Mozambique reacts to Zimbabwe situation

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Mozambique reacts to Zimbabwe situation

11:30 CAT | 23 Nov 2017

Oldemiro Baloi (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation)

Mozambique’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Oldemiro Balói, says that the political situation in Zimbabwe and the resignation of President Robert Mugabe will not compromise the country’s diplomatic relations with Mozambique.

For Balói, the issue is purely Zimbabwean, and the Zimbabweans themselves will be able to resolve the issue.

“If the political crisis influences our country, it will be in the best sense, in that the Zimbabweans took the measures they took because they felt they should give a new boost to the pace of growth and development, so Mozambique will benefit as well,” he said.

For Balói, the current political change is a clear sign that Zimbabweans are capable of resolving their differences internally.

“The Zimbabweans encountered a problem and resolved it between themselves. They seem satisfied with the solution. That’s what interests us,” he added.

Former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano said that Robert Mugabe was happy to leave power without creating instability in the country, and that he had made the right decision.

Mugabe leaving power should not however be seen as a joyous scenario, as it will lead to a new phase for both country and party, and “One thing is emotional and the others are the following steps”.

“The problem of Zimbabwe is not small and its evolution is not easy, and it will take cool heads of all Zimbabweans,” Chissano said.

Moment of reinvention

Social activist Graça Machel says that Mugabe’s departure should cause Zanu-PF to re-examine itself internally.

“It is more of a Zanu problem than a national transformation, because if you look you will realize that both the political leadership coming into power and the military have always played an active part in Zimbabwe’s history since national liberation,” she said.

Machel believes that “in 2008 Zanu-PF lost elections, and the key players who persuaded Mugabe not to accept defeat are the people who are now removing him, and they are at the forefront of the country’s leadership,” she said.

Source: opaís