At a Maputo press conference, former security minister Jacinto Veloso, head of the government delegation on the Joint Commission between the government and Renamo, denied reports in some of the media which implied that the appointment of governors was imminent and did not depend on Renamo ceasing its military actions.

“We want to clarify what is really going on, because the news stories circulating may induce Mozambicans and the international community to draw conclusions about a situation which does not exist,” said Veloso.

The assumptions of imminent appointments of Renamo provincial governors came after the Joint Commission issued a statement on Wednesday morning which said “legal mechanisms should be found for the provisional appointment of provincial governors from Renamo as soon as possible”. That statement was completely silent about ending Renamo violence.

Veloso said that the term “as soon as possible” was “perhaps a mistake”, and had entered the statement because it was the term used by the foreign mediators at the talks.

“But it is clear that ‘as soon as possible’ does not mean in a month’s time,” said Veloso.

“It is still necessary to look at what these governors are going to do. What are they going to govern with? How? With what programme? While this is not defined there is no chance of appointing any governor”.

Renamo is insisting on the right to rule six central and northern provinces (Sofala, Manica, Tete, Zambezia, Nampula and Niassa) where it says it won the October 2014 general elections.

Veloso said the matter of “governance of the six provinces by Renamo” was merely an agenda point in the talks, and did not mean that six provinces are about to be handed over to the rebels.

“If anyone says that the government has already agreed to appoint governors from Renamo for the six provinces, this conclusion is absolutely wrong,” Veloso stressed.

“It’s not true. There is this hypothesis. But nobody has said that it is certain.”

Veloso said there was no question of deciding on the issue of provincial governors in isolation. All the points on the agenda, including a cessation of hostilities, are of equal importance.

“This is a series of points that have to be implemented, once they are agreed in full,” he added.

Veloso said the final agreement would not come from the Joint Commission, but from the long awaited face-to-face meeting between President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama.

The Wednesday morning statement also said a sub-commission will draw up constitutional amendments and new or amended legislation on such matters as provincial finances and the provincial assemblies.

Veloso said the draft legislation should be ready for submission to the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, “by the end of November”.

But Veloso declared that this deadline, of three and a half months, was “unrealistic”, and the government had only allowed it to stand because it was the formulation favoured by Renamo and the mediators.

On the cessation of hostilities, Veloso said the government delegation had already proposed that this be taken in two parts – first “an immediate suspension of all armed actions”, which it regarded as “essential” to allow discussions to continue on the remaining agenda points.

This would be followed by a definitive cessation of hostilities, to be announced at the meeting between Nyusi and Dhlakama.

--ANA--