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C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 000361 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/FO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2020 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID KE SF NI ZI ET UK
SUBJECT: AF DAS PAGE'S FEBRUARY 9 COURTESY CALLS ON 
UK-BASED AFRICAN AMBASSADORS 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Robin Quinville, 
reasons 1.4 (b/d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary. AF DAS Susan Page paid courtesy calls on 
February 9 on Kenyan High Commissioner Ephram Waweru Ngare, 
South African High Commissioner Dr. Zola Skweyiya, Nigerian 
High Commissioner Dr. Dalhatu Tafida, Zimbabwean Ambassador 
Gabriel Mharadze Machinga, and Ethiopian Ambassador Berhanu 
Kebede, all appointed to the Court of St. James's.  The 
African envoys greatly appreciated DAS Page's outreach to 
them as senior diplomats for their governments and took the 
opportunity to brief on the political and economic situations 
in their respective countries.  End summary. 
 
Kenya 
----- 
 
¶2. (C) Kenya High Commissioner Ephram Waweru Ngare painted an 
optimistic picture of Kenya's progress on the reform agenda, 
asserting that the referendum on the constitution would take 
place in April for an August adoption of the new governing 
document.  He acknowledged the domestic progress that needs 
to take place before the next general elections and described 
Somalia as a very serious threat to Kenya's security. 
Describing Eritrea as a major spoiler in the region, he 
pledged the Kenyan government's full support for the USG's 
counter-terrorism initiatives in the region. 
 
South Africa 
------------ 
 
¶3. (C) South African High Commissioner Dr. Zola Skweyiya 
raised Zimbabwe, noting that the history between the ANC and 
ZANU-PF makes the parties "not as close as people think." 
While welcoming establishment of the media, elections, and 
human rights commissions, he said the commission leaders will 
be critical for progress.  He said South Africa will continue 
to push for resolution of the other outstanding issues: 
appointment of the MDC governors; swearing-in of Deputy 
Minister of Agriculture-designate Roy Bennett, the 
appointment in violation of the GPA of Reserve Bank of 
Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General 
Johannes Tomana.  He concluded that UK Foreign Secretary 
David Miliband's statements in Parliament that sanctions 
would be lifted when Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai 
requested were unhelpful.  On bilateral issues, he took on 
board the USG's desire to see the South Africa-U.S. 
Binational Commission up and running productively as soon as 
possible.  He noted that he and his staff are focused on the 
upcoming March 2010 state visit of President Zuma to the UK. 
 
Nigeria 
------- 
 
¶4. (C) Nigerian High Commissioner Dr. Dalhatu Tafida, flanked 
by a host of political counselors, called attention to the 
effective manner in which the Government of Nigeria dealt 
with the violence in Jos and conducted credible elections in 
Anambra state.  He noted the GON's concern about its recent 
listing as a "country of interest" by the Transportation 
Security Administration without consultation.  His political 
counselors raised issues related to investment in Nigeria, 
follow-through on the Glen Eagles and G-20 commitments for 
the developing world, post-Copenhagen climate change 
follow-up, and USG policy on Western Sahara. 
 
Zimbabwe 
-------- 
 
¶5. (C) Former IVLP exchange participant, Zimbabwean 
Ambassador Gabriel Mharadze Machinga, listed the 
accomplishments of the Zimbabwean government under the 
framework of the Global Peace Agreement (GPA) and argued that 
the progress merited relief on sanctions, noting that the 
listing of many of the parastatals limited the support and 
services available to average Zimbabweans.  Calling for a 
more "positive approach," he suggested a return to the "good 
old days" of the bilateral relationship and encouraged the 
USG to treat all three parties in the GPA equally. 
 
Ethiopia 
-------- 
 
¶6. (C) Offering an impressive assessment of the security, 
political, and economic situations in the region, Ethiopian 
Ambassador Berhanu Kebede said that Somalia and Eritrea are 
 
Ethiopia's top priorities in the region; Eritrea continues to 
play a spoiler role through the region, especially in 
Somalia; and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 
Somalia needs significantly more international support to 
deliver on security, humanitarian issues, and economic 
development.  He said Ethiopia's upcoming elections "will be 
completely different than 2005" because the ruling party is 
committed to a fair contest and all parties have signed up to 
the code of conduct, which was developed by an international 
organization.  He also provided a robust defense to the Civil 
Society Law, arguing the importance of governance and human 
rights organizations being home grown and domestically funded. 
 
 
Visit London's Classified Website: 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Unit ed_Kingdom 
 
SUSMAN