VZCZCXRO5474
PP RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1134/01 1350548
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 150548Z MAY 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2787
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 001134 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AF/EA, DCHA 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS 
USMISSION UN ROME 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR JMELINE, TSHORTLEY 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI KAWC SU
SUBJECT: Sudan - Cattle Rustling, Emerging Government, 
and USAID in Eastern Equatoria: USAID visits Budi and 
Torit, May 3-8, 2006 
 
 
------------------- 
Summary and Comment 
------------------- 
 
¶1.  From May 3 to 8, 2006, a USAID/DCHA program officer 
visited Eastern Equatoria State (EE) to assess 
humanitarian conditions in Southern Sudan.  The greatest 
driver of conflict in EE is cattle rustling and 
retaliatory violence between tribes.  Though all EE 
counties are absorbing returning internally displaced 
persons (IDPs) and refugees, officials did not seem to be 
concerned about mounting population pressure on local 
infrastructure or resources.  The USAID program officer 
witnessed a nascent government - non-existent just a few 
months ago - beginning to grapple with these challenges. 
USAID-funded partners are working side by side with these 
new officials and communities, and are making a critical 
impact in supporting the emerging government, mitigating 
conflict, and providing humanitarian assistance to 
returnees and the most vulnerable communities.  USAID 
should maintain its support for peace-building and 
reconciliation activities.  They are coveted by county 
and state officials, and they are reducing levels of 
conflict. 
 
¶2.  To sustain recent humanitarian achievements - many of 
them attributed to USAID support - EE will rely on 
international assistance for years to come.  However, 
local dependence on USAID and other international donors 
should gradually decrease as EE continues down a 
seemingly positive and increasingly sustainable path. 
End summary and comment. 
 
----------- 
Budi County 
----------- 
 
¶3.  A County-Level Perspective:  Budi County, one of 
eighQcounties in EE, is a microcosm of post-peace 
Eastern Equatoria.  A representative of the Sudan 
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Commission (SRRC) 
estimated that approximately 2,000 refugees and IDPs have 
returned to Budi County alone since the signing of the 
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005. 
Budi County has one of the lowest numbers of water 
sources per person in Southern Sudan.  One negative 
impact of the refugee influx may be an increase in 
HIV/AIDS.  The hospital in Chukudum estimates that 10 
percent of blood donors test positive for the disease, 
attributing most cases to recent returnees from Uganda 
and Kenya. 
 
¶4.  Conflict & Reconciliation:  In Budi, cattle owners 
circulate with weapons and villagers live in fear of 
marauding, rival tribes seeking retribution for stolen 
livestock.  Hours after USAID's arrival in Chukudum, the 
county seat, a woman was killed by a stray bullet in a 
vengeance attack on the outskirts of town.  USAID 
implementing partner Pact has established a peace- 
building program to support peace-building activities in 
Budi and elsewhere in EE, helping Equatorian officials 
and leaders reconcile differences between rival tribes 
involved in cattle rustling.  USAID met the county 
commissioner in southern Budi who was traveling to a 
neighboring county for a peace and reconciliation meeting 
between the Didenga of Budi and the rival Logir of Ikotos 
County.  Villagers return home before dusk to avoid the 
threat of Logir attacks.  Near the county line, a USAID- 
funded borehole worksite was guarded by local villagers 
with weapons. 
 
¶5.  Current Challenges:  According to the SRRC 
representative, the biggest problems in Budi County are 
food security (the area experienced bad rains in 2003- 
2004), poor roads (the 35 kilometers from Chukudum to 
Lokutei takes 2.5 hours), and low vocational capacity. 
Over the last few months, the first EE state government 
officials have arrived in Chukudum, including the county 
commissioner (who has a vehicle), a SRRC representative, 
and officials from the Government of Southern Sudan 
 
KHARTOUM 00001134  002 OF 003 
 
 
(GoSS) Departments of Education, Health, Agriculture, and 
Veterinary Services.  USAID implementing partner 
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) informally 
mentors the health and water officials who came to Budi 
with no prior technical experience.  Teachers and health 
workers still have not received salaries, causing much 
consternation, according to the SRRC representative. 
 
---------- 
Torit Town 
---------- 
 
¶6.  Emerging Government:  In Torit, the EE state capital 
and former Government of Sudan (GoS)-controlled garrison 
town, the deputy governor told USAID that the main 
security problem in the state was cattle rustling and 
subsequent retribution attacks by rival tribes.  He 
listed the greatest needs as road improvements, 
increasing access to water, and improving food security 
in certain areas.  He thanked USAID for its contributions 
and said the new county officials were beginning to 
tackle tribal disputes through peace conferences and 
mediation. 
 
¶7.  Recent Achievements:  The UNMIS team leader for EE 
supported the governor's contention that rustling 
conflict was decreasing, in part because of the new 
network of government officials across the state 
addressing the issues of their constituents.  He has seen 
a dramatic difference in the six months since he has been 
with the UNMIS unit of 47 members in EE.  Aided by 
support from the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), EE 
recently distributed its first ever shipment of drugs to 
various health facilities across the state.  In May, the 
state awarded $270,000 to a water drilling company to 
drill 27 new boreholes throughout EE, another 
achievement.  In another promising development, Sudanese 
Armed Forces (SAF) and Sudan People's Liberation Army 
(SPLA) soldiers have integrated in Torit and now share 
the same barracks. 
 
---------------------- 
Humanitarian Situation 
---------------------- 
 
¶8.  With its fledgling government, reduced levels of 
conflict, and a small but important network of NGO and UN 
humanitarian contributors, EE is a relative bright spot 
among the states of Southern Sudan.  However, the state 
may not seem bright to the casual outside observer. 
Humanitarian indicators - such as access to water and 
healthcare, food security, and government capacity to 
manage social services - are dangerously low.  Due to 
poor water and sanitation conditions in Torit, the town 
has recorded 484 cases of cholera since late February.  A 
representative of the non-government organization (NGO) 
Merlin estimated that there were only 17 latrines in all 
of Torit, a town of 28,000 people. 
 
-------------- 
USAID Response 
-------------- 
 
¶9.  USAID contributions in EE touch upon many sectors 
critical to safeguarding public health and tackling the 
state's lack of social services.  Since the signing of 
the CPA, USAID implementing ADRA has constructed or 
rehabilitated 40 water sources and 80 latrines in Budi. 
ADRA also supports all 12 county health centers and 
carries out a food-security and animal-health program. 
In Chukudum, USAID's impact includes new boreholes and 
latrines, animal health services, a new school under 
construction, and support to the county development 
committee. 
 
¶10.  To respond to the cholera outbreak in Torit, USAID 
is providing chlorine to treat the town's water supply 
and is repairing two water tanks.  Other USAID-funded 
programs in Torit are providing 100 new beds for the 
hospital, cleaning supplies for 150 market vendors, 
 
KHARTOUM 00001134  003 OF 003 
 
 
supplies and equipment for the governor's office and five 
other EE state departments, and desks and chairs for 400 
students in Torit's schools. 
 
¶11.  Specific Recommendations: 
 
a)  USAID should maintain its support for peace-building 
and reconciliation activities.  They are coveted by 
county and state officials, and they are reducing levels 
of conflict; 
 
b)  Basic humanitarian support, particularly in the water 
and health sectors, must be maintained at current or 
slightly reduced levels for another year.  However, USAID 
must aim to transition or carefully terminate financial 
support for certain aspects of its programs in these 
sectors as the government builds capacity and other non- 
USAID funding streams come online.  Within the next 12 
months, USAID may be able to cut its funding of drug and 
salary support to health facilities, and may be able to 
refocus its water program into the most vulnerable 
counties with an eye toward minimizing conflict over 
access to scarce water resources; 
 
c)  USAID's support to EE's government and urban centers 
through implementing partner Development Alternatives, 
Inc. (DAI) is having a significant physical and 
psychological impact, reinforcing expectations that peace 
provides dividends.  USAID should continue ongoing DAI 
quick-impact projects, particularly in decrepit Kapoeta, 
the future capital of EE; 
 
d)  USAID-funded food distributions should be monitored 
carefully in EE with a goal of transitioning to food 
support for work, education, and the most vulnerable; and 
 
e)  To maximize all international and governmental 
humanitarian efforts in EE, USAID should strongly 
encourage the United Nations to play a stronger 
coordination role in EE by anchoring itself in Torit and 
in Kapoeta. 
 
HUME