Ossufo Momade accepts perks of Leader of Second Party with Parliamentary seat

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Ossufo Momade accepts perks of Leader of Second Party with Parliamentary seat

2:03 CAT | 02 Jun 2020

Image: A Verdade

Although he says that he did not lose the 2019 general elections, the president of Renamo says he will accept the position of Leader of the Second Party with a Parliamentary seat which, among several other perks, includes high wages, representation expenses, monthly allowances, an official residence, State transportation, travel allowances and even the reintegration allowance. “At no time did we say that we would fail to take up what is provided for by law,” Renamo president Ossufo Momade explained.

@Verdade asked the current Renamo party president whether Afonso Dhlakama would have taken up the position of Leader of the Second Party with a Parliamentary seat. “This question is for all Mozambicans, as the statute is not for Ossufo Momade, it is for all Mozambicans. We must say that when the Assembly of the Republic passed this law it was not for Osssufo Momade; at that time Ossufo Momade was not even party president. The party will decide in relation to your question.”

Faced with insistence, Dhlkama’s successor argued: “My brothers misinterpret; these benefits are not for Ossufo Momade but for Renamo’s office. It is like what Renamo receives through the Assembly of the Republic. At no time did we say that we would fail to take up what is provided for by law. We must say that misinterpretation makes people misunderstand what the purpose of this law is.”

Although he admitted that he will accept the perks, Momade missed the truth when he said the benefits are not for him. @Verdade learned that the Council of Ministers approved last April 21 the regulation of the Law created for Afonso Dhlakama, on December 30, 2014, which grants dozens of rights and benefits to the Leader of the Second Party with a Parliamentary seat.

The president of Renamo will have a fully equipped work office and five employees “of his trust” paid by the State: an advisor, a financial assistant, a private secretary, a driver and a courier.

Ossufo Momade will be able to leave the luxurious hotel where he currently lives at the expense of the State for an official residence “equipped at the expense of the State, allocated by the unit responsible for the State’s assets in the Ministry of Economy and Finance”, with the right to “support staff from his trust, at the expense of the State”, including a driver, a cook, a worker to attend at table, a cleaner, a worker to take care of laundry and ironing [mainato] and a gardener.

Momade adds to the deputies’ retirement pension a salary equivalent to Vice-President of the Assembly of the Republic

The leader of Mozambique’s largest opposition party will have at his disposal “a protocol vehicle of the brand, colour, series and engine capacity identical to those of the members of the government”, a second 1.6 litre vehicle for the residence and a third “vehicle for sale”.

Momade will continue to have security and protection, “guaranteed exclusively by the Police of the Republic of Mozambique”, with medical and medication assistance extended to his wife and children.

“The Leader of the Second Party with a Parliamentary seat benefits from allowances, in case of travel in State service missions, inside or outside the country, including those entrusted by the Head of State,” the statute dictates. He will also be entitled to a Reintegration allowance.

@Verdade learned that Ossufo Momade, who already enjoys the perks inherent in the Deputy’s Statute, Security and Welfare, for having held a seat in the Assembly of the Republic between 1999 and 2019, will receive “Remuneration equivalent to that of the Vice-President of the Assembly of the Republic” of about 132,000 meticais per month, “representation expenses, in the amount corresponding to 20 percent of the basic salary”, and “ a communication subsidy, in the amount of 10,000 meticais a month”.