Chapo calls for “speeches of love, not hatred”

Maputo, 5 Oct (AIM) – Mozambicans should embrace speeches of love and not of hatred, urged President Daniel Chapo on Saturday.

Chapo was speaking on the 33rd anniversary of the 1992 peace agreement which put an end to the war between the Mozambican government and the former rebel movement Renamo.

He was addressing a press conference in the Malawian city of Blantyre, where he was attending the investiture of Peter Mutharika as President of Malawi.

4 October is a public holiday in Mozambique, celebrated as the “Day of Peace and National Reconciliation”. Chapo said he hoped that every day would become a Day of Peace, in the family of every Mozambican citizen, with neighbours, friends and colleagues “and everywhere where Mozambicans can be found”.

“We must have a speech of love, a speech of peace, and of dialogue, and no speeches of hatred. We must do away with that kind of speech, because it destroys the country we are always rebuilding”, declared Chapo. “We want the day of peace to be permanent”.

“We have to unite as Mozambicans”, he said. “We must be cohesive, and we must love each other. We must enter into dialogue whenever there are disagreements. Dialogue should be the basis for solving disputes in our country”.

As for relations with Malawi, Chapo said his government is interested in increasing trade between the two countries.

This would include setting up dry ports, where Malawi could store kits merchandise before they were transported along Mozambique’s rail corridors.

Projects are under way, Chapo said, to increase the capacity of the corridors linking Malawi to the Mozambican ports of Nacala and Beira.

He stressed the importance of the regional integration of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Such integration would favour all the member states, including Mozambique and Malawi.
(AIM)
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