VZCZCXRO7574
PP RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHLS #0499/01 1281505
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 071505Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY LUSAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5781
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 000499 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS TO USTR (BILL JACKSON) 
DEPT FOR AF/EPS (ADA ADLER AND JANET POTASH) 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/REDSO (STEPHANIE WILCOCK) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2018 
TAGS: ECON PREL ECIN COMESA ZA ZI
SUBJECT: COMESA LEADERS COMMENT ON POSTPONED SUMMIT, COMESA 
SUCCESSORSHIP 
 
REF: A. LUSAKA 343 
 
     ¶B. 07 LUSAKA 983 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Martinez for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  The Common Market for Eastern and Southern 
Africa (COMESA) has postponed its ministerial and heads of 
state meetings, which were scheduled to take place between 
May 1 to 15 in Victoria Falls, due to the electoral crisis in 
Zimbabwe.  Although the Secretariat has considered the 
possibility of moving the summit to a new location, Deputy 
COMESA Secretary General (SYG) Ngwenya suggested that to do 
so would "deny Tsvangirai the opportunity to preside over the 
summit."  According to one account, Kenya, as current COMESA 
Chair, unilaterally cancelled the summit and has called for a 
ministerial on May 15 to discuss the selection of the next 
SYG and the rescheduling of the Summit.  Ngwenya told Emboffs 
that a nomination committee has identified him to replace 
Mwencha as the Secretariat's next SYG.  End Summary. 
 
Summit Postponed Indefinitely 
 
¶2. (SBU) On April 23, citing "the current electoral process 
underway in Zimbabwe," the COMESA Secretariat announced the 
postponement of COMESA's policy organs and heads of state 
meetings, which were scheduled to be held May 1-15 in 
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.  Outgoing COMESA SYG Mwencha told 
the Ambassador on April 24 that the security situation in 
Zimbabwe is "not acceptable" for holding a summit.  "How can 
you hold a summit in a situation like that?" he asked, adding 
that it would have been awkward for heads of state to visit 
Zimbabwe during possible run-off elections.  He said the 
Government of Zimbawe understood and supported the decision. 
 COMESA intends to hold a ministerial on May 15 to reschedle 
the summit and to discuss the replacement forMwencha, whose 
term as SYG expired on April 30. In he interim, Kenya will 
continue as COMESA Chir until the chairmanship transfers to 
the host o the next COMESA summit. 
 
¶3. (C) Mwencha said tht the Secretariat will wait to see how 
events unold in Zimbabwe before deciding upn an alternate 
location, although he admitted that he had considered the 
possibility of hosting the summit in Lusaka.  According to 
the Egyptian DCM in Lusaka, Kenya (as COMESA Chair) had 
cancelled the summit without consulting other member 
governments.  He said that preparations were well underway 
when the Secretariat announced the postponement, which took 
the Egyptians, at least, quite by surprise.  The Egyptian DCM 
relayed rumors that COMESA leaders would convene on the 
margins of the July African Union summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, 
but expressed his reservation that this would relegate COMESA 
to the status of an ancillary regional organization.  COMESA 
Deputy SYG Ngwenya (and Zimbabwean national), however, told 
the Ambassador that it would be preferable to hold the summit 
in Zimbabwe because "we would not want to deny Tsvangirai the 
opportunity to preside over the summit." 
 
Secretary General Selected 
 
¶4. (C) Ngwenya also told the Ambassador that a COMESA 
selection committee had identified him to replace Mwencha. 
He explained that the committee must wait until the summit to 
present its recommendation to the COMESA heads of state for 
their approval.  In a separate conversation, Ngwenya told 
Poloff that Rwanda's candidate for the SYG position, Manasseh 
Nshuti, intends to appeal the committee's decision.  In the 
meantime, until the appointment of the next SYG, Deputy 
COMESA SYG for Administration Ambassador Nagla El-Hussainy 
will steer the Secretariat as acting SYG.  Ngwenya explained 
to Poloff that it would have been inappropriate for him--as 
heir apparent to Mwencha--to serve as acting SYG after 
Mwencha's departure. 
 
¶5. (C) Comment:  Emboffs have heard other rumors that also 
suggest that Ngwenya will be the next COMESA SYG.  As 
previously reported (Ref B), Ngwenya's background makes him a 
strong candidate and inspires confidence in his ability to 
make progress on COMESA's economic integration agenda. 
Ngwenya has made numerous statements to emboffs that distance 
himself from the Mugabe regime and that suggest that he will 
not detract from former SYG Mwencha's work or respond to 
Government of Zimbabwe political pressure.  COMESA remains 
intent to host a joint COMESA-SADC-EAC heads of state summit 
later this year (September/October), as well as to launch a 
customs union by December.  To do so, it will be increasingly 
important to host a heads of state summit and resolve the 
 
LUSAKA 00000499  002 OF 002 
 
 
successorship question soonest. 
MARTINEZ