Nacala — Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Saturday warned the ruling Frelimo Party against "the growing plague of disinformation', otherwise it might lose the mass communication battle in a context of sharp political disputes.
Speaking in his capacity as President of Frelimo, in the northern port city of Nacala, at the opening of the northern preparatory meeting, ahead of the National Conference of Cadres, scheduled for August, Chapo claimed that Frelimo's adversaries "have been using ever more sophisticated methods of disinformation to disqualify the Party and the achievements of the government'.
"As Frelimo, we must not lose this mass communications battle', he declared, "because we are the party in power, the party that leads the Mozambican people'.
Chapo urged Frelimo secretaries at all levels to follow the evolution of mechanisms of communication - otherwise they risk become irrelevant in mobilising the party's grass roots.
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He insisted that person-to-person contact must remain the main method used by Frelimo. "Apart from social media, our main method is to contact people face to face, door to door. Our members are not virtual, they are real'.
Chapo said Frelimo should adjust its working methods, to meet the demands of the current political moment, ahead of the municipal elections scheduled for 2028, and the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2029.
Changes are urgent, he said, "so that we may have a more dynamic and attractive party, particularly for young people and for women, who are the majority of the population'.
Chapo stressed the importance of "modern mobilisation', based on the spread of truthful information through digital platforms, to combat disinformation.
"We must capitalise on modern technological platforms, such as the Internet and social media, to circulate positive messages and not disinformation', he urged.
Chapo stressed the strategic role of the district in Mozambique's political system.
"The district is the main field of battle between political parties', he declared. "It is where the competition for winning and holding political power is at its most intense'.
Frelimo district secretaries, Chapo stressed, are "key pieces in the consolidation of party leadership at grass roots level'.
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Among the requirements for district secretaries, he said, are "love and permanent contact with the people, party discipline, the defence of national unity, as well as humility and humanism. To these should be added integrity and honesty, loyalty to the Party and its leaders, and the promotion of a culture of hard work'.
Chapo wanted each district secretary to adopt a plan to rebuild the party offices and other buildings that were destroyed in the unrest in late 2024 and early 2025, during protests against the results of the 2024 general elections, widely believed to be fraudulent.
The Frelimo local offices should be rebuilt, he said, to strengthen Frelimo's physical presence in the communities.
