Sunday, September 28, 2014

NYUSI URGES FRELIMO SUPPORTERS TO SHOW TOLERANCE



The presidential candidate of Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Nyusi, on Friday urged his supporters not to react to “provocation”.Speaking at a campaign rally in Muanza, in the central province of Sofala, Nyusi called for tolerance so that the campaign and the elections themselves, scheduled for 15 October, take place peacefully.Nyusi advised Frelimo supporters to behave in an orderly fashion – and even if “those who cause confusion cross your paths and try to engage you in confrontation, what you should do is just look at them and let them pass. Only then should you continue your own march heading to the victory that awaits us on 15 October”.In a message clearly inspired by the violent clashes in Gaza province when Frelimo supporters besieged the motorcade of Daviz Simango, the leader and presidential candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), Nyusi said “only those who know that they are weak opt for violence to try and impose themselves against those who would impose themselves by the use of reason”. During his brief stop in Muanza, Nyusi restated that what led him to accept his party’s nomination for the presidency was his desire to help the country maintain peace and the unity of Mozambicans and, above all, to help his felow-countrymen overcome poverty through accelerating the country’s development.“The mission I have received from the founders of our country, who are the people who elected me as a candidate for the presidency is to continue what they have been doing since they overthrew colonialism”, he said. One of the missions the current President, Armando Guebuza, had given him was to expand the electricity grid based on the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi.Cahora Bassa power had now reached the Muanza district capital, and Nyusi intended to ensure that the grid now reached downwards to the administrative posts and localities of the district. Earlier Nyusi had visited Inhaminga, capital of Cherimgoma district, and again urged calm and tolerance in the face of provocation. The strength of Frelimo, he stressed, should always be based on reason, not force.

DHLAKAMA ARRIVES IN ZAMBEZIA



Afonso Dhlakama, the leader and presidential candidate of the former rebel movement Renamo, arrived on Saturday in Quelimane, capital of the central Mozambican province of Zambezia for the next stage in his election campaign. Speaking to reporters at Quelimane airport Dhlakama declared he is confident that victory in Zambezia has always belonged to Renamo,“The owner of Quelimane has arrived”, boasted Dhlakama. “If there were others playing about with bicycles, that’s all finished”.His dismissive reference was to the second opposition force, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), which won an overwhelming victory in Queimane in the November 2013 municipal elections (which Renamo boycotted). The MDM mayor of Quelimane, Manuel de Araujo, has frequently ridden a bicycle round the streets of the city.The streets of Quelimane are full of bicycles, and one popular, if somewhat hazardous, mode of transport is the bicycle-taxi. Voters in Quelimane may not react well to sneers against their favourite mode of transport. He urged the citizens of Quelimane to deposit their trust and their votes in him. “I cannot be a symbol and the father of democracy and a fighter for this Mozambique without arriving in Ponta Vermelha (the presidential palace in Maputo). Let me try!”, he exclaimed. Dhlakama recalled that the last time he set foot in Quelimane, he was on his way to the Renamo military headquarters at Satunjira, in Sofala province two years ago. He said he was younger then, but now his hair has turned white. “In the photograph (on his campaign posters) I am younger with black hair, but it’s the same Dhlakama”, he said “Give Dhlakama the palace. I can’t just be famous. I can’t just be a symbol and a fighter”. The details of Dhlakama’s programme in Zambezia have not been released, but he is expected to visit the district of Morrumbala, regarded as a Renamo stronghold, and to address a rally in Quelimane next Wednesday.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

MDM ACCUSES POLICE OF ILLEGAL NIGHT ARRESTS

The opposition Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) in the northern city of Nampula on Saturday accused the police of illegally detaining seven of its members in night raids on their homes.According to MDM parliamentary candidate Fernando Bismarque, the police lacked the necessary arrest warrants signed by a judge. Furthermore, the law forbids arrests at night except when people are caught in the act of committing a crime.The seven were supposedly picked up at their homes at around 21.00 on Friday night. Bismarque said that on Saturday the police refused to allow access to the detainees to the Nampula provincial attorney’s office.
It is assumed that the arrests are connected with the Thursday clashes when MDM members brought a mock coffin bearing pictures of Filipe Nyusi, the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, to the solemn ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the launch of the armed struggle for Mozambican independence. When the police moved to seize the mock coffin, fighting broke out, MDM members hurled stones at the police, and the police used tear gas against them.The police say that three MDM members were arrested on the spot, but have made no comment so far about the allegations of illegal night arrests.The MDM mayor of Nampula Mamudo Amurrane told reporters that the party has arranged defence lawyers for its detained members. But as of Saturday morning, according to MDM Nampula election officer Antonio Goncalves, the police had not allowed the MDM lawyers access to the detainees. Meanwhile, the head of the Frelimo election brigade in the city, Labour Minister Helena Taipo, on Saturday advised Frelimo members not to react to provocation. Provocation, she said, was a sure sign that the adversary knew it was facing defeat.


Friday, September 26, 2014

The world premiere of Basketball !!!!

It is already this Saturday (27) that the national team of senior female basketball will mark its debut in the World Championship race taking place in Turkey, which will extend until next October 4th. The first opponent of "Samorais" is Canada, a game scheduled for 13.00 hours of Maputo, and is inserted in the first round of the "B" group, based in Ankara and will be the opening game. After having completed pre-competitive stages in Japan, Czech Republic and Serbia, it is expected that the national team is presented in the World in the best physical and competitive way.
Composition of groups
Group-A (Ankara): Spain, Czech Republic, Brazil and Japan
Group-B (Ankara): France, Turkey, Canada and Mozambique
Group-C (Istanbul): Australia, Belarus, Cuba and South Korea

Group-D (Istanbul): USA, Serbia, China and Angola

Between loves and reticence

Mozambique will witness, in the general election this year, a historical fact. The Frelimo party will be the main defeated. This trend of negative election results reached the escalation in útimas municipal elections held late last year, and has been giving objectives to be able to come to increase in the next 15 October election signs.
Some factors can be directly linked to this undeniable conclusion. As you probably already know, in addition to the chronic characteristic of popular discontent and anti-frelimista feeling the second term of governance Armando Guebuza, highlights the increasingly growing sense of identity, sympathy and adherence to massive popular opposition parties (particularly MDM and lately Renamo). Frelimo even benefiting disproportionately from a clearly grounded machine canvass goods, funding and resources for themselves kidnapped along its nearly 40 years of full control of the Mozambican state, has been at the same level and in some cases , far below the main opposition parties, as to convince and mobilize the electorate.
Indeed, Frelimo has controlled and influenced the spread of electoral propaganda in its favor, the arrogant and blatantly, the main organs of public media, such as TVM, Radio Mozambique or newspapers and Sunday News. Frelimo has used, directly or indirectly, and state fuel vehicles in their campaigns. Many of the cars used by its members can not bear the registration number of the State but are allocated to its directors and officers for personal use while holding positions of management and leadership, or as part of their work activities. Given the institutional weakness characteristic of the state apparatus as the surveillance and security of their strictly professional use, many of them have been diverted to purposes foreign to its activities and is integrated into all major caravans, across the country, parading their shameless arrogance and ostentation the Frelimo party in the eyes of a large majority of hungry people living in conditions of acute generalized precariousness. 
This show of wealth and pomposity, done by people who are obliged to show gratitude for the privileges and dividends offered by governance Guebuza, has served as an example, the most attentive citizens, that the members and supporters of the Frelimo party that is exclusively has been benefiting from the alleged national development over all these years. If they were not the only previlegiados in access to wealth and opportunity, they would not be showing the full extent of the national territory and fed clairvoyant symbols of financial strength and material, in their election campaigns. 
Already must have also seen the enormous human frame which has adhered to the main opposition party campaigns. Dhlakama has been the presidential candidate who has led more people to their rallies. Simango too. Although they do not have the numerous means and resources that Frelimo pompously uses (such as caravans of cars and motorbikes luxurious, flyers, posters, flags, food, etc.) and which tries to buy loyalty, sympathy and vote of the people, the people systematically tortured, harassed, segregated and impoverished has given tangible samples and determined to break with the historical lies of Frelimo and has adhered massively to the reawakening of hope for a radical change of the state of things Dhlakama Simango or embody, under the baton of their respective parties.
The people know who eats Camisetes and capulanas. The people know that those spaces on television, radio and newspapers where public comment only those who speak well of Guebuza and Frelimo not demoverá its belief change. You, who are also people, not you see yourself in these luxury caravans that pass Frelimo side of your poverty by in Pregnant theatrical shows of falsehoods and lying that trust Nyusi. Because you do not trust Nyusi anything. You just trust in the power of change and the BASTA that your vote will shout on 15 October. (L.Pensador / Facebook)

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Access to Information and missed opportunities

The debates would be broadcast would help greatly to increase cognitive awareness of citizens at least for the purposes of this election, to the extent that they would have a general idea and compared the manifests and projects each told by themselves.The past week was marked by an intense debate in the public sphere (TV, newspapers, radio and social networks) on the need or not of one or a series of election debates in the three presidential candidates would confront their ideas and views on the country.We would suggest that these debates should in fact happen for a number of reasons for that step we mention.
1. The debates would increase cognitive awareness of Mozambicans
We are a society of low information as the paper notes Carlos Shenga and Robert Mattes, "uncritical citizenship in a low information society: Mozambicans in Comparative Perspective." In Mozambique, only one in five Mozambicans is that it is able to tell how many terms is that the President can fulfill (two terms). In rural areas, this figure drops to 16%. Worse, President Guebuza will reform with only 20% of the Mozambican population to know him by his full name! In terms of cognitive awareness (amount of information that people have about politics and democracy; their exposure to information through typical sources such as radio, television and printed information agencies or through alternative sources, such as friends and neighbors etc. .) the same study indicates that our rates are low: only 13% of Mozambicans regularly read newspapers; 8% daily and 5% a few times a week; 16% of Mozambicans watch television news programs every day and 8% a few times a week. Approximately only 40% of the Mozambican population is interested in politics. This whole introduction was to say that election debates were broadcast would help greatly to increase cognitive awareness of citizens at least for the purposes of this election, to the extent that they would have a general idea and compared the manifests and projects of each said by themselves.
2. The debates would increase the audience
Indeed, an electoral debate three put many Mozambicans glued to receivers than any other political activity in this campaign. In terms of audience, an electoral debate three put almost all Mozambicans is connected to the radio, the tv is and would report directly and critically about the manifestos, plans and priorities of each candidate without intermediaries.
3. The debates reinforce the party identification of voters
Contrary to what one fears, studies show that election debates strengthen the connection with supporters of their candidate regardless of what one can conclude (victory or defeat in this debate). In "Political Campaign communication. Principles and practices ", Judith Trent and Robert Friedenberg argue that electoral debates reinforce the political beliefs of voters regarding their options or candidates. Therefore, theoretically, there is no reason to fear an electoral debate to three.

4 .The debates activate undecided and helps clarify the message
The debates are also a time when candidates take advantage of the opportunity to justify or clarify some misunderstandings, deviations of interpretation as well as enable the undecided and absentee. At a time when the Mozambican struggle with low rates of voting, election debates could help in raising levels of interest and trust of the voters towards these elections.
5 .The debates help in defining the voting schedule
The election manifestos made ​​by the three parties did not have broad participation and involvement of citizens, as could be expected. Three weeks after the start of the campaign, the candidates themselves realized If some salient features, others minimized in their schedules and still others barely addressed. The real priorities of citizens come to the fore as a candidate to make the field. The debates are a single moment that finally the affairs of the people are discussed and analyzed in the perspective of governance.
6 .The debates increase levels of knowledge of the electorate on matters pertaining
As referenced in Section 1, we are a society of low information, practically very little access to political information quality. Hear directly from the candidates and their manifestos so cross greatly increases the levels of knowledge of citizens on political themes.
7. The debates change the image of the candidates. Worse than that is not out
That's it. The debates can only improve the image of a candidate. Worse than this is not possible. Politicians, while making the debate have a noble mission to convince the electorate on three specific aspects
a) your suitability for the position
b) their readiness to take over
c) the technical competence and the feasibility of its program for the greater good.
Thus, lesser-known candidates are more likely to solidify its image with the public and potential voters. But there is an inverse proportionality between participation in electoral debates and improving the image of the candidates. Recognized candidates rarely come his image changed with the debate while less known candidates use these debates to finally solidify his image.
8 .The debates strengthen democracy and satisfy citizens

The popular principle that the ruling politicians are our servants is strengthened when candidates are exposed to public scrutiny and cross, mediated by the media. For all these reasons, we believe that the debates are rather urgent and should happen.(Egidio Vaz/Consultor/In facebook)