VZCZCXRO6215
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHAN #0835 3501036
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151036Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY ANTANANARIVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1863
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000835 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/FO AND AF/E 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON CN
SUBJECT:  Union of the Comoros Cabinet Reshuffle 
 
¶1. (U)  President Sambi announced a new cabinet December 12, 
reducing from 15 to 10 Union Ministers (including the two VPs who 
have ministerial portfolios), in line with IMF recommendations on 
the size of government.  There are no new officials; all 10 were in 
the most recent cabinet.  They took on portfolios from some of the 
former Ministers and the Spokesman responsibility was moved to the 
Minister of Education (from the Minister of Information): 
 
Vice President IDI Nadhoim (Transportation and Tourism) 
 
Vice President IKILILOU Dhoinine (Health and Solidarity) 
 
Minister of Foreign Affairs (MIREX) Ahmed Ben Said JAFFAR (External 
Relations, Diaspora, Francophonie, Arab World) 
 
Minister of Finance Mohamed ALI SOILIHI (Finance, Economy, Budget, 
Labor, Women's Entrepreneurship) 
 
Minister of Justice MMADI Ali (Justice, Prisons, Islamic Affairs, 
Legislative Affairs, Internal (Island) Relations) 
 
Minister of Agriculture and Energy HOUMADI Abdallah (Agriculture, 
Fisheries, Environment, Energy, Industry) 
 
Minister of Education and Spokesman Dr. Kamaliddine AFRAITANE 
(Education, Research, Culture, Spokesman) 
 
Minister of Land Management Mohamed Larif OUKACHA (Land Management, 
Infrastructure, Housing, Investment) 
 
Minister of Public Service Said ATTOUMANE (Public Service, 
Institutional Reform, Human Rights) 
 
Minister of Telecommunications Dr. Abdouroihim SAID BAKAR 
(Information, Telecommunications, Post, Technology) 
 
Director of Cabinet 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Director of Cabinet Bacar Abdou DOSSAR is not listed as a 
Minister, but he maintains his position in the GOC.  Dossar noted in 
a recent meeting of the Dip Corps that as Cabinet Director he does 
not really have a Ministerial staff.  He also remains responsible 
for Defense, but most of the staff are military, under Chief of 
Staff General SALIMOU.  Dossar remains among the most powerful 
officials in President Sambi's government, even if he is not counted 
against the new quota of 10 Ministers. 
 
Out Of the Cabinet? 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Former Minister MOURAD Said Ibrahim (Institutional 
Reform) is not listed, though we expect he will remain as an advisor 
at the Presidency.  Also not listed in the new line-up are former 
Minister Anissi CHAMSIDINE (Agriculture, Fisheries, and 
Environment), former Minister Ahmed ABDOU (Public Service and Human 
Rights), former Minister Said ATTOUMANE (Economy, Trade, and Labor), 
former Secretary of State Sitti KASSIM (attached to the Vice 
Presidency in charge of Solidarity and Gender - the only women in 
the cabinet).  All of these portfolios were absorbed by existing 
Ministers in the new cabinet. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  COMMENT:  Our main Embassy interlocutors remain in place. 
Most, if not all, of the former Ministers left out of the new 
Cabinet will maintain some role in Government as advisors - the key 
to the IMF recommendation was that the number of Ministers be 
reduced, so that the large Ministerial staffs maintained by each one 
could be phased out in order to reduce GOC salaries.  END COMMENT. 
 
MARQUARDT