23 December 2008
Maputo — The Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on Tuesday passed the second reading of the state budget for 2009, and the resolution approving the government's Social and Economic Plan for the year, with deputies from the Renamo-Electoral Union opposition coalition voting against
Proceedings were delayed by Renamo wrecking amendments. Thus Renamo attempted to amend the law on the budget to replace the words "approves the state budget" with "rejects the state budget".
Since the budget had already passed its first reading on Saturday, this manoeuvre was patently out or order. Yet the Assembly chairman, Eduardo Mulembue, allowed it. The Renamo amendment went down to defeat by 149 votes to 73.
The majority Frelimo party won every other vote on the plan and budget by the same margin.
In the "declaration of vote", explaining why Renamo voted against the budget, Abel Mabunda claimed the budget was unconstitutional because it allocated money to the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs (which looks after the interests of those whom fought in Mozambique's war for independence), but gave nothing to "the fighters for democracy" - by which he meant the Renamo units that, under the control of the South African apartheid regime, ravaged the country prior to the 1992 peace agreement.
It is true that Article 15 of the Mozambican constitution talks of "valuing the sacrifices of those who dedicated their lives to the national liberation struggle, and to the defence of sovereignty and of democracy". Renamo likes to imagine that the mention of people who fought for democracy refers to its own fighters, but that is not in the constitutional text, and it is certainly not what Frelimo understands by that article.
Every year, in discussing the budget, Renamo pulls the same trick of an immoral equivalence between those who fought to liberate the country and those who sought to destroy it. And every year it goes down to the same defeat.
Among other demands raised by Renamo were that Value Added Tax (VAT) should be reduced from 17 to 14 per cent, though the question of tax rates had formed no part of the debate on Saturday.
Lutero Simango also denounced the alleged abuse of state property by Frelimo, and complained that Frelimo party branches in the state apparatus continued to hold meetings on state premises.
Frelimo deputies accused Renamo of continued attempts at destabilisation by other means. Raimundo Mapanzene claimed that Renamo deputies were merely "proving that they are not prepared to govern", and were "confusing the autocratic instincts of its leader (Afonso Dhlakama) with the interests of the people".
Replying to claims, heard frequently from Renamo and echoed in some of the media, that Frelimo uses "the dictatorship of the vote", Feliciano Mata argued that "in democracy, decisions are taken by majority vote". The plan and budget had to be passed "because the Mozambican people want the government to improve the quantity and quality of public services, and to decentralize powers to the provinces and districts".
The budget envisages state revenue in 2009 from taxes and other domestic sources of 46.2 billion meticais (about 1.85 billion US dollars).
Government expenditure for the year, however, is estimated at 98.1 billion meticais, leaving a deficit of 51.9 billion meticais that must be covered by foreign grants and loans. Thus 53 per cent of public expenditure in 2009 will depend on foreign aid.
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