VZCZCXRO5404
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #1098/01 2811202
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081202Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0825
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0525
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001098 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MZ
SUBJECT: CHARGE MARKS 25 YEARS OF USG AID; CONVENES FIRST 
TETE INTER-RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP MEETING 
 
REF: A. MAPUTO 874 
     ¶B. MAPUTO 806 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY: The Charge's recent trip to Tete and 
Sofala Provinces was the third in a series of visits planned 
to all of Mozambique's provinces to highlight USG assistance 
successes.  In a three-day visit to both provinces, the 
Charge reviewed health and training facilities supported by 
the USG, convened what according to all accounts was the 
first-ever meeting of a diverse representation of religious 
leaders, consulted with political leaders, conducted radio, 
newspaper, and television interviews, delivered two speeches 
at highly visible provincial universities, and conducted a 
public HIV status test.  The Charge also visited one of the 
largest U.S. businesses in the country, Mozambique Leaf 
Tobacco, in Tete Province.  While the visit was positive, 
significant additional outreach to the region's significant 
Muslim community is needed.  END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------- 
25 YEARS OF USG SUPPORT 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  The Charge raised awareness about USG assistance 
exceeding $2.2 billion provided to Mozambique over the past 
25 years and the anticipated $2 billion of U.S. assistance 
Mozambique may see in the next five years through programs 
including MCC, PEPFAR, and the President's Malaria Initiative 
(PMI).  Greeted by schoolchildren singing about HIV 
prevention, the Charge visited an abstinence club that 
incorporates vocational and life skills training, in the 
provincial capital, Tete city.  He also visited a medical 
training facility where USG financial support provides 
scholarships to 12 nurses-in-training and a local general 
medical clinic which receives PEPFAR funding.  The clinic was 
packed with hundreds of patients waiting to be seen, and 
according to the clinic director, the visit occurred on a 
slow day. 
 
----------------------------------- 
MLT PROVIDES EMPLOYMENT FOR 120,000 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  The Charge then visited Mozambique Leaf Tobacco 
(MLT), a U.S. firm that has invested tens of millions of 
dollars in the province, provides employment to over 120,000 
small farmers, and processes upwards of 50 thousand tons of 
tobacco per year.  After a factory tour, the Charge engaged 
the senior leadership of the plant in a discussion about 
possible collaboration on HIV/AIDS and other educational and 
humanitarian initiatives.  In Sofala Province the Charge 
spoke to PEPFAR partners running HIV prevention programs, 
visited a USG-financed health clinic at Catholic University, 
met with business leaders, recipients of USG-funded medical 
scholarships, and visited participants in USG-funded 
microcredit projects. 
 
---------------------------- 
POLITICAL AND MEDIA OUTREACH 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  In addition to meeting with the City Council of 
Tete and approximately 40 representatives of Christian and 
Muslim institutions in Tete, the Charge completed interviews 
with Radio Mozambique and Radio SIRT.  A roundtable 
discussion with students at a local business institute was 
followed by a speech at the newly opened Catholic University 
campus to a standing-room-only group of approximately 140 
journalists, students, faculty and citizens. He called for 
Mozambicans and the GRM to act transparently and openly in 
all matters, and encouraged average Mozambicans to reject 
corruption in every form.  The speech was followed by a 
question-and-answer period which extended the session beyond 
its scheduled two hours. In Sofala Province the visits 
included with local business leader Zaide Aly, and interviews 
with Diario de Mozambique, Savana, Radio Mozambique, and 
television channel TVM.  The university address in Sofala 
Province was delivered at the newly-formed UniZambeze law 
faculty, among students studying international law and 
economics, and culminated with a lively discussion on a broad 
range of issues from U.S. policy in Africa to macroeconomics. 
 In addition, the Charge met with 8 local IVLP alumni 
journalists to discuss events leading up to October's 
presidential elections and the political atmosphere in the 
region.  His public HIV test at the Beira Central Hospital 
was covered on two television stations. 
 
 
MAPUTO 00001098  002 OF 002 
 
 
------------------------------------- 
RELIGIOUS LEADERS BEGIN OPEN DIALOGUE 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  On August 25, with the assistance of HAI 
representatives, the Charge convened what appeared to have 
been the first ever meeting of a broad swath of religious 
leaders representing multiple denominations.  Approximately 
40 leaders attended, and shared perspectives on interfaith 
cooperation to solve social issues, such as education, 
violence, HIV/AIDS, and other salient topics.  The Charge 
expressed confidence in the capacity of faith-based 
organizations to unite around common causes, and called on 
these leaders to multiply their capacity to solve societal 
problems by cooperation and coordination.  This also provided 
a unique opportunity to present U.S. initiatives in the 
region and across Mozambique.  After the Charge departed for 
subsequent meetings, the religious leaders remained for over 
an hour discussing among themselves the creation of a new 
structure to organize their efforts, and agreed to meet again 
a month later. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
COMMENT: OUTREACH EFFECTIVE, BUT MORE NEEDED 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  In the Charge's third visit to the provinces 
recent months, Post reinforced its key messages of 25 years 
of USG assistance, the importance of transparency, and 
reiterated U.S. commitment to partnering with Mozambique 
rather than simply providing aid.  Telling the story of U.S. 
assistance in Mozambique provides valuable information to 
Mozambicans outside of the capital, while at the same time 
providing a forum to encourage Mozambicans to do more to 
determine their own future.  The lack of knowledge about U.S. 
participation in development initiatives in the provinces, as 
well as general misconceptions about U.S. policy is notable. 
The visit to these two provinces undoubtedly successful: each 
side left with a better understanding of the other's 
concerns.  But travel challenges, geography, and other 
logistical challenges mean that occasional visits only begin 
the much needed long-term public diplomacy work that remains. 
 Post continues to engage audiences in Mozambique's ten 
provinces with additional visits planned in coming months. 
ROTH