The director of the Center for Public Integrity (CIP), Edson Cortez, says that "there are a number of tax payers in these partner countries, the European Union, Portugal and the United States, who pay taxes to enrich a corrupt elite and cannot expect an individual who comes to power undeservedly, through fraud, to then be a man of integrity and have the luxury of being accountable to the citizens".

"Before making public policies for the development of Mozambique, you're going to make policies to enrich that group. When you support bandits, you can't expect them to act like the Pope. 'Don't make fools of us. Mozambican NGO leader warns Portugal, the EU and the US: "They've put gangsters in government, don't expect them to be the Pope," said Edson Cortez, in an interview with the Portuguese newspaper Observer.

The director of CIP is particularly critical of the Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, and the Minister of the Armed Forces. Paulo Rangel, who make statements that confirm the Frelimo regime as if it were democratic. "It's an aberration that people who call themselves democrats and defenders of human rights think it's normal that in Mozambique more than 200 people are killed by the police for demonstrating against the election results and congratulating Daniel Chapo on his victory."

According to Cortez, "all the elections since 1999 have been stolen, but the last two were the worst," so nobody even knows what the vote totals were in 2023 and 2024. "As in Venezuela, the detailed results have never been published. But for the EU, the US and Portugal it's bad in Venezuela, but everything is fine in Mozambique," he points out.

Nevertheless, the source believes that Frelimo doesn't need voters to stay in power. Nor does it need to make public policies to win over the electorate. Instead, it needs policies to serve its own interests and those of the donors, argues Cortez. "The taxpayers of these countries should be warned that their money coming to Mozambique is going to be used by gangsters who didn't win elections."

"If all these countries are going to homologate and ratify a government and a president who didn't win elections and made a mafia to get into power, don't expect him to behave with transparency and integrity afterwards."

(Photo DR)