VZCZCXRO2027
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #1328/01 3371130
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 031130Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7182
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001328 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM PREL CG
SUBJECT: DRC CABINET RESHUFFLE:  DOING THE SAME WITH LESS? 
 
REF:  Kinshasa 1307 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The GDRC's long-awaited cabinet reshuffle was 
announced November 25 (reftel).  The new cabinet gives President 
Kabila provincial/ethnic balance without weakening his ruling AMP 
alliance.  The biggest change is a reduction in the number of 
ministers from 60 to 45, as a number of previously autonomous 
ministries have been merged.  Although reducing ministries was the 
hallmark of the reshuffle, one new Ministry, Parliamentary 
Relations, was also created.  Two Cabinet "Commissions" have been 
established: one for Political, Social and Cultural Affairs, and 
another for Economic and Infrastructure Affairs.  Each is to be 
chaired by a Minister of State.  The selection of the new cabinet 
reaffirms once again President Kabila's primacy over Prime Minister 
Gizenga, and sends a message that merely cooperating with the AMP is 
not enough to hold on to a cabinet portfolio.  Stricter control over 
ministers by Kabila and reduced expenditures would seem to flow from 
the reshuffle.  Although the cabinet's size has already been 
reduced, even further reductions are likely.  Also likely is the 
prospect that trimming fat alone will have little impact on the 
Kabila government's lack of efficiency, due in large part to poor 
internal coordination.  END SUMMARY 
 
The reshuffle: a long time a'coming 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Rumors of a cabinet reshuffle have persisted since the 
President's statement, during an interview in June of this year, "Do 
we need 60 ministers in a cabinet? We are going to see, by 
September."  Indeed, the President's first cabinet, which took 
office in February, was criticized as an elephant-like body funded 
through a budget dependent on international aid in the region of 50% 
of total revenue.  Reducing the size of the cabinet, however, was 
not a simple exercise as all members of the alliance and its 
coalitions had to be satisfied to ensure national unity.  The new 
cabinet is the result of delicate negotiations whereby the President 
achieved provincial balance without damaging his "Alliance for the 
Presidential Majority" bloc (AMP in French) with a number of 
regional or personality-based parties including the Social Movement 
for Renewal (MSR) led by Pierre Lumbi, from the province of Maniema; 
the Coalition of Congolese Democrats (CODECO), led by Jean-Claude 
Muyambo of Katanga; the Union of Mobutiste Democrats (UDEMO), led by 
Francois Nzanga Mobutu from Equateur; and the Christian Democratic 
Party (PDC), led by Jose Endundo,from Equater.  Kabila also 
safeguarded his coalition with the Lumumbist Unified Pary (PALU) led 
by Antoine Gizenga from Bandundu. 
 
¶3.  (SBU), In fact, the reduction in size is clearly the most 
significant change in the new government: the former Ministries of 
Human Rights, Trade, Research, Small and Medium Enterprises, 
Tourism, and Social Affairs lost their autonomy and were folded 
into, respectively, the Ministries of Economy, Justice, Higher 
Education, Industry, Environment, and Humanitarian Affairs.  Five 
women, specifically four Ministers and one Vice-Minister, are in the 
new cabinet.  (Note:  There were nine females in the previous 
cabinet.  End note.) 
 
¶4.  (SBU) A new portfolio, the Ministry for Parliamentary Relations, 
has been introduced to serve as a bridge between the executive and 
legislative branches.  The intent is to ensure cohesion and to avoid 
discord between the President and the Parliament as occurred, for 
example, during the August 2007 investigations into the alleged 
occupation of Kahemba by Angolan troops.  Another innovation is the 
creation of two Cabinet "Commissions."  The first, to handle 
Political, Social and Cultural Affairs," will be chaired by the 
Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Denis Kalume.  The second, 
to deal with Economic and Infrastructure Affairs, will be headed by 
the Minister of State for Agriculture Nzanga Mobutu (son of the late 
dictator).  It is anticipated that the commission chairs will serve 
as coordinators between the 15 or ministries in each commission. 
(Note:  In the DRC, a Minister of State is more powerful that a 
simple minister.  End note.) 
 
Kabila Prevails yet again 
------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The selection of the November 25 cabinet reaffirms 
(although few doubted otherwise) that Joseph Kabila has prevailed in 
his ongoing tug or war with Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga.  Due in 
large measure to his advanced age (he is 83) and diminished energy 
levels, Gizenga has proven ineffective in persuading the younger and 
more politically powerful Kabila to accept the Prime Minister's 
choices for ministries.  State Minister Nzanga Mobutu also suffered 
 
KINSHASA 00001328  002 OF 002 
 
 
greatly as two of his party's members were adversely affected by the 
reshuffle. Sylvain Ngabu was downgraded from Minister of State to 
Minister, and Alain Lubamba, deputy foreign minister, was removed 
from the government altogether.  Ngabu made the costly mistake of 
having his security guards beat up some pesky journalists, while 
Lubamba took clumsy initiatives and issued official statements at 
odds with Kabila's policies while serving as acting minister. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Another important loser in the reshuffle was Foreign 
Minister Antipas Mbusa, who was demoted from "Minister of State" to 
"minister."  His cousin and protege Nelson Paluku was also removed 
as Vice-Minister of Defense.   There are no readily apparent 
explanations for Mbusa's (minor) fall from grace and rumors are 
rife.  Mbusa, who is from North Kivu, has longstanding personal ties 
to insurgent general Laurent Nkunda and his Tutsi guerillas, as well 
as to Nkunda's nemesis, the Hutu-led FDLR insurgency.  Finally, 
Mbusa may be a scapegoat for the November 9 Nairobi communique, 
which is generally viewed in Kinshasa as favorable to Rwanda at the 
expense of the DRC.  Although Kabila himself approved Mbusa's 
recommendation to sign the agreement, Mbusa is clearly disliked by 
many of Kabila's hawkish, anti-Rwanda, confidants and advisors. 
 
Striking regional, ethnic balance 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) One of Kabila's greatest goals in selecting a new cabinet 
was to maintain regional and ethnic balance.  This appears to be the 
reason for the departure of Environment Minister Didace Pembe, who 
was given high marks for his performance, and Justice Minister 
Georges Minsay (a newcomer in politics), who are from Bandundu, 
having given their jobs to natives of Equateur and Kasai-Occidental, 
Jose Endundo and Mutombo Bakafwa respectively.  Endundo and Bakafwa 
are not newcomers; both are former cronies of Joseph-Desire Mobutu. 
Other well-known figures have reemerged as Ministers in the new 
cabinet, four of them from Mobutu's regime, but none from Laurent 
Kabila's period as president.  They are Minister of Environment and 
Tourism Jose Endundo, Minister of Culture and Arts Esdras Kambale, 
Minister of Transportation Mwando Nsimba, and Minister of Justice 
and Human Rights Mutombo Bakafwa Nsenda.  The new Vice-Minister of 
Research is a Tutsi, Zachee Nsengiyumva Rugabisha, a little-known 
figure prior to the reshuffle. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment:  Stricter control over the Cabinet by Kabila and 
reduced budget outlays would seem to flow naturally from the 
reshuffle and the reduction of portfolios.  Even with 45 members, 
however, the cabinet remains huge and further reductions would seem 
likely.  Also likely is the prospect that trimming fat alone will 
have little impact on the Kabila government's lack of efficiency, 
due in large part to poor internal coordination.  End comment. 
 
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