Maputo, 9 Apr (AIM) – Mozambican President Daniel Chapo presented to the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, a bill that will eliminate an entire level of governance, eliminating mountains of bureaucracy and making substantial savings.

With the stroke of a pen, Chapo undid the 2018 constitutional changes that introduced a cumbersome system of local authorities in the name of decentralization.

This complex system had two overlapping layers of provincial power. Alongside the provincial government, headed by an elected provincial governor, and known as “decentralized provincial governance”, there were “state representation bodies in the province”, known as the “State Representation Council”, introduced because supposedly there are state functions that cannot be ensured by the provincial governor.

This was bitterly contested from the beginning. Both within and outside the ruling Frelimo Party, complaints were raised that state representative bodies were unnecessary, merely duplicating the work of provincial governors. It was said that unelected bodies were undermining elected provincial governors.

Opposition parties argued that the dual system was a way for Frelimo to cling to power in the provinces if opposition members were elected provincial governors.

But the mayors elected by Frelimo also saw no reason to hand over power to the State Representation Councils. One of the first voices to be raised against the useless duplication of bodies was that of Eneas Comiche, then Mayor of Maputo, and an important figure in Frelimo.

Chapo said that the elimination of State representative bodies in the provinces will save 1,250 million meticais (about 20 million dollars) from the State Budget every year.

He asked the Assembly to insert his bill on the agenda of the current session as a matter of urgency, and there are no signs that Frelimo deputies will oppose this request.

The bill means that the jobs of dozens of employees will be cut from the budget, and it is not yet clear how – or even if – they will be compensated.

Chapo said his bill also fulfills a promise he made in his inaugural address in January 2025 to restructure provincial state bodies.
(AIM)
Pf/ (362)