State of the nation: Frelimo praises President’s assessment whilst opposition criticises

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State of the nation: Frelimo praises President’s assessment whilst opposition criticises

11:59 CAT | 20 Dec 2018

File in CoM

The head of state, Filipe Nyusi, called the state of the nation “stable” on Wednesday, arguing that the country has returned to the path of growth and prosperity after having entered economic and political crisis in 2016.

“We can safely say that the state of the nation is stable and inspires confidence,” said Filipe Nyusi, speaking at the Assembly of the Republic about the nation’s general situation in 2018.

Commenting on the assessment of the President of the Republic, Edmundo Galiza Matos Júnior, a spokesman for the parliamentary group of the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo), said that the diagnosis was in line with the country’s real situation.

“It was a report that fully corresponded to the reality of the country, covered all relevant aspects of national socio-economic life,” said Gatos Matos Júnior, speaking to the media.

The government headed by Filipe Nyusi, he continued, put the country on the path of political and economic stability, overcoming fears of a deterioration of the situation in which the nation was in 2016.

André Majibire, deputy of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), disputed the information of the head of state on the country’s annual situation, arguing that the document was superficial in relation to the peace process.

“We expected the head of state to explain the government’s breaches of the Memorandum of Understanding on the peace process,” Majibire said.

The head of state, he continued, did not clarify what was behind the government’s decision to appoint only three officers of Renamo’s armed wing to the post of chief of the Armed Forces.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed between Nyusi and Renamo’s interim leader, Ossufo Momade, calls for the appointment of 14 military units of the main opposition party to senior positions in the Defense and Security Forces (FDS).

Mozambican Democratic Movement (MDM) parliamentary group spokesman Fernando Bismarque disputed the fact that the head of state affirmed in his speech that the country is stable, when the northern region is beset by attacks of armed groups.

“There is no stability whatsoever, the President of the Republic can not only say that there are wrongdoers there, when people are being slaughtered and property destroyed,” Bismarque said.

The MDM spokesman also accused the government of Nyusi of being unable to prevent the deterioration of the population’s living conditions and the impotence in normalizing relations with donors.

International donors cut off direct aid to the State Budget in 2016 after the discovery of debts secretly endorsed by the previous Mozambican government.

Source: Lusa