a political solution.  We will continue talking to 
Parirenyatwa and others in an effort to promote more thinking 
within ZANU-PF on dealing seriously with the political 
crisis. 
SULLIVAN