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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7210
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RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY
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RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001344 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON SOCI KDEM CG
SUBJECT: President Kabila Delivers Upbeat "State of the Nation" 
Address 
 
¶1.  Summary:  President Kabila's December 6 "state of the nation" 
address was generally upbeat and conciliatory.  It contained few 
surprises.  Kabila defended the offensive against renegade General 
Laurent Nkunda, hailed achievements in infrastructure and services, 
defended the agreement with China, and cautioned against moves to 
amend the Constitution.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  President Joseph Kabila delivered a Constitutionally-mandated 
"state of the nation" address to the Senate and National Assembly on 
December 6, the first anniversary of his inauguration.  It was the 
first time in the history of the country that a chief of state has 
addressed parliament.  As expected, he strongly defended the 
offensive against renegade General Laurent Nkunda in the east, and 
affirmed he was determined to bring peace and security to that 
region.  As summary of the speech's key points follows: 
 
INTRODUCTION 
------------ 
 
¶3.  Kabila began by thanking the people of the Democratic Republic 
of Congo for choosing him as the first President elected under 
universal suffrage.  He said the speech was for him an opportunity 
to bear witness to the Congolese people's shared vision for a better 
future.  He drew attention to the progress that the nation has made 
in the past year, including the "establishment of institutions 
worthy of a modern nation." 
 
INSTITUTIONS 
------------ 
 
¶4.  Kabila provided a brief summary of the nation's institutions and 
their proper roles, which, he said, all must respect.  He briefly 
described each branch's functions, emphasizing that the legislature 
would not govern and the president would not legislate.  He then, 
and later in the speech, devoted considerable time to the judiciary 
system.  He called for "an independent, efficient, professional, and 
impartial judiciary," but cautioned that the nation could not be a 
"republic of judges" and that the judiciary must be accountable to 
the people.  This line drew enthusiastic applause.  Even greater 
applause greeted the statement that "only the facts and the law 
count, not race, ethnicity, or social condition" and "the rich and 
influential cannot expect special treatment." 
 
SECURITY AND PACIFICATION 
------------------------- 
 
¶5.  Not surprisingly, Kabila devoted considerable time to the 
security situation, and in particular the current FARDC offensive 
against pro-Nkunda forces in Masisi territory in North Kivu.  In 
keeping with the overall upbeat tone of the speech, the President 
began by asserting that of the country's 145 territories, only 
Rutshuru and Masisi, both in North Kivu, are experiencing conflict, 
and that several areas plagued by violence a year ago, including 
Katanga and Ituri, are now peaceful  He conceded that nothing can be 
accomplished without security and pacification, and, without 
referring to Nkunda by name, stated that "a stubborn dissident 
general" had brought war and desolation to the people of North Kivu, 
and that the nation "would not be held hostage to outlaws." 
 
¶6.  Kabila reiterated his determination to bring order and peace to 
the affected areas; expressed deep sympathy for the victims of 
murder, rape, and looting; and saluted the "anonymous heroes" of the 
armed forces and police.  He emphasized his commitment to political 
and diplomatic efforts to resolve conflicts, and announced an 
upcoming conference of leaders from North and South Kivu.  He also 
pointed with obvious pride to his government's negotiations with 
Uganda concerning the Rukwanza island border on Lake Albert, and 
with Angola on the Kahemba border dispute. 
 
INFRASTRUCTURE 
-------------- 
 
¶7.  In keeping with the speech's positive tone, President Kabila 
said progress had been made in improving the nation's infrastructure 
in 2007.  He conceded, however, that much remains to be done.  He 
cited generators being installed on the Zongo and Inga 2 dams, 
actions taken to better control petroleum distribution, maintenance 
projects for schools and hospitals, plans for new universities in 
Bukavu and Kivudu, and two new hospitals in Kinshasa.  He 
specifically cited Congolese-born U.S. professional basketball 
player Mutombo Dikembe, who financed a hospital in Kinshasa, and 
exhorted the Congolese diaspora to do more to help their native 
land.  He noted that the opening of these hospitals was the "first 
time in decades" such new facilities had been opened in the RDC. 
 
ECONOMY AND SOCIAL SERVICES 
 
KINSHASA 00001344  002 OF 002 
 
 
--------------------------- 
 
¶8.  In these areas as well, Kabila pointed to progress and 
accomplishments.  He noted that a first forum on unemployment had 
been held, and that overall salaries are rising due to a slowly 
improving economy.  He cited progress in implementing codes and 
contracts in the mining sector and in reintegrating child soldiers 
into society. 
 
CONTRACTS WITH CHINA 
-------------------- 
 
¶9.  Kabila stated that the international donor community had not 
been able to keep up with the RDC's development needs and that his 
government was obligated to seek assistance elsewhere.  His tone 
turned defensive in defending recently signed agreements with China, 
describing them as "completely transparent" and of mutual benefit to 
both countries.  He explained, in great detail, his government's 
reasons and justifications for signing the agreements, which include 
contracts to fund railroads, highways, hospitals, and schools. 
 
AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION 
------------------------- 
 
¶10.  Apparently referring to efforts by some members of the ruling 
coalition in the National Assembly to amend the Constitution to make 
the President the chairman of the the nation council of magistrates, 
President Kabila stated that "not all problems can be resolved by 
amending the Constitution," and that the Constitution should be 
amended only in cases of "extreme necessity."  These comments 
elicited vociferous applause from opposition deputies. 
 
AN UPBEAT AND PROUD CONCLUSION 
------------------------------ 
 
¶11.  In his concluding remarks, Kabila stated emphatically that 
"some have said change (in the Congo) is not possible, but they do 
not know the soul of the Congolese."  He went on to say that "many 
doubted our ability to hold elections, to restore peace, and to 
unite our nation, but we proved the skeptics and the defeatists 
wrong."  Both remarks elicited enthusiastic applause.  He noted that 
Congo is "better than it was a year ago, and much better than 15 
years ago, and we will continue to improve day by day." 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12.  Kabila's intention was clearly to counter a growing perception 
among many Congolese (perhaps not unusual in situations of rising 
expectations after a long war and democratic elections) that the 
country has made insufficient progress since his 2006 inauguration. 
His singling out of China as having come to the RDC's rescue was not 
well received by ambassadors from some Western donor countries that 
have given billions of dollars in aid to the RDC.  Many expressed 
the view that Kabila came across as ungrateful and too biased in 
favor of a much newer partner.  Another view is that Kabila was not 
trying to praise China as much as trying to defuse criticism, by 
raising it publicly, over the lack of transparency in the contracts 
with China.  Kabila did briefly mention trips to South Africa, 
Belgium and the United States, but did not give details.  Kabila's 
delivery of what came across as a well-crafted U.S.-style State of 
the Union address was excellent.  The hour-long speech was generally 
upbeat and conciliatory and broached many of the most important 
issues facing the country.  However, there were few surprises or 
revelations, and no indication of concrete plans to achieve the 
social and economic goals articulated during his campaign.  End 
comment. 
 
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