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Municipal assembly sessions on hold in Quelimane
1:13 CAT | 02 Nov 2018
Manuel de Araújo. File photo: DW
Conflict between Manuel de Araújo, the Renamo mayor of Quelimane Municipal Assembly, and Frelimo and MDM members of the same body, has brought business to a halt in the Zambézia provincial capital. The politicians involved say that the situation is serious.
According to Joaquim Maloa, a member of the Municipal Assembly of Quelimane for the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), Manuel de Araújo, a member of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), wants members to come together to approve some activities – including the budget proposals for 2019.
But two of the benches in the municipal assembly – namely the Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frelimo) and the MDM – say no. Manuel de Araújo has publicly resigned from the MDM and is now its opponent.
Joaquim Maloa describes this situation as serious.
“It’s a bit of a sad situation at this very moment, as we cannot go into session.”
“For me, the conditions do not exist – because he is no longer a member of the MDM. At this very moment, the electoral manifesto he was defending was Renamo’s and he was elected president by Renamo. So there’s a conflict. Psychologically, how are you going to sit down with Frelimo and MDM members?” the politician asks.
Root of the clash
The disagreement between Manuel de Araújo and the Frelimo and MDM benches in Quelimane results from Araújo’s sudden move from the MDM to Renamo on July 20, just three months before the local elections.
Domingos de Albuquerque, Quelimane Municipal Assembly’s acting president, agrees that the current situation is serious and confirms that meetings have been temporarily suspended.
“The situation is bad, because those elected are not being paid, and the feeling is one of sadness. The City Council has to come to the assembly and say what is happening,” he says.
“It is unfortunate because we have five sessions a year to complete. We have already completed three, so two are missing. The fourth was due to be held on September 12. As a result of the suspension of the mayor’s mandate, we are at a standstill. We are waiting for information from the administrative guardianship [Ministry of State Administration], which up until now has not ruled on this,” Albuquerque complains.
Rijone Bombino, the head of the Frelimo bench, is calling on the relevant authorities to mediate.
“We do not know exactly what is happening,” he says. “For that to be the case, it means that something is not right within the organs of justice or other organs, which should communicate the actual situation to the municipal assembly. I do not know if it is law, or if the law has not yet defined anything, or if there is some possibility of favouritism. But it is not possible to hold a session without the municipal body functioning,” he explains.
“To this day, it is not decided whether we can hold a session, because of the loss of mandate. This will affect the functioning of the municipality, right up to the level of the assembly itself,” he says.
Mayor remains “calm”
The mayor, Manuel de Araújo, says that the situation is under control. Araújo has appealed against the Council of Ministers’ decision regarding his loss of mandate and presented himself to the Administrative Tribunal to clarify the problems that arose when he joined Renamo without finishing his mandate by the MDM, party on whose behalf he governed the municipality of Quelimane since 2013.
At this moment, Araújo awaits the final decision of the Administrative Tribunal.
“I received a notification, about a month ago, from the Council of Ministers, and from that point on, we filed an action and submitted our position. The case is proceeding, we have done our part and we are calm,” he says.
Quelimane Municipal Assembly comprises 39 members: 26 from the Mozambique Democratic Movement and 13 from Frelimo.
Source: Deutsche Welle
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