VZCZCXRO1539
RR RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHPA
DE RUEHSA #2310/01 2960927
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220927Z OCT 08 ZFR
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6083
INFO RUEHPA/AMEMBASSY PRAIA 0177
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 0175
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 6158
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 0296
RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 8509

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SENSITIVE 
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AF/S FOR RUSH MARBURG, H FOR DIANE RICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD EINV PREL PGOV SF
SUBJECT: SCENE-SETTER FOR CODEL LEWIS' NOVEMBER 8-13, 2008 
VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA 
 
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APARTHEID AERA TERRORISM AND A NEW EXEMPTION FROM VISA 
INELGIBILITIES 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Visa ineligibilities related to past terrorist and 
criminal activity in opposition to the apartheid-era regime 
have posed a significant strain on the U.S.- S.A. bilateral 
relationship.  The need for Nelson Mandela and other South 
African leaders, considered heroes of the anti-apartheid 
movement, to travel on visa waivers undercut our efforts to 
influence SAG policy on issues such as the designation of 
terrorist supporters and financiers at the United Nations 
Security Council.  Earlier this year, Congress took action 
to remedy this situation and the result was Public Law 
110-257, enacted in July.  This law gives discretion to either 
the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
after consultations involving the Departments of State, 
Homeland Security, and Justice, to exempt persons from 
terrorist and criminal grounds of ineligibility with respect 
to activities undertaken in association with the African 
National Congress in opposition to apartheid rule in South Africa. 
Exemptions for an initial list of seven individuals including 
Nelson Mandela and Jacob Zuma have been provisionally 
approved by working-level officials at State, and we are waiting 
for DHS and DOJ to follow suit in order that the Secretary 
of State can formally grant the exemptions. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
FOREIGN POLICY - FOCUS ON PROMOTING AFRICA 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶11. (U) South Africa under Mbeki took a high-profile role 
promoting Africa's interests -- the African Renaissance. 
South Africa served as the first chair of the African Union 
until July 2003 and helped establish continental institutions 
such as the Pan-African Parliament (which sits in South 
Africa) and the AU Peace and Security Council.  Mbeki was the 
driving force behind the New Partnership for Africa's 
Development (NEPAD), an African-developed program based on 
international best practices and continental peer review to 
strengthen economic and political governance across the 
continent. NEPAD is also a framework for African partnerships 
with the international community. These initiatives are early in 
their evolution and have not yet become effective mechanisms for 
development. 
 
¶12. (SBU) South Africa believes that, by virtue of its 
history and regional political, economic, and military clout, it 
has a responsibility to lead African conflict resolution efforts 
and participate in peace support operations.  South Africa 
continues to play a lead role in conflict resolution in Burundi 
and contributes troops to UN Peace Keeping missions in the 
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan.  South Africa 
has approximately 3,000 personnel deployed in peace support 
operations in Africa.  The U.S. has a strong interest in 
helping South Africa expand and enhance its peacekeeping 
and disaster assistance capabilities.  South Africa 
participates in the African Contingency Operations 
Training and Assistance program (ACOTA) to enhance the 
South African National Defence Force's (SANDF) capacity 
to participate in multilateral peace support operations. 
The U.S. uses International Military Education and Training 
QThe U.S. uses International Military Education and Training 
(IMET) funds to support professional military education and 
technical training of future military leaders.  With the 
January 2008 repeal of the American Servicemen's Protection 
Act (ASPA) prohibitions on provision of military assistance, 
we hope to resume Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programs 
supporting the South African Air Force's C-130 fleet which 
South Africa is using to support troops deployed to the DRC, 
Sudan, and Burundi.  While South African officials have been 
openly critical of U.S. Africa Command, they continue to 
engage with the U.S. in a wide range of military-to-military 
activities.  This month the U.S. completed the successful 
first visit by a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier to South Africa 
since 1967.  Some observers believe that this visit could 
 
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leading cause of death.  Despite South Africa's overall 
wealth, life expectancy at birth has decreased from 67 to 52, 
the regional average, due to HIV/AIDS and HIV/TB co-infection. 
Under-five mortality, with the Millennium Development Goal 
(MDG) of 24 per 1,000 in 2015, has increased from 60 to 67 
per 1,000 between 1990 and 2006.  While achieving the MDGs 
is the SAG's highest priority, South Africa is moving further 
away from these goals in both child and maternal mortality as 
a result of HIV/AIDS. 
 
¶25. (U) An estimated 5.4 million South Africans are 
HIV-positive including 2.7 million women and about 300,000 
children 14 years old or less.  An estimated 18.8 percent of 
adults between 15 and 49 are HIV-infected and women in the age 
group of 25-29, the most seriously affected, have prevalence 
rates of up to 40 percent in some areas.  An estimated 530,000 new 
infections occur annually In 2006, 350,000 adults and children 
died from AIDS; an estimated 1.8 million deaths have occurred 
since the start of the epidemic; and 71 percent of all deaths 
in 15 to 41-year-olds are due to AIDS. In the last few years, 
there is an indication that prevalence may be starting to decline. 
Prevalence in antenatal care fell from 29 percent in 2005 to 
28 percent in 2008.  At least 1.6 million children, approximately 10 
percent of South Africa's youth, have had at least one parent die 
and 66 percent of these have been orphaned by AIDS.  Continuing 
AIDS-related mortality will create millions of new orphans and 
generate additional social and economic disruption, in part due to 
orphans being raised by extended families or in child-headed households 
 
¶26. (U) The epidemics of HIV and TB are interlinked.  TB is 
the most common infectious disease in sub-Saharan Africa and 
approximately 50 percent of HIV patients in South Africa 
also have TB.  A high overall prevalence rate of HIV, 
HIV/TB co-infection, and lack of continuity in treatment 
contribute to the increasing incidence of active TB, including 
 multi- and extensive drug-resistant TB strains (MDR- and 
XDR-TB). The piloting of an SAG-approved rapid test for MDR-TB may 
allow more rapid identification and initiation of appropriate 
treatment, but staff shortages and skills challenges impede 
an effective response to TB.  Failure to adequately control and 
treat TB may undo all the gains South Africa has made in HIV 
care and treatment thus far. 
 
¶27. (U) The South African National Strategic Plan for HIV & 
AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections 2007-2011 (NSP) 
provides a road map for responding to this crisis and sets out goals 
of reducing new HIV infections by 50 percent by 2011 and 
increasing access to anti-retroviral treatment (ART).  The recall of 
Mbeki and the subsequent appointment of Barbara Hogan as the new 
Minister of Health under Motlanthe promises new initiatives in health, 
particularly as they pertain to HIV and TB.  Hogan, unlike 
her predecessor, Dr. Manto Tshabalala Msimang, has been outspoken 
in affirming the link between HIV and AIDS and has galvanized 
support from government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to 
reach the NSP targets.  The South African public health system 
suffers from deterioration of the existing health infrastructure, 
need for expansion of clinical and laboratory facilities, and a 
 
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BALL