VZCZCXRO1440
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #0433/01 1011412
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111412Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7127
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP  0188

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000433 
 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PARM PGOV PREL MZ
SUBJECT: Mozambique - March Political Digest 
 
 
MAPUTO 00000433  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) This is a summary of significant political developments 
in Mozambique that occurred during March 2007.  We provide it 
as a supplement to our other reporting. 
 
-- Commission of Inquiry into Weapons Depot Explosion 
 
-- Likely Delay in Scheduling Provincial Elections 
 
-- Humanitarian De-mining Winding Down 
 
-- Mozambique Sends Large Delegation to Trafficking- 
in-Persons Conference 
 
 
Commission of Inquiry into Weapons Depot Explosion 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) On March 23 President Guebuza announced the 
formation of an independent Commission of Inquiry into 
the March 22 explosions at the Malhazine weapons depot 
in Maputo. The explosions killed over 100 people and 
injured more than 500. Charged with establishing the 
cause of the explosions, the Commission consists of 
three senior judges: the President of the 
Administrative Tribunal (the body that monitors the 
legality of public expenditure), Antonio Pale; the 
presiding judge of the Maputo city court, Augusto 
Paulino; and the director of the Judicial Training 
Centre, Bemvinda Levy.  Although Guebuza stated that 
the Commission would have a free hand in its 
investigation, some believe the Commission will 
provide only the report that the government wants. 
The main opposition party, RENAMO, charges that the 
Commission is not sufficient and has called on the 
National Assembly to set up its own commission of inquiry. 
According to government, most of the material ejected 
from the depot by the blasts has been collected.  The 
government has announced that it will compensate victims, 
paying their medical bills and rebuilding destroyed dwellings. 
Comment: Embassy sources report that the Commission 
appears to be working very slowly and is nowhere 
near ready to issue a report on its findings. 
End comment. 
 
Likely Delay in Scheduling Provincial Elections 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3. (U) Mozambique's first provincial assembly 
elections are constitutionally mandated to be 
held no later than January 20, 2008.  Efforts 
had been underway to schedule the elections 
prior to the rainy season this year, which 
starts in October, but that now seems unlikely. 
The National Electoral Committee (CNE), the 
body responsible for proposing a date for 
the elections, according to the Constitution 
must do so six months in advance but has not 
yet even been formed. 
 
¶4. (U) The Constitutional Court, after general 
elections held during the rainy season (in 
December) in 2004, recommended that subsequent 
elections take place during drier months so 
that voters would have less trouble reaching 
polling sites.  However, due to the six month 
restriction, if CNE is formed in May/June the 
date for the election will probably be November 
or December, during the rainy season.  To shift 
the election date to the dry season would require 
either the shortening of the six month advance 
notice requirement or missing the constitutionally 
mandated January 20 deadline.  The leader of the 
Parliamentary Commission on Elections is of the 
opinion that a change in the six month requirement 
can be done only with the concurrence of the 
leadership of the two main political parties, which 
he told emboff was not likely. 
 
Humanitarian De-mining Winding Down 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Fifteen years after the end of Mozambique's 
devastating civil war, efforts to clear the 
country of deadly landmines are winding down.  The 
 
MAPUTO 00000433  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
largest humanitarian group involved in de-mining, 
the UK-based nongovernmental organization HALO Trust, 
 has informed donor governments (including the USG) 
that its work in the northern half of the country 
is nearly done.  HALO will end its de-mining 
operations in June after working in Mozambique's 
four northern provinces for 13 years. 
 
¶6. (U) The Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), a 
humanitarian NGO run by the Norwegian trade union 
movement that has been active in Mozambique for 
many years, departed the country in December 2006. 
NPA, upon leaving, said that the GRM had the 
capacity to handle the few mines that remained 
in the central provinces, the area where NPA worked. 
International humanitarian support for de-mining 
operations in Mozambique dropped by more than 25 
percent in 2006, to US$9.2 million from $12.7 
million the year before, reflecting a growing 
consensus among donor and aid organizations that 
landmines in Mozambique no longer pose a major 
threat. 
 
Mozambique Sends Large Delegation to Trafficking- 
in-Persons Conference 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶7. (U) The Southern Africa Network Against Trafficking 
and Abuse of Children (SANTAC) held its annual meeting 
in Johannesburg on March 27-29.  Of the 100 
participants from 10 countries attending the SANTAC 
conference, approximately 30 came from Mozambique, 
including civil society and government representatives. 
Keynote speakers included former Mozambican First 
Lady Graca Machel, current South African Justice Minister 
Brigite Sylvia, and a representative for Archbishop 
Desmond Tutu.  The three-day SANTAC conference focused on 
devising a consensus definition of trafficking-in-persons, 
encouraging bilateral and regional cooperation, and discussing 
prevention, prosecution, and protection techniques.  The 
conference produced six-page final declaration that SANTAC 
hopes to present to respective ministerial-level 
representatives later in the year. 
 
Johnson