2 January 2008
Maputo — The Mozambican government has altered several articles in a new set of regulations for private security companies, after protests that the articles in question were unconstitutional.
The Mozambican Association of Private Security Companies (AEMSP) wrote to President Armando Guebuza to protest against the retroactive nature of the new regulations, and their abrupt withdrawal of acquired rights from the companies.
The companies were collecting the 2,000 signatures of citizens required to raise the matter with the Constitutional Council, the body that has the final word in matters of constitutional law. Jurists with whom AIM spoke believed the government was on very weak ground, and that, if the matter did reach the Constitutional Council, it was likely to rule against the government.
So, according to a report in the latest issue of the weekly paper "O Pais", the government has removed the articles that caused the companies most alarm. One key clause determined that, in all security companies, the majority of the shares must be owned by Mozambican citizens.
Companies were told to change their shareholding structure within 180 days. The companies regarded the time frame as unrealistic, and the demand as retroactive, and thus clearly unconstitutional: for nobody who invested in the security sector had any inkling that their companies might suddenly be nationalised.
This part of the decree, the AEMSP argued, "violates general principles of law, namely the principles of legal certainty and security, respect for acquired rights. the non-retroactive nature of laws, and the protection of legitimate trust".
The association also protested that the new regulations discriminated against foreign investors, and were therefore in sharp contrast with the government's declared policy of attracting foreign investment.
The government has scrapped this clause, thus reverting to the status quo, under which foreign capital may occupy a majority position in any security company, owning up to 100 per cent of the shares. Indeed the largest security company operating in Mozambique is not remotely Mozambican - it is the local branch of the London-based multinational Group Four Securicor (G4S).
Likewise, and as a logical extension of this, the government has removed the clause which insisted that all directors, administrators and managers of security companies must be Mozambican citizens. Instead, the companies will have the freedom to appoint whoever they see fit to such senior positions.
It also seems that the government is no longer insisting that all security guards must have performed their military service - that is, that they must all be demobilized soldiers. This was quite unrealistic, since there simply are not enough people demobilized from the armed forces to fill the ranks of the security companies (which currently claim to employ 22,000 guards).
The revised regulations thus speak only of giving "preference" to people who have performed their military service. Where the government is not backing down, however, is in its demand that all security guards must pass a training course recognized by the Ministry of the Interior.
The companies had objected to this, since most of the current guards have not undergone any training at all (which may explain why criminals robbing banks have found it so easy to overwhelm and disarm the security guards).
The government is insisting on proper training, and that the companies should pay for these courses. The companies, "O Pais" reports, are willing to pay for the training of their existing staff, but not for new recruits, who would have to pay the bill themselves. They justify this attitude on the grounds that the new recruits might end up not working for the companies at all, and take better paid work elsewhere.
The companies also believe that even the revised regulations give too much power to the Ministry of the Interior. For instance, the Ministry has the power to approve the internal regulations of security companies and their collective bargaining agreements. The ministry also appoints a delegate to each security company, and may limit the number of security companies operating in any province.
The revised regulations have been sent to the AEMSP and to the confederation of Mozambican Business Associations (CTA) for their comments.
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