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MOZAMBIQUE NEWS ONLINE/MOZAMBIQUE NEWS ONLINE/MOZAMBIQUE NEWS ONLINE
Edition #2 23 June 1997
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The fortnightly update of news from Mozambique!
MOZAMBIQUE NEWS ONLINE is written by Mozambican journalists living in Mozambique and brings you the news from their point of view. It is assembled and edited by Africa News Network, part of South Africa Contact, the former anti-apartheid movement in Denmark and publishers of i'Afrika, a quarterly magazine concentrating on Southern Africa.
MOZAMBIQUE NEWS ONLINE joins ZAMBIA NEWS ONLINE, MALAWI NEWS ONLINE, and TANZANIA NEWS ONLINE in providing up to date news, at very reasonable subscription rates, from our established network of journalists in Southern Africa. These newsletters will be followed, in the very near future, by individual news updates from other countries in the region.
MOZAMBIQUE NEWS ONLINE is brought to you through a co-operation between South Africa Contact and Inform, Denmark's leading alternative information network.
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In this edition:
Feature:
MOZAMBIQUE'S ROCKY ROAD TO DEMOCRACY
Stories:
1. RIVER BLINDNESS DISCOVERED IN MOZAMBIQUE
2. MOZAMBIQUE GET "LONG DISTANCE TEACHING" VIA SATELLITE
3. FOREIGN INVESTMENT ENDANGERED?
4. SADC THEATRE FESTIVAL
5. TRAVELING 2000KM TO BECAME A STREET KID
6. WHO SAY POLIO IN MOZAMBIQUE ERADICATED BY YEAR 2000
7. MENINGITIS BRINGS DEATH TO 44 IN CABO DELGADO
8. A SWIMMING POOL IN A MIDDLE OF THE ROAD
9. WOMEN'S SOCCER SILENCE ENDS
Feature: MOZAMBIQUE'S ROCKY ROAD TO DEMOCRACY
Mozambique still has a long way to go to learn about democracy. Verbal attacks and mutual accusations about insignificant issues are still at the top of the politician's routine. The organization of unauthorized demonstrations by the main opposition political party, RENAMO, and the date for the municipal elections, of 27 December, are the main topics in the country's present political scenario.
The leader of the former guerrilla movement, Renamo, Mr. Afonso Dlakama has said that his party intends to organize a demonstration in the Mozambican capital, Maputo. Dlakama said that no date has yet been fixed, but that it will be very soon. According to him, Renamo is now involved in the preparations which include application to the civil authorities as stipulated by law. Previous demonstrations organized by Renamo, in central and northern regions, were suppressed by the police. The organizers have accused the ruling FRELIMO party of using the police and its militants to riot and then attributing this to Renamo.
In Beira, the capital of Sofala province, Renamo accused the member of the Central Committee of Frelimo, Lourenco Bulha, of having instructed people to block roads. This led to the intervention of the anti-riot police to restore order. However, Lourenco Bulha denied the accusations saying Renamo remains the same. "Renamo is always the same. During the war they used to destroy infrastructure and blame the government army for the destruction," he said.
Another senior Frelimo member and governor of Nampula province, Rosario Mualeia, said the demonstrations led by Renamo are part of the party's propaganda strategy. Mualeia said Renamo had lost popularity and was now organizing protests to make headlines in the press.
As a result of the protests in Nampula, about 30 people were arrested by police. These included top leaders of Renamo in Nampula. In an unprecedented reaction, Renamo's president, Afonso Dlakama, instructed his colleagues in Nampula to ignore the summons issued by the district court in regard to the violent demonstrations they headed in May. He says the court is harassing Renamo's militants on behalf of Frelimo. The ex-guerrilla also said that Frelimo is pushing his party into a conflict situation but has given the assurance that Renamo " will never respond to any provocation "
"We are not interested in such conflicts," said Dlakama, adding that Renamo is a pacifist political party and peace and democracy lover. Dlakama reiterated that his party will continue organising demonstrations against Frelimo's misgovernance, the high cost of living and privatization policy which sent has sent thousands of Mozambicans into unemployment and poverty. However, the demonstration organized in Beira, Mozambique's second city, brought a loss to the country's economy of thousands of US dollars which had to be paid to ship owners because cargo was not shipped while the Beira harbour workers remained absent due to the demonstrations. Another subject of hot dispute among politicians here are the first municipal elections now scheduled for December 27, this year. While the government defends the decision allowing the elections to be carried out in cities and towns with a minimum of infrastructure conditions, the main opposition party insisted that elections be held in the whole country, including the rural areas where the organization has more influence. Once the date was fixed upon, many political parties spoke out on the fact that it coincides with the traditional festive season of Christmas and New year.
Renamo leader, Afonso Dlakama, says that the Frelimo government deliberately set this date to coincide with the festivities to enable the ruling party to bribe the voters with food and drink. "We know that Frelimo is going to import food and drinks and to make this available cheap to please the voters," Dlakama said. Recently, Renamo accused its main rival of planning to postpone the elections to next year, but Frelimo came and denied the allegations, followed by the announcement of the exact date by the government.
The leader of the Democratic National Party (PANADE), Mr. Chicuarra Massinga, considers it a minor problem the fact that the elections coincide with the festivities and the rainy season. "Most important is that at last there is a date for the vote and it will take place this year as planned," he said.
Meanwhile, some opposition parties, headed by Renamo, have created a front to discuss "the main problems that Mozambican society is facing and seeking some solutions," as the leader of Renamo put it. He said that the front comprises a number of political parties opposed to the Frelimo Government.
Two opposition parties have already denied their involvement with the newly created front. The Mozambique Independent Party (PIMO), led by Yakub Sibindy, reiterated its loyalty to the Democratic Union, a coalition of small parties with nine seats in the 250 member parliament. The second party to stray from the project is the Mozambican People's Progress Party (PPPM), of Padimbe Kamati.
1. RIVER BLINDNESS DISCOVERED IN MOZAMBIQUE
The medical college of the Eduardo Mondlane University disclosed recently that a serious disease has found its way to Mozambique. The disease, known as Onchocerciasis, or River Blindness, has been discovered for the first time in central Mozambique.
In the Milange district, in Zambezia province, a number of people were found with symptoms of the disease, which remains the second leading infectious cause of blindness and the source of enormously debilitating skin disease in 34 countries of Africa, the Arabian peninsula and the Americas. It is a major cause of social and economic deterioration throughout these endemic regions.
The Zobue district in Tete province is under investigation to discover how many people have been affected in this area. Zobue is one of the areas with ideal conditions to develop the blackfly which transmits the disease to humans. The fly usually develops in areas with fast flowing water, in rivers and in dams and lakes.
Both of the districts have borders with Malawi. According to Dr Lorna Gorgel at the medical college, researchers are trying to find out whether people affected by the disease contracted it in Mozambique, or if they brought it back from Malawi where thousands of Mozambicans lived as refugees during their country's civil war.
There is no information in Mozambique of the existence of the kind of fly which provokes the disease. This is one of the reasons that makes it difficult for the college to draw up a programme to fight the disease, as has happened in other African countries where the existence of the fly is confirmed.
2. MOZAMBIQUE GET "LONG DISTANCE TEACHING" VIA SATELLITE
Mozambique will be the first country in the world to have a system for "long distance teaching," via satellite. The system has been provided by the World Bank and will allow the linking of Mozambique with any location in the world.
"This is a donation from the World Bank and not a loan, and in the near future the Mozambican provincial capitals will also be linked to the system," said Roberto Chavez, of the World Bank.
Venancio Massingue, Deputy Chancellor of the Eduardo Mondlane University said that the next three years will be used in the training of the Mozambicans to deal with the system because "the World Bank is not just giving us the antenna, but also the know how to use it ". The system was inaugurated 23 June and is located at the Eduardo Mondlane University Informatic Centre (CIUEM).
3. FOREIGN INVESTMENT ENDANGERED?
The Mozambican government, following a proposal of the Legal Cabinet of the Investments Promotion Centre-IPC, wants to increase by 200% the minimum value for foreign investment. "The USD$50,000 foreign investment legally accepted as a basis for starting a business in Mozambique by foreigner citizens or institutions is a very low amount compared with other African countries," said Samuel Forquilha, from the IPC.
Forquilha added that USD$50, OOO was a good starting point, "but we think that is now time to increase the value, and USD$150,000 is a reasonable amount ". The IPC made the proposal to the Ministry of Planning and Finance and the institution was expecting a public debate on the issue. The response was prompt. Ribeiro Faria from the Portuguese Industrial Association , Maputo delegation, said that the USD$150.000 proposed by the IPC "is a real barrier" to the promotion of small and medium entrepreneurs interested in investing in Mozambique. Mr Faria said that a country like Mozambique has to be built "from the efforts of small and medium enterprises and the amount proposed is very high for this kind of business".
This was the first reaction to the IPC proposal in a country where foreign entrepreneurs have the right to export the invested capital as well as the profits of the same investment. A foreigner as entrepreneur is obliged by law to be associated with a Mozambican partner in some strategic areas of activity like agriculture and fishery. Mozambicans joining this kind of business have only to enter with USD$5,000. The initial amount was USD$15,000, but according to Mr. Forquilha, and due to the financial situation of many local citizens the amount was reduced.
4. SADC THEATRE FESTIVAL
The SADC Theatre Festival opened 21 June in Maputo attended by the General Secretary of SADC. President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, had been due to open the festival. The festival had been postponed since last year due to financial problems. Eleven of the twelve SADC countries( Tanzania is not taking part) will have the opportunity to perform with their theatre groups during the six days that the festival will run.
The Festival, organised under the SADC umbrella, receives funds from the Mozambican government and various foreign donors
Last year the Festival was endangered due to the withdrawal of funds by Nordic donor countries, dissatisfied with management of the money for the Music Festival held in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1995. For this reason, the Mozambican culture and information coordinator for SADC was replaced. Mozambique is the country in charge of the SADC coordination of transport, culture and information activities.
5. TRAVELING 2000KM TO BECAME A STREET KID
Fourteen year old "Jose" tells a sad story. Same years ago he was living in Maputo with his mother and stepfather. Then his father, married to another woman and living in Nampula (2000 kilometres away from Maputo), came to take him away.
Jose went to live in Nampula with his father. Then, Jose's father passed away and his stepmother decided to send him back to his mother. "She organized the transport for me, but I traveled alone. When I arrived in Maputo I could not find my mother," Jose said. Jose's mother separated some time ago from her husband and his stepfather doesn't know where Jose's mother has gone. Such stories are told again and again by street children in many parts of Africa.
Now Jose joins an ever increasing community of street children receiving support and help from the NGO, MÈdecins du Monde. This organization gives assistance to street kids, recently identifying 85 street girls in Maputo, 20 of them involved in prostitution. The Catholic Dom Bosco School also helps care for street children. The school has 180 street kids providing them with shelter, food and education.
6. WHO SAY POLIO IN MOZAMBIQUE ERADICATED BY YEAR 2000
The World Health Organization (WHO), expects that Mozambique will have eradicated polio by the year 2000.
Mr. Carlos Tiny, the WHO representative in Maputo, said last week that he respects the efforts of the government of Mozambique in their struggle against diseases in the country, particularly the endemic ones.
The WHO has made available more than USD$500,000 to the National Campaign Against Polio in Mozambique. The National Campaign starts today, 23 June, and will cover 200,000 children under 5 years old.
7. MENINGITIS BRINGS DEATH TO 44 IN CABO DELGADO
44 people have died and more than 250 cases of meningitis have been reported in the province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, since January this year.
More than half of the 12 districts of the province have been affected by the meningitis. Last year, about 4000 people contracted meningitis and more than 300 died in the province.
8. A SWIMMING POOL IN A MIDDLE OF THE ROAD
A citizen of one of Mozambique's hottest cities, Tete, is building a swimming pool in the middle of a road. The road is at an important intersection, crossing one of the busiest avenues of Tete.
The comic edge to the situation is the fact that the provincial government has created a commission with the task of finding out if such an enterprise is legal or not. Local authorities have allowed these permits to be issued to individuals and institutions to build in areas that are totally inappropriate, such as the one in the avenues.
The situation is put down by many in Mozambique to simply being due to rampant corruption. Most people when asked are of the opinion that if you pay enough, you will receive the permission to build whatever and wherever you want.
9. WOMEN'S SOCCER SILENCE ENDS
After a long period of silence, women's soccer came back to Mozambique on Sunday 15 June, to the big pitch at the Olympic national stadium at Machava, on the outskirts of Maputo. The main objective of this match was to choose the representatives of Mozambique for the national squad which will take part in the women's football competitions organized by the African Football Confederation, AFC.
The match, deemed a very good one, gauging by the roar of the supporters, was between two teams representing Maputo City and Beira. The match ended in a one all draw.
Unfortunately, the match had to end 15 minutes before normal time. This was because it was necessary to perform the pre game ceremonies for the main game of the day: the male teams of Mozambique versus Tanzania... **********************************************************************
From: AfricaNN@inform-bbs.dk (Africa_news Network) Date: Mon, 23 Jun 1997 19:48:31 +0200 Subject: Mozambique News Online #2 Message-ID: <1032183805.1168902@inform-bbs.dk>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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