Cablegate: Charge Marks 25 Years of Usg Aid; Convenes First

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RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #1098/01 2811202
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081202Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0825
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0525
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001098

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MZ
SUBJECT: CHARGE MARKS 25 YEARS OF USG AID; CONVENES FIRST
TETE INTER-RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP MEETING

REF: A. MAPUTO 874
B. MAPUTO 806

1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Charge's recent trip to Tete and
Sofala Provinces was the third in a series of visits planned
to all of Mozambique's provinces to highlight USG assistance
successes. In a three-day visit to both provinces, the
Charge reviewed health and training facilities supported by
the USG, convened what according to all accounts was the
first-ever meeting of a diverse representation of religious
leaders, consulted with political leaders, conducted radio,
newspaper, and television interviews, delivered two speeches
at highly visible provincial universities, and conducted a
public HIV status test. The Charge also visited one of the
largest U.S. businesses in the country, Mozambique Leaf
Tobacco, in Tete Province. While the visit was positive,
significant additional outreach to the region's significant
Muslim community is needed. END SUMMARY.

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25 YEARS OF USG SUPPORT
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2. (SBU) The Charge raised awareness about USG assistance
exceeding $2.2 billion provided to Mozambique over the past
25 years and the anticipated $2 billion of U.S. assistance
Mozambique may see in the next five years through programs
including MCC, PEPFAR, and the President's Malaria Initiative
(PMI). Greeted by schoolchildren singing about HIV
prevention, the Charge visited an abstinence club that
incorporates vocational and life skills training, in the
provincial capital, Tete city. He also visited a medical
training facility where USG financial support provides
scholarships to 12 nurses-in-training and a local general
medical clinic which receives PEPFAR funding. The clinic was
packed with hundreds of patients waiting to be seen, and
according to the clinic director, the visit occurred on a
slow day.

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MLT PROVIDES EMPLOYMENT FOR 120,000
-----------------------------------

3. (SBU) The Charge then visited Mozambique Leaf Tobacco
(MLT), a U.S. firm that has invested tens of millions of
dollars in the province, provides employment to over 120,000
small farmers, and processes upwards of 50 thousand tons of
tobacco per year. After a factory tour, the Charge engaged
the senior leadership of the plant in a discussion about
possible collaboration on HIV/AIDS and other educational and
humanitarian initiatives. In Sofala Province the Charge
spoke to PEPFAR partners running HIV prevention programs,
visited a USG-financed health clinic at Catholic University,
met with business leaders, recipients of USG-funded medical
scholarships, and visited participants in USG-funded
microcredit projects.

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POLITICAL AND MEDIA OUTREACH
----------------------------

4. (SBU) In addition to meeting with the City Council of
Tete and approximately 40 representatives of Christian and
Muslim institutions in Tete, the Charge completed interviews
with Radio Mozambique and Radio SIRT. A roundtable
discussion with students at a local business institute was
followed by a speech at the newly opened Catholic University
campus to a standing-room-only group of approximately 140
journalists, students, faculty and citizens. He called for
Mozambicans and the GRM to act transparently and openly in
all matters, and encouraged average Mozambicans to reject
corruption in every form. The speech was followed by a
question-and-answer period which extended the session beyond
its scheduled two hours. In Sofala Province the visits
included with local business leader Zaide Aly, and interviews
with Diario de Mozambique, Savana, Radio Mozambique, and
television channel TVM. The university address in Sofala
Province was delivered at the newly-formed UniZambeze law
faculty, among students studying international law and
economics, and culminated with a lively discussion on a broad
range of issues from U.S. policy in Africa to macroeconomics.
In addition, the Charge met with 8 local IVLP alumni
journalists to discuss events leading up to October's
presidential elections and the political atmosphere in the
region. His public HIV test at the Beira Central Hospital
was covered on two television stations.

MAPUTO 00001098 002 OF 002

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RELIGIOUS LEADERS BEGIN OPEN DIALOGUE
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5. (SBU) On August 25, with the assistance of HAI
representatives, the Charge convened what appeared to have
been the first ever meeting of a broad swath of religious
leaders representing multiple denominations. Approximately
40 leaders attended, and shared perspectives on interfaith
cooperation to solve social issues, such as education,
violence, HIV/AIDS, and other salient topics. The Charge
expressed confidence in the capacity of faith-based
organizations to unite around common causes, and called on
these leaders to multiply their capacity to solve societal
problems by cooperation and coordination. This also provided
a unique opportunity to present U.S. initiatives in the
region and across Mozambique. After the Charge departed for
subsequent meetings, the religious leaders remained for over
an hour discussing among themselves the creation of a new
structure to organize their efforts, and agreed to meet again
a month later.

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COMMENT: OUTREACH EFFECTIVE, BUT MORE NEEDED
--------------------------------------------

6. (SBU) In the Charge's third visit to the provinces
recent months, Post reinforced its key messages of 25 years
of USG assistance, the importance of transparency, and
reiterated U.S. commitment to partnering with Mozambique
rather than simply providing aid. Telling the story of U.S.
assistance in Mozambique provides valuable information to
Mozambicans outside of the capital, while at the same time
providing a forum to encourage Mozambicans to do more to
determine their own future. The lack of knowledge about U.S.
participation in development initiatives in the provinces, as
well as general misconceptions about U.S. policy is notable.
The visit to these two provinces undoubtedly successful: each
side left with a better understanding of the other's
concerns. But travel challenges, geography, and other
logistical challenges mean that occasional visits only begin
the much needed long-term public diplomacy work that remains.
Post continues to engage audiences in Mozambique's ten
provinces with additional visits planned in coming months.
ROTH

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