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RR RUEHBZ RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHDU #0033/01 0901438
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 311438Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL DURBAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1421
INFO RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 0794

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DURBAN 000033 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR AF/S, INR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SF
SUBJECT: VIGOROUS CAMPAIGNING AND CONTINUED INTIMIDATION: KWAZULU 
NATAL PRE-ELECTION ROUND-UP 
 
DURBAN 00000033  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. The African National Congress (ANC) campaign 
machine is in high gear, and the ANC is taking advantage of 
every opportunity to deliver its message. Despite official 
pronouncements against violence, members of the ANC are still 
reportedly intimidating Congress of the People (COPE) and 
provoking Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). Other parties continue to 
point out ANC failures in service delivery whenever they have 
the opportunity. Electoral violence, too, has seen an uptick as 
the election polling day approaches April 22. The provincial 
Independent Electoral Commission announced that it is ready for 
voters. End Summary. 
 
ANC Lauds its Accomplishments 
 
¶2. (U) KwaZulu Natal's Local Economic Development Conference 
took place on March 17, 2009 and Pol/Econ Officer and Pol/Econ 
Assistant attended. While most presenters focused on the effects 
of the global economic downturn, government officials took the 
opportunity to rally for ANC support. Premier Ndebele cited 
major infrastructural projects and the implementation of Black 
Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy in KZN as proof that the ANC 
government is on the right economic track.  Citing a report from 
July 2008 that praised KZN's economic policies, Ndebele 
predicted continued growth in the province through 2014. Other 
ANC officials touted the increased access to basic amenities in 
KZN over the past five years. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Human Rights Day Celebration in Durban was marked 
by a heavy dose of ANC rhetoric, a dash of socialism, and a 
surprising sprinkling of spa treatments. P/E Officer and his 
family entered Durban's ABSA stadium through the main gate for 
the ANC-controlled Provincial Government's Human Rights Day 
program, not knowing there was a VVIP entrance. As they wandered 
through the bowels of the stadium looking for their entrance, 
they came upon a makeshift spa where, they were told, all 
pensioners over 50 could get manicures, pedicures, and body 
massages. They finally found their way to their seats where they 
could see clearly the half-full stadium. They were treated to 
several musical selections and standard ANC stump speeches. An 
irony-laden highlight was when designer-suit clad ANC leaders 
led the crowd in singing My Mother Was a Kitchen Girl, My Father 
Was a Garden Boy, That's why I'm a Socialist. 
 
Opposition Parties Allege ANC Intimidation, Provocation 
 
¶4. (SBU) Isolezwe, a daily Zulu newspaper, reported that on 
March 15, 2009 a group of about 50 people clad in Zuma t-shirts 
forcefully entered a community hall in Cato Manor just outside 
Durban and disrupted a United Democratic Movement (UDM) election 
meeting.  The ANC members apparently thought it was a Congress 
of the People (COPE) meeting; but after discovering it was a UDM 
meeting, the ANC crowd dispersed and allowed the UDM meeting to 
continue. COPE Provincial Secretary Phillip Mhlongo told the P/E 
Assistant that COPE members in Cato Manor witnessed the incident 
and reported it to him. 
 
¶5. (SBU) COPE Presidential Candidate Bishop Dr. Mvume Dandala's 
visit to the Durban University of Technology on March 20 was 
canceled at the last minute because the university management 
feared acts of political intolerance by members of the South 
African Students Congress (SASCO), an ANC-aligned student group. 
 Zuma t-shirt-clad SASCO members were seen gathering on campus 
in anticipation of Dr. Dandala's arrival. COPE Youth Movement 
National Secretary Malusi Booi said that their student members 
remained calm and dispersed peacefully after hearing that 
Dandala's visit had been canceled. P/E Assistant attended the 
rescheduled press conference during which Dandala outlined 
COPE's vision for KwaZulu Natal and accused the ANC of political 
violence and intolerance.  COPE spokesperson Siyanda Mhlongo 
told reporters that SASCO is `deliberately creating chaos at 
universities' so that the ANC can intervene and use the platform 
to highlight the ANC's commitment to a peaceful election 
process. Meanwhile, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) students 
protested the ANC Youth League's President's address at 
University of KwaZulu Natal in Durban. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Tension between ANC and IFP supporters is growing, and 
the ANC-led government has contingency plans in place to call in 
the military to prevent outbreaks of political violence and 
intimidation at known hotspots.  In Greytown, an ANC supporter 
was hospitalized after an IFP/ANC clash; and at a high school 
near Ladysmith, IFP supporters threatened and forced students to 
leave their school, according to local media. IFP national 
organizer, Albert Mncwango, told reporters that the ANC was 
responsible for the recent violence as it was deliberately 
provoking and attacking IFP supporters. 
 
DURBAN 00000033  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
Animated Multiparty Debates Continue 
 
¶7. (U) On March 14, 2009, Ingabadi, a black-owned investment and 
operations group, hosted an election debate in Durban. Xolani 
Gwala, one of South African Broadcasting Cooperation's top news 
anchors, moderated a heated debate between ANC, COPE, Democratic 
Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Women Forward (WF), 
African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), UDM and South African 
Democratic Congress (SADC). The debate focused on what the ANC 
has achieved in the past five years, but COPE and IFP accused 
the ANC of tolerating corruption in government. The ANC defended 
its record but acknowledged that there is room for improvement. 
P/E Assistant attended the event and noted that the debate was 
well attended by top KZN politicians and party supporters. The 
debate went smoothly without any incident of political 
intolerance, with the exception of the standard heckling between 
ANC and IFP. 
 
¶8. (U) On March 19, 2009 the Diakonia Council of Churches 
invited major political parties to share their manifestos in a 
public forum. P/E Assistant attended the event.  Representatives 
from the UDM, DA, Independent Democrats (ID), and COPE 
participated in the briefing.  The ANC and other parties took 
part in the first session of the debate on March 12, 2009. The 
issue of lack of public transport in Durban dominated the 
debate, and participating parties attacked the ANC for 
inadequate housing and deteriorating health service throughout 
KZN. COPE raised the issues of crime, corruption and moral decay 
as the biggest ANC failures. 
 
IEC in KZN Ready for Voters 
 
¶9. (SBU) On March 27, the KZN Independent Electoral Commission 
Office gave a briefing to accredited domestic election 
observers. P/E Officer and P/E Assistant attended the event 
along with representatives from several non-governmental 
organizations including the African Center for the Constructive 
Resolution of Disputes, KZN Democracy and Elections Forum, and 
Umkhanyakude Religious Leaders. Mawethu Mosery of the IEC said 
that KZN is fully prepared for the election but will need the 
help of election observers to ensure that all parties `remain 
noble'. Preserving the secrecy of the ballot is paramount in 
rural KZN as many traditional leaders still yield great power 
and practice political intimidation, according to guest speaker 
and crime/political violence expert Mary De Haas. De Haas 
predicts continued violence and intimidation in the run up to 
the election but nothing on the scale of the 1994 elections when 
thousands died. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Ntomb'futhi Masinga, IEC Election Manager, advised 
observers to be on the lookout for party officials who may 
wrongly directly voters to party registration tables. While 
parties may set up tents to offer refreshments, voters are not 
required to check in at these tents, where they may be 
influenced. Also, if observers plan to visit the Greytown area, 
they should observe if polling stations are able to cope with an 
expected 20,000 out-of-area voters who will be attending a men's 
conference.  As an aside, Masinga noted that the Greytown surge 
will be nothing compared to the expected 40,000 South Africans 
who have registered to vote at the London embassy.  When asked 
how the London embassy would accommodate so many voters, Mosery 
replied, `We will rent out a large hall and send reinforcements. 
Don't worry, if we can accommodate 23 million voters in South 
Africa, we can do the job in London. 
DERDERIAN