Africa-Press – Mozambique. Renamo, the main opposition party, on Wednesday called for dialogue with the armed groups carrying out attacks in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, with a view to achieving a “lasting and sustainable” peace.
“We support those who advise on the need to initiate mechanisms of dialogue with the aggressors with a view to achieving a lasting and sustainable peace,” said Viana Magalhaes, leader of the Renamo parliamentary bench.
Magalhães was speaking at the opening speech of the fourth ordinary session of the ninth legislature of Parliament, which started today.
The leader of the main opposition party’s parliamentary bench added that a process of dialogue with the rebels “is an urgent task that the Government cannot put off any longer or even avoid”.
Viana Magalhães said that the joint forces of Mozambique, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda were making progress in the fight against armed groups but that progress should not lead to the devaluation of the path of dialogue to end armed violence.
He said that international military support against the insurgency was “inevitable”, but criticised the alleged “sidelining” of the Mozambican armed forces on the battle front and the fact that the government did not inform parliament about the deployment of foreign military contingents in the theatre of operations.
The Renamo parliamentary bench leader also criticised the fact that the government accepted the presence of foreign troops only after the armed groups had attacked the town of Palma, near the natural gas exploration projects.
“If such interests [in natural gas] had not been pinched, the discourse of sovereignty would persist, with the Government standing idly by and watching the slaughter of our fellow citizens by terrorists. Now the same Government is coming and with its mouth full saying that it is concerned about the people”, he declared.
Viana Magalhães also focused on the trial of the main case of the hidden debts, noting that it is the ruling Frelimo party that is being scrutinised.
“That party should be held accountable not only in the BO [maximum security jail, where the trial is taking place], but at the ballot box in 2023 and 2024,” he said.
The Renamo parliamentary bench leader accused the Frelimo government of being responsible for the fact that some defendants in the main hidden debts case were former leaders of the State Intelligence and Security Service (SISE).
“State secrecy cannot be mixed with politics. Look at the shame that is happening to our secret service. It is wide open,” he noted.
The scandal of the hidden debts, he said, was the result of Frelimo’s arrogance and abuse of power, which resulted in the contracting of loans without parliamentary or Administrative Court authorisation.
The Mozambican Parliament resumed plenary sessions today, after a five-month pause, with an agenda that has the approval of the State Budget (SB) of 2022 as the highest point of the agenda.
In addition to the State Budget for 2022, the 250 deputies will also debate the Economic and Social Plan (PES) for next year.
The plenary session will also address draft laws on the media, broadcasting, the rules and criteria that define the remuneration of state employees and other public servants, as well as public health.
Frelimo, the ruling party for 45 years since independence, has a qualified majority of 184 of the 250 seats in Parliament, Renamo has 60 and the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) six.
