Afonso Dhlakama, leader of Mozambique's opposition Renamo, has announced that the long- awaited Renamo congress will be held in the northern city of Nampula between Monday and Thursday next week, local media AIM said on Friday.

 Dhlakama gave this guarantee to reporters in the Nampula district of Meconta on Thursday. He said the meeting would be "a congress of renewal" which would make changes in Renamo's National Council and Political Commission, and would alter the party's flag and anthem.

 It would also draw up a program for governing the country, to be implemented in the event of Renamo winning the October general elections.

 The Renamo congress has been repeatedly postponed. Initially it was announced for the first week of June, then postponed to June 11-13, then postponed sine die.

 But on July 3, Dhlakama suddenly announced that the Congress would be held "next week". Dhlakama said delegates to the Congress were elected at district conferences held throughout the country.

 These conferences appear to have been held in deep secrecy, since no word about them has filtered out to the press.

 Dhlakama also said immediately after the Congress, he will fly to Maputo to deposit his nomination papers for the presidential election with the Constitutional Council, the body that must check the eligibility of presidential candidates.

 Dhlakama said more than 350,000 people have signed his nomination papers. Under the electoral legislation, each presidential candidate must be supported by 10,000 signatures of registered voters. The Constitutional Council has warned that it will accept a maximum of 20,000 signatures.