Chimoio — The candidate for governor of the central Mozambican province of Manica for the main opposition party, Renamo, Saimone Macuiana, has promised "inclusive governance' if Renamo wins the presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections scheduled for 9 Ocober.
Speaking on Monday at a rally in the provincial capital, Chimoio, Macuiana said "When I am governor of Manica, we shall have no corruption. You can count on me. As governor, I will not be involved in business. I will not agree to be associated with people linked to business'.
A provincial governor cannot be associated with any other activities, he stressed. "That is corruption, and it will never help develop the province', he declared. "A governor should be a person of integrity. When there are projects, they should be for the benefit of the public'.
He promised that Renamo and its presidential candidate, Ossufo Momade, will ensure the supply of medicines in the health units, and will guarantee decent wages for workers of the public administration.
"Through our country's own revenue, we can pay public servants well', claimed Macuiana. "It doesn't make sense that, 49 years after independence, we have hospitals without medicines, and we have children sitting on the floor in the schools, while we have so much timber'.
The great majority of the population of Manica are peasants, he said. "We shall bank on agriculture to increase agricultural production', he declared
The peasants were exploited. Macuiana added, and were obliged to sell their crops "at a price that does not reward their labour. We shall end this exploitation, and guarantee that agriculture is a profitable activity'.
One of the problems for Renamo's campaign is that its presidential candidate, Ossufo Momade, is nowhere to be seen. He did not even show his face at the launch of the Renamo campaign on Saturday, in the central city of Quelimane.
According to the latest issue of the election bulletin issued by the anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), Momade is outside the country on "last minute business that could not be delayed'. It is expected that he will return by Wednesday, and that he can only start his campaign on Thursday or Friday.
This is bound to raise suspicions that Momade is seriously ill.
