The former Mozambican Head of State Joaquim Chissano defends that, after 25 years, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) should invest in projects that bring it closer to the populations, suggesting a fund to fight poverty.
“The CPLP is still not known by the populations, its presence is not felt” and the people “have to appear as participants in something,” he said in an interview with Lusa, about the anniversary of the organization.
“The CPLP has to be a community, not just for intellectuals, elites, diplomats, but a community for the people,” he stressed.
In a “thinking out loud” interview, he suggested studies “to create a CPLP fund that can be directed to fighting poverty,” still present in different forms in all member countries.
“Use the language and develop the same project, with the necessary adaptations to each country”, something that “the people can say: this is a project of the CPLP”, as happens with the work of other international organizations, recognized by the population.
Joaquim Chissano recognizes that he has no formulas and that the task requires study, but stresses the objectives: “See what can be the `CPLP programs’ to take them to the field,” find a way for the organization “to become more visible, more felt by the people, something that they feel part of.
An example of methodology can be what was followed by the United Nations with the objectives of sustainable development, goals to be achieved by member countries in various areas of human activity: in addition to the theoretical assumptions “there must be something on the ground” to meet each objective, he pointed out.
And the former head of state says there are issues that can be seized as opportunities by the CPLP, such as combating the pandemic of covid-19 using language as a platform for common initiatives, or the response to terrorism in Cabo Delgado, north of the country, as a mobilization of international public opinion
“A way has to be found, I don’t know what it is, but the members should discuss to find such projects” closer to the populations of the member states.
If there are concrete actions and projects, other discussions will follow naturally, he said.
“I will go back to what I used to say when I was a participant: we should develop and protect the language, but to talk about something that we accomplish.”
For example, “mobility,” a topic that remains on the agenda, “is necessary to do something and the more that something is [a project] in common, mobility becomes more important.”
“The more concrete the activities are, the more impetus there is to study the best ways” to respond to the needs that emerge, such as facilitating the movement of people between the countries that are part of the community.
Chissano is confident about the ability of new generations to continue the CPLP project and about the “positive influence” of the organization – pointing to the case of Equatorial Guinea, which joined the Lusophone bloc in 2014 under a commitment to abolish the death penalty, but still retains it.
“I notice that since it joined the CPLP, [Equatorial Guinea] has felt the need to review its policies – even its development policy – legislation and the need to open up a little more to its citizens,” Chissano said.
“So the discussions that we have within the CPLP have an impact. It was a positive thing,” he stressed.
At the time of accession, Equatorial Guinea would have “resources to support the efforts of the CPLP,” but “today it is also beginning to have difficulties, because oil is no longer a driving force,” he said, although he believes there are other potentialities in the country, for example, at the commercial level.
Joaquim Chissano was president of Mozambique between 1986 and 2005, meaning he was in office when the CPLP was created on July 17, 1996.
The Luanda Summit, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, is dedicated to the theme “Strengthening and Promoting Economic and Business Cooperation in Pandemic Times for the Sustainable Development of the CPLP Countries.
