Africa-Press – Mozambique. In Mozambique, after Daniel Chapo took office as President of Mozambique and appointed the new government, questions are being asked about what the first 100 days of government will be like. Will the new government bring the reforms desired by Mozambicans?
In an interview with DW, political scientist Justino Quina is optimistic and states that Daniel Chapo looks at the country’s problems “with a different approach”.
But the analyst stresses that it would be “a lot to ask” of the new government to be able to “realize” the promises made in 100 days.
DW Africa: What can we expect from Daniel Chapo’s first 100 days in office?
Justino Quina (JQ): I believe that in the first interaction that Daniel Francisco Chapo makes as President of Mozambique, in his inaugural speech, he presents himself as a president who is aware of the country’s problems. But he also presents in his speech an X-ray where he shows that he is aware of these concerns and shows a willingness to contribute to the solution of these problems.
It is my perception that we may be asking too much of this executive, looking at the concerns or challenges that we are all already aware of at this moment. There are problems that resulted from the latest post-election demonstrations, for example in the city of Maputo, in Matola and some other places. And it seems to me that, in 100 days, we would be asking too much of this government to quickly resolve these problems.
DW Africa: So you are saying that Daniel Chapo has tools and has presented solutions to solve the problems. Can you give examples of the solutions that he has presented so far?
JQ: Daniel Chapo talks, for example, about economic reforms, concrete measures to overcome the rising cost of living, measures to overcome social inequalities, measures to eliminate or overcome regional asymmetries, concrete measures for employability, especially for young people. Chapo also talks about housing, education, health and even restructuring ministries.
DW Africa: Has Daniel Chapo shown that he knows what he wants and has a well-defined strategy? There are critics who say that there is a risk of being “towed” by Venâncio Mondlane’s agenda…
JQ: I have a completely different interpretation. I paid attention to his speech at the inauguration and I also noticed that there is a continuity in his discourse in the sense of looking at problems with a different approach. For example, when he swears in ministers, he gives each minister a clear indication of what they have to do. We see the same thing when he swears in governors. It seems to me that Chapo knows what he wants, has a specific focus, knows where he wants to go.
DW Africa: Is the President of the Republic bringing about the reforms that Mozambicans want?
JQ: I think this was visible, for example, on social media and various digital platforms. After Chapo spoke, there was broad support and people were very satisfied. Naturally, we expect everything he said to be put into practice. We must give this new executive enough space so that all the reforms that Chapo announced are, in fact, put into practice. And from there, we should then start to analyse whether what was announced is actually happening.
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