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FM AMEMBASSY WINDHOEK
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INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WINDHOEK 000335 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/2018 
TAGS: KMCA PGOV ECON WA
SUBJECT: NAMIBIA: PRIME MINISTER CONVOKES CHARGE ON MCC 
 
REF: WINDHOEK 331 
 
WINDHOEK 00000335  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Charge d'affaires, a.i. Matt Harrington; 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
- - - - 
Summary 
- - - - 
 
¶1. (C)  Prime Minister Nahas Angula convoked the Charge 
d'affaires October 21 to express the Namibian Government's 
(GRN) continued commitment to the Millennium Challenge 
Account (MCA) program, following news reports that senior 
ruling SWAPO party officials continue to have serious 
concerns about it.  Angula refuted press accounts that the 
MCA Compact had been withdrawn from Parliament.  He stressed 
that the Namibian Government (GRN) was still looking to 
ratify the Compact before Parliament's December-January 
recess.  The Prime Minister emphasized that negotiations on 
the MCA Program Implementation Agreement (PIA) and a separate 
tax agreement need to be approved (or near approval) before 
Compact ratification.  Despite the Prime Minister's 
assurances, some senior members of SWAPO still have questions 
about some of the details in the MCA Compact.  Following the 
October 16-17 meetings of the SWAPO Politburo and other 
senior party officials, press outlets reported that some 
SWAPO leaders, including perhaps President Hifikepunye 
Pohamba, have concerns about some provisions in the MCA 
compact.  End Summary. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
Prime Minister Committed to MCA Compact 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2. (C)  On October 21, Prime Minister Nahas Angula convoked 
the Charge to his office to discuss the state of play 
regarding ratification of the MCA program.  The Prime 
Minister was accompanied by the Deputy Permanent Secretary 
for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Hinyangerwa Asheeke, while 
the Charge was joined by the MCC Country Director and 
econoff.  Angula noted that there had been a lot of 
"publicity" on MCA in the press following his last meeting 
with Charge on October 15 (reftel) and the subsequent 
gathering of the SWAPO parliamentary caucus.  (Note: Angula 
never directly mentioned a SWAPO Politburo meeting on October 
16 and 17, which the Namibian press has covered extensively - 
see paragraphs 6-7.  End Note).  The Prime Minister added 
that the GRN was trying to get the message out, and remarked 
it had placed a newspaper insert - a full four pages in the 
October 17 edition of the government-owned New Era - 
explaining the MCA program.  Angula acknowledged that some 
members of the SWAPO caucus "misunderstood" (and some 
continue to misunderstand) the program. 
 
¶3. (C)  Despite press reports to the contrary, Angula 
stressed that the MCA Compact had not been withdrawn from 
Parliament but, rather, that debate had been postponed so 
that pending concerns could be resolved.  He reiterated the 
GRN's commitment to ratify the Compact before Parliament 
adjourns at the end of November.  The Prime Minister 
emphasized that negotiation on the PIA and tax agreement -- 
the two now controversial implementing documents for the MCA 
program -- need to be "fast tracked" and essentially approved 
before ratification can occur.  Angula also confirmed press 
reports that a group of party insiders, led by Dr. Albert 
Kawana, the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Acting 
Attorney General, would provide "political oversight" of the 
Namibian contingent in the negotiations over the PIA and the 
tax agreement. 
 
¶4. (C)  Parliamentary debate on the MCA program should begin 
in two to three weeks, the Prime Minister explained.  He 
noted that the "(Namibian) MCA team will have to make a 
complete presentation to the caucus."  The PM remarked that 
all outstanding issues (misinformation) ) such as the issue 
of concessions around Etosha National Park, exempting MCC 
from taxation and legal liability, and the supremacy of the 
MCA compact over Namibian law (except for the constitution) - 
will have to be addressed.  The MCC Director provided the 
USG's explanations for each area of concern.  The Prime 
Minister responded that the MCC Director's explanations were 
reasonable and should be transmitted to the Namibian MCA 
team. 5.  (C)  The Charge informed the Prime Minister that 
the Embassy team would "energetically pursue the PIA and tax 
agreement negotiations" and he hoped the Namibian team would 
do the same. The Charge and MCC Director pressed Angula on 
whether the current Namibian MCA team had the requisite 
authority to represent the GRN during the PIA and tax 
agreement negotiations, given the objections now being raised 
in some quarters about commitments previously made by the 
 
WINDHOEK 00000335  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Namibian side.  Finally, Charge expressed concern that the 
GRN's failure to ratify the agreement before parliament's 
December-January recess could have negative funding 
implications for the MCA program. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
But Now for the Bad News . . . 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶6. (SBU)  According to press accounts, the SWAPO Politburo 
met on October 16 and 17 and discussed the SWAPO Youth Party 
League's (SPYL) recent accusations against the MCA compact 
(reftel).  Since September 18, SPYL and other likeminded 
groups began making spurious claims that the Compact and the 
draft PIA would allow the USG to purchase Namibia's "natural 
treasures" and would infringe on Namibia's sovereignty. Press 
stories following the Politburo meeting provided conflicting 
accounts on what the SWAPO leadership decided.  Some news 
outlets, including the government-run New Era newspaper, 
explained that the Politburo had "instructed Prime Minister 
Nahas Angula to ensure that the MCA debate is withdrawn from 
Parliament without causing more embarrassment for the party 
and Government."  The independent newspaper, The Namibian, 
reported that SWAPO had decided to withdraw the MCA Compact 
from Parliament altogether.  The Namibian claimed that 
unnamed sources had told its journalists that some ministers 
felt "duped" into accepting the MCA compact. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  The New Era also reported that President 
Hifikepunye Pohamba had "commended the SPYL for blowing the 
whistle, and remarked that, had the party youth wing not 
commented publicly on this issue, the country could have 
entered into a bad agreement."  The New Era also claimed that 
Pohamba "lashed out at Minister of Works and Transport, 
Helmut Angula."  (Note: During Namibia's two-year-long MCA 
compact negotiations, Angula was the government's lead 
negotiator as Director General of the Namibian Planning 
Commission (NPC).  SPYL have focused many attacks on Angula, 
alleging he has sympathies with a breakaway SWAPO faction 
that created a new opposition party (RDP) in November 2007. 
End Note). 
 
- - - - 
Comment 
- - - - 
 
¶8. (C)  We are encouraged that the Prime Minister reached out 
to us to reiterate the GRN's commitment to the MCA program. 
As noted in reftel, the controversy over the MCA Compact 
appears rooted in an internal SWAPO party conflict, primarily 
by a faction that appears intent on discrediting Minister 
Helmut Angula.  Nonetheless, we believe it is possible to 
finalize the PIA and tax agreements in time for Parliament to 
consider the entire package before it adjourns in late 
November, so long as the Prime Minister's strong commitment 
is shared by the President and translated into strong 
instructions to the GRN negotiating team to conclude 
negotiations expeditiously.  End Comment. 
HARRINGTON