VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCG #0032/01 0290913
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290913Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1439
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2936
RUEHCG/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CHENNAI 000032 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON EAID PREL IN
SUBJECT:  KERALA COMMUNISTS LEAVE U.S. COMPANY'S DONATED BOATS HIGH 
AND DRY 
 
¶1. (SBU)  SUMMARY:  Twenty fishing boats lie unused sixteen months 
after they were donated by an American company to help rehabilitate 
a tsunami-affected coastal fishing community in the South Indian 
state of Kerala.  Even though a tsunami-affected fishing community 
is standing by in need of boats, bureaucratic incompetence mixed 
with distrust of all things American -- even a purely philanthropic 
gesture -- has left the 240 families high and dry.  The episode 
illustrates Kerala's governance problems, which have only increased 
since the Communist-led Left Democratic Front took power in 2006. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY BEACHES DONATED BOATS 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In January 2005, Brunswick Corporation, an Illinois-based 
manufacturer of marine boats, offered to donate 20 motorized, 
11-meter FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastic) boats to assist in tsunami 
rehabilitation in India.  USAID initially expressed reservations 
about the donation as the boats were of a different type than those 
lost by the fishermen in the tsunami and because Brunswick had not 
identified potential beneficiaries.  There were also concerns on the 
part of the fisheries sector that use of the boats could have a 
negative impact on fish stocks.  After some time the private charity 
C.J. Development Corporation was identified to help facilitate the 
donation.  The boats, which arrived in Kerala in November 2006, are 
valued at approximately one million dollars. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Brunswick donated the boats through Esmario Export 
Enterprises, its India dealer.  Esmario, in turn, gave the boats to 
C.J. Development Corporation, which was to distribute them to needy 
fishing families.  The charity group then asked the government for 
assistance in identifying a fishing community in need.  The state 
decided to set up a committee in the Fisheries and Revenue 
Departments with the sole purpose of identifying beneficiaries, a 
process that took several months.  When frustrated Esmario 
representatives inquired about the delay in identifying 
beneficiaries, they were told that the delay was due to the change 
in government and the required "procedural formalities."  (NOTE: 
The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front 
took power in May 2006, more than three months before Brunswick 
donated the boats.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) A contact at the C.J. Development Corporation told us that 
the government committee, which was set up in early 2007, has not 
yet been able to finalize the beneficiaries.  He said that the 
committee met on January 16 to consider a draft list, but doubts 
about the proposed list arose because it included proposed 
beneficiaries from outside the tsunami-hit districts.  The C.J. 
Development contact told us he believes the root cause is an ongoing 
cold war between the Revenues and Fisheries departments.  The 
Revenue Minister is from the Communist Party of India (CPI) (a 
junior partner in the LDF); the Fisheries Minister is from the LDF's 
dominant Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)).  The contact 
 
added that the CPI(M) Fisheries Minister has taken control of the 
process.  Our Kerala media and business contacts have repeatedly 
mentioned that infighting between the CPI and CPI(M) has resulted in 
additional inefficiency in a historically sclerotic bureaucracy. 
 
 
CPI:  THANKS FOR THE BOATS 
BUT NO THANKS TO USG ATTENDANCE 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The government committee, which still had not decided on 
beneficiaries, was nonetheless planning a formal event -- to be 
hosted by the government of Kerala -- to commemorate the boat 
donation.  In light of the fact that Brunswick is an American 
company, C.J. Foundation had previously proposed inviting a senior 
official from the U.S. Embassy to participate.  Seeking more details 
about the proposed event to help us identify the appropriate Mission 
officer to attend the event, we contacted Kerala government 
officials.  Thereafter, government contacts informed us that at the 
January 16 committee meeting the CPI Revenue Minister decided 
against extending an invitation to an American official, saying that 
"due to political reasons it should be avoided." 
 
¶6.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Sadly, this episode is all too illustrative of 
the challenges to getting anything done in Kerala, especially under 
the current CPI(M)-led government.  Faced with a generous donation 
from private industry and with fishermen in need of boats, 
bureaucratic indecision has left the donated boats sitting idle for 
more than a year.  The Kerala left's reflexive anti-Americanism also 
seems to be at work:  the boat donation event was going full-steam 
ahead until we inquired about the invitation for a USG official.  In 
this regard, Kerala stands in contrast to neighboring Tamil Nadu, 
where participation in tsunami relief events by Mission staff has 
been warmly received.  With a government unable to even accomplish 
the simple task of giving free boats away, it is no surprise that 
Kerala lags behind its neighbors in South India in attracting 
business and investment.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶7.  (U) This message was coordinated with USAID New Delhi. 
 
HOPPER