Death of Dom Jaime has shocked the country – Afonso Dhlakama

The news of the death of Archbishop Emeritus of Beira Dom Jaime Gonçalves has reached Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, who in a telephone conversation had this to say to ‘O País’.

“The events (of early Wednesday April 6) come as a shock to Mozambicans, because beyond his religious work for the Catholic church, Bishop Jaime fought for peace and democracy,” said Dhlakama who, at every pause in the conversation would mention that Dom Jaime had been a great brother.

“I would like to recall that Dom Jaime was in Rome for two-and-a-half years representing the Catholic church as a mediator. He succeeded, through distinct ways, in talks with Frelimo and with Renamo. Indeed, it was he who brought to Marínguè the message from the Vatican in April 1988. On that occasion he landed by plane and met to tell me that he wanted to negotiate, when President Chissano was afraid that Renamo would attack in Maputo. I told him to reassure the president because our intention was to negotiate.”
The Renamo leader’s memories did not stop there. Going back further in time, Afonso Dhlakama recalled an episode when he was still a member of Frelimo.

“I remember when Dom Jaime returned from Rome in the 70s, he celebrated Mass in Beira. I was there. At the time, I was still a comrade in Frelimo. In that context – Samora Machel was president – Dom Jaime argued that we should not accept communism.”

“Dom Jaime will be remembered as a man who fought for democracy, even before Renamo,” Dhlakama said, expressing his condolences to the Catholic Church and Dom Jaime’s family, and saying that he regretted not being able to attend the funeral for security reasons.

Source: O País

Zambezia Governor advocates national unity

The governor of Zambezia province, Abdul Razak, made a Mozambican Heroes Day speech extolling unity during which he held the hand of the mayor of Quelimane, Manuel de Araújo, and said "We are all brothers".

"I am governor and Manuel de Araújo is mayor; I am of Indian extraction and he is black. I was born in Maputo and he in Zambezia; I am Muslim and he is Catholic and I am FRELIMO and he is MDM but we are all Mozambican brothers," Razak declared at a Mozambican Heroes rally.

The governor’s national unity speech has been widely shared on social networks.


Source: Folha de Maputo

posted from Bloggeroid

Dhlakama maintains he will seize power

DHLAKAMA INSISTS HE WILL SEIZE POWER IN MARCH - AIM




Afonso Dhlakama, leader of Mozambique’s former rebel movement Renamo, has claimed that last week’s attempted assassination of the Renamo General Secretary, Manuel Bissopo, was an attempt to persuade Renamo to abandon its plans to seize power in six central and northern provinces as from March.

In a long interview published in the latest issue of the anti-government weekly “Canal de Mocambique”, Dhlakama declared “all this will finish”, and “Renamo will govern”. He claimed “I am organizing myself” to seize power in his target provinces (Manica, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia, Nampula and Niassa).

Without offering any evidence, he claimed that the attack on Bissopo was the work of the ruling Frelimo Party, and returned to his past allegations that Frelimo has repeatedly tried to assassinate him. Since he was now in a bush hideout in the central district of Gorongosa, “where they know it will not be easy to catch me, they went to shoot against the person I left dealing with matters, who is the secretary-general”.

“I don’t have the slightest doubt”, he declared. “I am officially accusing the Frelimo regime. It was Frelimo that orchestrated the shooting”.

He went further and claimed that the men who wounded Bissopo and killed his bodyguard were the same men who assassinated constitutional lawyer Gilles Cistac in Maputo in March 2015. “They’re the same people. They left Maputo with this mission”, he said, without offering the slightest evidence for this sensational allegation.

“In March, we shall govern, as I have already announced”, Dhlakama said. “None of these atrocities will make us stop, because we know how to defend ourselves. We are organizing ourselves for this. We shall govern the six provinces”.

“Renamo will govern”, he insisted. “What may happen is that, if they try something, we shall restore order. Even now we are working with our informants.”

Dhlakama claimed “high placed” members of Frelimo are on his side, and were encouraging him to seize power. “A few days ago a well placed member of Frelimo told me ‘it’s time that you organized your members to go after the governors and administrators and take them out one by one, just as they are doing with Renamo members’”.

Even the normally pliant “Canal de Mocambique” interviewer found this hard to swallow. After all, Dhlakama has been living in a bush camp for the past two months, so he could only have spoken to “well placed” Frelimo members by phone, and the likelihood of anyone in Frelimo ringing Dhlakama up with suggestions that he order the murder of provincial governors and district administrators is remote.

So the interviewer wanted to know the name of this “well placed” person, and Dhlakama refused to tell him. But he said he turned down the suggestion “because I am a Christian and I don’t do these things. I am a human being and I give value to life, mine and those of other people. I believe in the right to life, because I believe in God”.

Dhlakama then embarked on an ethnic conspiracy theory, claiming that all the members of the riot police and the armed forces (FADM) involved in clashes with the Renamo militia are southerners. “All the soldiers from the centre and the north refuse to take part in plans to assassinate me”, he said.

“Maputo has become a colony which trains mercenaries and sends them to enslave the centre and the north”, he declared.

Even the “Canal de Mocambique” reporter could spot the flaw in this argument. The commander-in-chief of the defence and security forces, President Filipe Nyusi, happens to be a northerner, a member of the Makonde ethnic group, from Cabo Delgado province.

But Dhlakama has never allowed facts to overwhelm conspiracies. He claimed that Nyusi has no power. “Power is in the hands of individuals from the south”, he claimed, without bothering to cite a single name. “Nyusi is just there to cut ribbons. He was sent there to cover people’s eyes and make people believe that power has shifted to the north. But Nyusi himself knows it’s a lie”.

Hr went even further, alleging that unnamed figures in Frelimo would assassinate Nyusi, if he were to assert himself.

“If he tries to be independent, if he tries to escape from the hands of his masters, he will be killed”, Dhlakama predicted. He claimed that he would meet the same fate as another Makonde politician, Rafael Maguni, who died in 2004. The problem with this is that Maguni, a former director of Radio Mozambique and Minister of Information, was not assassinated, but died in a Maputo traffic accident. Such details, however, are never a problem for conspiracy theorists, and so Dhlakama claimed the accident was “orchestrated”.

Preparations for seizing power in the six provinces “are going well”, Dhlakama claimed. “I know some people say it’s just words, that Dhlakama makes announcements and then retreats. But this time it’s going to happen”.


Source: AIM

posted from Bloggeroid

At last! Production and importation of plastic in Mozambique has had its days.

From 5th of February, shall be banned the production, importation and marketing, retail or wholesale,of plastic bags with thickness less than 30 microns.

The breach of this rule is subject to fines solely to producers, importers and traders.

Producing, importing and marketing plastic with thickness less than 30 microns has had its days in Mozambique.

It is a measure that the government, through the Ministry of Land, Forestry and Rural Development with a view to minimize possible damage to health, infrastructure and the environment caused by plastic.
It is in this sense that the breach of the rule will result in fines.

According to official figures, there are in the country close to fifty producers of plastic, much of this stuff is imported ... hence the Mozambique Tax Authority is alert to possible irregularities.

Since August 5, 2015, that regulation came partly into force, prohibiting only the free offering of plastic and forcing the sale price indication of it separately .

Importantly, the fines will be applied only to producers, importers and retailers and not consumers.

posted from Bloggeroid

At last! Production and importation of plastic in Mozambique has had its days.

ECONOMY BAG PLASTIC 30 micrometer: PROHIBITED PRODUCTION, IMPORTS AND TRADE

T
PLASTIC BAG 30 micrometer: PROHIBITED PRODUCTION, IMPORTS AND TRADE



From 5th of February, shall be banned the production, importation and marketing, retail or wholesale,of plastic bags with thickness less than 30 microns.

The breach of this rule is subject to fines solely to producers, importers and traders.

Producing, importing and marketing plastic with thickness less than 30 microns has had its days in Mozambique.

It is a measure that the government, through the Ministry of Land, Forestry and Rural Development with a view to minimize possible damage to health, infrastructure and the environment caused by plastic.
It is in this sense that the breach of the rule will result in fines.

According to official figures, there are in the country close to fifty producers of plastic, much of this stuff is imported ... hence the Mozambique Tax Authority is alert to possible irregularities.

Since August 5, 2015, that regulation came partly into force, prohibiting only the free offering of plastic and forcing the sale price indication of it separately .

Importantly, the fines will be applied only to producers, importers and retailers and not consumers.

posted from Bloggeroid

Passengers denounce alleged losses and luggage exchanges on South African Airways

Civil Aviation

Some passengers travelling with the South African Airways (SAA) complain of alleged successive losses and luggage exchanges during the trips.

The case was denounced yesterday by some alleged victims in the city of Maputo. The latest case of alleged exchange and loss of goods in luggage happened on Saturday during a flight from South African Airways that made Johannesburg-Maputo link.

The condition affecting about 10 passengers was discovered by them already in Mavalane International Airport in the capital, to find that there were insufficient goods and introduction of others' material in their luggage.

Every day many are forced to resort to the offices of the South African company, to try recovering their property. Incidentally, Abaval Ahmed, who claims to have lost luggage, says he could only recover part of his assets which themselves were in the trunk of another passenger. However, when he could regain his own luggage, it also contained goods of other passengers.

posted from Bloggeroid

Thousands of students fail enrollment by helping parents on the farm

Manica province failed to target enrollment for this school year ,to enroll 51,683 students, about half of the scheduled number.Many Students of 1st; 6th; 8th and 11th grades are at risk of not attending school for not having registered.

Of these, the bulk goes to 25,508 children who are in danger of not attending the 1st class because their parents and guardians have abdicated the education enrollment process, causing the minors to help till the land.

It is estimated that 91,038 students were enrolled in grade 1, only it was possible to enroll 65,530 children. The problem, according to the provincial director of the sector, Stephen Rupela, quoted by the Mozambique News Agency (AIM), was due to the need of children for agricultural production.

posted from Bloggeroid

Police gathered to define strategies to combat cross-border organized crime

Crime in SADC

Dozens of experts from various branches of the police of the community member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are gathered since yesterday in the city of Maputo, for the extraordinary Regional Organization meeting of the Police of Southern Africa (SARPCCO), to plot Strategies to combat cross-border organized crime.

Among the major crimes that plague SADC countries, include kidnappings, drug trafficking and human trafficking and luxury car theft, as revealed at the event yesterday. And to address these and other cross-border crimes, experts of the police in the region argue, in Maputo, the best strategies.

During the opening ceremony, the deputy commander general of PRM, Jose Weng San, defended the need for ongoing information sharing between SADC countries for the success of the fight against crime. Weng San emphasized the need for police readiness to ensure security and public tranquility. Incidentally, in this respect, with regard to Mozambique, Weng San said the country has tended to reduce crime, though slightly.

posted from Bloggeroid

Risks that haunt the Rovuma gas

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) denounces huge risks in projects of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) of the Rovuma Basin, in terms of revenue collection and significant impact on the economy of Mozambique, due to the persistent fall of the price of gas on the international market, in a context of weak demand feature from emerging countries and increasing product supply from countries like the United States of America (USA) and Australia.

It is expected that multinationals take the final investment decision on gas from the Rovuma Basin, by this summer, so that by 2017,they start the construction of liquefaction platforms, in anticipation of the production and export of LNG in 2021.

An IMF document reveals that gas sales prices might fluctuate and fall below the assumptions used as reference by the consortia of the areas 1 and 4 of the Rovuma Basin. "A lasting global economic slowdown could trigger further declines in international gas prices. Furthermore, if the first decisions are postponed considerably for some reason and, in the meantime, other global projects of LNG surpasses most of the consumer demand for gas, sales prices could be lower and the budget revenue could be especially sensitive to falling gas prices, since most of the revenue is related to the profits of the projects, "says the document of the IMF.



OTHER NEWS



Police gathered to define strategies to combat cross-border organized crime

Youth found dead in the tank of a restaurant in Beira.

posted from Bloggeroid

posted from Bloggeroid

Mozambique today: Reflectindo sobre Moçambique: ÚLTIMA HORA: Confron...

Mozambique today: Reflectindo sobre Moçambique: ÚLTIMA HORA: Confron...: Reflectindo sobre Moçambique: ÚLTIMA HORA: Confrontos no Zero e trânsito interro... : Informações vindas de Morrumbala dão conta de que na ú...

LAKE NIASSA

Off the beaten track, lake Niassa (Nyasa), the Mozambican side of Lake Malawi boasts a phenomenally beautiful and unspoiled countryside and shoreline well worth exploring if you have the time and patience. 

Lake Niassa is the third largest lake in Africa – 100 km across and 585 km long, and much of it is surrounded by the imposing Rift Valley Mountains. This great lake's tropical waters are reportedly the habitat of more species of fish than those of any other body of freshwater on Earth, including more than 1000 species of cichlids. 

Lake Niassa was officially declared a reserve by the Government of Mozambique in 2011 in an effort to protect one of the largest and bio-diverse freshwater lakes in the world Niassa is located to the west in the northern province of Niassa and forms part of the border between Malawi and Mozambique. LAM offers regular flights from Maputo, Beira and Nampula to Lichinga airport (VXC). 

From Lichinga public transport can be used to visit certain areas on the lake but for more remote destinations you will require your own vehicle or a private transfer.

Membros da Renamo detidos em plena Tomada de posse

MEMBROS DA RENAMO DETIDOS EM PLENA TOMADA DE POSSE
Ao cargo de régulo

Cinco membros do partido Renamo, dos quais quatro do distrito de Ribáuè e um de Meconta, na província de Nampula encontram-se detidos, desde segunda-feira da semana em curso, indiciados de tentarem “apropriar-se "do poder dos régulos das mencionadas regiões.
A delegada provincial interina da Renamo, Abiba Aba, que se limitou a confirmar as mencionadas detenções, afirmou que o seu partido está já em diligências no sentido de averiguar a situação e apurar as presumíveis causas que terão originado a detenção daqueles membros.
Informações em nossa posse e confirmadas pela PRM em Nampula, referem que os aludidos membros da Renamo foram presos momentos depois da sua alegada tomada de posse para o exercício das funções de régulos da Renamo, no âmbito da materialização da promessa, formulada pelo seu líder, de governar as regiões do centro e norte do país a partir de Março onde reclama vitória desde a proclamação dos resultados em 31 de Dezembro de 2014.Sérgio Mourinho, porta-voz da polícia em Nampula, disse que os indivíduos estão presos e serão responsabilizados em atentarem contra a ordem e tranquilidade públicas, contra a segurança do Estado e norma constitucional.

“Estes indivíduos andaram a reunir com a população e simularam empossar os seus régulos, alegando que, à posterior, viriam a ser investidos nos cargos de chefes das localidades, dos postos, administradores distritais e governadores provinciais, supostamente porque a Renamo ganhou as últimas eleições gerais e vai governar. Nós, como a polícia não podemos tolerar tais anarquias porque agridem os princípios que regem a Constituição da República”, afirmou Sérgio Mourinho.
Mourinho acrescentou que a medida de detenção pode até abranger os respectivos delegados políticos deste partido, porque constituem os vectores da suposta desordem e, igualmente, avisou que a corporação não vai permitir a criação de um governo paralelo no país ao que é, actualmente, reconhecido como fruto das eleições de 15 de Outubro de 2014.
Entretanto, a fonte, em nome da PRM, aproveitou a nossa reportagem para apelar aos residentes de Nampula e, quiçá, do país em geral a não aderirem a estas acções de desordem e insubordinação que a Renamo está a tentar expandir.
WAMPHULA FAX – 27.01.2016

Negócio da barragem de Moamba Major sob suspeita no Brasil

FICHEIROS DA TERCEIRA REPÚBLICA
- Armando Guebuza é acusado de ter feito pressões à Presidente brasileira para que facilitasse o financiamento a Moçambique, num valor superior a 300 milhões de dólares.

A exposição pela justiça brasileira das ligações políticas das maiores empresas do país, atingiu na semana passada o vice-presidente de Angola, Manuel Vicente. Agora, é o projecto da barragem moçambicana de Moamba Major que está sob suspeita. E o nome do ex-Presidente da República, Armando Guebuza, surge no processo: terá feito pressões sobre a Presidente brasileira para que Moçambique fosse facilitado o acesso a um financiamento superior a 300 milhões de dólares.

Telegramas da ex-embaixadora brasileira em Maputo, Lígia Maria Sherer, indicam que os dois países desentenderam-se sobre a forma de disponibilização do financiamento em 2013, segundo a revista brasileira “Época”. O financiador, o BNDES (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Económico e Social), exigia que Moçambique abrisse uma conta no estrangeiro para os pagamentos, num país com meros risco de calote do que Moçambique, o que o Governo de Guebuza rejeitava.

“Haveria indícios de que o Brasil perderia o projecto para empresas de outros países se a questão do financiamento pelo BNDES não pudesse ser solucionada”, afirma a mensagem da embaixadora brasileira em Maputo.

Moçambique evocava dificuldades técnicas e políticas. O assunto foi discutido em Março de 2013 em Durban(África do Sul) entre Guebuza e a Presidente brasileira. “Vou resolver o assunto”, terá dito Dilma Rousseff.


Na sequência, o ex-ministro das Finanças, Manuel Chang, escreveu ao Governo brasileiro explicando as dificuldades. O assunto foi depois discutido na 97ª Reunião do Conselho de Ministros da Câmara do Comércio Exterior (Camex), órgão ligado à Presidência da República e então presidido por Fernando Pimentel, ex-ministro do Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior (MDIC).

Segundo o artigo, o representante do Ministério da Fazenda, Dyogo Oliveira, reforçou que seria difícil controlar a Moçambique, e que o país não possuía limite de crédito no Fundo de Garantia à Exportação (FGE), responsável por cobrir um eventual calote. A discussão culminou com o triunfo da posição de Pimentel de que fosse aberta uma excepção para o caso Moçambique, segundo a “Época”.

Em 16 de Julho de 2014, dez meses depois da reunião da Camex e já durante a campanha para a eleição presidencial no Brasil, foi assinado um contrato entre Manuel Chang, BNDES e a Andrade Gutierrez, prevendo uma linha de crédito de 320 milhões de dólares.
A construtora brasileira está agora a edificar a barragem, na província de Maputo.

O BNDES negou que as condições de empréstimo tenham sido facilitadas.

O banco afirmou que a operação seguiu trâmites usuais e obedeceu a critérios técnicos e impessoais, passando pelas assembleias próprias.
O projecto envolve ainda as empreiteiras Zagope Construções e Engenharia, controlada pela Andrade Gutierrez, investigada na Operação Lava Jato por suspeita de usar uma subsidiária para pagar subornos a ex-funcionários da Petrobas.

A reportagem afirma ainda que no mês seguinte à assinatura do acordo, Edinho Silva, então tesoureiro da campanha de Dilma Rousseff à reeleição, visitou o presidente da Andrade Gutierrez em São Paulo,
Otávio Marques de Azevedo. Nove dias depois, a construtora doou 10 milhões de reais para a campanha de Dilma. Nos dois meses seguintes fez mais três doações, que somaram outros 10 milhões de reais.
A Presidência brasileira afirma que as doações feitas à campanha eleitoral não têm qualquer relação com as acções do Governo. E que a decisão de financiamento foi feita com total autonomia e sem qualquer ingerência.

As doações da construtora, segundo o ministro Edinho Silva, foram legais e aprovadas pelo Tribunal Superior Eleitoral. O ex-ministro Fernando Pimentel disse que o financiamento foi aprovado segundo práticas internacionais e rigorosamente dentro dos critérios legais. A construtora Andrade Gutierrez também nega qualquer favorecimento.

DN – 27.01.2016

Muslims' march for peace in Ihla de Mozambique

Thousands of Muslims came together last Sunday in the municipality of Mozambique Island and embarked on a march that expressed concern about the political situation of the country

The march, which had as its central objective the celebrating of the birthday of the prophet Muhammad, considered a peace worker, was marked by appeals for reconciliation and stability in the country.

The parade went through the main arteries of the city and flowed at the local municipal stadium, where believers exalted the name of their messenger and prophet.



At the time, it made several interventions in connection with the anniversary, while there was a recitation of several groups evoking the name of the Prophet Muhammad.

On occasion message, Gafar Abdul Gafar, a spokesman for the Muslim community, referred to the importance of the meeting and invited Muslims to pray also for understanding, unity, appealing particularly to the different political actors in the country, especially the Government and Renamo, to an understanding, so that the Mozambican people can live in peace.

Muslims' march for peace in Ihla de Mozambique

Thousands of Muslims came together last Sunday in the municipality of Mozambique Island and embarked on a march that expressed concern about the political situation of the country

The march, which had as its central objective the celebrating of the birthday of the prophet Muhammad, considered a peace worker, was marked by appeals for reconciliation and stability in the country.

The parade went through the main arteries of the city and flowed at the local municipal stadium, where believers exalted the name of their messenger and prophet.



At the time, it made several interventions in connection with the anniversary, while there was a recitation of several groups evoking the name of the Prophet Muhammad.

On occasion message, Gafar Abdul Gafar, a spokesman for the Muslim community, referred to the importance of the meeting and invited Muslims to pray also for understanding, unity, appealing particularly to the different political actors in the country, especially the Government and Renamo, to an understanding, so that the Mozambican people can live in peace.

Mozambique: Drought Severely Damages Agriculture

Maputo — Agricultural production has been severely compromised by the drought in southern and central Mozambique, the government spokesperson, Deputy Health Minister Mouzinho Saide, announced on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters, at the end of a meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), Saide said that so far the drought has cost the lives of 3,500 head of cattle, and 437,000 hectares of crops are considered lost, which is 8.9 per cent of the total cultivated area. In a normal year, the harvest begins in March - but this year atAt least an estimated 375,900 people in drought hit areas will have no harvest at all, and will need assistance.

That figure assumes the situation does not deteriorate any further. But in a worst case scenario of deepening drought, the number in need of aid could rise to 1.7 million. The current number of people in need of food aid is 176,000. This week there has been some rain in southern and central Mozambique, and Saide was optimistic that if these rains continue, the number of people in need of food aid will decline.

Actions to mitigate the impact of the drought, Saide said, include the organization of agricultural fairs, the production of hay to feed cattle, and moving livestock to low lying areas where there is still some moisture. The government is also publicizing measures to save water, by making rational use of what little is available.

Mozambique: Renamo Accused or Kidnap and Murder in Gorongosa

Maputo — The administrator of the central Mozambican district of Gorongosa, Manuel Jamaca, has accused the former rebel movement Renamo of kidnapping 16 people in recent weeks and dragging them off to Renamo bases in the Gorongosa bush.

Interviewed in Thursday's issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, Jamaca said that only three of these victims had returned alive, and the others are feared dead. He accused Renamo gunmen of murdering and abducting people linked to the ruling Frelimo Party, and turning this into a racket, demanding ransoms of 3,000 to 4,000 meticais (between 65 and 88 US dollars, at current exchange rates).

He added that if Renamo gunmen find anyone with a mobile phone on the slopes of the Gorongosa mountain range, they are tortured and accused of transmitting information to the government about the whereabouts of Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama. Jamaca believed that Dhlakama is constantly on the move between Gorongosa, Maringue and Cheringoma districts.

Bodies, believed to be those of victims of Renamo, are being found in these districts. The most recent case, Jamaca said, was two bullet-ridden bodies, in an advanced state of decomposition, found in the Kanda area of Gorongosa.