A tug-of-war may have broken out between Renamo and the government over the issue of pensions for the opposition party's guerrillas, which Ossufo Momade is demanding be paid unconditionally, while the government argues that payment should begin after the closure of the guerrillas' last base in Gorongosa, in the center of the country.

Renamo refuses to close the Gorongosa base, its headquarters during the civil war, until the pensions of its armed men are paid, and party sources say that the political formation intends to maintain this demand until the last consequences.

The closing of the base, initially planned for the end of last year, has been postponed sine die and there has been no information from either the government or Renamo about the postponement.

The Executive says that the pensions will only be paid when the last base is closed, stressing that the money for this has been included in the State Budget for 2023 and that a decree has already been approved to pay the pensions.

Renamo, in the voice of its spokesman, José Manteigas, says that the party is aware of the decree, but has not yet been formally informed about it, "and we question why the pensions are not being paid".

For political analyst Fernando Mbanze, quoted by VOA, this is a politically correct speech by José Manteigas because, in reality, Renamo will want to keep its Gorongosa base as a way of putting pressure on the government to close the pensions dossier before the start of the next electoral cycle.

The President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, without referring to preconditions, guaranteed that ways had been found to pay the pensions and that this would happen soon, "even though the beneficiaries had not paid for it, and this is the cost of peace and democracy".

Political analyst Lucas Ubisse believes that it is the government that is giving in, as a way of convincing Renamo to support Frelimo's position on the issue of district elections, since it apparently has no way of stopping the ruling party's unilateral project on this issue.

"I believe that the government is going to make a concession to Renamo by starting to pay the pensions of the demobilized guerrillas who are living in poverty," Lucas Ubisse stressed.

The United Nations Secretary-General's representative in Mozambique, Mirko Manzoni, promised to "work with the parties (government and Renamo) so that the Gorongosa base is closed in the next few days".