Project of a Country

 

How can we know if we are living in a country or simply in a project of one? Just like young ones starting a life outside their parents’ home, and have to prove that they can do well for themselves, the same way countries have to show that they can do well too.

 

I am about to conclude that I’m living in a project of a country. The question is that this project has now more than 32 years, and things look worst and worst each day. There is no enthusiasm, no hope, no visible reactions, no way out…

 

Politicians still use “independência ou morte”, independence or death kind of slogans, to survive in power, while a starving multitude listens too numb to react. Cahora Bassa, in Mozambique, fits this scenario perfectly.

 

Four years ago, when this government was elected, I could witness a certain dose of vitality on the streets. I remember people stating: “We voted for the same party. But if we don’t see changes, in four years time we shall vote differently.” I guess I wasn’t the only one listening to those voices!

 

For me, it’s not the persistent poverty or even things going so wrong. Sometimes we do the right steps and things go wrong the same way. I could understand such situation. Besides, African countries are not the owners of failure. Most called developed countries are endemically incapables of dealing with economical and social problems such as unemployment, poverty, illegal immigration, gangs, prostitution, violence against women and children, lack of education and opportunities…

 

The worrying aspect about this particular government is the evident signs that I see but nobody else seems to care or notice. I’ll just talk about two of them.

 

No elections
Mozambican provincial elections are now postponed to 2009. The excuse is the lack of financial support to carry on with the effort. It is clear to me, and to anybody with a head over his shoulders, that elections in this country are not going to happen again unless the international community finds a way of pressure. Doesn’t seem difficult at all, if it is truth that half of this country budget relies on foreign help. The “zimbabwezation” of Southern Africa should be a real concern!

 

I don’t know what kind of vision does the international community has about the present Mozambican government. For some inside observers, this country is under the rule of a group with an empty discourse, without any serious vision and, worst of all, indifferent to the bankruptcy of the economy.

 

No law
Living in a country where the law doesn’t work, it is a big risk. Slowly, but steadily, the new rulers are giving all the necessary steps to undermine and control the law. It seems like we are leaving a non-working situation to a defending the interest of a group situation.

 

Where is independence of the law? Who is going to defend the interests of the people? What about democracy? How can a country stop being a project, if we still deal with such basic questions?

 

The picture above, used to advertise a road motel, speaks about the outside image of Mozambique. Unfortunately, it is far from the truth once Mozambique is one of the most expensive places to live.

License To Be Above the Law

 

On the 1^st of November, Mozambican authorities started issuing the new driver’s licenses. I can say without a single doubt that this government is clearly acting above the law, because the legality of the bid for the driver’s licenses production still depends of a court decision. If you want to know a little more about this subject, you can read my previous posts of September 17, March 09 and January 17.

 

 Meanwhile, if I still had doubts about the corruption nature of the deal involving Mozambicans driver’s licenses, they would be all gone by now, since I had access to a South African investigation document about the company awarded with the bid. It is a 16 pages document signed and sealed with a registration Security Service Provider number. I’m not giving you details, but I can’t help the gesture of inviting you to check the profile of one of the men somehow related with the awarded company behind the driver’s licenses production. Perhaps now you can understand my concerns…

Best of October Again

 

In the middle of the political turmoil of the Mozambican general election discussions, I decided to put my own life under scrutiny and stop blogging for a while. Unexpectedly, I find myself free of the contingencies that led me to a temporary halt. That’s why I’m going to use this platform to post at least twice.

 

September and October 2007 were quite strange in terms of weather: very unstable and windy. No summer until the end of October! We have been spending quiet days at home, with the usual walks, restaurants and nearby places to visit.

 

The best of this month could be discovering the pleasure of reading authors that I really like in good English translations, including sometimes reading loud for myself. I’ve been enjoying the experience and I started handwriting my texts too, something that is not new for me and I am also enjoying.

 

But then I learned that my almost 90 years father is being published by a Lisbon editor and any other best had to second. Soon his poetry (poems that he has been writing during the last four years) will be out. This October I can’t be anything else but a proud daughter!