VZCZCXRO4978
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #1553/01 3380623
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040623Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6506
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP  0127

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001553 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
AF/S FOR HTREGER 
USAID FOR AA/AFR AND AFR/SA 
MCC FOR SGAULL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KCOR PGOV PHUM MZ
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: BIO DATA ON SOME MEMBERS OF FRELIMO 
POLITICAL COMMISSION 
 
Ref: Maputo 1497 
 
MAPUTO 00001553  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. This cable provides biographical information on 10 of the 
17 members of the Political Commission, the highest body of 
Mozambique's ruling political party, FRELIMO (we have 
provided bio information on the other members in previous 
reporting). Sources used include official government 
biographies, local media reports, and information obtained 
from Embassy contacts. In the list below an (H) before the 
name denotes a holdover from the previous political 
commission, while an (N) indicates a newly elected member. 
 
Members: 
 
- (H) Manuel Tome, FRELIMO party whip 
- (H) Eduardo Mulembwe, Speaker of the National Assembly 
- (H) Alberto Chipande, former Defense Minister 
- (H) Eneas Comiche, Mayor of Maputo 
- (H) Margarida Talapa, FRELIMO deputy whip 
- (H) Veronica Macamo, first Vice-President of the National 
  Assembly 
- (N) Raimundo Pachinuapa, veteran of the independence 
struggle 
- (N) Teodoro Waty, former speaker of the Maputo Municipal 
  Assembly 
- (N) Paulina Mateus, Secretary General of the Mozambican 
  Women's Organization 
- (N) Conceita Sortane, Secretary for Training and Cadres 
 
 
MANUEL TOME: 
 
¶2. Manuel Tome is the FRELIMO party whip in the National 
Assembly and served as FRELIMO secretary general from 1997- 
¶2002. Although not part of the generation that fought for 
independence, Tome has risen quickly through the FRELIMO 
party ranks, which is due partly to his years as director 
general of state-owned Radio Mozambique and subsequently as 
secretary general of the Mozambican Association of 
 
SIPDIS 
Journalists. Tome was born in 1947 and is a journalist by 
profession. 
 
 
EDUARDO MULEMBWE: 
 
¶3. Eduardo Mulembwe has been the Speaker of the National 
Assembly since 1994, and in this capacity has the 
constitutional role of replacing the head of state when the 
latter is traveling or incapacitated. Before this Mulembwe 
served as Attorney General for several years. He gained 
prominence for promising to disclose the names of high- 
ranking political figures involved in corruption, although 
he ultimately did not release any information. 
 
 
ALBERTO CHIPANDE: 
 
¶4. Alberto Chipande is one of the most senior members of 
FRELIMO, perhaps outranked in power and prestige only by 
President Guebuza and former President Chissano. Chipande is 
a member of the Makonde tribe, which played a significant 
role in the independence struggle. FRELIMO credits Chipande 
with firing the gunshots that killed a Portuguese official 
in 1964, an event which marked the beginning of the war of 
independence. He was Minister of Defense during the Samora 
Machel era. He is currently a deputy in the National 
Assembly and owner of several businesses in his home 
province of Cabo Delgado. Chipande was born in 1939 in 
Mueda, Cabo Delgado Province. 
 
 
ENEAS COMICHE: 
 
¶5. Eneas Comiche is currently the mayor of Maputo city. He 
is very close to Chissano, during whose mandate he served 
both as governor of the Central Bank and Minister of 
Finance.  Comiche is an economist by profession and studied 
at the University of Porto in Portugal. He was born in 1939 
in Moma, Nampula Province. 
 
 
MARGARIDA TALAPA: 
 
¶6. Margarida Talapa is a deputy in the the National Assembly 
and FRELIMO's deputy party whip. While she is not part of 
the generation that fought for independence, she is one of 
 
MAPUTO 00001553  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
the most prominent female politicians in the country and has 
risen through the party ranks primarily through her efforts 
to mobilize voters in Nampula, the country's most populous 
province. Talapa was born in Nampula Province. 
 
 
VERONICA MACAMO: 
 
¶7. Veronica Macamo serves as first Vice-President of the the 
National Assembly, where she has been a deputy since 1994. 
Macamo is an attorney by profession and she is also 
chairwoman of the National Tourism Fund. She was born in 
Gaza Province. 
 
 
RAIMUNDO PACHINUAPA: 
 
¶8. Raimundo Pachinuapa served as governor of Cabo Delgado 
Province during the Samora Machel era. During the Chissano 
presidency, Pachinaupa was the country's inspector general. 
Pachinuapa belongs to the Makonde tribe and is from Cabo 
Delgado Province. 
 
 
TEODORO WATY: 
 
¶9. Teodoro Waty is an influential lawyer in Maputo. From 
1998 to 2003, he served as president of the Maputo Municipal 
Assembly. Waty is also a former administrator of the 
People's Development Bank and chairman of the Polana Casino 
Board of Directors. He is a close ally of Chissano -- his 
wife worked for some time as Chissano's private secretary. 
Waty is from Maputo city. 
 
 
PAULINA MATEUS: 
 
¶10. Paulina Mateus is the secretary general of the 
Mozambican Women's Organization, the women's wing of 
FRELIMO, a position she has held since 1996. From 1981-1988, 
she was a deputy in the Beira Municipal Assembly. Mateus was 
born in March 1952 in Nachingwea, Tanzania. 
 
 
CONCEITA SORTANE: 
 
¶11. Conceita Sortane has served as FRELIMO's secretary for 
training and cadres since 2002. Prior to this, Sortane was a 
practicing psychologist. She is also one of the few people 
from Zambezia (a RENAMO stronghold) to have a position of 
prominence within FRELIMO. 
 
Dudley