Mozambique: “We, the Zambezians, want to be the owners of power”

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Mozambique: “We, the Zambezians, want to be the owners of power”

3:38 CAT | 23 Sep 2020

File photo: Diário da Zambézia

Anyone who knows him has no doubt that he’s the “sooner or later” kind. They have no doubts about this, and know very well what he is capable of. Frelimo, the party in which he resides, is always cautious and attentive when Governor of Zambézia Pio Matos speaks.

Last week, at the end of the Ordinary Session of the Provincial Assembly of Zambezia (APZ), Pio Matos spoke about decentralisation, at a time when the power of elected governors has been diluted.

Without blinking, the governor took advantage of the occasion to deliver some messages about central power “cutting the legs” from under provincial governors.

Starting with “We Zambezians want to be the owners of power”, he drew applause especially from the Renamo bench, and mutterings from Frelimo.

According to the governor, decentralisation is always difficult, but whatever is decided must acknowledge that decentralising means giving those elected power, hence, “One cannot talk about decentralisation when one depends on Maputo. That is not decentralisation,” he said.

Pio showing his displeasure raised Renamo applause, his words chiming well with what Renamo and any lucid citizen feels.

The hope of the future

But the governor’s fatigue is noticeable, before he has even spent a year in office.

The sceptical fear that Pio will become ill again and leave his post before the end of his term. But that is not what the governor foresees. There is still hope, he feels, because, according to what he has learned, the central government is preparing a law that will be submitted to the Assembly of the Republic (AR), which will define the powers of the governor in this era of decentralisation according to some recognition that the governor was elected by the people.

“We have faith that the law that the government is preparing will define the competencies of the central and provincial governments,” he said, adding: “Our deputies are aware of this, and I believe they will do their job.”

Malaise at Frelimo

The Frelimo bench was taken by surprise with this lesson on decentralisation. They did not expect so many home truths from a governor straight out of their own electoral list, so there was almost no applause.

At the end of the session, some members of the bench analysed the governor’s outburst, and even came up with some proposals.

The first would be to create a committee to go and ask the speaker, why these words? . Another group, however, clearly distanced themselves. Yet another solution proposed was to intercede with Pio, but only a small group were of this mind. There may, in the coming days, be a meeting.

But everyone wants to know the real motivation for delivering this message to an audience including members of the opposition and the press.

Source: Diário da Zambézia