VZCZCXRO6933
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #1270/01 3541818
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201818Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4502
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 001270 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR AF/S 
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND LEO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN EAID ECON AO
SUBJECT: WORLD BANK ANGOLA BRIDGING TWO WORLDS 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  World Bank Country Representative - 
Angola Alberto Chueca is decidedly more upbeat about 
prospects for successful Bank engagement in Angola than he 
was only three weeks ago, when he last met the Ambassador. 
His new-found optimism is founded on several recent 
developments:  final agreement with the GRA on a $102 million 
project to provide water and feeder roads to rural Angola; 
break in a logjam that had blocked a project for USD 50 
million to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of 
Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER); improved 
prospects to convince the Bank to shift Angola from the 
concessional IDA window to a &blend8 program that would 
enable the Bank to make considerably larger loans to the GRA 
and thus raise the Bank,s profile here as well as 
demonstrate the Bank,s confidence in Angola 
credit-worthiness; and emerging engagement with the Tribunal 
de Contas (Audit Court, the GRA's version of a national 
inspector general), which has asked the Bank to help improve 
its oversight of GRA procurement activities, a fertile 
breeding ground for corruption.   End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Surprisingly upbeat, World Bank Country 
Representative in Angola Alberto Chueca, shared with the 
Ambassador December 18, 2007 recent improvements in the 
Bank's operations in Angola.  Chueca believes the Bank will 
classify Angola as a blended country, thereby permitting 
significantly larger lending programs, potentially reaching 
over $800 million.  This development will signal to the GRA 
the Bank,s increasing faith in Angolan credit-worthiness, 
which will be well received by the GRA and which will help 
get the Bank a better seat at the table on future engagement 
with the Angolans.  On the Angolan side, the GRA recently 
approved two WB programs after a contentious year of 
negotiations, complicated by arcane Angolan legal 
requirements.  These projects include the 102 million for 
rural water and roads and the 50 million for technical 
assistance to MINADER. 
 
Tribunal de Contas 
------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Chueca was particularly pleased with his budding 
relationship with the Tribunal de Contas (equivalent of a 
national inspector general), which has requested the Bank,s 
assistance in bringing greater transparency to the GRA,s 
procurement processes, which are ripe for corruption.  Chueca 
said he is organizing a workshop for the first quarter of 
2008 to train managers from the Tribunal de Contas on 
government procurement, budget management, and evaluating the 
recurring cost of programs.  According to Chueca, 
strengthening an institution like the Tribunal de Contas, 
which seems genuine in pursuit of its monitoring role, could 
be an important step in bringing greater sunshine to Angola's 
public finances.  Chueca said a recent meeting with Tribunal 
President Juliao Antonio left him convinced that Antonio (a 
retired senior judge) genuinely wants improvements in public 
financial management; as Chueca put it, &the auditors are 
starting to grow some teeth.8  He said the President is 
supporting Antonio,s endeavors.    (Note:  The Tribunal is 
responsible for auditing GRA execution of Angola's budget as 
well as for trying cases of official corruption.  A review of 
its website makes clear that Antonio has far to go in 
achieving his objective as the website posts only a single 
decision against official corruption and no audit of any 
ministry.  End note.) 
 
Understanding the GRA psyche 
-------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Chueca spoke at length on his perspective as to 
why the Bank, other International Financial Institutions, and 
many western countries are frustrated in their endeavors to 
engage the Angolans.  The key to understanding GRA 
leadership, he asserted, is to appreciate their 
self-perception as the winners, the party that defeated the 
Portuguese, the South Africans, the Zairois and the 
Americans.  As such, President Dos Santos asserts his 
independence, sees himself as a global statesman, and does 
not want to be seen as bowing to the West.  Citing an example 
to support his point, Chueca said he recently was told by a 
senior GRA official that the President, when informed that 
Angola was only &a few cosmetic changes away8 from 
qualifying for participation in the Extractive Industries 
Transparency Initiative, personally had blocked Angola,s 
seeking EITI membership, declaring that he himself would do 
what needs to be done without bowing to the West.  Chueca 
cited this incident as an example of Angola,s taking a 
 
LUANDA 00001270  002 OF 002 
 
 
decision against its own interests, all in the name of 
independence. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Expanding on the theme, Chueca said Angola,s 
leaders have ) literally ) been fighting all their lives, 
so even now after peace has arrived, they continue to fight, 
now against the Bank, IMF and the West &just to show who has 
the power.8  Chueca added that outsiders need to accept 
these realities, and seek to engage the Angolans on their 
terms in a fashion that shows how we can help the Angolans 
achieve their own agenda.  He advocated letting Angolans 
think through issues own their own and participate in 
designing programs, so they then see their own ideas and 
support the programs.  This low-key approach would also 
reduce friction when donors work with civil society, the 
private sector, the media, and political partners. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Comment.  Although business in Angola for Chueca 
and the Bank has often been frustrating, to put it mildly, 
Chueca has learned some valuable insights into how to have an 
impact in this challenging environment.  These insights have 
enabled the Bank to remain engaged here, while its sister 
instititution the IMF has essentially had to pack its bags. 
We, too, see value in Chueca,s insights and will factor them 
into our own assessments of how best to advance our agenda 
here. 
MOZENA