From: wsargeant@IGC.ORG (Winslow L. Sargeant)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: IPS:Mozambique, parliament supports w'
Date: 6 Apr 92 20:53:12 GMT

/* Written  9:05 am  Apr  6, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "MOZAMBIQUE: PARLIAMENT SUPPORTS ''W" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: MOZAMBIQUE: PARLIAMENT SUPPORTS ''WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION''


an inter press service feature

by gil lauriciano

maputo, apr 3 (ips) -- members of mozambique's parliament, the
assembly of the republic, have decided to join the judiciary in
a war against corruption in the southern african nation.

the deputies have been meeting here since last week to debate
the question of corruption in the government based on a report
on government activities presented to parliament by the attorney
general.

according to the report, there are ''causes and proofs'' for
the existence of corruption at the ''heart of the government'',
which the attorney general says are helping to ruin mozambique's
image.

two weeks ago, the mozambican armed forces went on a
go-slow, allowing mozambique national resistance (renamo) rebels
to reach the outskirts of the capital. the soldiers have not
received salaries for over four months, and lack equipment and
food.

a 1989 government report suggested that 60 percent of the
defence budget was spent among the high-ranking officers of the
armed forces.

only a small amount of the remaining 40 percent was left for
the soldiers after the middle-ranking officers had taken their
share.

presenting his report, the attorney general, eduardo mulembwe,
said military resources were used by some army officers to meet
personal ends at the expense of ordinary soldiers.

when mozambique won independence from portugal jun. 25, 1975,
its new rulers installed a socialist system of government which
forbade accumulation of wealth or possession of property by its
leaders.

sixteen years later and with ''socialism'' over, mulembwe
noted in his report, some leaders have turned to illegal means
for gathering wealth.

in his contribution on the report, sergio vieira compared the
corruption situation in mozambique to the situation in zaire.

''some mozambican leaders are getting rich at the price of
the the misery of the people,'' explained vieira, who is former
security minister. (more/ips)


mozambique: parliament (2)

''these people (leaders) are trying to turn the state into a
cleptocracy,'' added vieira, who is director of the centre for
african studies at eduardo mondlane university, the country's
only highest institution of learning.

voicing concern with the alleged corruption in government,
graca machel, widow of mozambique's first president samora
machel, told parliament: ''we must take an active position of
solidarity with the attorney general''.

some deputies suggested that what has happened in mozambique
is that some ministers have badly managed the resources of their
ministries.

''bad management is not corruption,'' joao ferreira,
former agricultural minister who is now in business, told
parliament.

mozambique, with an estimated population of 15 million, is
now said to be the world's poorest country mainly as a result of
the 16-year war between the government and renamo.

its annual exports cover only 12 percent of imports, while 80
percent of its food needs are covered by international
donations.

the declaration of war against corruption comes at a time
when the government has launched an international appeal for
assistance to help people seriously affected by the severe
drought hitting the whole of the southern africa region.

meanwhile, representatives here of donors and potential
creditors to mozambique have taken a moderate public position on
the alleged corruption.

italian ambassador manfred di camerana says: ''you can't talk
of corruption without proofs. the problem of corruption exists
in every coutnry''.

''we have to help solve the problem causing corruption,'' he
told ips, pointing to lack of institutional capacity as the
cause.

italy is one of mozambique's major creditors.

french ambassador daniel jouanneau takes another position and
says france demands its assistance to the third world to be
properly used.

''when food aid is not used properly, (french) public opinion
accuses our government of helping governments which make bad use
of their money. that's why we demand more transparency and
greater rigour in the state budget,'' he says.
(end/ips/gl/rw/apc/ar/92
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african