“Frelimo should use intellect rather than power dictatorship” to resolve conflicts – Simango

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“Frelimo should use intellect rather than power dictatorship” to resolve conflicts – Simango

1:22 CAT | 29 Jan 2020

Daviz Simango thinks that people should not be afraid to say that the “Maputo Agreement had [its] insufficiencies”, and advocates dialogue between the parties of interest in resolving armed conflicts: “More intellect than power dictatorship”.

Beira, the capital of central Mozambique, does not suffer directly from armed conflicts and the attacks engendered by the self-proclaimed ‘military junta’ of the National Resistance of Mozambique (Renamo). But tension in the region has an impact on the capital of Sofala province nonetheless, because it forces the displacement of communities.

The mayor of Beira, Daviz Simango, argues that Mozambique must find a definitive path of peace, and advocates the integration and dialogue of all parties in the country’s stabilisation process. “There is a feeling that some of the guerrillas did not have good enough communication to understand the process,” the mayor said in an interview with DW Africa.

Simango reasons that the people were the main reason the Maputo Agreement was signed on August 6, 2019, and should, therefore, be central to resolving the tension in the country.

“There was this civil war, there were these conflicts because there were men were with guns drawn, and these men are still there and are at odds with the leadership of the opposition party, in this case Renamo,” the leader of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) said.

Fahrzeug in Zentral-Mosambik angegriffen (DW/Bernardo Jequete) — *File photo: A vehicle destroyed in one of the attacks in Mozambique .*

Approach to peace

Simango asks for the self-proclaimed military junta, the Renamo leadership and the government to come together, so that no-one is left behind in the peace process. According to the MDM leader, this will involve understanding the “deep needs” of the members of the Renamo dissident group.

The Beira mayor acknowledges that President Filipe Nyusi’s statements signal that this readiness does exist. And, if it is comes to pass, he adds, all Mozambicans will applaud such an initiative as contributing to peace and stability.

On the other hand, Simango warns that it is necessary to make a distinction as to Renamo’s internal conflict, which is up to the opposition party to resolve. He considers that the solution of armed conflicts must, in any caser, be a priority.

“We cannot live in a country with conflict in the centre and conflict in the north. This creates great weariness, as well as great expense. The financial means being spent serving these two military fronts could be very useful to heal people who have health problems, [building] more hospitals, more schools. And this would help the country become more cohesive,” he explains.

Regarding the systematic terrorist attacks taking place in northern Mozambique, Simango says that “it is necessary to investigate further” the action of fundamentalist groups operating in the region.

Agreement is insufficient

“We know that there are many natural resources in Cabo Delgado. There were many miners who stopped being miners to [embrace] other interests and who, eventually, were harmed. There is also the perception that there may be fundamentalists, but this ends up affecting the northern part of the country and is also generating an interregional conflict involving some neighbouring countries,” Simango says.

For the MDM leader, this situation cannot continue indefinitely, because such armed groups may “take root” and become harder to “remove”.

The mayor argued that the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) “should use intellect more than its monopoly of power” to resolve these conflicts, because, in his opinion, the expectations created by the Maputo Agreement must be respected and observed.

“We cannot be afraid to say that the Maputo Agreement had [its] insufficiencies, nor can we be ashamed of it. But the truth is that what emerged after the signing is that these people were not sufficiently accommodated as regards their demands,” added Simango.

The mayor applauds external support from Mozambican partners, but criticises certain “armed contributions” which only lead to the cultivation of hatred and revenge.

Simango argues that what the country needs is technical cooperation that helps to find the real players behind the attacks in the central and northern zones, so as to resolve “the situation of instability still prevailing” in a firm way.

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