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Mauritius Cabinet List
Mozambique Chronology

Mauritius Cabinet after the 11 September election
28 September 2000
Mozambique Chronology 1 - 3 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/01 - Mz
Mozambique - International Cooperation - AIDS
   The United States government, through its Agency for International Development (USAID), has donated US$35,000 and office equipment intended to support the Mozambican National Council on HIV/AIDS (CNCS). The money was handed to CNCS Executive Secretary Janet Mondlane. According to a press release of the United States Embassy in Maputo, the money "is meant for launching the activities of CNCS, and the equipment and furniture will allow the opening of CNCS office". Additional donations will include more equipment, a vehicle and technical assistance to be made available soon. From: USAID supports aids programme / AIM / 1 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/01 - Mz
Mozambique - Regional Cooperation - Security
   Mozambican police officials are meeting in Malawi with their South African Development Community (SADC) counterparts to discuss regional strategies to combat crime, and other similar acts. Mozambique's police spokesperson, Nataniel Macamo, said that Police General Commander Pascoal Ronda heads the country's delegation. The meeting is also aimed to prepare the fifth annual ministers conference of the Southern Africa Regional Police Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO). It is expected that the 14 SARPCCO member states will strengthen common security and crime fighting aspects, he said. From: Mozambican police experts in Malawi / AIM / 1 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/02 - Mz
Mozambique - Natural Disasters - Floods
   About 98 percent out of the 450,000 people displaced in the height of the February and March floods that devastated regions in southern and central Mozambique have been resettled. The combined effect of the flooding and of cyclone Eline claimed the lives of 700 lives, and affected about 4.5 million people. According to the National Disaster Management Institute (INGC) Director, Silvano Langa, almost all accommodation centres established for the flood victims have been closed down, except for two, in the localities of Guara-Guara and Bandua, in the district of Buzi, in the central Sofala province. Three centres had been opened in the Buzi river valley to cater for 58,510 people in those localities and in the town of Buzi, which has been closed down. Land demarcation is behind the resettlement of all the victims: in Guara-Guara the authorities are still in the process of land demarcation. They have already distributed 370 plots, but there are 550 more to distribute. In Bandua, resettlement areas have been identified for 450 plots, and the building of 200 houses, with the cooperation of the Austrian government. From: 98 Percent of flood victims resettled / AIM / 2 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/02 - Mz
Mozambique - International Cooperation - Investments
   Mozambican Foreign Affairs Minister Leonardo Simao said that Mozambique and Morocco are to establish a joint-commission of cooperation. "There's a great will to establish cooperation in the areas of fisheries, agricultural training and state organisation", said Simao. He was speaking to the press moments after President Joaquim Chissano had received credentials from the new Moroccan ambassador to Mozambique, Abdellatif Nacir. Mozambique's relationship with Morocco is old, said Simao, adding "we've a disagreement as regards to our support to the Saharan cause". Mozambique has always supported the Democratic Sahara independence struggle against Morocco. "Our position in relation to the Democratic Sahara is well known by Morocco, but this, at the country level, doesn't hinder the existence of cooperation", he said. From: Mozambique and Morocco to establish joint-commission / AIM / 2 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/03 - Mz
Mozambique - Gender - Children - Health - Aids
   The Mozambican Women and Welfare Coordination Ministry has planned to undertake actions aimed at caring for orphans from parents who died of the AIDS endemic. A pilot project is to be implemented in the Central Provinces of Manica and Zambezia, said Agostinho Pessane, the ministry's spokesperson. This project is included in the national plan for the combat and prevention of HIV/AIDS. "The second stage to begin in 2001 will cover the provinces of Sofala and Tete ", he said, adding that the plan is to one day cover all provinces. Pessane said that the project decided to start with the central provinces because that's where most orphans from parents victims of AIDS are - authorities claim that there are about 229,694 such children. After the central regions, the project is to move further north which he said to have 78,603 orphaned children, and thereafter to the south, home to 33,034 such orphans. From: Welfare Ministry to care for aids orphans / AIM / 3 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/06 - Mz
Mozambique - Regional Cooperation - Regional Integration
   Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano has disclosed that the country's 1999 general elections and the February and March floods made his task as chairperson of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) difficult. Chissano took over the SADC chair in August 1999, and almost immediately started blazing the electoral trail which culminated with the announcement of the results in early February 2000. "I couldn't give all I'd wanted to this mandate", he said at the Maputo International Airport just before flying off to Namibia for SADC heads of states annual summit. He stressed that "personally, I couldn't take part in those initiatives that I wanted. I was elected chairperson of the SADC in August, and almost immediately came the electoral process in Mozambique, which practically took all time until February". "Right after that I was preoccupied with the issue of the flooding and cyclones in our country", he said. But during his mandate the tasks of SADC had been secured by various institutions, namely the Foreign Affairs Ministry which lead the process of restructuring the regional body, including its secretariat - a report on the matter is to be submitted in Windhoek. From: Floods and Cyclones affect Chissano's SADC mandate / AIM / 6 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/07 - Mz
Mozambique - Environment - Southern Africa
   Mozambican Foreign Affairs Minister Leonard Simao said that poverty is the cause of environmental degradation in the Southern African Development Community or SADC region. Simao, who was speaking at the launch of the "State of Environment Zambezi River Basin 2000" report and the book "Beyond Inequalities: Women in Southern Africa", mentioned the rapid population growth in a situation of limited options for livelihood as another major factor leading to poverty in the region. The minister said that Zambezi basin's poorest section of the population were still very vulnerable to the effects of drought and climatic changes, as was demonstrated by the catastrophic floods in several southern African states earlier this year. The Zambezi river basin is shared by eight SADC member states and is home to at least 40 million of the SADC population, or more than 20 percent of the region's total population. Turning to the book 'Beyond Inequalities: Women in Southern Africa', Simao regretted that for many decades, the sub-region's policy and decision makers were making policy decisions with inadequate information on the real situation of women and men. This was due to the fact that most of the information and data collected had been in aggregate form and, as a result, policies and programmes did not pay sufficient attention to the respective contributions of women and men. The book is aimed at policymakers, research, media, development agencies and non-governmental organisations, public and the private sector. From: Poverty caused environmental degradation in SADC / AIM / 7 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/08 - Mz
Mozambique - Regional Integration - Economic Conditions
   Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) heads of state have approved the implementation of a trade protocol seeking to gradually remove all tariffs on trade between regional members states. The trade protocol signed in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, was take effect from 1 September, and by 2012 the region is to become a free trade area. Other protocols were signed, namely the share of water resources, legal matters, and one seeking the establishment of an SADC court. 14 member countries have signed and ratified the Trade Protocol, and the governments are currently making the final arrangements for the implementation of the agreement. From: Trade Protocol takes effect in September / AIM / 8 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/08 - Mz
Mozambique - Legislation - Law
   A report on the Mozambican judiciary has concluded that the performance of the sector leaves much to be desired. The citizenry does not trust the country's judiciary, said the Portuguese sociologist and investigator Boaventura Santos, who led the research team. "If the courts do not correspond to the citizens' expectations, there's an atmosphere of disillusionment since apart from these, there are no other institutions where they can turn to", said Santos. Most Mozambicans shunned official courts, and instead chose traditional or communal courts, said Santos reading from the findings of the report written by eight researchers (four Mozambicans and an equal number of Portuguese). The 2,500-page report found out that about 80 percent of Mozambicans have no access to official courts, and resort to traditional or communal courts to solve their problems. From: Mozambican judiciary sick / AIM / 8 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/09 - Mz
Mozambique - Public Administration - Local Government
   Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano has acknowledged that the country's public administration does not fully answer to the needs of the citizenry. Speaking at the opening of the third National Meeting of District Administrators, being held in the central port city of Beira, Chissano said that "we've lost the habit of working with the population, of consultation and debate with the civil society to benefit from positive contributions so that we can improve our manner of working in our institutions". He thought that traditional chiefs, secretaries of the Dynamising Groups, and other leaders should be involved in the implementation of social, economic and cultural programmes aimed at the local development. He recalled that there is an on-going process to reform the public administration sector, and decentralise it more to give a greater transparency and legitimacy to administrative acts. Chissano thought that education and professional training of civil servants could be a step towards the concrete implementation of socio-economic development programmes. From: Chissano on public administration / AIM / 9 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/11 - Mz
Mozambique - Regional Cooperation - Regional Integration
   Mozambique and South Africa are to meet to assess their bilateral cooperation and responsibilities within the South African Development Community (SADC), according to a Mozambican Transport and Communications Ministry press release. The meeting slated during the visit of South African Transport Minister Abdullah Omar is to discuss aspects related to the Maputo Development Corridor, and its link to the Walvis Bay/Transkalahari Corridor. The release adds that the ministers analysed how the concession of some of the Maputo port facilities is going on, and the Maputo-Mpumalanga-Gauteng railway. They will also seek ways to stimulate the private sector to render passenger and freight services. From: Mozambique and South Africa to evaluate bilateral cooperation / AIM / 11 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/17 - Mz
Mozambique - Economic Policies - Privatisation
   A Mozambican consortium, the Fairs, Exhibits and Congresses Management Society (SOGEX), has won the bid to privately manage the Maputo International Trade Fair (FACIM). SOGEX will manage FACIM for the next 20 years. The development was formalised in Maputo. The then director of FACIM, Americo Magaia, has been sworn in as the chairman of SOGEX's board of directors. The consortium was established with an equity of 100 million meticais (about US$6,400). Magaia owns 31 percent of the shares, the Mozambican Confederation of Trade Associations (CTA) has a 39 percent slice, FACIM managers and technicians hold 20 percent, and the Mozambican state, represented by the Export Promotion Institute (IPEX), own 10 percent. Speaking to reporters after the registration ceremony, Magaia expressed optimism towards the future of the consortium in so far the mobilisation of financial and material resources for the modernisation of FACIM is concerned. Magaia expressed satisfaction with the work FACIM has been carrying out along his 25 years of management, saying that "it has always made a profit". "FACIM has never failed, at any moment", said Magaia, noting that preparations are currently going on for the 39th edition of the Maputo trade fair. From: FACIM management in private hands / AIM / 17 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/17 - Mz
Mozambique - Regional Integration - Economic Policies
   Mozambican Industry and Trade Minister Carlos Morgado said that the country's is not yet prepared to implement the South African Development Community (SADC) Trade Protocol on 1 September when it takes effect throughout the region. The protocol envisages the setting up a Southern Africa free trade area over a period of eight years, and was agreed upon during SADC's summit in Windhoek in early August. Morgado said that Mozambique expects to be ready to implement the protocol only as from the first quarter of 2001. "Once ratified the amendments by the Council of Ministers, we will submit them to the SADC in Gaberone. This it to be followed by the fixing of the deadline for the implementation of the progressive removal of customs barriers between the countries of the region", said Morgado. From: Mozambique not ready to implement SADC protocol / AIM / 17 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/20 - Mz
Mozambique - International Cooperation - Smart Dialogue
   Heads of states and governments have arrived in Maputo to attend the Southern Africa International Dialogue (SAID) 2000 - Maputo. The event, being held under the theme "Smart Partnership 2000 - Global Trends and Emerging Economies", brings together Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, South African deputy President Jacob Zuma, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Namibia's Sam Nujoma, and Malawi's deputy President Justin Malewezi. Being held under the theme "Smart Partnership 2000 - Global Trends in Emerging Economies", it is the first time in its five-year life that the dialogue is held outside the sphere of an English speaking countries. During four days about 400 participants, including heads of states, politicians, intellectuals, businessmen, among others, sewed mechanisms that will contribute for the improvement of their peoples lives From: Heads of states in Maputo for smart dialogue / AIM / 20 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/21 - Mz
Mozambique - Press Freedom - Media - MISA
   Several dozen journalists and human rights activists gathered in Maputo to establish the Mozambican chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). MISA is a regional NGO dedicated to issues of press freedom, and to sponsoring the development of an independent and pluralist media in the countries of SADC (Southern African Development Community). This is the second attempt to set up a Mozambican chapter of MISA. The first attempt was in 1996, but collapsed when the leadership elected at that conference failed to take any measures whatsoever, and did not even register the new organisation with the authorities. Salomao Moyana, representing the commission that organised the meeting, blamed the 1996 failure on the fact that institutions, rather than individuals, were elected to head the MISA chapter. For Moyana, the Mozambican chapter of MISA "should be a reference point in the selfless struggle for the inculcation of democratic values in our media, and should wage an intransigent struggle against the censorship and self-censorship that still exist in the minds and practice of many media leaders in Mozambique". From: Founding conference of MISA - Mozambique / AIM / 21 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/22 -Mz
Mozambique - Transports And Communications - Toll Gate
   The first tollgate in Mozambican territory on the highway linking Maputo port and the South African industrial town of Wit bank opened at Moamba, about 70 kilometres west of Maputo. It is estimated that between 1,000 and 1,500 vehicles will cross the gate everyday, paying a minimum tariff of 33,000 meticais (about US$2), for light vehicles, and a maximum of 242,000 meticais, for heavy trucks with trailers. A special tariff will be applied for the residents of Moamba and the town of Ressano Garcia, on the border with South Africa, and a discount of between 23 and 87 percent will apply for passenger vehicles, according to the number of times they cross the gate a month. Seventeen Mozambicans, from Moamba district, have been trained and given jobs at the toll gate by Trans African Concessions (TRAC), the French-led consortium that signed the contract with the Mozambican and South African governments to build, maintain and operate the Maputo-Witbank toll road for 30 years. From: First Mozambican toll gate opens / AIM / 22 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/22 - Mz
Mozambique - Press Freedom - Media - MISA
   The founding conference of the Mozambican chapter of MISA (Media Institute of Southern Africa) elected Salomao Moyana, editor of the independent weekly "Savana", as president of governing board of the new organisation. Moyana headed a slate of candidates for the 11 elected positions in the organisation which obtained 34 votes. 29 votes were cast for a rival slate whose candidate for president was Benjamim Faduco, general secretary of the country's main daily paper "Noticias". Much of the discussion at the one-day conference concerned the necessary, if tedious, business of discussing and approving as et of statutes for MISA-Mozambique. This debate was resolutely non-political, hinging largely on the need to ensure that the statutes are in line with Mozambican legislation. Based in Windhoek, MISA is a regional NGO, covering the entire SADC (Southern African Development Community) region. It is committed to the development of an independent and pluralist media in southern Africa, and to defending press freedom. From: MISA-Mozambique leadership elected / AIM / 22 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/25 - Mz
Mozambique - Political Parties - Economic Policies
   Mozambique's ruling Frelimo Party has called on its German counterpart, the SPD (Social Democratic Party), to use its influence in the European Union and other international for a so that Mozambique's foreign debt may be cancelled in its entirety. The appeal was made during a seminar in Maputo drawing together representatives of the SPD and of four southern African ruling parties that are affiliated to the Socialist International - Frelimo, the MPLA of Angola, the ANC of South Africa and SWAPO of Namibia. The spokesperson for the meeting, Salome Moiane, said that the Frelimo appeal received a positive reaction from the SPD representatives. "The reaction was positive and encouraging", she said. "We would not have expected anything else, given our longstanding friendship". Moiane said the purpose of the seminar, which lasted for two days, was to exchange experiences and ideas about today's burning political problems, and to strengthen the relations between the parties participating. From: Frelimo calls for debt cancellation / AIM / 25 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/26 - Mz
Mozambique - Regional Cooperation - Marine Communications
   A meeting of the Standing Maritime Committee of SADC (Southern African Development Community) ended in Maputo, with the signing of four protocols for cooperation between the region's navies. According to source, the purpose of the meeting was to establish a platform for cooperation among SADC members in the area of maritime communications, draw up a plan of action concerning logistical support for naval forces, set out the technical bases for naval training, and to work out policies for joint naval interventions. The chairman of the committee, South African Rear-Admiral Robert Anderson, said that the committee had been formed in order to exchange experiences among SADC navies, and to establish a regional cooperation policy. From: Cooperation among SADC navies / AIM / 26 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/28 - Mz
Mozambique - Regional Cooperation - Communications
   Mozambican Transport and Communications Minister Tomaz Salomao has said that Mozambique and Malawi must make efforts aimed at showing the international community that both countries are politically stable. He was speaking at a press conference at the end of a joint-ministerial commission meeting between Mozambique and Malawi held in the northern province of Nampula. The meeting was aimed at finalising the preparations for the launching in September of the Nacala Development Corridor. Salomao called on the national and foreign private sectors to invest in the corridor because there are human and natural conditions both in the country and in the region for the investments to earn the necessary and desired returns. From: Mozambique and Malawi must show stability / AIM / 28 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/30 - Mz
Mozambique - Crime - Neo-Nazi
   A court in the German City of Halle handed down lengthy prison sentences for the three neo-nazi thugs who murdered Mozambican citizen Alberto Adriano on 11 June. 24 year old Enrico Hilprecht was sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the killing. His two accomplices, Frank Miethbauer and Christian Richter, are both aged 16. Since they are still minors, and are covered by the Juvenile Penal Code, they received prison sentences of only nine years. The three men seized Adriano and savagely beat him in a public park in the East German City of Dessau, as he was walking home. After they had beaten him senseless, the three dragged Adriano along the ground for some 40 metres, stripped him of his clothes, and stole everything he was carrying in his pockets. The left side of Adriano's head and his left eye were smashed to pulp, and he died in hospital of his injuries three days later, leaving a widow (of German nationality) and three children. From: Heavy sentences for neo-nazi murderers / AIM / 30 August 2000

Item No. 00/08/31 - Mz
Mozambique - International Cooperation - CPLP
   The deputy executive secretary of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Zeferino Martins said in Maputo, that the organization is committed to a deeper involvement of civil society in the implementation of CPLP projects. Speaking during an event to prepare his trip to the CPLP headquarters, in Portugal, where he is to take over his new post, Martins admitted that the CPLP is not yet known among grass roots communities, "hence the need to publicise it further". "We are planning projects that will benefit these communities", he said, explaining that by using new information technologies the CPLP is to carry out distance learning, and will create a management training centre in Angola, and another for public administration in Mozambique. The CPLP's members are Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and Sao Tome and Principe. East Timor will become the eighth member as soon as it is fully independent. From: CPLP to involve civil society / AIM / 31 August 200