Mozambique News Agency AIM Reports
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Mozambique News Agency AIM Reports Report no.575, 21st January 2019 Renamo President Ossufo Momade pledges to maintain peace The newly elected President of Mozambique’s main opposition party, Renamo, Ossufo Momade, declared on 17 January that Renamo is committed to peace and will lay down its weapons in order to join the national development agenda. In his first speech as President of Renamo, Momade told Mozambique seeks extradition of Chang the delegates and guests to the Renamo Congress in the central district of Gorongosa “We don’t want war. Our late The Kempton Park Magistrates Court in Johannesburg has leader Afonso Dhlakama taught us that war only holds back delayed the hearing on the possible extradition to the development. We are in favour of peace, and we want a United States of former Mozambican Finance Minister country where people move around and work freely”. Manuel Chang until 5 February. He said that Dhlakama, who died of diabetes last May, The hearing was due to resume on 18 January, but the had always wanted to solve problems through dialogue. sudden decision of the Mozambican Attorney-General’s “We have to honour this commitment”, said Momade. “We Office (PGR) to seek Chang’s extradition to Mozambique are promising the country and the world that we shall has complicated matters. continue the dialogue with the government, and we shall According to the anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for not remove a comma from what was left by our late leader”. Public Integrity (CIP), which has a correspondent at the “The lesson is that nobody should pick up arms again to court, Chang’s defence team has withdrawn its application wage war against our adversary”, he continued. “The only for bail, in favour of sending Chang back to Mozambique way we have found which is effective for Mozambicans is under the protocols of SADC (Southern African to bank on dialogue. War only brings poverty”. Development Community). The judge was not expecting However, Momade announced that he would only leave this, and the Mozambican request has forced a Renamo’s military headquarters in the Gorongosa bush and postponement of the case until 5 February. return to Maputo or any other large city if the dialogue with The formal paperwork backing up the US request has yet the government produces encouraging results which can to arrive – but the Americans have 60 days, dating from the lead to effective peace. He added “our main objective is to arrest of Chang on 29 December, to submit it. win the elections next October and to govern the country as Chang’s defence team requested the postponement, from 2020”. That victory, Momade warned, could only be which was supported by the prosecution and the judge. achieved if Renamo members were united and committed Technically, the Mozambican request is not for to working together, without looking at the differences they extradition (and indeed there is no extradition treaty may have with each other, He said he was counting on the between Mozambique and South Africa), but simply for assistance of all Renamo members “in this difficult task of Chang to be returned to stand trial in Mozambique. A serving the party and serving Mozambicans. Without you, formal response to the Mozambican request is expected to I cannot advance on my own. I need your support and I am be given by the South African Ministry of Justice and relying on contributions from all of you”. Constitutional Development. The Ministry must decide The Congress was a triumph for Momade, who was which of the two extradition requests takes precedence. elected President with 410 votes (61 per cent). The runner- One thing is certain – Chang will not be in New York on up, Elias Dhlakama, brother of Afonso, received 238 votes. 22 January, which is the date set for the start of the trial of Momade’s immediate task is to resume discussions with the former minister and his co-accused in the case of President Filipe Nyusi on the disarming and demobilisation Mozambique’s “hidden debts”. They face charges of of the Renamo militia and the integration of its members conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud and into the armed forces and police, or back into civilian life. securities fraud, arising from the loans of over US$2 billion President Filipe Nyusi welcomed the election of Ossufo that three companies, Proindicus, Ematum (Mozambique Momade and his commitment to achieving an effective Tuna Company) and MAM (Mozambique Asset peace. In a congratulatory message, President Nyusi Management), obtained from the banks Credit Suisse and wished Momade success, and hoped “that we shall continue VTB of Russia on the basis of guarantees signed by Chang. working on the full implementation of the Memorandum of The PGR has a list of 18 names of people who could face Understanding on Military Matters”, which the two men criminal charges, most of whom are in Mozambique. As far had signed in August. This should lead “to achieving as is known, none of them have yet been arrested or sustainable peace, to the benefit of all Mozambicans”. charged. Mozambique News Agency Report no.575, 21st January 2019 Mayor Araujo to leave office temporarily late. Like all the other mayors elected on 10 October, Araujo’s victory has been validated and proclaimed by the The Mayor of the central Mozambican city of Quelimane, Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body in Manuel de Araujo, has been ordered to hand over his office matters of constitutional and electoral law, and there can be to the chairperson of the Municipal Assembly, Domingos no appeal against Constitutional Council appeals. de Albuquerque, by 21 January, reports the television station STV. This follows the rejection by the Pensioners complain of long “proof of life” Administrative Tribunal of Araujo’s appeal against the queues government decision, taken in August, to sack him as Mayor. Pensioners in the northern city of Nampula, many of them The government sacked Araujo because he had switched elderly and frail, are being obliged to queue up for hours his political party allegiance. He fought and won a by- outside the provincial offices of the National Social election for Mayor of Quelimane in 2011 on the ticket of Security Institute (INSS) to prove that they are still alive. the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM). Two Every year, people drawing old age or invalidity years later he was confirmed as mayor, again on the MDM pensions from the INSS are obliged to submit to a “proof slate, in the nationwide municipal elections of 2013. of life”. This means they must go to the nearest INSS office Quelimane MDM members wanted Araujo to run for a in person or their benefits will be cut off. The only further term of office in the municipal elections scheduled exceptions made are for those who are bedridden or for 10 October last year. But they were disappointed when otherwise unable to leave their homes. In such cases, the he announced, not only that he had rejoined the opposition INSS will come to them, and make home visits. party Renamo, but that he would be the Renamo candidate The scene at the INSS offices in Nampula is chaotic, for Mayor of Quelimane. since the queues are badly organised and so what should be The Council of Ministers (Cabinet) justified its decision a simple procedure can take many hours. Pensioners who to sack Araujo on the basis of a clause in the 1997 law on spoke to AIM expressed their frustration at standing in administrative supervision of municipalities, which states apparently interminable queues, which creep forward at a that “office holders in municipalities shall lose their office snail’s pace. if, after the elections, they join a party or list different from These lengthy queues have been in plain sight since the the one for which they presented themselves to the first day of the exercise, yet INSS officials brush the electorate”. complaints aside. The interim INSS provincial delegate, The law is quite unambiguous – yet Araujo appealed to Arcelina Maringue, told AIM that pensioners do not have the only body that could overturn the government decision, to come to the Nampula head office, since teams have been the Administrative Tribunal. It was an open and shut case sent to offices in the city’s six administrative posts. She – but the Tribunal behaved with extraordinary lethargy, suggested that the pensioners go to the office in the nearest delaying a decision by almost three months. Its decision administrative post. dated 21 December, but only made public this month, ruled But the pensioners told AIM this information had not in favour of the government, and ordered Araujo to pay the been made available, and they only found out about the costs of his appeal, set at 10,000 meticais (US$164). offices in the administrative posts once they had made their The Tribunal said there was no legal basis for an appeal. way from the periphery of the city to the INSS headquarters It rejected Araujo’s protest that the government had not in central Nampula. instituted any inquiry or heard his side of the story. An Pensioner Momad Adamo said “I’ve been here since the inquiry would only make sense if the facts were in dispute. first day, but at 10.00 they sent us away, and told us to come But they were not: nobody doubted that Araujo had left the back the next day. I did that, but I found a queue and it MDM and joined Renamo. Indeed, he had announced it wasn’t moving. So, this is the third day I’ve come here.