VZCZCXRO6867
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0571 1050752
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140752Z APR 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0551
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000571 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KSCA OTRA EAID CDC SU
SUBJECT: FFAMC CHAIRMAN UPBEAT ON CPA IMPLEMENTATION AT AEC SESSION 
SKIPPED BY SPLM 
 
REF: 07 KHARTOUM 1696 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Dr. Mohammed Osman Ibrahim, Chairman of the 
GOS's Fiscal and Financial Allocation and Monitoring Commission 
(FFAMC), spoke to a special plenary session of the Assessment and 
Evaluation Commission (AEC) April 10, updating a report he presented 
last October (REFTEL).  Most oil revenue owed to the South is being 
transferred, while the Northern states are being shortchanged.  The 
Chairman noted a lack of cooperation from the various States of 
Southern Sudan, which have not been providing requested information 
on transfers of oil revenue that they receive via the GOSS.  One 
point of contention between the GoSS and the GNU appears to have 
been cleared up:  The Chairman said the two sides have agreed on a 
means of collecting national revenues (customs and taxes) in the 
South.  Despite pledging to have a representative at every AEC and 
working group session to help prepare the Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) 
of the CPA process, no one from the SPLM attended special session of 
the FFAMC.  END SUMMARY 
 
BIG SUMS BEING TRANSFERRED; NORTHERN STATES LOSE OUT 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2.  (U) The April 10 plenary was organized by the US in its capacity 
as Coordinator of the Wealth Sharing Working Group.  The FFAMC is 
one of the primary monitoring bodies created under terms of the CPA, 
and is tasked with providing transparency in the Wealth Sharing 
provisions of that agreement.  Dr. Ibrahim provided up-to-date 
information on transfers of oil revenues under the CPA.  The 
allocation of revenue by the GNU to the GoSS for calendar 2007 was 
2.798 billion Sudanese pounds (about $1.4 billion USD); the 
"deficit" (arrears) in payments was three percent, or 81.5 million 
pounds ($40.75 million USD).  The Northern States were the big loser 
with the biggest deficit, receiving only 76% of the 3.09 billion 
pounds ($1.5 billion USD) they were entitled to under the formulas 
of the CPA. 
 
FFAMC SAYS IT IS RECEIVING GENERALLY GOOD COOPERATION 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Chairman Ibrahim said that the cooperation his agency is 
receiving from the GoSS and the GNU is fairly good.  Asked to 
identify any agencies which have not been providing adequate 
cooperation in providing information, he singled out only the 
separate state governments of Southern Sudan.  The States have not 
been filling out the questionnaires with the information on the 
transfers they receive via the GoSS.  Ibrahim noted that it was to 
the states' benefit to provide this information. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) COMMENT: The FFAMC Chairman painted a generally positive 
picture of CPA implementation, which has improved since his last 
visit five months ago.  The trend is towards greater cooperation 
from the GNU (particularly the Ministry of Finance).  During his 
last presentation, he singled out that Ministry as not being 
receptive to FFAMC requests for information.  According to the 
FFAMC's data, the GNU is providing the lion's share of oil wealth 
owed to the GoSS.  This time, the shortcomings appear more on the 
side of the South.  The lack of cooperation by the Southern States 
may be the result more of a lack of organizational capacity of the 
states rather than a refusal to fulfill terms of the CPA.  However, 
it could also reflect a decision imposed by the GOSS; whether the 
FFAMC has the right to monitor the transfers of funds once they have 
been delivered to the GoSS is a point of contention between the GOSS 
and the GNU. 
 
FERNANDEZ