Mozambique: Opposition claims poor governance worsens impact of Ukraine war

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Mozambique: Opposition claims poor governance worsens impact of Ukraine war

7:59 CAT | 11 Jul 2022

Image: Domingo

Mozambique’s National Resistance (Renamo), the country’s main opposition party, said on Friday that the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the African country’s economy was aggravated by poor governance, pointing to the backwardness in agriculture as an example of wrong policies.

“The government should work so that the resources we have are effectively used for the development of our society, of our country,” said Saimone Macuiana, president of Renamo’s Jurisdictional Council.

Macuiana was speaking during a press conference on the rising cost of living in the country, which the authorities attribute to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The opposition politician accused the successive governments of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) of having neglected agriculture over the 47 years of national independence and wasted the millions of hectares of arable land available to the country.

“We need to import tomatoes, onions and carrots, [while] we have arable land, from Rovuma to Maputo [the country’s northern and southern borders]. We could produce enough” for the country to withstand the rise in food prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, Saimone Macuiana stressed.

He continued that Frelimo governance has accentuated social inequalities, leaving most of the population vulnerable to economic crises.

“Our leaders look like they are managing a private asset, not a public one,” he charged.

On Monday’s paralysis of urban public transport in protest against the increase in fuel prices, Saimone Macuiana pointed to the lack of adequate transport policies as one of the causes of the situation.

On the other hand, the chairman of Renamo’s Jurisdictional Council criticised the Mozambican government did not condemn Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, pointing out that the war is creating “incalculable consequences”.

“A clear, unequivocal and forceful position” against the actions of the Moscow government is demanded of any state, Saimone Macuiane stressed.

Independent analyses have already warned that Mozambique is one of the African countries at high risk of social upheaval associated with the deterioration of living conditions caused by the combined crisis of rising food and fuel prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Source: Lusa