VZCZCXRO1919
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSA #2611 3551417
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211417Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0669
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 7458
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 1522
RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 9813

UNCLAS PRETORIA 002611 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR SF
SUBJECT:  RURAL SOUTH AFRICA:  CHANGE COMES SLOWLY TO MANDELA'S HOME 
VILLAGE 
 
¶1. (SBU) PolCouns and PolAssist visited Nelson Mandela's birthplace 
of Mvezo, and also the former President's current rural home in Qunu 
in Eastern Cape Province December 7-8.  Qunu is located along the 
main N2 highway, 30 km south of Mthatha, the district headquarters, 
in an area that was part of the Transkei "homeland" under apartheid. 
 Mvezo is 28 km further up a dirt road from Qunu, and is a tiny 
impoverished community of brightly- painted small houses and mud 
huts scattered across a cluster of hills.  The district has a 
population of over 26,000 people.  Most residents of Mvezo have no 
access to basic services like water and electricity; and local 
people complain that the area has seen little development since 
¶1994.  Other than small farming, there is little employment in the 
area, and many families depended on government grants. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Hopes for development in Mvezo have, however, increased 
since the appointment of the 34-year-old Zwelivelile ("Mandla") 
Mandela - Nelson Mandela's eldest grandson - to the chieftaincy of 
the Mvezo Traditional Council 18 months ago.  (FYI: Nelson Mandela's 
father had been the Chief in Mvezo until he was unseated by the 
colonial authorities in the early 1920s.  The family was then forced 
to move to Qunu.  End FYI.)  The younger Mandela told Polcouns and 
PolAssist how when he arrived in the village to take up the position 
of traditional leader, many locals had laughed and wagered he would 
be gone by the next day.  He has, however, proved his cynics wrong, 
and become an active presence and a strong advocate for the 
district's development.  In addition, he was elected an MP on the 
ANC list in last April's elections.  Mandela has prioritized 
providing more schools, better roads, running water, and sanitation 
for the area.  He has gained a seat on Parliament's new Committee 
for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, a position he intends to 
use to pursue these goals.  His presence in the village has sparked 
hope among villagers that the area will finally receive attention 
from a government hard pressed to bring change to South Africa's 
rural poor. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Since assuming the chieftaincy, the younger Mandela has 
helped set up a mobile clinic in the area with funds donated by the 
US-based Family Health International (FHI).  The Department of 
Health has also begun construction of a clinic in the area, which 
Mandela said he is hoping to get upgraded to a mini-hospital, also 
with FHI support.  He linked this effort to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, 
which has ravaged the area, as is the case in many parts of South 
Africa; the younger Mandela has taken an active role in persuading 
villagers to get tested for HIV/Aids and begin treatment if 
necessary.  He also linked the pandemic to his advocacy for the 
creation of a high school in the area, arguing that young people who 
stayed closer to home were less likely to engage in risky sexual 
behavior. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Mandela told Polcouns and PolAssist that employment in the 
district other than subsistence farming had been virtually 
nonexistent until recently.  In the past year or so, however, he had 
managed to persuade the government to begin construction of a 
multi-million dollar cultural center in the village which is 
intended to house both a museum to commemorate his grandfather's 
birth and early life, as well as the local traditional courts.  The 
center and adjacent restored village compound have been declared a 
National Heritage Site by the Department of Cultural Affairs, which 
QNational Heritage Site by the Department of Cultural Affairs, which 
he hopes will attract tourism and generate employment for the area. 
He added that he had already begun using the construction of the 
center to justify bringing in a tarred road as well.  He 
acknowledged, however, that local development will be a long 
struggle.  The area still has no electricity and no water supply, 
and unemployment remains high. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The younger Mandela contrasted Mvezo with many urban 
townships, noting that the latter have received considerably more 
development funding over the past 15 years than most rural areas. 
Yet, he noted, it is in the townships where most service delivery 
protests have taken place.  He argued that, in rural areas like his, 
where traditional leaders maintain authority and are active both in 
hearing people's grievances and advocating for development, citizens 
are more prepared to put up with the slow pace of change.  This, he 
said, showed that traditional leaders have a very real role to play 
in bridging the gap between South Africa's past and its future.  End 
comment. 
Gips