P 021532Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5055
INFO SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS LUANDA 000774 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON AO
SUBJECT: Peace Pays Rich Dividends 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Six years after the end of decades of civil war, 
the provinces of Huila and Namibe are undergoing a renaissance, with 
huge public investments in roads, railroads, schools, clinics, 
administrative buildings, telecommunications and potable water. 
Despite these efforts and significant private investment as well, 
problems remain, particularly in developing human capacity for the 
education and health sectors and in reviving agriculture, all 
affected by dislocations caused by the war.  The ongoing 
reconstruction of both provinces helps explain the MPLA triumph in 
the September 5 legislative elections in the two provinces. End 
Summary. 
 
Huila and Namibe Provinces: On the Move 
 
¶2.  (U) The Ambassador's September 21-27 visits to Huila and Namibe 
provinces revealed two provinces dynamically rebuilding following 
the 2002 end of the nation's decades-long, devastating civil war. 
The two provinces are quite different: Huila is a heavily populated 
inland province that suffered horrific devastation during the civil 
war and whose population largely fled the countryside to take refuge 
in urban centers.  Namibe Province, in contrast, is primarily 
desert, is lightly populated and experienced virtually no 
destruction from the war.  After six years of peace, both provinces 
are energetically rebuilding, driven by both public and private 
sector investment. 
 
¶3.  (U) GRA investments in the provinces include massive road and 
bridge reconstruction, new/rehabilitated administrative buildings, 
new schools and health posts, rehabilitated public parks and other 
civic amenities, and ongoing installation of a fiber-optic cable to 
connect provincial capitals.  The government is also rebuilding the 
Namibe-Lubango-Menongue railroad line, half of which was destroyed 
during the war.  The line, which is expected to reopen by the end of 
the year, is essential to GRA plans to rebuild eastern Huila's rich 
iron mines, which closed in the early 70's due to security concerns. 
 (Septel accesses commercial opportunities created by the railroad's 
reconstruction.) The Namibe Port Director told the Ambassador that 
the government plans to lengthen the commercial port by 500 meters 
and to rehabilitate the iron ore-loading terminal to accommodate ore 
from the planned reconstruction of the iron mines.  Namibe province 
is also working to build a fisheries industry to take advantage of 
the rich waters along the province's coast. 
 
¶4. (U) Private investment is also highly visible throughout both 
provinces.  The countryside is marked by large numbers of newly 
built, mud-brick homes with corrugated metal roofs; towns and cities 
are filled by new/rehabilitated shops and residences.  Also, South 
Africa Breweries/Miller 'Ngola brewery in Lubango, which also 
operates a Coca-Cola factory, has aggressive plans for expanded 
production. 
 
USG Saves Lives 
 
¶5. (U) USG anti-malaria programs implemented by USAID with technical 
assistance from CDC are active in both provinces, especially the 
heavily populated urban centers of Huila Province, where funds from 
the President's Malaria Initiative are training over 200 workers to 
spray sleeping areas in more than 80,000 homes, thereby protecting 
nearly 440,000 individuals from mosquitoes.  PMI also supports 
distribution of insecticide-treated bednets in both provinces to 
protect small children and pregnant women, two groups extremely 
vulnerable to malaria.  USG funding also supports the availability 
of the latest generation drugfor treatment of malaria, Coartem, in 
the two provinces.  GRA efforts to increase capacity in the health 
sector are severely constrained by the lack of doctors, nurses, 
technicians and other trained staff.  Newly arrived Cuban doctors 
and nurses are helping to fill the void, but shortages remain. 
 
Defying Expectations, MPLA Wins Big 
 
¶6. (U) During the September 5 legislative elections, both provinces 
went resoundingly for the ruling MPLA, which won over 90 percent of 
the vote in each province, thus freezing out UNITA, which had 
anticipated deeper support in the provinces, based on its showing in 
the 1992 elections.  The MPLA party secretary in Huila told the 
Ambassador that the shift represented the electorate's recognition 
that the MPLA had brought peace and reconstruction to the people, 
tangible benefits that the opposition could not match.  UNITA's 
party representative, on the other hand, could offer nothing 
concrete in explaining why voters should have voted for her party 
instead of the ruling party; she was at a loss as to how UNITA could 
broaden its support for future elections. 
 
Comment 
 
¶7. (SBU) Huila and Namibe are two provinces richly reaping the 
benefits of peace.  Provincial leaders' big plans for redevelopment 
of their respective provinces are matched by plentiful resources 
from the state.  Nonetheless, significant challenges remain in both 
provinces: How to rebuild Huila's once vibrant agricultural sector, 
given a largely depopulated countryside; for example, the population 
of the erstwhile breadbasket municipality of Cauluquembe has fallen 
from a pre-independence total of 200,000 to around 60,000 today, 
most of whom live in the towns.  How to tap Namibe's rich tourist 
potential, given very limited tourism infrastructure.  How to staff 
adequately the increasing number of freshly built schools and health 
posts.  Nonetheless, the provinces' energy and dynamism were 
welcomed contrasts to that felt in Kwanza Norte, which the 
Ambassador traversed in his drive back to Luanda, where nothing was 
happening - roads largely ignored, no evident new houses, shops or 
public investment - a phenomenon Angolans "credit" to a recently 
replaced ineffective governor. 
 
 
MOZENA