Maputo — The users of the Mozambican Civil Identification services in Maputo have denounced corruption and slowness in the issuing of identity cards.
The citizens who use these services also complain of long queues to deal with identity cards, which are supposed to be essential for identification purposes.
AIM visited several posts in Maputo where identity cards are issued, where it found large crowds, and some people who had been queuing since the small hours of the morning. At one large central Maputo office, the queue flowed out of the building with people forced to wait for hours on the pavement.
Some were angry, verging on the hysterical, since they risked returning home without their identity card. 35 year old Mario Saide told AIM that not only are the staff very slow, but they prioritise their relatives and those who pay bribes to avoid waiting in the queue.
"What's happening in this place is lamentable", he said. "We arrived early, in the hope that we would be attended to. But that was all in vain, because people who arrived long after us managed to deal with their documents and then left".
"The staff are only concerned with those citizens who pay them something extra. It's very sad", said Saide.
Celina Langa also arrived early in the morning, but she has no idea whether her identity card will be issued because of the slowness and corruption displayed by the staff.
"I'm very sad", she said. "I've been here since 05.00, but since I have no money, I have not been attended to. The worst thing is that at 15.00 they won't attend to anybody else, and so I will have to come back early tomorrow morning because I need to renew my identity card".
It is the same story in the outer Maputo neighbourhood of 25th June, where people had waited in a queue for more than six hours.
One person in the queue said that, although the normal fee is 160 meticais (2.5 US dollars, at the current exchange rate), "if you don't pay 560 meticais, you will wait all day in the queue and you won't be attended to. You will have to come back the next day, and they won't attend to you until after midday, if you're lucky".
"Can't they deal with us without demanding more money?", she asks. "Where are we going to find the money to pay the staff every time we want to deal with a document?"
Last year, the National Civil Identification Directorate (DNIC) announced that people requesting identity cards would have to book a time in advance. This was supposed to reduce crowding at the identification posts, but it has clearly not worked, and at the 25th June post, the new system is not in use.
Amq/pf (475) 37123E ARMY DESERTER ARRESTED FOR ROBBERIES AND MURDERS
Maputo, 12 Jan (AIM) - Mozambique's Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) has arrested a deserter from the armed forces (FADM) in the central city of Chimoio, for alleged involvement in robberies and the murder of motorcycle taxi drivers.
According to a report in Thursday's issue of the independent daily "O País", the man (who has not been named) deserted in the district of Macomia, where he was part of an FADM unit in the fight against terrorism that has been plaguing parts of the northern province of Cabo Delgado, since 2017.
"I have robbed a taxi driver, but I didn't kill him. I also have robbed a Nigerian and stolen 18,000 meticais (282 dollars, at the current exchange rate) and eight chickens", the suspect confessed. He added that he deserted from the army with the objective of forming a criminal group that would dedicate itself to robbing businessmen and motorcycle taxi drivers.
The man was found with an AK-47 assault rifle, four ammunition clips. 100 bullets, and military uniforms. These materials were immediately seized.
According to the Sernic spokesperson in Manica, Paulo Tapua, there is no doubt that this individual led the group that has been robbing and killing motorcycle taxi drivers in Chimoio.
"The last robbery occurred in the Vila Nova neighbourhood, in Chimoio. This individual and his accomplices took possession of a motorcycle and then killed the owner", Tapua said.
According to the Motorcycle Taxi Drivers Association in Manica, last year alone 25 motorcycle taxi drivers were murdered in Chimoio.
The Association said the murderers present themselves as passengers. Some even request services with bottles of fuel and claim that they intend to rescue someone in a remote area, "but their real purpose is to rob and kill the drivers".
Ad/pf (298) 38123E NYUSI CALLS FOR STRENGTHED COOPERATION TO IMPROVE LIVING CONDITIONS
Maputo, 12 Jan (AIM) - Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has called for strengthened international cooperation as a mechanism for improving the living conditions of the people and developing Mozambique's economy.
In a statement received on Thursday morning by AIM, concerning the virtual participation of Mozambique in the Inaugural Session of the Global Summit on "Voices of the South", Nyusi said that peace and cooperation are crucial factors for development.
The government, reads the statement, has a high interest in developing and strengthening international cooperation, forming productive partnerships that contribute to adding value, transforming resources within the country and accelerating economic growth, aiming to improve living conditions, which must involve the development of human capital.
"The country looks to this event as an opportunity to share ideas and experiences with India and other states, public and private institutions, academics and representatives of civil society, to discuss increasingly complex contemporary challenges, and chart the course for sustainable global development", said the president.
For the rapid development of the country, according to Nyusi, "my Government has chosen the pillars of Human Capital Development; Productive Base Infrastructure Development; Research, Innovation and Technological Development, and Institutional Coordination."
It is Mozambique's desire, reads the document, to see increased investment and access to financial and technological resources focused on the development of human resources.
"It is the people's desire that external investments from developed countries should contribute to the transformation of the economies of developing countries, through industrialization, adding value to natural resources", the president said.
The Summit, according to Nyusi's statement, constitutes "a space that brings together countries that share a historical legacy, marked by various scourges, as well as the struggles for our independence, and the commercial and cultural exchanges between our countries and peoples."
Ad/pf (299) 39123E CHAIRPERSON OF SADC DEFENCE AND SECURITY BODY PLEDGES NO TOLERANCE OF ABUSES
Maputo, 12 Jan (AIM) - Namibian President Hage Geingob, who is the current chairperson of the Organ for Political, Defence and Security Cooperation of SADC (Southern African Development Community), has stressed that SADC does not tolerate the profaning of enemy corpses shown in a video circulating on social media.
The video shows soldiers, apparently from the SADC Military Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM), tossing two bodies, believed to be islamist terrorists, onto a bonfire. One of the soldiers shown in the video has a South African flag on his armband, and is thus believed to be a member of the South African contingent of SAMIM.
The statement from Geingob said that the SAMIM leadership has begun investigations into the circumstances under which the video was shot, and promised that, once the investigations are concluded, their findings will be shared.
"I want to stress categorically that SADC does not tolerate the acts reflected in the video", said Geingob, "and, once the investigations are over, SADC will take appropriate measures, in accordance with international law on armed conflicts".
He added that the SAMIM forces have always behaved "in a professional, efficient and responsible manner, in accordance with the applicable laws and the rules of engagement which govern SAMIM operations on the ground.
Geingob reiterated SADC's "commitment to peace and security in the region". He pledged that SADC "will continue to support Mozambique in its fight against terrorism and violent extremism in Cabo Delgado province, neutralizing the terrorist threat and restoring security, in order to prepare the path for sustainable development of Mozambique and of the SADC region".
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He noted that, since the deployment of SAMIM in July 2021, "there has been an enormous improvement in the humanitarian and security situation, resulting in the return of internally displaced people to their areas of origin".
Pf/ (312) 40123E USAID DONATES OXYGEN CYLINDERS
Maputo, 12 Jan (AIM) - The US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Thursday announced the delivery of 100 oxygen cylinders for each provincial hospital in Mozambique and 285 oxygen concentrators for provincial and district hospitals.
According to a USAID press release, "the donated cylinders and concentrators will help ensure the availability of oxygen to hospital patients suffering from severe respiratory illness, including COVID-19".
"This latest donation from the American people", said the release, "builds on previous support to the Mozambican Ministry of Health with a total of 1,100 oxygen cylinders, 300 oxygen concentrators, 50 portable ventilators, a PSA plant, and various other oxygen delivery equipment, and training to healthcare providers. In addition, the U.S. government has provided the country with 14.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The total value of the U.S. funding provided to Mozambique to combat COVID-19 now stands at over 107 million dollars".
Cited by the release, USAID Mission Director Helen Pataki said: "For many sick people, oxygen can mean the difference between life and death. Our donation ensures that regional hospitals can store more oxygen, having it available when there are sudden spikes in illnesses. We want regional hospitals to have what they need to treat critically ill people locally."
Health programmes, added the release, "represent a critical component of the broader U.S. Government's assistance in Mozambique. In close collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Mozambique, the U.S. Government provides more than 500 million dollars in annual assistance to improve the quality of education and healthcare, promote economic prosperity, and support the overall development of the nation".
