Maputo — The Mozambican government on Tuesday admitted that it does not have the money to pay education and health professionals for the overtime worked in 2023 and 2024.

At a press conference in Maputo, held after the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), the government spokesperson, Deputy Justice Minister Filimao Suaze, sugared this bitter pill with a promise that half the debt will be paid in 2025.

According to a report in Wednesday's issue of the independent newssheet "Mediafax', Suaze admitted that the government owes teachers 2.9 billion meticais for overtime worked since 2023. But it had paid off 100 per cent of the overtime debt from 2022.

Suaze said that the amount claimed by the education sector for 2023 was initially 3.61 billion meticais. Government inspectors checked this figure and brought it down to 3.198 billion meticais. The government decided to pay one billion meticais of the debt this month, pushing the rest into 2025 (when there will be a new government in office).

As for health professionals, Suaze said the overtime pay for 2023, as checked by the inspectors, is 270.29 million meticais.

For both education and health, the amount owing for overtime worked this year is still being calculated, and will be validated by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF). The government hopes to pay all the overtime debt from 2024 next year.

To avoid any future accumulation of debts for overtime, the government says it is studying mechanisms that will allow payment for overtime month by month.

The failure to pay for overtime has led to disputes between the government and the country's teachers. The most recent of these happened last month when hundreds of teachers in Maputo city and province boycotted examinations for 10th and 12th grade students.

In the central city of Beira, teachers allowed the exams to be held, but refused to mark them.