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Military Reform – 1993

The Portuguese government was willing to take part in the training of the future united Mozambican Armed Forces.¹ The Portuguese government had allocated 460,000 Portuguese contos towards the formation of the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces. The fund was to pay for the planned operations to be carried out within the framework of the single army, notably for the renovation of the Nacala and Catembe barracks in Nampula Province and Maputo Province, respectively, where Mozambican special forces would be trained. Nogueira, the visiting Portuguese Defense Minister, said that in 1993 alone, Portugal would contribute about 900,000 Portuguese contos.²

“The Joint Commission for the Formation of the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces (CCFADM), established following the October 1992 peace treaty, reached agreement on Aug. 14 on the formation of the future Mozambique Defence Armed Forces (FADM). The documents, signed by senior officers from the government and from the Mozambique National Resistance (MNR or RENAMO), related to the timetable for the formation of the FADM, the structure of its supreme command, and guidelines on the selection of personnel to receive training at the Nyanga Military Training Centre in Zimbabwe. These guidelines were employed immediately to select 100 officers, 50 from each side, who began a 16-week course at Nyanga on Aug. 17. At the end of the course they would be required to train FADM infantry battalions. A further 540 soldiers were expected to attend the course.”.³

1. “Mozambique: Portuguese Official Says Portugal to Help With Army Training and Peace-Keeping,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, March 5, 1993.
2. “Mozambique: Visiting Portuguese Defence Minister on Aid for National Army,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, July 14, 1993.
3. “Progress in formation of unified army,” Keesing’s Record of World Events
   (Volume 39), August 1993, 39585.