Mozambique: Quelimane Mayor Complains of Harassment

Maputo — Manuel de Araujo, mayor of the central Mozambican city of Quelimane, has complained of "political harassment' by the Zambezia Provincial Attorney's Office.

Interviewed by the independent television station STV, Araujo said the Attorney's Office was piling up cases against the Quelimane Municipal Council which he heads.

The latest such case concerns the cycle paths which the Council has installed. The Attorney's Office ordered the demolition of the concrete barriers that separate the cycle paths from the main roads.

Araujo, who has championed the use of bicycles, said the Attorney's Office did not consult with the Municipal Council before issuing its order.

Other institutions prefer cars to bicycles. The National Roads Administration (ANE), the National Road Transport Institute (INATRO) and the Traffic Police drew up a report condemning the cycle path and the barriers, with the far-fetched claim that they endanger road traffic.

"I think there is a principle of collaboration between institutions', said Araujo, "and so we expected them to tell us what they objected to in the project. But what we received was a notification, written in a threatening tone, saying that, if the Municipal Council did not remove the cycle paths within five days, it would be committing the crime of disobedience'.

Araujo said the Council obeyed and handed over the cycle paths. But the following day, the Council received another demand from the Provincial Attorney's Office, this time asking for proof that the contracting procedures had been approved by the Administrative Tribunal, the body that checks the legality of public expenditure.

Araujo regarded this as harassment, particularly because the Municipal Council was never given the chance to defend itself. He had hoped that the Council could explain the cycle path project, but instead it had demanded demolition before it had even understood the project.

Arauju said he had the impression that there was a section in the Provincial Attorney's Office with the sole task of making life difficult for the Quelimane municipality. Other municipalities in Zambezia do not face the same harassment.

The Attorney's Office, he accused, has been politicised. He was thus suggesting that the Provincial Attorneys are working for the ruling Frelimo Party, to undermine opposition municipal politicians.