Create, Don’t Destroy, Says Guebuza

11 May 2011

Inhamitanga — “We should help solve our problems, we should create wealth and not destroy it”, declared Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Wednesday.

He was speaking in the Administrative Post of Inhamitanga, in Cheringoma district, on the third day of his tour of the central province of Sofala, and was reacting to concerns expressed by some Inhamitanga residents that violent demonstrations are being planned.

Manuel Luis, one of the men who spoke at a rally addressed by Guebuza, said “we’ve heard that there would be violent demonstrations, and so we are afraid to carry out our productive activities”.

He was clearly referring to the threat by the former rebel movement Renamo to hold nationwide demonstrations against the government, starting in Sofala. Last month Renamo announced that the demonstrations would begin as from 25 April. But so far nothing at all has happened.

Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama has been promising to hold “nationwide demonstrations” ever since he lost the October 2009 general elections. But to date there has not been a single Renamo demonstration.

Concern in Cheringoma is understandable, however, since, like the neighbouring district of Maringue, this is one of the areas where Renamo still maintains groups of armed men, on the pretext that they are bodyguards for Dhlakama.

Other speakers at the Cheringoma rally proposed that more stations should be built along the Sena railway line that runs through the middle of the district. Passenger trains from Beira are now running regularly along this stretch of the line, and speakers wanted more Cheringoma residents to have easy access to the trains.

A man named Domingos Mbewa called for the re-activation of the 36 sawmills in the district that are now paralysed, and for the opening of a bank in the district. Money is now circulating in Cheringoma, he said, but people have nowhere to deposit it.

Guebuza promised to take up this concern with the banks. “I shall carry your voice to the business class”, he said. “I will tell them that the population of Cheringoma say they generate a lot of money, but have no bank for their savings”.

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