Demobilisation: Incomplete!
Demobilisation: Incomplete!
What should've happened, didn't happen (though we thought it had 🤦♂️)
Good afternoon. Yesterday we made a mistake: we took one report at face value, which confirmed that something that was supposed to have happened, had happened. In fact, it had not. We should have checked.
Like a bride left at the last minute at the altar, the final demobilisation ceremony of what will be a total of 5,000 former Renamo fighters failed to take place yesterday.
The final batch of 350 fighters did not appear in Gorongosa — and nor did Osssufo Momade, the Renamo leader who had also promised to be there, leaving Mirko Manzoni, the Swiss diplomat representing the UN Secretary General in overseeing the process, simmering. Momade waited in Beira for last-minute assurances that did not arrive.
Several minor mishaps could be blamed for this embarrassing outcome for all parties. But guarantees on pensions for the 5,000 demobilised have undoubtedly weighed the most heavily, including some outstanding since 1992, when the general peace agreement was signed in Rome. The mistrust between the former belligerents, which never disappeared, eventually won out. At the end of the day, Ossufo Momade, who does not have the political weight and unquestioned leadership of his predecessor, did not want to sign a check that, while not exactly blank, has some question marks that the Renamo leader saw fit not to assume unilaterally.
Today, in what could set up another exchange of accusations, Filipe Nyusi, in his State of the Nation address, downplayed the “irritant” of what happened yesterday in Gorongosa, and pointed to the establishment of a sustainable and lasting pension system through state institutions. His sober response, calling for a technocratic response, bodes well for future success.
Still, the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister have a lot of hard work to do during the month of January so that, within the state budget and according to contributions already made by donors, the money is found to establish lasting pensions which are paid regularly through the existing system.
For now, at the end of the political year, DDR did not bring the happy end that was hoped.
From the Zitamar Live Blog:
South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal has refused to hear an appeal by Mozambique's government against a decision to extradite former finance minister Manuel Chang to the USA
President Nyusi said this morning that a working group will be established to discuss the viability or otherwise of holding district-level elections in 2024. Its conclusions will be submitted to parliament for final approval
Also in the news:
Renamo boycott foils DDR conclusion
Renamo members in Tete flee to Malawi and Zambia
Basic services in Mocímboa da Praia still scarce, humanitarian group says
CityLink operations suspended by transport ministry
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