The Mozambican Chamber of Commerce (CCM) says there is a wave of conspiracy among some associate members of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) to prevent the submission of the candidacy of Álvaro Massingue, President of the CCM, for the presidency of the CTA.

According to the representative of the CCM's candidacy, Onório Manuel, the majority of the associations and federations that make up the CTA are endorsing the CCM's candidacy, which is causing discomfort for the CTA's outgoing board.

He accused the board of the business group led by Agostinho Vuma of "creating schemes" to prevent Massingue from entering the electoral race.

Today, the President of the CTA presented the arguments for dismissing Massingue's candidacy. Onório Manuel considered these to be "delatory maneuvers", not least because the siege of the attempt to reject his candidacy was "closed" with the presentation to the CTA of a court decision annulling the decision on Massingue's ineligibility.

However, the CCM said it trusted the institutions of justice to enforce the decision suspending the CTA's deliberation and allowing Álvaro Massingue to advance to the presidential race in the CTA, considering all the arguments put forward by Vuma to have been overcome.

In fact, Onório Manuel criticized the CTA President's stance in saying that no court has the power to overturn the decisions of the CTA. He also regretted the fact that Vuma had dismissed the decision of the Kampfumo Court because of a spelling mistake, not least because, as he noted, when he was addressing this "flaw/error" Vuma himself had made the mistake by quoting a statute of the association.

Onório Manuel explained that, contrary to Vuma's statements about the CCM's use of unorthodox practices, the CCM had no interest in submitting, this morning and after the deadline, a letter requesting an appointment to submit an application dated yesterday (24).

According to Álvaro Massingue's representative, the part of the CTA responsible for receiving applications for candidacy was deliberately not at the premises. He said that the delegation remained at the CTA premises until around 10pm, but to no avail.