Moza is''powder keg''

Raul Domingos, Rome peace agreements negotiator and former number two in Renamo, believes that, a year after the signing of the Cessation of Military Hostilities Agreement between the government and the main opposition party, Mozambique is “sitting on a powder keg”. "One does not need to hold up a magnifying glass or be a political analyst to see what is clear: peace in Mozambique cannot be taken for granted, and the country is sitting on a powder keg," Domingos, who is currently president of the extra-parliamentary Party for Peace, Democracy and Development (PDD), said in an interview with Lusa. According to the politician, the negotiations which led to the signing of the Agreement on Cessation of Armed Hostilities on September 5, 2014, were an opportunity missed for securing a lasting understanding of peace in the country. "They were fruitless negotiations, because the reasons that led to the conflict between 2013 and 2014 still prevail, in particular the lack of electoral legitimacy of political institutions and the fact of having a one-party state and two armed parties," Domingos notes, referring to Renamo and Frelimo (the ruling party). Domingos thinks the negotiations between the government and Renamo should have been used to rethink the political system and deepen local government processes as a way of easing the tension in the political situation. "The elections have been showing that there is an important sector of the electorate voting for the opposition that does not feel represented in political institutions, because the current Mozambican political system is based on the principle that 'the winner takes all`, and that situation could be solved by returning power to the provinces,” he said. In Domingos’ opinion, the definitive stabilization of Mozambique is also being hampered by the fact that the current head of state, Filipe Nyusi, has been "drifting" because of having to manage several groups fighting for power within Frelimo. In Domingos’ opinion, "He is a new head of state in a Frelimo machine with all the vices of 40 years of one-party rule and with two or three groups fighting among themselves for power. He is adrift, as can be seen in the inconsistency of his positions." The president of PDD believes that the Cessation of Military Hostilities Agreement was only reached for convenience, because the president at the time, Armando Guebuza, wanted to give the impression that he had left office with the country at peace. "Many advances that had eluded negotiators for months were achieved at meteoric speed as a result of pressure from a president who was leaving office, and needed to give legitimacy to the elections that were already about to take place," Domingos says. Tomorrow, Saturday, is the first anniversary of the signing of the Cessation of Military Hostilities Agreement, ending a year of clashes between the defence and security forces of Mozambique and the armed wing of Renamo. However, the agreement failed its main goal: the demilitarization of Renamo. Under the agreement, amnesty for crimes against state security committed during the period of the political tension was approved, a Mission Team of Observers of the Cessation of Armed Hostilities (EMOCHM) was created\ and an agreement on separation between party and state was reached. EMOCHM has since been dissolved and the party-state separation agreement has not yet been implemented, due to the refusal of the Government to submit the document to parliament along with Renamo. Raul Domingos was a member of Renamo during the 16-year civil war that opposed Renamo against the government of Frelimo. He headed the delegation of the main opposition party in the negotiations that finally reached the Rome Agreements ending the conflict on October 4 1992. Domingos was expelled from Renamo in July 2000 because of disagreements with the president of the movement, Afonso Dhlakama, at a time when he was considered the party’s number two and Dhalakama’s potential successor in the party leadership.

Mozambicans to have better access to financial services

The President of the Republic undertakes to strengthen national policies to ensure that more Mozambicans have access to financial services. Filipe Nyusi was speaking in Maputo at the opening of the seventh meeting of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, an event that brings together more than five hundred participants. Filled room, one hundred and twenty guests of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion member countries from which Mozambique is part. They are in Maputo to discuss policies to ensure that more people have access to formal financial services in a world where half the adult population does not have a bank account. In Mozambique, twenty-three percent of the adult population has at least one active bank account but the challenge and reach 25% until 2019. Mozambique will pursue the objective with the government's commitment to strengthen banking expansion measures in the country.. In Maputo meeting will be referring to examples such as Tanzania, Kenya and Ivory Coast that expanded financial services through the use of Technology.

Mozambique receives historical archives from Portugal

It is the portrait of six years of colonial rule, which coincided with World War II. It is hundreds of official photos, financial reports and official correspondence between the Governor-General of Mozambique, between 1940 and 1946, José Tristan Bettencourt, and many bodies of the colonial administration in Lisbon, especially the Ministry of the Colonies. The material remained for years at the hands of relatives of the then Governor-General of overseas province of Mozambique and historical research institutions in Portugal, and was offered yesterday, to the Historical Archives of Mozambique. The initiative is the Mario Soares Foundation and aims to increase the data on the country's possession about the history of the colonial period. "It's a very important estate, since they have official documents. Has more than 300 photographs of that time, "said Alfredo Caldeira, representative of the Foundation.

Mozambicans imprisoned in SA

Two young Mozambicans were sentenced to 11 years in prison in South Africa, accused of involvement in poaching in the Kruger Park. The ruling was made on Monday by a court in the Mpumalanga province. Fenias Sitoe and France Nkuna, were arrested in October last year when carrying unlicensed hunting guns and an ax, according to the Mozambique News Agency (AIM). The Mpumalanga court concluded that the two young men were involved in rhino poaching in the Kruger Park.

Renamo announces forms military barracks

"Yesterday [Wednesday], on 02 September, the assembly barracks at Morrumbala was completed, thus fulfilling the decision of those who fought for democracy and for the welfare of the Mozambican people ", said in Maputo, during a press conference, spokesman Renamo (Mozambique National Resistance), António Muchanga. The spokesman said that the Renamo headquarters will form the army and police of the six provinces in the center and north of the country where Renamo has threatened to by force claiming victory in the general elections of 15 October. "The assembly's decision at Morrumbala is not the president's [Afonso Dhlakama], but of themselves,veterans of the struggle for democracy and President Dhlakama adhered to this decision in order to avoid a split within the party, which would be dangerous to democracy, "said António Muchanga. The s Renamo spokesman declined to go into detail about the barracks, not explaining the movement of men and war materials on site. Mozambique live moments of uncertainty

Nhussi promulgates laws passed by Parliament

The President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, promulgated and had published, on Tuesday, the first laws passed by Parliament in the current legislature (VIII). This is the law establishing the Credit Information System Private Management in Mozambique; The bill to revise the law number 24/2013, of November 1, Organic Law of the Administrative Jurisdiction; and Review of the Law of Organization Act, Operation and Proceedings of the Section of Public Accounts of the Administrative Court. In addition to being the first approved by parliament out of the parliamentary elections last year, they are also the first that Philip Nyusi promulgated after parliamentary approval

Renamo bunks dialogue

ON Monday, for the second consecutive time,the Renamo delegation did not attend the political dialogue, complying with the suspension order announced by Afonso Dhlakama.Another session of the usual political dialogue between the government and Renamo failed on Monday due to the absence of the largest political opposition party delegation at the International Conference Centre Joaquim Chissano in Maputo. In the morning, the government delegation came to the meeting place, even after the Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, announced last week, the end of political dialogue. The head of the government delegation, José Pacheco, quoted by AIM, said his party,Frelimo decided to appear at the headquarters of the dialogue because they had not received any formal letter stating the unavailability of Renamo at the meeting even.