VZCZCXRO6714
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0481/01 0541622
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231622Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1614
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000481 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EMIN EPET PGOV EAID SU
SUBJECT:  MEETING WITH THE MINISTER OF MINES, ENERGY AND 
INDUSTRY 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  On February 17, CG Juba met with 
Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) Minister of Mines, 
Energy and Industry Albino Akol Akol and his Under Secretary 
Chuor Deng Mareng.  They discussed the outdated inventory of 
mineral and energy resources that Southern Sudan controls. 
The Minister described in detail his concerns with the 
Government of National Unity's (GNU) handling of the 
petroleum portfolio.  He optimistically predicted a pipeline 
through Ethiopia connecting Southern Sudan to the sea, 
brushing off the fact that mountain ranges bar the way.  End 
Summary. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Gold in Them There Hills, and Other Stuff 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Akol welcomed CG and praised the USG for having 
opened a consulate general in Juba, yet another palpable 
American commitment to helping Southern Sudan recover and 
reconstruct from decades of war.  He said that his fledgling 
ministry had been in operation since 1998, but for the first 
time had a stable base of operations.  He took the CG on a 
brief tour of the astonishingly dilapidated ministry 
compound, including one annex that had been hit and gutted 
by high explosives - he did not know which side had fired 
the round. 
 
¶3. (U) Akol presented one of his geologists, David Loro 
Gubek, who listed mineral reserves known to exist on South 
Sudan.  He explained that the crust of much of the area 
dated from the Precambrian and was similar to mineral-rich 
zones in Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Brazil.  Gubek 
admitted that the information at hand was outdated, the 
findings of a Belgian Technical Cooperation inventory dating 
from the 1970s.  This had identified gold deposits near 
Kapoeta and Juba, as well as chromium, copper, iron, and 
uranium ores.  He said that no inventory had been taken of 
the former volcanic zone in Western Equatoria:  it was 
unknown if kimberlitic (potentially diamond-bearing) pipes 
exist.  Akol said that GoSS hoped to attract investors to 
the South to determine what deposits were worth commercial 
exploitation, in order to diversify Southern Sudan's 
economic base. 
 
---------------------------- 
Surprisingly Strong Capacity 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Akol said that the ministry staff was much better 
prepared than those of most other ministries.  He counted 
120 graduates in geology among his ministry assets.  Few of 
these had been able to find work in Khartoum, because of the 
color bar in the North, but many had experience in Uganda 
and other sub-Saharan countries.  He noted that USAID had 
sponsored geologist technicians for additional training in 
Nairobi, and that Norway had offered training in petroleum 
engineering.  The greatest weaknesses, he admitted, were 
total inexperience in negotiating exploration/production 
contracts that did not disfavor the GoSS.  They were 
reluctant to sign any deals for fear of being shortchanged. 
CG remarked that specialized firms existed that could be 
contracted to provide professional advice.  CG emphasized 
that it was also important to thoroughly vet all would-be 
investors in the mining sector to ensure that they had the 
requisite experience and capital, as well as an established 
reputation for fair and honest dealings. 
 
-------------------------- 
Black Gold the Crown Jewel 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Akol said that no one in the GoSS, including him, 
believed that the GNU would offer the South its fair share 
of oil revenues.  The GoSS would nonetheless seek to find an 
equitable solution, since it did not want to be blamed for 
taking a position that scuttled the Comprehensive Peace 
Agreement (CPA).  For the moment, however, the GoSS was in a 
difficult position.  His ministry had zero access to GNU 
production, existing contracts, or marketing figures:  he 
had no idea what production figures were, or what funds were 
coming in.  The GNU had also refused to reveal how much the 
state oil company, Sudapet, was taking off the top for 
refining and consumption in the North. 
 
¶6. (SBU) He complained that the GNU was also attempting to 
push the border further South to deprive the GoSS of 
revenues from areas that had clearly belonged to the South 
in 1956.  Most galling, he said, was the GNU's insistence 
that it alone negotiate all new contracts for exploration 
and production in the South, without consulting with the 
GoSS about ecological or social issues that affected the 
 
KHARTOUM 00000481  002 OF 002 
 
 
people of the South. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Akol confirmed that the GoSS Council of Ministers 
would meet to examine the White Nile Ltd. vs. Total dossier. 
He would not be drawn out on his views (which are rumored to 
favor Total), noting only that we would be happy to report 
back on the outcome of the meeting.  Akol said that the 
solution for South Sudan was south.  They needed to 
construct strong road and infrastructure links to Mombasa 
and a pipeline in the near future through Ethiopia.  CG 
noted the existence of mountain barriers and suggested that 
a project of this nature would be expensive and long in 
duration.  Akol waved this off, insisting that modern 
technology would carry the day. 
 
------------------- 
Energy and Industry 
------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Akol said that Tula Falls on the Nile near Nimule 
offered one of the greatest untapped sources of 
hydroelectric power in the world.  He said the Breden Falls 
near Juba offered a more modest source of power for the 
capital city.  Akol frankly admitted that there was no 
industry per se in the South - the North had ensured that 
nothing was ever sited there - and that the GoSS realized 
that industrial development was for the long term.  Light 
industry was the only realistic possibility for the near 
term. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Minister Akol should examine carefully a 
topographical map of Ethiopia. 
 
-------- 
Bio Data 
-------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) A Dinka in his mid-60s, Albino Akol was a 
professional military man by profession.  He fought in 
Anyanya I and was at various points a refugee in Central 
African Republic and Isiro, DRC, during that war.  He 
returned to Khartoum after the Addis Ababa Agreement as part 
of the integrated national army and rose to the rank of 
general.  He was not deployed to the South.  Akol returned 
to Juba as a minister in the southern rump government formed 
by Riek Machar after his split with the SPLA and shift to 
the GOS.  Akol became minister after signature of the CPA as 
the nominal representative of Malual's USDF party, although 
for all purposes Akol has shifted his allegiance to the 
SPLM. 
 
HUME