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Mozambique Chronology, 01-31 December 1999, Compiled by SARDC Maputo Office

Item No. 99/12/01 Mz Mozambique - Education - University
   The Mozambican state and the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), the country's largest and oldest higher education institution, signed an agreement, valid for the next five years, aimed at ensuring the UEM's administrative and financial autonomy. This document establishes the relationship between the state and the UEM in order to help this institution implement its strategic plan for the period 1999-2003. Under the agreement, the state is to grant funds to UEM, from the general state budget every year. According to the document, the amount to be made available every year will depend on the plan of the institution's needs for that year, which the UEM should present to the Planning and Finance ministry by 31 July. This plan should also specify the university's own sources of income, and indicate the amount it is requesting from the state. The UEM is committed to providing the state, whenever possible, with consultancy and assessment services in specific areas, financed from the state budget. From: State and University sign Programme-Contract / AIM / 1 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/01 Mz Mozambique - Natural Resources - Water
   The Portuguese-French-Mozambican consortium "Aguas de Mocambique" ("Waters of Mozambique") took over, the responsibility for supplying clean drinking water to seven of the largest Mozambican cities. The cities in question are Maputo and Matola, in the south, Beira, Dondo and Quelimane, in central Mozambique, and Nampula and Pemba in the north. The consortium's technical director, Patrick Canton, said that its target is to increase the number of beneficiaries to about one million people, within the next five years. For Maputo City this will represent an increase from the current 34 percent to 85 percent coverage. All the water supply infrastructures remain the property of the state, and the consortium has only been awarded the right to manage the services. The consortium has invested US$25 million in the project, and the cost of rehabilitation and expansion of the network is estimated at US$92 million "Aguas de .Mocambique" is made up of the French company "Saur International", which holds 38.5 percent of the shares, the Portuguese "IPE-Aguas", with 31.5 percent, and the Mozambican "Mazi Mocambique", with 30 percent. From: Consortium takes over Water Supply Management / AIM / 1 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/02 - Mz Mozambique - Elections - International Observation
   Former United States President Jimmy Carter arrived in Maputo to head a 50 strong team from the American NGO, the Carter Centre that will observe Mozambique's second multi-party general elections. In an arrival statement, Carter said the elections "represent an important step in consolidating Mozambique's democracy and in expanding the zone of democratic stability in southern Africa". The purpose of the observation mission, he added, "is to support Mozambicans' commitment to democracy. We are not here to interfere in the process in any way". Carter said the mission will deploy in 25 teams of two observers each, covering all of Mozambique's 11 provinces. He thought that during the two days of polling the teams could visit between 800 and 1,000 polling stations. The Carter Centre plans to give its assessment of the elections. Asked how they would react, if the observers encountered any signs of fraud, Carter replied "If our judgement is that the elections are not free and fair, we would make a statement accordingly". The co-chair of the mission is former Botswana President Ketumile Masire. He thanked Carter for his "stalwart efforts to promote democracy", and noted that "no other retired US president has ever shown such an interest in Africa". From: Former US President Carter in Mozambique / AIM / 2 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/02 - Mz Mozambique - Economic Policy - Regional Integration Sadc
   Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano said that implementation of the trade protocol of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) should be gradual. Chissano, who is also SADC chairman, was speaking during the regional summit on Trade and Investment in Maputo, sponsored by the "International Herald Tribune". He justified the need for gradual implementation of the protocol, which envisages establishing a free trade area within southern Africa, by explaining that the economies of SADC member countries are at different stages of development. Hence the need to adjust the protocol to each country's reality. However, Chissano, as well as other heads of state and government taking part in the meeting, stressed the importance of this agreement for strengthening the economies of the region, and expressed their support for a quick implementation of the protocol. From: Implementation of Trade Protocol Should be Gradual / AIM / 2 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/03 - Mz Mozambique - Elections - Polling Stations
   Polling stations in central Maputo opened on time for Mozambique's second multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections. At the first polling station visited by this AIM reporter, the electoral staff opened the ballot boxes (to show that they were empty) at exactly 07.00. Three minutes later this polling station was ready to receive its first voter. This is in sharp contrast both with the 1994 general elections when, in general, polling stations did not open on time, and with the 1998 local elections when Maputo polling stations opened hours late, some of them not until the afternoon. Inside the polling stations observed by AIM, the staff was efficient and courteous. Each voter was first asked to show his or her hands, to see if there were any traces of the in delibleink used to show that a citizen has already voted. Then their voting cards were checked against the electoral register, before they received the ballot papers. Since each polling station has two polling booths, it is perfectly possible for a polling station to process 50-60 voters in an hour, or well over 500 in a day. From: Polling stations open on time / AIM / 3 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/03 - Mz Mozambique - Elections
   Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano ruled out any possibility of violence following the results of the country's second multi-party general elections. Speaking to reporters after casting his vote at a polling station in a Maputo secondary school, Chissano said, "there won't be any violence, whatever the results of the elections". He said that the threats of a return to violence made by some senior opposition figures during the election campaign "were just part of the electoral game. They weren't serious threats". Chissano also said he did not believe there would be a high rate of abstention, and the queues that built up outside Maputo polling stations would seem to bear him out. He urged all voters to head for the polling stations. "Come and vote while you have time", he said. From: Chissano casts his vote / AIM / 3 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/03 - Mz Mozambique - Regional Politics - Sadc
   Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano flew to Lesotho, immediately after voting in Mozambique's general election, to witness the signing of an agreement between the government of Lesotho and the Interim Political Authority setup by the country's political parties. The agreement is the outcome of the negotiations that followed severe rioting in Lesotho last year when opposition parties rejected the May 1998 election results. South African and Botswanan troops intervened to quell the violence, but severe damage was done to the capital, Maseru. This agreement paves the way for new general elections. Chissano, who attended in his capacity as chairman of SADC, politely, suggested to Basutho politicians that they might be able to learn from Mozambique's experience in conflict-resolution. In his speech, he said the path Mozambique had to follow to achieve peace "was painfully long", and "we had to learn to be patient and tolerant, without losing sight of our main objective, which was to give Mozambicans the prospect of a better future". "We had to learn the value of listening to and trying to understand the points of view of our political adversaries, quite often their concealed fears and anxieties about their future in our society", he continued. "In many case, we had to understand that not all our opponents would have a culture and experience of state. Tolerance had to be the key word". From: Chissano witnesses Lesotho agreement / AIM / 3 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/05 - Mz Mozambique - Elections - Political Parties
   Mozambique's main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo, attacked the decision of the National Elections Commission (CNE) to extend voting in the presidential and parliamentary elections by a third day. The spokesman for the Renamo elections office, Gulamo Jafar, told a Maputo press conference this was "one more opportunity for fraud". He claimed that, since the CNE "has recognised that about 80 per cent of the electorate voted on the first day", there was no need for a national extension of voting. Jafar suggested an extra day was only needed in those parts of Zambezia province where polling stations had not opened because heavy rains had prevented the transport of election materials. Jafar also claimed that fraud was being prepared in Nampula, Zambezia and Manica provinces. He alleged that phoney ballot boxes were being sent to these provinces which might be swapped for the real ones. He even said these fraudulent ballot boxes were numbered, and gave journalists the numbers. From: Renamo cries fraud / AIM / 5 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/06 - Mz Mozambique - Elections Political Parties - Information
   The head of the list of parliamentary candidates for the former rebel movement Renamo in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, Raul Domingos, accused Radio Mozambique, of preparing the public to accept fraudulent results of the general elections. Interviewed by AIM, Domingos said the radio has been announcing preliminary election results only in those polling stations where the ruling Frelimo party and its presidential candidate Joaquim Chissano won a majority of votes. "I do not understand how the radio is only reporting the results of those polling stations where Frelimo and Chissano were successful", said Domingos when asked to comment on the preliminary results in his constituency. Speaking of the Sofala constituency, Domingos said, "It is more than evident that the winner is Renamo-Electoral Union and our presidential candidate Afonso Dhlakama". However, the only evidence that he produced to support his belief was that "projections" based on data collected by his coalition, show that Dhlakama and Renamo may collect between 70 and 80 per cent of the votes cast in Sofala. "Data we possess indicate that we are the winners of these elections", he said. From: Raul Domingos accuses Radio of disinformation / AIM / 6 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/07 - Mz Mozambique - International Cooperation - Investment
   A delegation of the Japanese Development Agency, including high ranking officials of that country's Foreign Ministry, and Japanese businessmen, visited recently the western Mozambican province of Tete to assess investment potential in the Zambezi valley. Tete governor Virgilio Ferrao said that the Japanese expressed interest in farming in the districts of Angonia, Tsangano, Macanga and Mutarara. Such agricultural activity is among the projects planned by the Zambezi Planning Office (GPZ). A source in the Japanese delegation said that in parallel with assessing the regions potential "we also assessed the operational capacity of the main infrastructures, such as roads, bridges and the cotton factory". The Japanese also requested information on the areas in the Zambezi valley still infested with land mines. Ferrao assured them that "there is no difficulty in this aspect, because a mine clearance programme is already under way, and it is going smoothly". He also briefed them on the Mozambican government's special fiscal package aimed to stimulate investment in that region. From: Japanese want to invest in Tete / AIM / 7 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/09 - Mz Mozamibque - Elections - International Observer
   The Commonwealth Observer Group has expressed satisfaction at the way in which Mozambique's second multi-party presidential and legislative elections in Mozambique were carried out. In a press release, the group says "we leave Mozambique in the knowledge that we have witnessed a process that is intrinsically democratic". The observers added that "We were charged to form a judgement as to whether, in our independent view, the conditions existed for a free expression of will be the electors. We have no hesitation in saying that this was the case". The mission also expressed satisfaction with the massive turnout of the electorate, saying that this "demonstrated their determination to take control of their destiny". From: Commonwealth observers happy with Mozambican Elections / AIM / 9 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/14 - Mz Mozambique - Economic Policy - Investment
   A mission from the World Bank has been visiting the central Mozambican province of Zambezia to assess road projects it is financing in the province. The mission visited the work sites on the roads linking the town of Nicoadala and the Zambezi River and between the provincial capital, Quelimane, and the district of Namacurra. The rehabilitation of about 185 kilometres of the Nicoadala-Zambezi river road, which is to start soon, is estimated at 6.5 million US dollars, and was awarded to the Portuguese company A Mota. The Italian Company Astaldi is completing the same kind of job on a 70 kilometre stretch of road between Quelimane and Namacurra, which is budgeted at US$10 million. The World Bank mission visited roads in Quelimane, which are also under rehabilitation with World Bank funding of about 24 billion meticais (about 1.8 million US dollars). From: World Bank mission in Zambezia / AIM / 14 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/14 - Mz Mozambique - Elections - Political Parties
   Mozambique's main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo, claimed victory in the country's general elections held on 3-5 December. At a Maputo press conference, the spokesperson for the Renamo election office, Gulamo Jafar, distributed what he called "official results and projections" showing that Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama will win the presidency, and Renamo will be the largest party in the next parliament. The Renamo projection is that Dhlakama will win between 51.3 and 52.5 percent of the presidential vote to between 47.5 and 48.7 percent for the incumbent, Joaquim Chissano. But the Renamo figures mix together the declared official results from three provinces (Maputo city, Maputo Province and Inhambane), what Jafar calls "final results" (but not yet declared ones) from Niassa and Cabo Delgado, and a string of projected percentages from the rest of the country. But percentages are not enough: to work out who has won the election, real figures are needed of the number of people who cast their votes in each province. Turnout can make a substantial difference. Jafar also gave figures for the parliamentary election, which he claimed also, showed a Renamo victory. One of the problems with these figures is that Renamo has simplified by omitting the ten minor parties (except in the case of Tete), so that the Renamo vote plus the Frelimo vote adds up to a neat 100 per cent. This is why the Frelimo percentage mostly looks higher than the Chissano percentage - in reality it is not. From: Renamo claims victory / AIM / 14 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/15 - Mz Mozambique - Elections - Political Parties
   Mozambique's ruling Frelimo Party dismissed the claim by the main opposition force, Renamo, that it has won the 3-5 December general elections. At a press conference, Frelimo general secretary Manuel Tome declared that Renamo was making such claims because in reality it envisaged defeat. "Faced with a likely defeat, Renamo in despair shouts ''we've won'', in an attempt to confuse the mass media and the international community", said Tome. This, he added, was "just a piece of hysterics", dictated by the failure of Renamo's attempts to secure victory by fraud. Tome alleged that Renamo had attempted "massive fraud", including the stuffing of ballot boxes. He said incidents of Renamo agents slipping extra Renamo votes into ballot boxes had been uncovered in Sofala, Zambezia and Nampula provinces. Tome said that, wherever Frelimo had evidence of such fraud, it had submitted a protest to the relevant electoral body. The National Elections Commission (CNE) would analyse these protests, "and we shall accept the CNE's decision". He pointed out that Frelimo had never proclaimed victory. "We have never said ''we've already won''. What we have said is that we are confident that we will win, which is a very different matter", Tome continued. "We would have no objection if Renamo merely said it was confident of victory, either". From: "Renamo has not won" - Frelimo / AIM / 15 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/22 - Mz Mozambique - Elections - Final Results
   Mozambique's National Elections Commission (CNE) announced that incumbent president Joaquim Chissano, and the ruling Frelimo Party have won the general elections held from 3-5 December. CNE chairman Jamisse Taimo declared that Chissano had won 2,338,333 votes (52.3 percent), as against 2,133,655 (47.7 percent) for his sole rival, Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo. In the parliamentary election, Frelimo took 48.5 percent of the vote, and Renamo 38.8 percent, with the rest divided among ten minor parties and coalitions, none of whom won any seats. The new parliament will consist of just two party's -Frelimo with 133 of the 250 seats, and Renamo with the remaining 117. Renamo boycotted the ceremony. None of the six Renamo-appointed members of the 17-strong CNE was present, and nobody from the Renamo leadership bothered to turn up and hear the results at first hand. Asked after the ceremony about the Renamo boycott, the Frelimo general secretary, Manuel Tome, told reporters "It doesn't mean anything. We are used to this sort of behaviour from Renamo". He declared that the results "show the confidence that the Mozambican people have in Joaquim Chissano and in Frelimo". From: Chissano and Frelimo win Elections / AIM / 22 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/22 - Mz Mozambique - Elections - Final Results
   The final, official results from the Mozambican presidential election, held on 3-5 December, and announced by the chairman of the National Elections Commission (CNE), Jamisse Taimo, give victory to the incumbent, Joaquim Chissano, by a margin of just over four and a half per cent. The results are the follows: Total electorate: 7,099,105; Number who voted: 4,934,352 (69.5%); Abstention: 2,164,753 (30.5%); Valid votes: 4,471,988 (90.6%); Blank ballots: 320,795 (6.5%); Invalid votes: 141,569 (2.9%). Joaquim Chissano: 2,338,333 (52.3%); Afonso Dhlakama: 2,133,655 (47.7%). Thus, despite a considerably larger registered electorate, fewer people voted in 1999 than in 1994. A heavy turnout in Frelimo-dominated areas in the south, contrasted with a rather low turnout in much of central Mozambique where Renamo is the dominant political force. Chissano's vote has slipped by one percent, or in absolute terms, by 295,000. Renamo's decision to form an "Electoral Union" with ten small opposition parties clearly paid off, in that, with virtually all the minor parties explicitly backing him, Dhlakama did not have to contend with other opposition names on the ballot paper. In 1994 ten other opposition candidates took 13 per cent of the vote. With the field reduced to himself and Chissano, Dhlakama saw his share of the vote soar by 14 percentage points, from 33.7 to 47.7 per cent. From: Presidential Election results in full / AIM / 22 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/22 - Mz Mozambique - Elections - Final Results
   The final results from Mozambique's parliamentary election, held on 3-5 December, and announced to the public, give the ruling Frelimo Party a parliamentary majority of 16. This is rather larger than had been expected, but it is nowhere near the two-thirds majority Frelimo had hoped for. The detailed figures of the parliamentary election are as follows: Total electorate: 7,099,105; Number who voted: 4,833,761 (68.1%); Abstentions: 2,335,834 (31.9%); Valid votes: 4,132,323 (85.5%); Blank ballots: 462,676 (9.6%); Invalid votes: 238,772 (4.9%); Parties and coalitions: Frelimo: 2,005,703 (48.5%); Renamo: 1,603,811 (38.8%); Labour Party (PT): 111,139 (2.7%); PALMO: 101.970 (2.5%); SOL: 83,440 (2.0%); UMO: 64,117 (1.6%); Democratic Union (UD): 61,122 (1.5%); PADELIMO: 33,247 (0.8%); Independent Party (PIMO) : 29,446 (0.7%); PANAOC : 24,527 (0.6%); PPLM : 11,628 (0.3%); PASOMO : 2,153 (0.1%). The breakdown of seats in the new parliament, is as follows: Frelimo - 133; Renamo - 117; Total - 250 From: Parliamentary Election: Final results / AIM / 22 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/22 - Mz Mozambique - Elections - Regional Cooperation
   South Africa has become the first foreign government to welcome the results of the Mozambican general elections, giving victory to the incumbent president, Joaquim Chissano, and the ruling Frelimo Party. A statement from the South African government said that Pretoria "welcomes the outcome of the Mozambican elections and joins the international community in congratulating the people of Mozambique". The statement said South Africa was "proud to have participated as part of the international electoral observer mission", and described the elections as "free and fair". South Africa said that it looked forward to continue cooperation with Mozambique in the common quest to improve the lives of the peoples of the two countries. From: South Africa welcomes election results / AIM / 22 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/23 - Mz Mozambique - Regional Cooperation - Human Rights
   The Swazi government has forcibly repatriated 500 Mozambicans through the Namaacha-Lomahasha order, in violation of an agreement on such matters between the two countries. The agreement states that, in the event of any impending repatriation the Swazis must inform their Mozambican counterparts in advance so to allow them to take the necessary measures - this involves rigorous scrutiny to ascertain that the persons repatriated are indeed Mozambicans. But this time Swaziland rounded up the Mozambicans, who were accused of living illegally, and repatriated them without so much as a warning, as well as not giving them time to collect their belongings. According to the administrator of the border district of Namaacha, Roque Mukessuane, Swazi army trucks arrived at the border to unload the deportees - a mixture of adults and of minors. Many of the adults, said Mukessuane, had been working in Swaziland for years. From: Swaziland repatriates 500 Mozambicans / AIM / 23 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/26 - Mz Mozambique - Elections - Validation
   Despite the Xmas holiday, Mozambique's Supreme Court has started work on the appeal submitted by the main opposition party, Renamo, calling for a recount of the results from the 3-5 December general elections. Following the announcement by the National Elections Commission (CNE) of the definitive results which returned to power President Joaquim Chissano and his ruling Frelimo party, Renamo declared that it would accept no results other than a victory for itself, and appealed to the Supreme Court for are count. Jose Maria de Sousa, the secretary general of the Supreme Court, confirmed that the court has received the Renamo document formalising its challenge to the results announced by the CNE. He said the institution had already started work on the appeal. According to the Electoral Law, the Supreme Court must validate the results within 5 days if there is no protest, or, if there is protest, within 15 days. Meanwhile, Renamo has reiterated claims that the CNE's chairman, Jamisse Taimo, has orchestrated an alleged gross fraud to benefit Frelimo. From: Supreme Court works on elections challenge / AIM / 26 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/29 - Mz Mozambique - Economic Conditions
   The governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Adriano Maleiane said that the country's economy grew by an estimated 10 per cent in 1999. Speaking in Maputo at a ceremony to mark the end of the financial year, Maleiane added that the government's target of keeping 1999 inflation to 5.5 percent or less can still be met. As regards the balance of payments, Maleiane thought that the country would continue registering levels of foreign exchange adequate to cover five months of imports. As for legal and institutional reforms, Maleiane noted that in 1999, 13 new banks and other financial institutions were authorised. During the year, rules were introduced obliging credit institutions to publish their financial reports every six months, and the Mozambique Stock Exchange was opened. Maleiane added that the central bank carried on with the management of monetary and exchange policies in a regular manner, with open market operations and improvement of the methodology for allocating hard currency. He thought that the establishment of a healthy financial system would greatly help to reduce poverty in the country. Thus he recommended the opening of new banks and that their distribution throughout the country should not only reflect current economic growth, but also generate new poles of development. As one way of tackling the chronic lack of access to credit in much of the country, Maleiane suggested the registration, licensing and operation of micro-finance institutions close to small producers. From: Mozambique Economy Growing At 10 Per Cent / AIM / 29 December 1999

Item No. 99/12/31 - Mz Mozambique - International Cooperation - Agriculture
   The Mozambican and Italian governments signed two conventions in Maputo under which Italy is to provide US$2.2 million for Mozambique's five-year national agricultural development programme (PROAGRI). According to the source, discussions are under way for a further contribution to PROAGRI, of about US$5million, that will be incorporated into Italian cooperation plans for the period 2000-2002. Signing the protocols were Mozambique's Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Isidora Faztudo, and the Italian ambassador, Stefano Rastrelli. Faztudo said that the agreements referred in particular to Italian support for the bodies involved in planning, regulating and managing the use of water for agricultural purposes (irrigation and drainage), as well as for the Forestry and Economics Directorates in the Agriculture Ministry. The Italian government says that these sectors have been chosen, partly because there is a tradition of cooperation in these areas, and partly because they are at the heart of PROAGRI. From: Italian support for Mozambican agriculture / AIM / 31 December 1999