Nyusi Says Pacification Was Main Task Of His Governance

Nyusi Says Pacification Was Main Task Of His Governance

Maputo, 16 Jan (AIM) – Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi told reporters on Sunday that efforts to pacify the country were among the main marks of his government’s performance during his second five year term of office as President of the Republic.

He was speaking at a Maputo press conference, marking the start of the third year of his second term.

He recalled that when he first took office, in 2015, armed attacks by militiamen of the main opposition party Renamo were continuing in the central provinces. “We had a war and nobody was at peace”, he declared.

Peace with Renamo was always a priority, he said. “We had to work and we reached the phase where we are today, when our brothers of Renamo are no longer living in the mountains”, Nyusi added.

He had signed a peace agreement with Renamo leader Ossufo Momade in August 2019, under which former Renamo fighters are being demobilized, disarmed and reintegrated into society. Renamo claims it has 5,231 guerrillas to be demobilized under this agreement.

However, the demobilization stalled in December last year, when the final Renamo military base should have been closed. The base was not closed, amid a dispute over the payment of pensions to the demobilized Renamo fighters. Renamo claims that pensions are envisaged in the agreement, while the government says they are not. Since the agreement was never published, it is hard to check who is right.

Nyusi said his second term of office has also been marked by terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, which he regarded as a new challenge for Mozambique.

Although terrorism was “a universal phenomenon”, Mozambique had not experienced it previously. “We are containing and managing it to guarantee that the country remains stable”, said the President.

Nyusi was speaking shortly before flying to the United Arab Emirates, where he will attend the opening of the “Week of Sustainability”, discussing the Energy Transition.

According to a press release from Nyusi’s office “the Week of Sustainability is an international business event, organized by the UAE, through a body dedicated to the development of clean energies in the context of the international agenda for zero carbon emissions and containing climate change”.

This will be Nyusi’s second visit to the UAE in less than three months. The previous visit was in October 2022, and Nyusi described it as “very productive”.
(AIM)
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