Cablegate: Zimbabwe Humanitarian Crisis:

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

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
---------------------------

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

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