VZCZCXYZ0024
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHC #6557 0991857
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081851Z APR 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0000
UNCLAS STATE 036557
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMGT ET
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA FY 2010 MISSION STRATEGIC PLAN FEEDBACK
1. (SBU) Summary. An April 4, 2008 inter-agency review of
post,s 2010 Mission Performance Plan (MSP) complimented
post,s excellent, comprehensive assessment of USG relations
with Ethiopia. The Chief of Mission statement clearly and
thoroughly outlines USG priorities, appropriately according
prominence to the strategic relationship in a region that
faces many security and development challenges. The Foreign
Assistance narrative accurately details our significant
assistance programs, although additional information in some
areas would help to clarify post's additional assistance
requests. The MSP review participants noted post,s program
activities had substantially outpaced the administrative
resources devoted to supporting them. They supported post,s
suggested flexibility in using funds to address democracy and
governance objectives. End summary.
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Chief of Mission Statement
--------------------------
2. (SBU) The Chief of Mission (COM) statement outlines
clearly the important strategic relationship the USG has with
the Ethiopian government and people, with a focus on our
national security interests of counterterrorism and regional
stability. There was some interest in elevating the
democracy objectives to make them the Mission's highest
priority, but post explained that building Ethiopia's
capacity to promote peace and security was the most vital USG
interest. The COM paper's detailed democracy goals were
clear, although participants asked post to clarify whether
obstacles to their realization were largely financial or
rather related to diplomatic or political constraints. There
were no objections to the ranking of the other goal papers.
-----------------------------
Foreign Assistance Priorities
-----------------------------
3. (SBU) The Foreign Assistance Priorities narrative details
USG assistance objectives in Ethiopia, with appropriate
financing levels to reach them. Several minor corrections to
the text are needed, however. As noted in the review, the
narrative needs revisions on page 5, second paragraph, to
spell out that proper management of the new Presidential
Malaria Initiative and the Education Initiative will require
more positions rather than more funding. Also, since the
Mission,s assistance request is $10 million above the
Control request, language needs to be inserted in the
narrative (and in the relevant goal paper(s)) on how post
proposes to spend this additional funding.
4. (U) The follow recommendations are tied to the draft
MSP,s goal papers.
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Goal Paper 1
------------
5. (SBU) The review concurred with post that regional
security concerns will remain paramount in 2010, and that the
USG will have more leverage with the GOE in promoting
regional security than it is likely to have with the GOE over
internal political developments. For this reason, regional
stability remained as Post's principal priority. The review
also concurred that post does not require additional
resources to manage the Eritrea/Ethiopia border conflict or
any effort to normalize relations between the two countries.
Such efforts are likely to be undertaken, if at all, by the
United Nations and/or in capitals.
6. (SBU) Participants made the follow comments:
-- RM noted the current MSP draft appears to conflate the
GOE,s counter-insurgency campaign in the Ogaden against the
ONLF with its counter-terrorism actions against Islamic
extremists, and should be revised to make a clear distinction
between the two activities, since the USG collaborates
closely with the GOE on the latter and not the former.
-- S/CT recommended noting that terrorist groups, including
Al-Shabaab, at times operate in parts of Ethiopia,s Ogaden
region.
-- PRM indicated the draft would benefit by mentioning that
Ethiopia might face significant refugee flows from the region
in 2010, given ongoing conflicts in neighboring countries,
especially in Sudan and in Somalia.
-- S/CT said the MSP should reference the East Africa
Regional Security Initiative (EARSI), and the fact that
significant funding (more than $10 million) is likely to be
channeled to EARSI
programs in 2010.
-- All participants agreed that public diplomacy ought to be
given more emphasis, and that performance indicator #2
appeared to be somewhat vague in its target.
------------
Goal Paper 2
------------
7. (U) Goal paper 2 focuses on helping in Ethiopia's
progress toward a stable multi-party democracy. DRL agreed
that post should have flexibilty to use funds originally
allocated to promote human rights for democracy and
governance goals instead. Both performance indicators #1 and
#2 are supposed to be indexed by a MCA performance figure,
yet no number was given in the MSP draft. This will require
revision.
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Goal Paper 3
------------
8. (U) Goal paper 3, assisting a growing market-oriented
economy, requires no significant changes. However RM
recommended an explanation be given as to why the FY 2007
Result figure for the second performance indicator greatly
exceeded the FY 2007 Target.
------------
Goal Paper 4
------------
9. (U) Goal paper 4 is about investing in people for a
healthy, educated population. RM recommended that
Performance Indicator 2 be amended to show both the number of
students enrolled in schools through USG funding and the
number of schools involved.
------------
Goal Paper 5
------------
15. (U) On Goal Paper 5, building a management platform that
supports growing Mission needs, participants understood that
post's administrative staff had almost quadrupled its
workload in the last ten years, without growing in size.
They agreed that the growing management burden justified
post's request for a new GSO position. Mission was urged to
indicate the ICASS ratio benchmark, which would highlight the
need for another GSO. As for the requested additional ISO
position, it was suggested that post take a close look at
whether this position was still necessary, given that an
additional IM position was already in the process of being
established. If post still felt the ISO were needed, the
Bureau would concur with its remaining in the MSP at this
point. Post was cautioned that obtaining either of these new
positions would be extremely difficult.
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Submission of Final Copy of FY 2010 MSP
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16. (U) A copy of the reworked MSP must be re-submitted to
Washington via RM/SPP's MSP application NLT May 12 for a
final, revised version of the document to be posted to the
MSP website.
RICE