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FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3686
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000110 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF AND AF/S 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PHUM AO
SUBJECT: ANGOLA: DAS THOMPSON DISCUSSES POLITICS WITH MPLA 
REPRESENTATIVE 
 
REF: LUANDA 104 
 
Classified By: Amb. Cynthia Efird for 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  MPLA Party Secretary Joana Lina told 
visiting DAS Carol Thompson that the MPLA is focusing its 
efforts in 2007 on the planned 2008 elections, including 
intense support of the nationwide voter registration 
campaign.  It has developed a vision for Angola,s future, 
Angola 2025, and has invited multi-party debate on its plan. 
Female representation continues to be low, but the party is 
working to promote more women into the higher ranks. 
Throughout the meeting, the line between political party and 
government continually blurred with our MPLA interlocutor. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On February 1, 2007, during her weeklong visit to 
Angola, DAS Thompson met with Joana Lina Batista, the MPLA 
Secretary of Administration and Finance, for a discussion of 
 
SIPDIS 
MPLA election preparations and its future goals.  Ambassador 
Efird, DCM and PolOff accompanied DAS Thompson. 
 
Concentrating on Election Preparations 
--------------------------------------- 
¶3. (SBU) DAS Thompson opened noting Angola,s potential and 
challenges that she had seen during her trip, and reiterated 
USG interest in a strong electoral process as Angola moved 
towards elections.  DAS Thompson offered her congratulations 
on the MPLA,s 50th anniversary (December 2006), and asked 
about the future.  Lina at first dodged DAS Thompson,s 
questions on the MPLA,s goals for the future, including its 
plans for a party conference and the future 
leadership/direction, stating that other party leaders could 
more appropriately handle these questions.  However, she then 
told Thompson the MPLA is committed to the reconstruction and 
development of the country and has proposed an Agenda of 
National consensus and invited feedback and debate on the 
plan, but received none.  She elaborated that all parties 
were invited to provide input, so that the plan would reflect 
a common vision, and determine the best for Angola without a 
party-based bias.  Note: The MPLA,s Agenda for National 
Consensus, was adopted by the President, retitled &Angola 
2025,8 announced publicly during the MPLA,s 50th 
Anniversary commemorations in December 2006 and presented by 
dos Santos as the national agenda.  Opposition parties 
criticized the lack of open discussion and the blurred line 
between a party and government plan.  End Note. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Lina said the MPLA is, at all levels, preparing for 
elections ) from the smallest local unit to the national 
party ) even though a firm timeline is not in place.  She 
said the MPLA,s goal is to register all citizens, not just 
party members.  She estimated that 55% of the party,s time 
is spent on preparing for elections, and 45% on continuing 
current operations and programs.  She said that all signs 
point towards elections but that it is important to mobilize 
all citizens, especially those who didn,t vote in 92 and 
might equate elections with violence. Lina called this 
&rewarding work8 because &Angola needs to hold elections 
to show the world that we have achieved stability.8  (Note: 
Opposition party leaders do not agree that the MPLA is 
reaching out to "all" citizens.  End Note)  Ambassador Efird 
told Lina that the International Republican Institute (IRI) 
was working with all the Angolan political parties on the 
elections and party strengthening and reinforced the offer of 
assistance from IRI to the MPLA. 
 
Blurring the Line Between Party and Government 
--------------------------------------------- - 
¶5. (SBU) Ambassador Efird asked Lina if the party views 
itself as &a political party like all the others,8 or does 
it view itself as something more.  Lina said that the MPLA is 
a political party like the others, but because it is the 
party in power it has national responsibilities.  The party 
was able to maintain the sovereignty and territory of the 
country and had fought to achieve peace.  She said that the 
party had embraced democracy and that it has a responsibility 
to mobilize all parties, to encourage them to look 
realistically at the country and contribute to a better 
Angola. 
 
¶6. (SBU) DAS Thompson asked if the MPLA was truly able to 
separate and define the responsibilities of the government 
vs. the issues of the party.  Lina replied that Angola is not 
yet at that level of organization.  The country needs to work 
through the electoral process first.  Only after an election 
can the people really judge the winning party based on the 
performance of the government, the quality of the party, and 
the quality of its candidates.  She elaborated that parties 
should describe their visions for governing and the party 
 
LUANDA 00000110  002 OF 002 
 
 
that wins should be allowed to fulfill its program. 
 
Women in Politics and Government: Largely Missing 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶7. (SBU) In response to DAS Thompson,s question on the 
party,s policy on facilitating the role of women, Lina said 
that the MPLA is striving towards having women in 20% of the 
party,s leadership positions at all levels.  She noted that 
while the MPLA hasn,t yet reached this mark, its record is 
far better record than others noting that neither the PRS nor 
the FNLA have women parliamentarians.  She said the MPLA 
hopes to reach the level of participation by women seen in 
South Africa and Mozambique.  Note: As a member of SADC, 
Angola must meet a thirty percent representation rate of 
women in government.  PRS and FNLA occupy respectively six 
and five seats in Parliament; MPLA has 129 seats of which 27 
are women.  End note. 
 
¶8. (SBU) This theme was reinforced during a February 1 lunch 
for DAS Thompson with Angolan women leaders including Albina 
de Assis Africana, the President,s Economic Advisor (and 
former Minister of Petroleum) and Guilhermina Prata, the Vice 
Minister of Justice.  Assis Africana noted that currently 
there are far fewer women in ministerial positions than in 
the past.  Both women commented that many younger talented 
Angolan women are being lured away from public service by the 
high paying jobs offered at Sonangol, the petroleum 
parastatal, and other multinational companies.  However, they 
noted that women's issues were receiving more attention in 
Angola, including the new program of "Zero Tolerance" on 
family violence.  Prata mentioned that the police department 
was sensitizing all officers to respond to family violence 
issues.  In addition, it is developing a cadre of female 
police officers although it needs additional training for 
them.  Ambassador Efird mentioned the USG sponsored police 
force training offered through the International Law 
Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Botswana and said she would 
make sure that women police officers were included in the 
next training group. 
 
¶9. (C) Comment:  Lina, like most MPLA officials, kept on 
message, often portraying the MPLA as much more open to 
discussion and dissenting views than is the case.  Her 
initial reticence to speak to international representatives 
belies the MPLA,s central decision-making and limited 
empowerment of its officials; as Secretary for Finance and 
Administration, Lina is considered to be one of the most 
powerful figures within the party and certainly knows party 
strategy and plans.  It also is indicative of a party that 
has neither the need for nor experience in explaining itself 
to Angolans or foreigners. Her difficulty in distinguishing 
the role of the MPLA party from the role of the government, 
and more fundamentally that there needs to be a separation of 
party and government, is typical for the MPLA; and as Lina 
noted will be a challenge for the party in post election 
Angola. 
 
¶10. (C) Biographical Notes:  Joana Lina Batista was born in 
Kwanza Norte on September 22, 1957.  An economist by 
profession, she is currently a Parliamentary Deputy.  She 
previously served in the government as Minister for Women and 
Family Affairs.  She is a member of the Political Bureau of 
the MPLA and is the party,s Secretary for Finance and 
Administration.  She is also head of the Finance Commission 
for the Parliament.  Lina is a close personal friend of 
President and Mrs. dos Santos and is godmother to their 
oldest daughter. 
 
¶11. (U) DAS Thompson has cleared this cable. 
EFIRD