US embassy cable - 05PRETORIA4590

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 004590 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/S TABLER-STONE, AF/SPG SMALL, INL/AAE RICHARD 
DEPT PASS AID/W DAA/AFR KATE ALMQUIST 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2015 
TAGS: EAID, PREL, SU, SF 
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA WILL SEEK USG SUPPORT FOR LOCAL 
GOVERNMENT AND POLICE PROGRAMS IN SUDAN 
 
REF: A. PRETORIA 3007 
 
     B. PRETORIA 525 
     C. PRETORIA 2722 
     D. PRETORIA 4136 
     E. PRETORIA 4358 
     F. TRENKLE/TABLER-STONE AND TRENKLE/SMALL EMAILS OF 
        11/17/2005 
 
Classified By: Officer in Charge J. Jeff Hartley. 
Reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary.  South Africa will seek USG support for its 
expanding capacity-building program in southern Sudan, 
according to DFA Director Graham Maitland (please protect). 
The SAG is still discussing the proposal internally and will 
likely present it to Washington in the "coming weeks."  South 
Africa plans to open a consulate in Juba.  The South African 
Police Service is separately developing an ambitious USD 80 
million, five-year project to assist with the integration and 
training of the integrated Sudanese police force.  The 
Norwegians have already contributed USD 6.8 million to the 
project.  Pretoria views the proposed joint South Africa-USG 
projects as concrete ways to "put into practice" the June 10 
Presidential Joint Statement.  South Africa continues to 
discuss increasing its troop contribution to AMIS in Darfur, 
but SANDF is already overstretched.  End Summary. 
 
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Capacity-Building Projects for GOSS 
----------------------------------- 
 
2. (C) South Africa plans to expand it capacity-building 
programs for the Government of South Sudan (GOSS), according 
to Graham Maitland, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) 
Director for the Horn of Africa.  The SAG initiated an SPLM 
training program, implemented through the University of South 
Africa (UNISA), in February 2005, and has trained nearly 100 
officials in administration and diplomacy (Ref A-B). 
Maitland told PolOff November 14 that the next phase of 
training will focus on public service and finance.  The SAG 
plans to bring Sudanese officials to Pretoria February - 
April 2006.  The training will include "deployment" to 
relevant SAG departments, such as the Department of Public 
Service Administration and the National Treasury.  To date, 
the SAG has funded the DFA/UNISA training with its own 
resources.  Maitland noted that the Canadians have expressed 
interest in supporting the program, but have not yet provided 
funds. 
 
3. (C) Maitland said that DFA plans to approach the USG 
directly for funding for its expanded capacity-building 
program in Sudan (and possibly in Burundi as well, although 
Maitland is not responsible for that region).  The Horn of 
Africa office has developed a "comprehensive" joint SAG-USG 
proposal that will focus on "governance issues," particularly 
capacity-building at the local level.  Maitland did not 
provide project costs, emphasizing that DFA is still 
discussing the proposal internally.  DFA Deputy Director 
General: Americas, Ndumiso Ntshinga, is coordinating the DFA 
initiatives.  Ntshinga and other DFA officials will likely 
travel to Washington to present the project package "in the 
coming weeks."  The SAG views this initiative as a concrete 
way to "put into practice" the June 10 Joint Statement, 
agreed to by Presidents Bush and Mbeki in Washington. 
 
4. (C) Maitland also noted that the SAG will need to discuss 
the projects with the Government of Sudan before presenting 
the proposals.  South African Police (SAPS) Senior 
Superintendent Burger (strictly protect) told PolOff November 
15 that a meeting of the South Africa-Sudan Bi-National 
Commission (BNC) is tentatively scheduled for late November, 
during which the two governments will discuss the SAG's 
proposed development projects (including the police program 
described in paras 7-8).  Following the BNC, we understand 
that the National Treasury will convene a "donor meeting" on 
Sudan to solicit "partners," (i.e., funders) for its 
projects, much like it did for DRC in June 2005 (Ref C). 
 
5. (C) Note:  Pretoria is increasingly entering into 
"trilateral agreements," using funds from European and other 
governments to implement its programs in Africa (Ref D-E). 
The SAG model for such programs is the Euro 5 million Dutch 
contribution for security sector reform in the DRC, according 
to DFA Deputy Director in the National Office for 
Coordination of Peace Missions (NCOPM) Wooter Zaayman.  The 
Dutch have not "micro-managed" the project, Zaayman said, 
comparing that experience with the Belgium SSR initiative, 
which has been mired in disputes about control of the 
project.  End Note. 
 
------------------------- 
Opening Consulate in Juba 
------------------------- 
 
6. (C) The SAG has formally decided to open a consulate in 
Juba, according to Maitland.  He said that land has been set 
aside on the banks of the Nile, and DFA would like to move 
forward as quickly as possible.  The problem is the lack of 
SAG capacity in Khartoum to manage the construction project. 
 
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Police Training 
--------------- 
 
7. (C) South Africa is also planning to initiate a major 
police training program in Sudan (Ref F).  The program will 
assist with the integration of different Sudanese forces into 
a single national police force, help build capacity, and 
assist with a new legal framework for policing.  SAPS's 
Burger told PolOff and NLEA Officer November 16 that the 
Norwegian Government has provided Rand 45 million 
(approximately USD 6.8 million) to SAPS for the Sudan 
program.  The estimated cost of the five-year project is Rand 
540 million (approximately USD 82 million).  Burger noted 
that SAPS has not yet discussed the proposal with the GOS, 
nor has DFA or Treasury signed off on the project.  (Note: In 
separate meetings, DFA and SAPS both complained about the 
lack of internal coordination on South Africa's "foreign 
assistance" programs in Sudan and DRC, and it does not appear 
that the Department of Defense has been consulted.  End Note.) 
 
8. (C) The proposed SAPS Sudan project would kick off with a 
series of regional conferences in Sudan beginning in February 
2006, followed by a national conference in March, to discuss 
the future of the national police force.  Burger emphasized 
that SAPS plans to work on the national police force, not 
local police structures in northern or southern Sudan.  SAPS 
is working with the NGO Institute for Democracy in South 
Africa (IDASA) on organizing the conferences.  IDASA was 
involved in the creation of the new South African police 
force in 1994 following the end of apartheid, and South 
Africa believes its experience in "melding" various security 
structures can be helpful in Sudan.  The Government of Norway 
has separately funded the SAPS/IDASA conference project at 
Rand 2 million (approximately USD 30,000). 
 
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Darfur 
------ 
 
9. (C) DFA's Maitland said that the SAG is focusing its 
engagement on the North-South peace process, not Darfur. 
South Africa currently has approximately 325 soldiers serving 
as part of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) in Darfur.  DFA 
Deputy Director Zaayman said that the SAG is discussing the 
AU request for additional troops for AMIS, but remains 
concerned about "overstretch."  We understand from Dutch 
diplomats that FM Dlamini-Zuma has pushed aggressively for 
additional SANDF forces in AMIS, but that DefMin Lekota has 
refused because the SANDF was stretched too thin in DRC and 
Burundi (with additional small deployments in Cote d'Ivoire 
and Ethiopia/Eritrea). 
 
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Comment 
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10. (C) We fear that the SAG has unrealistic expectations 
about the prospects for robust USG funding for its Sudan (and 
Burundi) projects.  U.K. diplomats, who have also been 
approached informally for funding, have also raised questions 
about the capacity of the SAG to deliver on these ambitious 
programs, especially when the government faces domestic 
problems with local governance and policing.  That said, Post 
encourages Washington engagement with the SAG on any project 
proposals offered, and consideration of funding for realistic 
and focused elements of the police program.  Such engagement 
will help shape the programs, enhance donor coordination, and 
deepen the long-term USG partnership with Pretoria on the 
African continent. 
TEITELBAUM