VZCZCXRO1232
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #1426 3540803
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 200803Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4915
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001426 
 
NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM SU
 
SUBJECT: SE GRATION'S DECEMBER 15 MEETING WITH UNMIS JUBA 
HUMANITARIAN HEAD 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On his  December 15 trip to Juba, Sudan, SE 
Gration met with UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) Deputy Regional 
Coordinator Lise Grande, and heard her concerns regarding mounting 
food shortages and governance issues in the region.  Grande painted 
a grim picture of food needs, explaining that the World Food Program 
(WFP) would basically need to double its level of assistance over 
the short-term, to address the needs of growing numbers of 
food-insecure persons in Southern Sudan.  Police forces in Sudan are 
poorly trained and equipped, Grande told SE Gration, and this 
results in the necessity of SPLA intervention in public emergencies. 
 END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Southern Sudan Food Needs "Not Exaggerated" 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In a December 15 meeting in Juba, the capital of the 
semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS),  UNMIS Deputy 
Regional Coordinator Lise Grande told SE Gration that the number of 
food-insecure people in Southern Sudan has increased from the 
previous level of 1.5 million, with minimum estimates now at 1.8 
million, and higher estimates ranging up to 2.2 million for 2010. 
Grande presented an emotionally-charged plea for larger donor 
contributions to the WFP, and asked SE Gration to "tell the EU to 
stop being cynical and help us with food.  We are not exaggerating 
the need." 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to Grande, the WFP is stretched to the limit in 
several ways: there is insufficient food available to assist 
populations in need, and the WFP's food distribution capabilities 
are operating at top capacity.  To improve food availability for 
2010, the WFP distribution infrastructure itself will need to be 
upgraded, which will incur additional financial strain.  Grande told 
SE Gration that the WFP aims to almost double its food distribution 
from 100,000 metric tons in 2009 to 175,000 metric tons, but that 
the EU is only being asked for extra funds to cover 30,000 
additional metric tons, with the remaining funds being spread among 
other donors.  (Note:  USAID has consistently provided 50 percent of 
WFP's emergency appeals for the past several years, and is doing so 
again this year.  Thus far, USAID has provided approximately USD 350 
million in Title II emergency funding for WFP's 2010 Emergency 
Operation (EMOP).  USAID will likely make another contribution to 
WFP in early 2010. End note.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Grande explained that the GOSS also faces a dilemma 
regarding food aid.  It would like to be responsive to the food 
crisis, but given last year's corruption scandal in which it 
contracted for the purchase of six billion Sudanese Pounds (Note: 
Appx. 2.7 billon US dollars. End Note.) worth of grain, most of 
which was never delivered, it cannot credibly purchase food now. 
The GOSS would therefore prefer to pay the WFP for food purchase, 
but still get political "credit" with its population for addressing 
the food crisis.  Grande encouraged the Special Envoy to press the 
WFP to accept this "creative" arrangement. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Security and Governance Troubles 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Grande told SE Gration that a recent USAID Governance Team 
study had given the UN some much-needed benchmarks for assessment, 
and that the UN was now in the process of rounding-up stakeholders 
to assess their progress, and the progress of the GOSS, against the 
report's findings.  She reported that, while the GOSS has seen 
substantial improvements in executive functions, public finance, and 
administrative issues, the most important area - security - remained 
deeply problematic.  Grande laid the blame on disorganized donors. 
Nonetheless, Grande noted that the problems could be addressed with 
relatively small amounts of money: "We're talking tens, not 
hundreds, of millions of dollars."  This money, according to Grande, 
would go to building a rudimentary command structure and providing 
skills training to the police. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Grande and SE Gration agreed that the police force of GOSS 
had fallen behind the Army in its ability to provide even the most 
basic of protection to the population.  This makes the Army the 
de-facto police service, and "eighty percent of the time, even the 
Army can't get there soon enough" said Grande.  Grande concluded 
that it was critical that this stabilization gap be addressed prior 
to the 2010 elections and 2011 referendum. 
 
¶7. (SBU) This cable has been cleared by SE Gration's staff. 
 
ASQUINO