RENAMO CLAIMS “SECRET CONTACTS” WITH GOVERNMENT

 Mozambique’s main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo, claims that it is in “secret contacts” with the government, but declines to give any details as to the nature of these supposed contacts.On 16 October, Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama moved from his house in the northern city of Nampula to a hut in the bush in the central district of Gorongosa. He demanded that President Armando Guebuza come personally to Gorongosa to discuss a string of demands raised by Renamo.On 17 October, Dhlakama gave the government a deadline of three days to send a delegation to negotiate with him. No delegation went to Gorongosa. Last Tuesday, the head of the Renamo Defence Department, Ossufo Momade, extended the deadline and demanded that Guebuza go to Gorongosa within a month. But the government seems to have decided to ignore Dhlakama, apart from sending riot police units to Gorongosa to keep an eye on the situation.Clearly Renamo expected that government members would go scurrying to Gorongosa. They have not done so, and Renamo can only fall back on vague talk about secret negotiations. Interviewed in Monday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Mediafax”, the Renamo national spokesperson, Fernando Mazanga, said “Yes, there are contacts, and I can’t tell you anything about them now. Perhaps next week”.

Renamo General Secretary, Manuel Bissopo, was equally tight lipped. Contacted on Sunday afternoon, Bissopo claimed he was unable to say anything since he was about to leave for Gorongosa himself. He said he might be able to discuss the matter when he returned to Maputo on Wednesday.In reality, there are no signs either of negotiations or of preparations to storm Dhlakama’s Gorongosa base. Mamud claimed on Friday that such preparations were in hand, and threatened a vigorous response.Mamud even made the absurd allegation that the government is recruiting mercenaries from Zimbabwe and South Africa for an attack on Dhlakama’s base. Nobody else has seen any sign of such recruitment.It seems much more likely that the government is happy to let Dhlakama stay in the bush as long as he likes, provided he and his men do not disturb the lives of Gorongosa peasant farmers.It may be doubted how long a man who has spent the past two decades in comfortable houses in Maputo and Nampula will be able to tolerate the Spartan conditions of a Gorongosa camp, that has no electricity, and none of the other amenities of city life.Dhlakama has not issued any coherent list of demands, and much of what he and Mamud told reporters cannot possibly be granted by any government. Thus Mamud wanted negotiations on a “transitional government” – which is a request for the current government to commit suicide.Dhlakama also wanted political recruitment to the armed forces and the police, and even suggested that a new riot police should be formed, 50 per cent from the ruling Frelimo Party and 50 per cent from Renamo. As for Dhlakama’s complaints about Mozambique’s electoral laws, Frelimo, Renamo and the second opposition force, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) have been discussing amendments in the parliamentary commission on public administration since early 2010.The new electoral laws will be passed in parliament, and not in Gorongosa.

One of the faces of guilt!

No one today has any doubt that, in these times, who wins football games, who determines that the Club goes on to eliminate the evidence, who dictates the fate of the championships, who decides the winner of any prize, are the teams said arbitration. But what arbitration? They do not arbitrate whatever is obscurely because they are partial and corrupt. All of them. I smile to me, however, because all these people reading the same playbook and practicing equal corruption. The thieves all follow the same code of (dis) honor. The continuing such procedures, I believe that sooner or later, the Mozambican football die. So do not chase illusions! How does anyone even clubs decided wronged react with indignation taking attitudes as possible, for example, leave the field or, even better, send your players sit around the pitch and play alone leaving the club chosen by the arbitration predestination? Lost by 50 or 100 to zero? Leave it! Would give the same. No, I remembered Sports Vilanculo in Maputo, sending stroll to arbitration and the public did not agree with the transformation of a penalty. It also becomes disgusting and emetic hear comments from miserable safardanas of our televisions, agreeing with all this shamelessness.Definitely, football is a game very dirty, vicious and rotten and leaves me increasingly disgusted, and disillusioned away with all this stink! I am thinking seriously, for the sake of my mental health, I put in the leagues of all this rot, because I understand that there is no remedy. In turn, this makes us the soul very small and thus also no longer be worth it!

RUSSIA MAY SELL HELICOPTERS TO MOZAMBIQUE

The Russian news agency Itar-TASS has reported that the Mozambican government is negotiating with Russia to buy five or six helicopters.Itar-TASS quoted Minister of Industry and Trade Demis Manturov as saying that Mozambique is interested in buying helicopters, especially for the President’s use.Manturov said, “most likely we will sell two Ansat helicopters, since now we are working actively with our South African partners on the project of joint modernisation of these helicopters”.He added that Russia and Mozambique are also negotiating “modernisation and probably sales of various versions of Mi-8 helicopters”.Manturov said that “initially, I think we will sell five or six helicopters. I think this could be done in 2013. So far the negotiating process is not over”.The Ansat is a light helicopter capable of carrying a pilot and ten passengers. It is estimated to cost about two million US dollars.

SMOOTHING REACTOR NOW IN CAHORA BASSA DISTRICT

The smoothing reactor ordered from South Africa to repair the breakdown that has severely reduced the ability of the Cahora Bassa dam to distribute electricity has now entered Cahora Bassa district, in the western Mozambican province of Tete, according to a report in Friday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”.The reactor weighs 150 tonnes and thus transporting it has been no easy task. It was driven across Zimbabwe and on Thursday was eight kilometres from the sub-station at the dam town of Songo.  The final part of the journey is over mountainous terrain. According to a source in Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), the dam operating company, alterations must be made to the special truck carrying the reactor, so that it can deal with the climb and the curves on the final part of the road to Songo. If all goes well, the reactor should reach Songo on Saturday. In direct current systems, a smoothing reactor is used to “smoothen” the direct current wave shape to reduce power losses and improve system performance. In October 2010, one of the smoothing reactors at the Songo converter station suffered a major breakdown.A spare reactor was on site, but it too broke down on 24 July this year. HCB already had a plan to refurbish the converter station, but this will only begin in April 2013. Without the reactor, HCB’s capacity to send power southwards to its main client, the South African electricity company Eskom, was severely curtailed.Eskom itself had a spare smoothing reactor, and HCB negotiated for this to be sent by road to Cahora Bassa. The route was chosen to avoid taking the enormous load over many bridges. Engineering work was needed when crossing the Mazoe river, just north of the Zimbabwean border, where a provisional dike was installed.Three of the five transmission lines leaving Songo carry alternating current (taking power to northern and central Mozambique and to Zimbabwe). The other two lines carry direct current to South Africa. The direct current option was chosen because of the long distance (1,400 kilometres) from Songo to the Apollo sub-station in South Africa, The converter station changes alternating current into direct current, and it is the smoothing reactor for one of the lines to South Africa that has broken down. HCB says that because of the breakdown the company is only operating at 70 per cent of its normal capacity.

INSPECTORS SLAM TWO HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Two of Mozambique’s higher education institutions are at risk of closure following a damning report from the education inspectorate of the Ministry of Education.The report into the Mussa Bin Bique University, headquartered in Nampula, and the Alberto Chipande Higher Institute of Science and Technology in Beira, was presented on Thursday during a meeting in Maputo of the Higher Education Council (CES).According to a report in Friday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, the inspectors found that neither institution has premises if its own. Instead, they operate out of rented buildings that are inadequate either for teaching or for administration. In both cases, the teaching staff is not large enough and consists mostly of people who have only recently graduated from university themselves, and have no proper training as teachers.Furthermore the two institutions have inadequate libraries and there is no internet access for their students. There was also lack of dialogue between the management and the teaching staff, as well as insufficient coordination with the Ministry of Education.This is not the first time that Mussa bin Bique University has come under withering criticism. It has been the subject of a power struggle between two Islamic groups in Nampula, one headed by former Justice Minister (and recently appointed Ombudsman) Jose Abudo, and the other by Momade Bay, chairperson of the Islamic Training Centre (CPI), the body which owns the university.In mid-2011, Bay announced that faculties opened by Abudo in the towns of Mocuba and Pebane, in Zambezia province, were being closed down because they were operating illegally.In May 2011, the government threatened to close the University unless it corrected all irregularities. Almost 18 months later, there does not appear to have been a great improvement.The report to the CES concluded “the team of inspectors recommend the observance of the legislation”. The two institutions “should do more so that the surrounding community feels their presence, and should take the responsibility for training teaching staff”.

Alberto kitty, new prime minister

Aires Ali resigned from the post of prime minister and to accompany him, the president has made so many modifications to the Government cengtral and in some provinces.According to the official statement from the Press Office of the Presidency, here are remoidelações:

• Aires Bonifacio Aly from the post of Prime Minister;

• Fernando Sumbana, Office of the Minister of Tourism;

• Zeferino Martins, the post of Minister of Education;

• Pedrito Caetano, the Office of the Minister of Youth and Sports;

• Venancio Massinga the post of Minister of Science and Technology

• Luis Augusto Jone's post of Vice Minister of Education;

• Oak Muária the position of Governor of the Province of Sofala;

• Alberto Vaquina the office of Governor of Tete Province;

• Itai Meque the office of Governor of Zambezia Province;

• Felismino Tocoli the office of Governor of Nampula Province.

Still other orders separated appointed the following ministers:

• Alberto Vaquina for the post of Prime Minister

• Oak Muária to the post of Minister of Tourism

• Louis Augusto Mutomene Pelembe for the post of Minister of Science and Technology

• Fernando Sumbana, Minister of Youth and Sports.

• Augusto Jone Luis for the Position of Minister of Education

In other separate orders Provincial Governors appointed the following:

• Paul Felix for the post of Governor of the Province of Sofala;

• Ratxide Abdala Ackyiamungo Gogo, to the post of Governor of Tete Province

• Joaquim Verissimo for the office of Governor of Zambezia Province.

• Manuel Cidália Chauque for the office of Governor of Nampula Province. "

For the boot-licking is mad once!

Much has been said by the most distinguished analysts and luminaries in the field. Just wanted to see another possible hairstyle in relation to "bicefalização" Frelimo in power. At that President Guebuza is the only candidate for president of Frelimo. Then he will return for another term with Pemba unfulfilled! Alright.

For a long time I thought against this "innovation." In fact, many lining the pitch do it for fear of macabre intentions of the current holder of the highest office in the country. But all this is, or may be only speculation and nervousness.

I see an opportunity to separate the waters, to have a president full time and take care of the affairs of another country and take care of the Frelimo party. Moreover, if this model is extended to the lower levels of the party hierarchy, the possibilities for extending the freedoms, reduction of corruption and conflict of interest, democratic debate that is reflected directly in economic development will be greater and beneficial to citizens and country. This decision is in my opinion the potential to finally have access to the State Government and the citizen, captured so far.

Let me explain:

I support the idea that the president should not simultaneously hold any political office within the party that militates. Come he MDM, Frelimo, or Pamomo Ngonhamo.

In theory it has numerous benefits for the citizen, to the pocket of the people paying the tax to donors, etc.., For the reasons below cast but not limited around.

One. The president spared time for the benefit of strictly matters of state: President of the Republic free of any responsibility party would have more time to deal with matters of state, with the people who elected him, with governance. The President of all and above all partisan interests, avoid mixing issues and confuse hustings. It would probably be an opportunity to pair people stop being insulted and called "distracted, apostles of doom, unpatriotic, etc.. and thus engage in the struggle for improving their lives. It would be, as it were, a president of all and above all suspicion; frelimistas that would separate the waters of the State and Government.

2nd. Corruption and conflict of interest: perhaps the point puts all Mozambicans, taxpayers, nervous. Mozambicans have a feeling that the current president is the one who is more interested in being in power to protect its economic empire. True or not, maybe that's why there is a reluctance to see the polarization of power as the Frelimo good thing, at least until the reign of shadow or hand NISO Armando Guebuza. Indeed, the polarization of power could mitigate the impact of conflict of interest or even corruption in this country. If you do not, at least the same corrupt practices will be much easier to detect and report. The confusion between state travel and travel party could end; ADVICE OF PROVINCIAL MINISTER EXTENDED TO SECRETARIES OF FRELIMO AND OTHER SENIOR PARTY will end. If this happens, it will be very easy challenge. Indeed, it is always good to remember that the day that the regime change, we collect the money spent on the invitation, transport and accommodation of all the foreign members of the administration machine STATE participating in these types of encounter and they were not few.

3rd. Accountability: a president of the republic "disconnected" the Party, the Presidencies will open end, at least in the manner in which they operate. Their size may be altered to make way for more openness and discussion of issues that actually matter to the state and the people. The machine state can recover its role as organizer of these events high, unlike what happened until very recently, when the secretaries and policymakers who were triavam ten citizens, among other macabre practices, limiting freedoms of others individual. Above all, the sense of possession (ownership) of the head of state is actually larger than the current one, in that hour, everything is attributed to Frelimo and its leadership or the apostles of doom.

4th. Pay it accounts to the President of Frelimo or not, the truth is that Mozambican citizens will experience another form of relationship governance, forgetting for a moment the black shadow absolutist that prevailed in recent years in this country. At least she will be accommodated somewhere, away from the skin to the citizen.

5th. In short, the decision to separate the Frelimo party leaders IS A GIANT STEP TOWARDS THE TRUE STATE DESPARTIDARIZAÇÃO. The tricle down this decision has the potential to advance our democracy and development by leveraging the parents!

But for the people to take dividends Mozambique this "innovation" is important to go further, placing it in the constitution of the Republic of Mozambique.

And more.

It is important that this "innovation or fitness" to unfold until the lower levels of the administration party, such as:

a) Limiting the holders of executive positions in the party that just stay there. Why not make much sense that a Secretary in a specific area is both director of an office in a university, there seeding, terror and colleagues constituting a genuine parallel to power legally established.

b) I know to family and friends who hold senior management positions in Frelimo Party and are also leaders in the various departments of the State. If you want to be President Guebuza of Frelimo full time then it must also have a machine to its full-time service, adopting schemes very strong incompatibility.

Improving the conditions of wage Frelimo members

c) I also know that Frelimo is the payers that this country has, in such a way that their employees rely upon the state to make up the shortfall, thereby fostering an authentic festival of incestuous practices and conflict of interest, corruption invariably combustibilizam rampant. Access to positions in management or Frelimo Party apparatus as it is the first step to unfettered access to state resources.

d) Mitigate the assault on state coffers by this group of people would also impose serious restrictions on holding management positions Frelimo party access to management positions in the state apparatus, confining them only to the party, as much to private sector. For this to happen, the party must (1) have the will, (2) pay their workers well and (3) professionalize its staff.

e) Guebuza can not "mufar alone" in the party, while its entirety fatten tops in the Mozambican state, devoting little time for in-depth study of various issues and strategic panels attached to them.

f) Guebuza can not "mufar alone" at the office party while its entirety deceive the systematic and intelligently through the only way they can prove that work: Facebook. Is the old maxim of Mozambican workers: they pretend to pay us and we pretend to work.

g) It is important for Congress to discuss the professionalism of its staff as well. The partisan political work should not be undertaken by anyone who is available to do so or for hunting treasures like those ever heard in afternoons-a-week at RM. Three or two commentators who always AGREE THE PRINCIPLE BETWEEN THEM UNTIL THE END OF PROGRAM (for an hour or an hour and a half) thus challenging the intelligence of journalist interviewer.

With the amendment of the Statutes of Frelimo, there is a chance that more sovereign that Mozambicans should not miss it, to take back the state so far captured.

If Armando Guebuza as President of Frelimo back full time, then that is rightfully due to machine components executive of the party are also 100% available to the party. Plus, the "enforcement" of Article 75 of the Statute of the proposal combined with the status of civil servant and a President of the Republic of Mozambique full-time, open us an important opportunity to draw the horns by name.

These measures will leave the boot-licking completely crazy. Pleasing two poles of power will not be easy, until they discover the whereabouts of the real power.(EGIDIO VAZ) 

Congress rejects leading presidential hopefuls

The two most prominent people vying to be Frelimo Presidential candidate in 2014 elections were both knocked off the Political Commission at the Central Committee meeting following the Frelimo 10th Congress in Pemba.

Prime Minister Aires Ali was seen as President Armando Guebuza's choice as arelatively weak President he could control, and his defeat shows the limit of Guebuza's power. Former Prime Minister Luisa Diogo was the anyone-but-Ali candidate.

The defeat of both shows that interests and power with the party are dispersed, and some compromises and negotiation will be needed before the Presidential candidate is selected next year by the Central Committee. The candidate does not have to be a member of the Political Commission, but it would be hard to select someone who did not have enough support within the Central Committee to have been elected to the Political Commission.

The Frelimo 10th Congress in Pemba 23-28 September 2012 elected the president of the party - re-electing Armando Guebuza unopposed - and elected one-third of the Central Committee. (The remainder had already been elected at provincial level.) The new Central Committee met on 27-28 September to elect the Secretary-General and Secretary of the Verification (discipline) Committee and the rest of the Political Commission.

The party president, Secretary-General, and Secretary of the Verification Committee are all full members of the Political Commission. (If not already elected members, the national President, Prime Minister, Speaker of parliament, and head of the Frelimo bench in parliament are non-voting members.)

All Frelimo bodies have quotas  for women (35%) and for new members (40%) for both the Political Commission and Central Committee, and also for war veterans (10%), young people (under 35, 20%) and business people for the Central Committee. This leads to 4 ballot papers for Political Commission and 10 ballot papers for Central Committee, in which voters tick up to the number of people who can be elected in that category.

The Central Committee only meets two or three times a year, but does select the Presidential candidate and the Political Commission. The Political Commission meets every week and is the most powerful Frelimo body, with a large influence over a Frelimo government.

New Political Commission

The Central Committee re-elected Filipe Paunde as Secretary-General and elected Jose Pacheco as Secretary of the Verification Committee; both were unopposed. Pacheco is Agriculture Minister and was an elected member of the previous Political Commission.

The Political Commission's 17 members are (by category):

Automatically members:

+ Armando Guebuza

+ Filipe Paunde

+ Jose Pacheco

By ballot paper and in order from the most voted, the remaining members of the Political Commission are: 

Re-elected men:

+ Alberto Chipande (fired first shot of liberation war; former Defence Minister)

+ Eneas Comiche (MP & chair of Plan & Budget Committee; former Finance Minister, Bank of Mozambique Governor, and Maputo mayor)

+ Eduardo Mulembwe (former Speaker of Parliament; outgoing Secretary of Verification Committee)

+ Raimundo Pachinuapa (guerrilla commander in liberation war; MP and businessman)

Re-elected women:

+ Margarida Talapa (Head of the Frelimo parliamentary bench)

+ Veronica Macamo (Speaker of Parliament)

+ Conceita Sortane (MP; former Frelimo training secretary)

+ Alcinda Abreu (Environment Minister)

New men:

+ Alberto Vaquina (133 votes, 72%; Governor of Tete)

+ Sergio Pantie (61%; outgoing Central Committee secretary for organization, and Frelimo election agent for recent municipal by-elections)

+ Carvalho MuAria (60%; Governor of Sofala)

+ Cadmiel Muthemba (52%; Public Works Minister)

New women:

+ Esperana Bias (133 votes, 72%; Minerals Minister)

+ Luclia Hama (70%; Governor of Maputo City)

Candidates defeated for re-election included Prime Minister Aires Ali, former prime minister Luisa Diogo, Planning and Development Minister Aiuba Cuereneia, and former general secretary of the Mozambican Womens Organisation (OMM) Paulina Mateus. Two members did not stand for re-election, Manuel Tome (deputy head of the Frelimo parliamentary group) and Teodoro Waty (head of the parliamentary Constitutional and Legal Affairs Commission). Waty could not stand because he was not re-elected to the Central Committee. Candidates not elected for new posts were: Edson Macuacua (34%; Frelimo Secretary for Mobilisation and Propaganda), Hermenegildo Infante (49%; First Secretary, Maputo City), Damiao Jose (22%; spokesperson for Frelimo parliamentarygroup) and Antonia Charre (42%; Sofala MP). Percentages were only released for the new candidates.

Note that there are inconsistencies in official spellings of names. It is Aires Ali on the Council of Ministers list but Aires Aly on Frelimo party lists. Mulembwe sometimes appears as Mulembu.

The new Central Committee secretariat, all elected unopposed, is: Sergio Pantie, Edson Macuacua, Damiao Jose, Aida Libombo (former Deputy Health Minister), Moreira Vasco (MP), Carmelita Namashalua (Minister of State Administration), and Jose Tomo Psico (director of INATUR, National Institute of Tourism).