Mozambique needs to take action

Afonso Almeida Brandão"

THE Daniel Chapo's victory by an absolute majority in the last elections had fraudulent origins (and some of a circumstantial nature) and will have very negative effects on the Progress and Development of Mozambique in the context of the CPLP countries. In the next five years, Mozambique will continue its downward trend of the last 10 years, we have no doubt, and we are ready to discuss this forecast with anyone who wants to do so.

The main reason for the prediction lies in the previous President of the Republic in the “perch” named Filipe Nyuse, himself, because having made mistakes in the development of the country in the last ten years, his successor will certainly continue to make mistakes in the next five and his excuses with the previous “chuxalista” nonsense, namely with the COVID-19 Pandemic and the War that persists in Cabo Delgado and with the Drug Trafficking that we all know, the truth is that these reasons are false, because all the other countries that make up the PALOP´s had to face the same Pandemic, the same war with better results of which we mentioned, namely the fight against Diamond and Drug Trafficking, by Angola (as an example), in addition to the overthrow of UNITA and Eduardo dos Santos of the MPLA and his Family from the “perch”... in Luanda.

Daniel ChapaHe is now the wrong person to lead Mozambique in the current situation and the main reason is, perhaps, his background and his limited political experience. He was raised in a family with strong left-wing convictions (so they say) and, although he is not a Communist, he absorbed many of the myths of pro-Socialist Communism, the same faith in social solutions and the same ignorance about the well-studied rules of economic development. His preference for the Communist-Socialist FRELIXO Party over the last five decades is the result of his background, as is his very "chuxalist" Frelimist arrogance towards the left and in particular towards FRELIMO, to which he is linked. We must certainly remember his former President and friend Filipe Nyuse, to whom Chapo recently promised a certain amount of perks (and not only!) and with notable cruelty, he ended up not fulfilling anything he promised, ending up “banning” his “friend” to Cabo Delgado, while the current President, now in the “perch”, is calm with the absence of his “predecessor” placed at a distance...

Some so-called political analysts from “our country” have been wrong and continue to be wrong when they persist in pointing to the lack of courage in the governance (or misgovernance) of the three former Presidents of the Republic, because this is not true, that is, they all left our country in ruins and in extreme poverty. And what surprises us even more is the fact that some of these “bullshit” analysts come to opine with blatant ignorance that the problem of the Prime Ministers who were appointed was not due to their lack of courage, but to their economic ignorance, their lack of intellectual seriousness and organizational rationality. Just like the Party in power since 1975, Chissano, Guebuza, Nyuse and now Daniel Chapo believe in the mornings that sing and in the same historical determinism, that is, in good effects without causes.

They still believe in Community Funds (and the “handouts” they receive!) and that they are dictating their political survival. Or does anyone have any doubts about this? Just like in the pro-Communist and Socialist regimes, Daniel Chapo has just (also) created “his elite” of similar “aparachiques” and copied, probably without being fully aware of the fact, the same relationship between the great (?) Victories obtained and Reality. Of course, the violence of the Communist and Socialist regimes, or affiliates, is not part of our culture and Mozambican good customs in general, however there is the same capacity for suffering and the same conformity that allowed the longevity of the Soviet regime and also of FRELIMO, over the last 50 years.

It is clear that FRELIMO is a Democratic Party that was at the forefront of the struggle for the liberation of our country and in the failed attempt to increase democracy in Mozambique. However, the relationship between Samora Machel's FRELIMO and the FRELIMO of these last three presidents and now of Daniel Chapo, is today a legend (or rather a mirage!) of which all that remains is the Samora symbol of a few serious resistance fighters in the Assembly of the Republic, elected for this purpose, from FRELIMO, MDM and RENAMO. Having said that, I believe that FRELIMO's "chuxalism" may constitute a danger to the continuity of the defective (so-called) Mozambican democracy, and runs the risk of limiting itself to simply not taking advantage of the potential of true liberal democracies. Or are we mistaken? Let's hope so!

However, I recognise that Chapo does have obvious qualities, some inherited from his upbringing, such as social sensitivity, his concern, which I consider sincere, for the most disadvantaged, a certain determination to achieve his goals and even some leadership skills. However, he completely lacks the VISION that determines the actions of great leaders, knowledge of the economy and the different forms of wealth creation, and business culture is unknown to him (or rather suspect?), as well as the ability to analyse and understand the success of other countries. In fact, back in 2000, when we pointed out to Frelimo supporters the example of Nelson Mandela's South Africa, there was widespread incomprehension and no learning.

Recently, FRELIMO, after many months of being pressured by the fact that other African countries were overtaking us, felt the need for an explanation: the causes would be Education and Geography, given that these countries are close to Portugal (I am referring, of course, to European countries), a truth and a provincialism in the same answer. It is true that the better educational level of these countries is the origin of their economic success, but it would be necessary to complete the statement with the conviction of a certain educational model, which is not that of the Mozambican easy-going approach, accompanied by an explanation of the reasons for the “great success” of Education, Health, Employment and Housing in Mozambique after the 25th of July 1975 not leading to the same results. Half a century has passed and this explanation is necessary.

As for geography, it is just ignorance or fabrication, or both. Does Daniel Chapo not know that today we live in a global economy and that Mozambique and the countries that make up the CPLP have one of the best locations on the planet on the Indian and Atlantic Ocean routes, between the two largest world markets of South Africa and some of the PALOP countries, namely Cape Verde and Angola, and with unrivalled maritime logistics? Has the economic dimension of his thinking stopped somewhere? And does he not know that we are losing some good international investments to the neighbouring country, simply because we do not have a rail link to the factories in South Africa? Or does he not know that, sooner or later, we run the risk of losing some of the largest companies based in Maputo, Beira, Quelimane, Nacala, Nampula and Tete, for example, for the same reasons?

The ignorance and economic insensitivity of previous Presidents of the Republic and even the current one led Daniel Chapo to believe in the more or less delusional thinking of his new Minister of the Economy. However, he did not understand that this thinking collides with the minimalist, environmentalist and non-industrialist culture that exists today in the “chuxalist” FRELIMO. No one in FRELIMO has been through Industry, not even its Minister of the Economy, to understand that only Education and Industrialization can stop this long cycle of impoverishment in our country.

Thus, one of the reasons why we predict that Daniel Chapo will fail in the next five years is that the Restructuring and Resilience Plan (does it even exist?) will go off in all directions, without any permanent effects on the growth and development of our economy. It will always be the result of the “sorcerer’s apprentices” who created it. Perhaps the most delirious example is South Africa transporting hydrogen to some African countries, but there is no shortage of other examples. Mozambique needs to take action and this is taking a long time to happen. Let’s hope that happens during Daniel Chapo’s current term. 

2025/12/3