Mozambique: Parliament approves Nyusi’s report on state of emergency

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Mozambique: Parliament approves Nyusi’s report on state of emergency

1:14 CAT | 05 Aug 2020

Photo: Noticias

Mozambique’s parliament on Tuesday approved the report of President Filipe Nyusi regarding the state of emergency, initiated in the country in April due to Covid-19. Opposition voted against and criticized government measures.

The 179 Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frelimo – the party in power) deputies voted in favour and the 53 opposition parliamentarians voted against the resolution, which agreed that the measures taken during the state of emergency respected the principle of proportionality and were limited, as to their extent and the length of time they were in force for, to what was strictly necessary for the prompt restoration of constitutional normality.

The state of emergency measures also observed the principle of safeguarding the right to life, personal integrity, civil capacity and citizenship, the Assembly of the Republic agreed.

The document was presented by Parliament’s first deputy-chairperson, Hélder Njonjo.

“The restrictive rights measures applied by the Government in the context of the state of emergency were balanced and proportionate, in order to reconcile the needs to protect the population, keep in operation basic services of society and the economy, and ensure the national health system’s response,” Njonjo proposed.

Opposition criticisms: More poverty in the country

The Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, the country’s largest opposition party) countered that the National Health System had collapsed, and that the report was defective because it did not present the nominal list of citizens covered by the state of emergency, as demanded by the Constitution.

Deputy Arnaldo Chalaua also expressed Renamo’s concern that the Government had resorted to direct awards for the provision of services and goods contracted internally in an operation involving around 68 billion meticais (€818 million).

“It is true that in a situation of state of emergency there may not be practically that rigour of procurement, but it was actually necessary to say which companies benefited,” the Renamo deputy said.

Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) spokesman Fernando Bismarque said that “the economic measures announced by the Government have not produced the desired effects, from the point of view of social assistance. Mozambique has seen more poverty”.

Frelimo praised the Government. “We had a President who, with his Government, had to proceed with extraordinary measures so that the situation in our country was not catastrophic. Our country is among the countries with the fewest deaths and positive cases,” said the bench’s whip, Jacinto Capito.

Parliament did not make any suggestions as to next steps in the effort to contain the spread of Covid-19. The head of state is expected to address the nation at 8:00 p.m. tonight.

Source: Deutsche Welle