Management commission seeks to heal rift in Renamo

Maputo, 9 Jan (AIM) – A previously unheard-of National Management Commission (CNG) of Mozambique’s former rebel movement, Renamo, has announced that it will hold its first meeting in the southern municipality of Matola, in the last week of January.

The CNG National Coordinator, Edgar Silva, announced the impending meeting at a press conference in Matola on Thursday. He said that members of the Renamo provincial management commissions and their coordinators will attend the meeting. A total of 92 participants are expected.

“This is the first time that we shall sit down together and draw up plans so that, in the very near future we shall hold our desired extraordinary congress to end our internal divisions”, said Silva.

For months Renamo has been plagued by internal disputes, between those loyal to the current party leader, Ossufo Momade, and those who want to replace him.

The Renamo dissidents blame Momade for the party’s poor performance in last year’s general elections when, for the first time, Renamo slipped from second to third position in the polls.

Momade has lost his position as leader of the opposition. The leader of the parliamentary opposition is now Albino Forquilha, who heads the Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos).

But the opposition as a whole is currently led by former presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane, who is immensely popular, attracting crowds of many thousands wherever he goes. But Mondlane cannot claim the official title of Leader of the Opposition, since he does not hold a seat in the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic.

The divisions in Renamo have led to dissidents repeatedly occupying Renamo offices, damaging the party’s operations and its credibility.

In May, Renamo had to call on the riot police to remove demobilised Renamo guerrillas from the party’s national headquarters.

A national conference of demobilised fighters was held in the central city of Chimoio in September. According to Edgar Silva, it was at this conference that the CNG was set up.

“We transformed pain into vitality and a willingness to win”, he told the reporters. “In one of its decisions, we set up the National Management Commission, seeking to lead the political dynamism of the party, where Ossufo Momade’s system has failed”.

So far the official Renamo leadership has said nothing about the CNG meeting.

(AIM)

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