VZCZCXRO0868
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #1463/01 1931521
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 121521Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8773
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 0033
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0248
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0030
RUEHLC/AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE 0960
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON 0804
RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0426
RUEHTO/AMEMBASSY MAPUTO 0467
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0031

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 001463 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, INL/AAE 
ACCRA ALSO FOR USAID/WA 
PARIS FOR POL - D'ELIA AND DEA 
LAGOS FOR DEA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2017 
TAGS: EFIN SNAR PREL PU
SUBJECT: GUINEA BISSAU: AMBASSADOR FOCUSES ON DRUGS, 
COOPERATION IN FAREWELL 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Janice L. Jacobs for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1.  (C) The Ambassador visited Bissau to cut the ribbon on 
the soon-to-be-opened office space and say good-bye in her 
final trip as Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau.  She found a 
country that is earning the trust of donors and cleaning up 
its finances.  At the same time, it is losing ground in the 
fight against drug trafficking and does not seem to have 
noticed it needs to start a fight against drug addiction. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
GOOD NEWS ON FINANCIAL FRONT 
---------------------------- 
¶2.  (C) Prime Minister Martinio N'Dafa Cabi told the 
Ambassador that his Government has made positive steps toward 
financial stability.  He noted that all accounts had been 
centralized to facilitate transparency.  Paying civil servant 
salaries is still a priority for the GOGB and even though it 
just paid two months worth of back wages, there are still 
four months of arrears.  Only once that has been accomplished 
can reforms be tackled, said Cabi, such as restructuring and 
reducing the civil service.  President Joao Bernardo "Nino" 
Vieira reiterated that salaries were the biggest financial 
challenge. 
 
¶3.  (C) Budget Director Romao Varela told Poloff at a 
reception to celebrate the imminent opening of the Embassy's 
liaison office in Bissau that the Government will raise 
enough donations to cover its 2006-2007 budget gap. 
Contributions from the EU, Spain, China and notably Angola 
will help close the over USD 22 million shortfall.  A 
balanced budget will qualify Guinea-Bissau for an IMF 
post-conflict assistance grant, an accomplishment the GOGB 
has been working toward since President Vieira took office on 
October 1, 2005. 
 
BAD NEWS ON THE DRUG FRONT 
-------------------------- 
¶4.  (C) In a July 7 meeting with the Ambassador, PM Cabi 
responded to post,s June 13 diplomatic note expressing 
concern over the firing of Judicial Police Chief Orlando da 
Silva.  He noted that a response had just been sent to Dakar, 
although it has not yet been received.  The diplomatic note 
was leaked by a member of the GOGB and it has gotten 
considerable press play.  Cabi's official explanation of da 
Silva,s firing described a bureaucratic misstep.  He also 
noted that drug trafficking is extremely dangerous business 
in Bissau and without international support the country will 
make little progress.  A replacement for da Silva has still 
not been named. 
 
¶5.  (C) The Ambassador explained the Major's List to Cabi and 
said Guinea-Bissau was in danger of making the list as a drug 
transit country when the interagency panel convened next year 
-- a step which would impact our ability to provide aid.  She 
urged the GOGB to redouble efforts to make sure that does not 
happen and offered U.S. support if credible partners could be 
identified. 
 
¶6.  (C) Brazilian Ambassador Joao Cruz reached out to the 
Ambassador to find ways our countries could continue our 
cooperation in Guinea-Bissau to include fighting drug 
trafficking.  He linked flagrant corruption and increasing 
concerns over security to drug trafficking.  In fact, he is 
so concerned about security that he recently hired all new 
embassy guards and is now heightening the walls around his 
compound.  His main frustration is echoed frequently among 
the diplomatic corps in Bissau and Dakar: if material support 
is provided to the GOGB, what assurances are there that it 
will not be used by police or military to facilitate drug 
trafficking? 
 
¶7.  (C) Cruz suggested targeting law breakers in Bissau 
through deportation or extradition.  He noted, however, that 
approach would require strong partners in the police force 
 
DAKAR 00001463  002 OF 002 
 
 
and judiciary and it is not clear at this point who those 
would be.  Another difficulty is the country,s lack of a 
prison.  Vieira told the Ambassador that a prison is a 
priority to fight drug trafficking in earnest. 
 
¶8.  (U) Trafficking through Guinea-Bissau is not the 
country's only drug problem.  More and more, consumption is 
affecting the population.  To raise the profile of the issue, 
the Ambassador and a reporter from Kansare, a Bissau 
newspaper, visited the country's only addiction treatment 
center just outside the capital.  Pastor Domingos Te, who 
runs the church-sponsored center, said crack use never 
existed a few years ago but at least 10 of his 50 enrollees 
admit to crack addiction.  A crack addict interviewed by the 
Ambassador said a gram of cocaine a few years ago cost about 
USD 140 (70,000 CFA).  Today, because of the widespread 
availability, it has dropped to about USD 16 (8,000 CFA).  He 
said it can be gotten in any neighborhood in Bissau and many 
of his acquaintances are users and dealers. 
 
COMMMENT 
-------- 
¶9.  (C) Guinea-Bissau seems headed in two directions at once. 
 This Government has garnered the trust of international 
donors in a way the previous government never did.  Financial 
transparency and counter-corruption measures, as well as the 
removal of corrupt former Finance Minister Victor Mandinga, 
have contributed to the success.  At the same time, there 
does not seem to be any champion left in the GOGB to fight 
drug trafficking.  Cabi seems to be sincere and have the 
nation,s best interest at heart, but his comment about the 
dangerousness of trafficking may have been an acknowledgement 
that he has no backing to fight the likes of kingpins like 
Interior Minister Baciro Dabo or members of the military. 
 
¶10.  (C) With technical assistance on hold until credible 
partners can be identified in the police, our emphasis on 
drugs needs to shift toward broader engagement.  We will 
continue to raise the specter of the Major,s list and we 
will work with Dakar- and Bissau-based diplomats and the 
UNODC on the creation of a mini-Dublin group for West Africa. 
 INL support for the UNODC,s upcoming program in Bissau to 
monitor and report on drug trafficking will be a centerpiece 
of our assistance.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶11.  Visit Embassy Dakar's SIPRNet Web site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/af/dakar. 
JACOBS