SA Government Calls on Mozambique To Commit to Urgent Dialogue As Chaos Breaks Out

• In the wake of the violent protests that followed the national elections in Mozambique, the South African government has spoken up
• The Department of International Relations and Cooperation is concerned about the disruptive protests that spilt onto the streets after the ruling party, FRELIMO, was declared the election winners
• Pretoria said the Mozambican government must commit to dialogue to avoid continuous unrest

Tebogo Mokwena, a dedicated Briefly News current affairs journalist, contributed coverage of international and local social issues like health, corruption, education, unemployment, labour, service delivery protests and immigration in South Africa during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

PRETORIA—The South African Government is concerned with the unrest in Mozambique after the ruling party, FRELIMO, was declared the winner of the country's latest elections. Pretoria has called for urgent dialogue and is ready to help facilitate it.

SA government calls on dialogue

In a statement, the department noted that the Constitutional Council of Mozambique declared FRELIMO the country's new ruling party. FRELIMO has been governing the party since its independence in 1975. The elections were contested, and citizens began widespread protests immediately after the first declarations in October.

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The department said Pretoria is willing to facilitate multilateral talks to address the country's growing unrest. It also called on the Mozambican government to be open to urgent dialogue to prevent further unrest.

Mozambique unrest impacts SA

The South African economy took a slight knock due to the Mozambican elections. The Lebombo Border was temporarily closed as protests broke out in opposition to FRELIMO's victory. It was reopened on 11 November 2024.

The ongoing protests also cost the country R10 million daily because trucks travelling to other African countries through Mozambique could not pass through because of the protests.

South Africans weigh in

Netizens discussing the unrest on Facebook shared their opinions.

Sizwe Mbhamali said:

"The recent Mozambican elections have indeed sparked controversy and unrest, highlighting the importance of free and fair elections."

Pinkie Qwabe said:

"Let them re-vote."

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Alfred Masinga said:

"Some African leaders don't respect the wishes of the people, especially those who called themselves liberation parties."

Paul Macave said:

"No dialogue needed. We want Frelimo out."

Amon Chinyama said:

"People are tired of these so-called revolutionary parties."

Former KZN Premier visited Mozambioque

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the former premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, visited the SA-Mozambique border in January. She promised to build a high-wall fence.

This was after a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, resulting in stringent border control to manage the epidemic. However, South Africans doubted she would live up to her promise.

Source: Briefly News