Speaking on Friday at a press conference in the southern city of Matola at the end of his four day “open and inclusive presidency” in Maputo province, Nyusi said he only liked going to meetings which he knew were likely to bring about solutions.
He added that when he met twice with Dhlakama in early February, he had a clear objective, which was to end the Renamo boycott of the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic and of the ten provincial assemblies.
In this he was entirely successful. He persuaded Dhlakama to tell the Renamo deputies to take their seats, and urged him to submit Renamo’s proposals for “provincial autonomy” to parliament. This Renamo has done, and its bill to establish “provincial municipalities” is now awaiting debate.
At the next meeting, Nyusi added, he would like to transmit to Dhlakama “the feelings and thoughts of the Mozambican people concerning the need to preserve peace”.
He stressed that peace in Mozambique should be nourished with acts of tolerance and mutual forgiveness. In a clear reference to Renamo and its illegal militia, Nyusi said that Mozambicans will not feel at peace as long as there is a political force which incites violence, or which sets pre-conditions on the dialogue seeking solutions.
The President was sure that the conditions exist for peaceful co-existence in the country, and denied that the government was preparing for a military confrontation with Renamo. The training of the defence and security forces, Nyusi stressed, is for missions in defence of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, faced with threats such as piracy, as well as for participation in humanitarian missions such as search and rescue operations during the recent floods.
Nyusi has made no secret of his irritation at the lack of progress in the long running dialogue between government and Renamo delegations. There have now been 102 sessions of the dialogue with precious few results.
Speaking earlier this month at a rally in Chilembene, in Gaza province, Nyusi had warned “we cannot talk just for the sake of talking. That’s of no interest. We want a dialogue which produces results”.
Post published in: Africa News