Government denies “dragging out” peace talks – Mozambique

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Government denies “dragging out” peace talks – Mozambique

8:09 CAT | 15 Dec 2016

File photo / Prime minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario

The Mozambican government is “committed to effective peace, and has done all in its power so that peace is won in the shortest space of time possible”, declared Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario on Wednesday.

He was speaking in the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, in response to a claim by deputies of the rebel movement Renamo that the government is “dragging out the negotiations”.

“Contrary to expectations that this sitting of the Assembly would approve a legislative package on decentralization, everything indicates that Frelimo is using all kinds of manoeuvres to delay the outcome”, accused Renamo.

But it is Renamo, and not the government, which has an illegal militia, and it was Renamo who, in February, resumed its insurrection. From the government’s perspective, ending the war means that Renamo must stop shooting.

“For the government, silencing the guns immediately is a priority so that there is no further loss of human life”, declared Rosario. “We’ve had enough of mourning, pain and destruction in our families. Silencing the guns is the starting point for achieving an effective that the entire Mozambican people desires”.

“We all want a lasting peace, anchored in respect for the principles and values of defending national interests, for the laws and institution of the state, and for observance of the rules of a democratic state”, he added.

The Joint Commission set up between the government and Renamo has proved unable to reach consensus on decentralization – for Renamo, this word is a coded reference to its demand to take over the six central and northern provinces where it claims to have won the 2014 general elections.

Rosario made clear that the government too is not happy with the slow pace of the talks, and would favour “greater speed in the negotiations around the legislative package on decentralization”.

He thought the decision by the Joint Commission to set up a working group, with members appointed by President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, was of great importance, and could speed matters up.

The working group, said Rosario, “has the task of drawing up the document containing the philosophy and general procedures” on which the new laws on decentralization will be based. He was convinced that “in this way the conditions will be established for consolidating decentralization, which will contribute to achieving a sustainable peace”.

Both Frelimo and the second opposition party, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) asked about the corruption scandal in Mozambique Airlines (LAM), where the former chairperson of the company, Jose Viegas, is alleged to have received a bribe of 800,000 US dollars in 2009 from the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer.

The facts of the case are scarcely in doubt – Embraer was caught offering bribes in four countries, the Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia, India and Mozambique. The company made a full confession to the United States and Brazilian authorities and agreed to pay fines of around 225 million dollars. The details given by the Embraer executives implicate Viegas, and a second Mozambican, Mateus Zimba, then the Mozambican representative of the South African petro-chemical giant, Sasol, who is accused of setting up a fake company, registered in Sao Tome and Principe, through which the bribe money was channeled.

But Rosario declined to say much about this case, pointing out that it is in the hands of the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption, which has launched an investigation.

“We encourage the bodies of the administration of justice to continue their anti-corruption work”, he said. “We restate our condemnation of all forms and practices of corruption because they compromise the economic development of our country”.

Asked about the terms of reference of the independent, international audit of the loans to the three security-linked companies Ematum (Mozambique Tuna Company), Proindicus and MAM (Mozambique Asset Management) that were illicitly guaranteed by the previous government, headed by President Armando Guebuza, in 2013-14, Rosario pointed out that this is in the hands of the Attorney-General’s Office (PGR), and “in strict respect for the Constitution, as regards the separation of powers, our government cannot interfere with the work under way in the PGR”.

Nonetheless, he outlined the objectives of the audit as “to provide an analysis of the financing contracts of the three companies, of the funds obtained, of the assets acquired, and the identification and analysis of any irregularities in administering and using the funds”.

Source: AIM