Maputo — The general secretary of Mozambique's ruling Frelimo Party, Roque Silva, believes that a Frelimo victory in the municipal elections scheduled for 11 October will serve as a thermometer to measure the Party's level of preparedness for winning the general elections planned for 2024.
Speaking in the southern city of Matola on Thursday, when opening an induction seminar for the Frelimo Central Brigades that will be sent to assist the Party organisations in the provinces, Silva stressed the importance of winning the coming elections.
"We must win the municipal elections', he said, "and not just out of the simple desire to govern. The victory of Frelimo in the municipal elections is a condition for continuing our project to improve the lives of Mozambicans'.
The objective of the seminar is to prepare the Brigades that will be sent to the provinces to divulge the decisions of the Frelimo 12th Congress, held last year, and to pave the way for success in the municipal elections.
One of the great challenges facing the Brigades, said Silva, is to guarantee that, despite the storms and floods that have struck much of the country, potential voters will be able to participate in the voter registration that begins in April.
"Each member of our brigades should, at all times, act as a standard-bearer of the deepest solidarity of our Party with those affected by these disasters', he said.
The brigade members, Silva added, should also raise public awareness about the dangers of water-borne diseases, particularly cholera, and mobilise solidarity with the victims of jihadist terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
Silva described the current scenario as one of death and destruction caused by storms and floods, in which citizens have lost their homes, children have lost their classrooms, and sick people have lost their health centres.
Thousands of hectares of crops have been swamped, leading to fears of possible pockets of hunger in the near future.
"We should all feel touched, in one way or another, by this tragedy', said Silva.
