As part of the conference “Between war and peace. Political parties, civil society and democratization in Mozambique” organized by the Mozambique Coordination Group in Berlin, I interviewed freelance journalist Adérito Caldeira from Maputo about the current political situation.
Catherine Hollinger, Programme Coordinator Mozambique
Adérito Caldeira is a freelance journalist for the Mozambican newspaper @verdade (Truth). @verdade is a print and online newspaper that has been published weekly since August 2008. According to its own estimates, the print edition reaches around 400,000 readers every week.
Catherine Hollinger: How do you assess the current situation in Mozambique?
Adérito Caldeira: It is extremely delicate and fragile. The armed conflicts are currently still very localized. There is no nationwide fighting. Perhaps this is why the situation is only perceived and described as a conflict from the outside. But in the affected regions, we have to talk about war. People are dying or having to flee and are losing their livelihoods.
What are the political interests of the two parties Frelimo and Renamo in Mozambique?
Their primary interest is the claim to power. They want to remain or become the governing party. Once they are in power, they will defend this position by any means necessary.
All parties agree that they want peace. And yet there is war. Why is there no peace?
I think an important aspect is that it is not only political power, but above all economic power, that has a significant impact on peace. After the peace treaty in 1992, the Renamo was formally integrated into the military and the police to a certain extent. Economically, however, it was never integrated.
How does this manifest itself?
This can be seen in the economic divide in Mozambique between the north and south. The capital Maputo has become a fast-growing economic engine in the hands of Frelimo. This was mainly made possible by the exploitation of natural resources in the north and center where Renamo is strong. Frelimo is thus enriching itself from the country’s natural resources and the people of the north and center are not benefiting. So it is also about preserving economic interests and privileges. And they do this without compromise.
What are the goals of the parties? Do they have a political program?
No, not really. Frelimo is mainly active before the elections. Otherwise there are hardly any activities, no program. They hardly differ in their election programs either. In the end, it’s all about power and money. And at the moment, Frelimo has everything under control: party, state and companies. Renamo is even more extreme and is only active before the elections. It could manage to turn popular support into votes. But that would require a certain understanding of democracy, and that hardly exists. Renamo is impatient and does not pursue a long-term strategy.
A role in this situation could also be attributed to civil society. Can it be heard?
In principle, there is a civil society in Moçambique that can also be heard with critical voices. However, in order to spread the concerns of civil society more widely, it would need financial resources. And it doesn’t have that.
So what role can local Mozambican NGOs play?
The role is large and important. NGOs can actively engage with the population and give them a voice. They can, so to speak, represent the people and demand change. However, there is always the question of the NGOs’ agenda and where they are funded from. The people themselves should also get involved. But that is not happening.
Why don’t the people get involved themselves?
The main problem is education. It’s not just about knowledge at school – a lot has happened in recent years. It’s about children not learning to reflect and question. They are unable to formulate, justify or discuss their own opinions. They don’t know their rights and are therefore unable to demand them. But it is also about social memory. People in Mozambique are not very self-confident. Most people think: ‘Oh, why interfere? It will only cause trouble at best.
How can international NGOs provide support? What should their role be?
The most important thing is certainly to work for the Mozambicans and not to pursue your own agenda. Find out what is really needed and implement it with local people and local know-how. It is important to be aware of the political challenges facing local organizations. You should definitely try to strengthen local structures and work together with locally important people. This is because the so-called informal structures are firmly anchored and in some places stronger than the formal structures. There is modern versus traditional law. It is important that the traditional is included in the work.
One of the main target groups for the work of terre des hommes schweiz is young people. How do you see the impact of the current situation on this age group in particular?
Above all, I think that the opportunities for young people, which are already limited in Mozambique in general, are becoming even more limited. The conflict is reducing job opportunities because the conflicts are leading to the closure of companies. This will probably also increase migration to neighboring countries such as South Africa, Malawi or Zimbabwe. So here, too, it is important for NGOs to know the needs of young people and respond to them.
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