Maputo, 15 Sep (AIM) – Mozambique’s main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo, says that its demobilised guerrillas are facing difficulties in obtaining the documents required to apply for pensions.
Interviewed by the independent television station STV, in Dondo, in the central province of Sofala, Andre Majibire, one of the representatives of the Renamo side on the commission dealing with the DDR (Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration) process, claimed that Renamo knows nothing about the deadline of 23 September for handing in the documentation.
Magibire was reacting to the statements by the government spokesperson, Deputy Justice Minister Filimao Suaze, on Tuesday, who said the former Renamo guerrillas have ten days to register with the district, provincial or central offices of the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs. Only after they are registered can they start receiving their pensions.
Magibire claimed that thousands of Renamo’s former fighters have not registered because of their poor level of education. Some of them do not know how to write and so are unable to complete forms, particularly from the banks.
Nonetheless, he claimed that many of the fighters demobilised back in 2019 had opened bank accounts. “But the accounts have not been operated for more than two years, because the government and its partners stopped depositing any money in them”.
Magibire claimed the bank managers had frozen the accounts, “and the attempts to open them are complicated. The demands exceed the capacity of our fighters. They can’t read or write, and in the districts or neighbourhoods where they live, they have difficulties in obtaining declarations, because they don’t have identity cards, or any money to pay for documents”.
Furthermore, the former guerrillas faced serious logistical problems, since many of them live in remote areas.
“Most of the fighters live in the interior. A demobilised fighter in Marromeu (on the south bank of the Zambezi River) takes two days to reach the Provincial Directorate of Veterans’ Affairs, which is in the city of Beira”, said Magibire. “There he will need accommodation and meals. Who will pay for these expenses?”.
Magibire was surprised by the deadline of 23 September for regularising documents. “I’ve been a representative of Renamo in this process since mid-2019”, he said. “At no time was this date mentioned as a deadline. With all the difficulties I have mentioned, how can one limit the time to deliver the documents to such a short period?”
Nonetheless, a deadline could be set “even this week, as long as it is guaranteed that all the fighters will receive their pensions”.
“We are asking the government to intercede with the various institutions involved to facilitate acquisition of the documents required for the pensions”, stressed Magibire. “We are very interested in seeing this process closed successfully”.
(AIM)
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