Islamic extremism, political assassinations and ‘hidden debt’ under investigation – Speaker of Parliament

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Islamic extremism, political assassinations and ‘hidden debt’ under investigation – Speaker of Parliament

7:38 CAT | 13 Oct 2017

(File photo) / Verónica Macamo

Veronica Macamo, Speaker of the Mozambican parliament, on Wednesday declined to comment on the threats of Islamic extremism in the north of the country, the political assassinations in the centre and the question of Mozambican hidden debt, considering it “hasty” to speak while investigations were still underway.

Veronica Macamo spoke to Lusa and RDPAfrica on the sidelines of a meeting about a parliamentary cooperation agreement between the Portuguese and Mozambican assemblies which she was signing with her Portuguese counterpart, Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, who was invited to an official visit to Mozambique.

The Mozambican State hierarchy “Number Two” has downplayed all three issues, stressing that the first case “may be an isolated incident” or “it may even just be a gathering of local people”.

“I do not know if it is a Muslim threat. There was an incident and the security forces were able to calm it down. An investigation is underway, the organs of the administration of justice are working and only then can we know what the force is, if there is any force. It may even be just a gathering of people from the place,” she said, saying it would be “hasty” to comment while investigation was still underway.

“Worried? Not so much, because I do not really know what it is. It may have been a one-off case. It seems to be a one-off case,” she said.

Regarding the case of the murder of a mayor in Nampula, Veronica Macamo refused to assume that there was a “wave” of murders in central Mozambique, stressing that, as in Cabo Delgado, the case is under judicial investigation.

“We had that problem that happened in Nampula, which is also now with the institutions of justice. We want to know what happened. I do not say that it is a wave (of murders), no politician or anyone should die, but we are concerned that a citizen dies, whether or not he is a mayor. In this case, we even care more because he is a person who had security,” she explained.

In the Mozambican “hidden debt scandal” Veronica Macamo rejected the name by which became known the case reported by the Wall Street Journal in April 2016 of a hidden loan of US$622 million from ProIndicus and an additional US$535 million from MAM , both with guarantees from the Mozambican state.

“Hidden debt is what some people call it. It is a debt, in a way with some sustainability, and it did not comply strictly with the law of the (Parliament’s) request for authorisation. There are explanations for this. They are known,” she said.

The president of the Mozambican parliament noted that the results of the commission of inquiry had already been admitted by the national assembly and sent to the presidency, which was “working on the matter”.

“We will also have to wait to see what the ethical outlines are where the state has been damaged,” Macamo said.

Regarding the cooperation agreement with the Portuguese parliament, Macamo said that it provided for the exchange of experiences on good practices, as well as training. “We have trained many parliamentary technical staff in Portugal,” she noted.

“We also put a special emphasis on new technologies, as we think they are very important … (It was also agreed) to coordinate positions to defend opinions (from Portugal and Mozambique) in international fora,” she said.

For his part, Ferro Rodrigues highlighted the importance of the agreement signed yesterday, noting that “a huge effort is underway to build” a Mozambique “with peace, security and development”.

veronica.macamo.pt1 — Picture: parlamento.pt

In addition to the invitation made by Verónica Macamo for an official visit to Mozambique, to be carried out “as soon as there is the possibility of an agenda”, Rodrigues promised that the Portuguese parliament was “available with all the necessary support” to work with its Mozambican counterpart.

Source: Lusa