VZCZCXRO9508
RR RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #0696/01 1921607
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 111607Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4146
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000696 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EMIN ECON PREF PINR SOCI KDEM AO
SUBJECT: ANGOLA PROVINCIAL NOTES: SLOW DEVELOPMENT IN LUNDA 
NORTH, ANGOLA'S WILD WEST (PART 1 OF 3) 
 
 
Classified By: CDA Francisco Fernandez for reason 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Diamond-rich Lunda North province is on the 
slow track to development.  Despite the important role of the 
diamond sector in contributing to Angola,s non-petroleum 
derived economy the province remains rural, underdeveloped 
and isolated from the rest of the country.  Few employment 
opportunities exist outside of the diamond and public 
sectors, and economic growth and development is restricted to 
urban areas.  Voter registration is moving slowly, and large 
swathes of the province have not been reached by registration 
brigades.  Government officials believe the extended 
registration period will allow them to reach eligible voters, 
but the opposition parties remain skeptical and critical of 
the GRA's efforts in the province. End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) This cable is part one of a three part series on Lunda 
Norte province.   Poloff visited Lunda Norte province from 
June 6-8th, 2007 with Dutch and British Emboffs.  This cable 
focuses on economic development and voter registration; 
septels cover human rights and village life.  The delegation 
met with the provincial government, electoral officials, 
police, opposition party, civil society and religious 
leaders, and also paid a visit to a small village.  The visit 
touched on economic development, human rights, electoral 
registration, and the political climate in the province. 
 
Background: Lunda Norte, the Forgotten Province 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶3. (U) Lunda Norte has an estimated population of 850,000 and 
covers 103,000 square kilometers in the northeastern corner 
of Angola, bordering the DRC on the north and east.  The 
province has nine municipalities and the provincial capital 
of Dundo is located in the northeastern corner of the 
province.  The Lunda-Chokwe people are the dominant ethnic 
group, and the province is a stronghold for the opposition 
PRS (Party for Social Renovation). 
 
¶4. (U) The province is known for its vast diamond reserves 
and has scant economic activity outside the diamond and 
government sectors.  In a meeting Emboffs, Provincial 
Governor Manuel Francisco Gomes Maiato described the province 
as still suffering from the lack of colonial-era investment. 
The Portuguese lacked the capital to develop infrastructure 
in the vast region; the little development found there was 
done by Diamang, an English-Belgian-French-Portuguese joint 
venture that was granted an exclusive concession for diamond 
exploration and mining in 1917.  Diamang built roads and 
factory towns that remain the base of development in the 
province.  Diamang was nationalized in 1977 and became 
Endiama, the Angolan diamond parastatal. 
 
¶5. (U) In the civil war period Lunda Norte saw relatively few 
military skirmishes and UNITA's need to access the diamonds 
fields discouraged it from laying many landmines.  Roads laid 
in the 40s and 50s have never been maintained and are now 
littered with enormous, truck-swallowing holes.  Downed 
bridges and bad roads make it virtually impossible to drive 
through the Province from west to east, leaving the 
provincial government in Dundo effectively isolated from the 
interior. 
 
Trickle Down Benefits of the Peace Dividend 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The province's economic development is driven by 
government spending and the diamond industry.  Governor 
Maiato's priorities are building schools, medical centers, 
distribution systems for potable water, and roads that link 
the provincial capital to the rest of the province.  The 
Provincial Government is also working to diversify the 
economy and encourage investment outside the diamond sector. 
In a county known for its bureaucracy Lunda Norte is said to 
be the most bureaucratic province; one must show a letter 
from an employer stating the dates and purpose of travel to 
even embark on a plane to Lunda Norte. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Urban centers are the main recipients of public 
works projects, most of which are line items on the GRA's 
budget.  A new branch of the Education School of Agostinho 
Neto University recently opened, and a Chokwe art museum and 
two new hospitals are under construction.  Most of these 
projects are driven by Governor Maiato, who is a long-time 
member of the ruling MPLA, a former Minister of Commerce and 
a close associate of President dos Santos.  Articulate, 
passionate and clever, he often avoided direct questions 
about Lunda Norte by instead talking about the country 
overall, especially when discussing the GRA's work to rebuild 
and develop the country.  Maiato's private passion is tennis; 
he is head of the Angolan Tennis Association and Dundo is 
home to the post-war completed three-court National Tennis 
 
LUANDA 00000696  002 OF 002 
 
 
Center. 
 
Progress Limited to Urban Areas 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Economic growth and development has been slow to move 
outside of urban centers, and the lack of human resources and 
capacity remains a serious problem.  Most medical personnel 
in the province are GRA-contracted third country nationals, 
and civil society leaders openly question how new hospitals 
and schools will be staffed and supplied.  The government 
also has a lock on hiring in the province.  Development 
Workshop, an international NGO working on the USAID-funded 
Municipal Development Program, was not allowed to 
independently hire local staff for its Lunda Norte office. 
They were required to submit the job requirements to the 
provincial government, which then gave them a list of names 
from which they could interview and hire. 
 
¶9. (U) The Governor said that the traditional attitude of 
suspicion and discrimination against non-diamond sector 
businesses and strong security concerns in the diamond sector 
has effectively immobilized the business community.  He said 
that diamond industry outsiders have complained that the 
province has a "you can't work here" attitude.  To counter 
that perception and encourage entrepreneurs and private 
investors to come to Lunda Norte, the provincial government 
hosted a Small Business Conference in May 2007.  Note: The 
Governor stated that foreign investment currently accounts 
for 90% of investment in the province.  End note. 
 
¶10. (C) PRS opposition leaders criticized the GRA's 
management of Lunda Norte's massive diamond resources. 
Concerned that diamond profits are not being used for 
provincial development, they would like to see social 
investment plans and corporate social responsibility built 
into diamond contracts and concessions.  They criticized the 
GRA's environmental record in the region and stated that 
companies leave dangerous mines open and pollute rivers with 
dredging operations, issues that affect the party's largely 
rural and ethnic Chokwe supporters.  Civil society leaders 
also condemned the provincial government's extravagant 
spending on pet projects and events, such as sponsoring the 
travel for tennis players, musicians and dance troupes from 
the DRC, Cabo Verde and Brazil, and guests brought in for a 
tennis tournament and lavish party on Provincial Day. 
 
Slow Progress on Voter Registration 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶11. (U) Electoral registration has been slow in the province, 
and Governor Maiato and the bi-partisan members of the 
Provincial Electoral Commission described in separate 
meetings the various logistical hurdles faced in the largely 
rural province.  Thirteen registration brigades were planned 
for the province, but only seven operated through most of the 
first phase of registration.  Only three of nine 
municipalities were reached in the first six months of 
registration; over 180,000 people were registered.  All 13 
brigades are now functioning as mobile brigades that move 
from village to village, and the Ministry of Territorial 
Administration supplied a helicopter to reach rural areas. 
Electoral officials are confident the brigades can quickly 
access the other six municipalities, but the opposition PRS 
is skeptical that electoral officials will be able to finish 
the registration process during the three month extension. 
The PRS criticized the government's rollout of its brigades, 
stating that brigades had yet to reach even easily accessible 
urban areas. 
 
¶12. (C) Comment: The Governor talks the talk about the less 
restrictive business climate and large long-term investments 
in infrastructure, health and human resource development 
needed to jump-start economic growth in the province. 
Reality, however, is an economy tightly controlled by the 
provincial government, development funds spent on pet 
projects that show little long-term planning or input from 
citizens, and use of government influence to direct jobs. 
There is little reason for the central government to 
intervene as long as diamond revenues keep rolling in, and 
without outside pressure the provincial government will be 
slow to change its ways.  End comment. 
FERNANDEZ