Palma — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Saturday called for a more open dialogue between the population and state institutions in order to consolidate the achievements attained so far in the fight against poverty.

Addressing a rally in Palma district, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, Guebuza said "The only way to increase our achievements and for them to benefit more Mozambicans is for us to promote dialogue. Mozambicans must not be afraid of speaking among themselves, and they also must not be afraid to criticise when something is wrong".

He added that today, dialogue is becoming ever more important in the relationship between state institutions and the people. Guebuza insisted that state officials must understand that they are there to serve people, not to make people's lives difficult.

The President said it is important that all those who wish to obtain, for instance, a registration or a license, should find a friendly environment when they make their applications in state institutions.

He noted that the wages state officials receive every month come from taxes paid by the citizens, and so the citizens must be respected and served in the best possible manner.

But there were still situations where people who want to see their problems solved do not find answers from those who should give them. Such situations end up leaving people waiting for months or even years, while the state official knows perfectly well what should be done.

"The civil servant must find answers to people's problems, because the pen he is using, the chair where he sits, the paper and all other materials that he uses are purchased with tax payers' money", said Guebuza to the applause of the participants.

Solving people's problems is one of the central objectives of the government programme. He explained that for the state to serve people ever better, schools have been created to train state officials in matters of public administration.

During the rally, residents complained of wild animals that kill people, the lack of credit and savings institutions in the district, the poor performance of the mobile phone service and poor quality electricity.

They also complained to Guebuza of illegal exploitation of timber, the expulsion of local residents from some of the islands that are now allegedly being turned over to tourism companies, and the lack of transparency in the use of the Local Initiatives Investment Fund (OIIL).

Answering these concerns, Guebuza told the residents that the government is taking notes and will investigate those cases.

On the problem with wild animals, a report from the provincial government presented by provincial governor Eliseu Machava says that "despite the prevention and mitigation measures adopted to try and solve the problem, there are still people being killed. In 2008, the province recorded 28 deaths, plus five in the first quarter of this year".

Mitigation measures included government investment to train community hunters, and assistance in fencing 1,020 fields with ropes impregnated with chilli, in an attempt to keep elephants away from the crops.

But during Guebuza's current visit to Cabo Delgado nobody has yet complained of hunger problems, which can be explained by the fact that the province has recorded a 10 per cent growth in overall production, which has contributed to sustainable food security.