Maputo — Mozambican President Daniel Chapo has called on the ten provincial governors to prioritise "quick wins' - which he defined as "daring measures that will rapidly make a difference in the lives of our people.
But these measures, he warned, could not dispense with the need for "strategic actions the impact of which will be felt over the medium and long terms'.
He was speaking after swearing the governors into office. All are members of the ruling Frelimo Party, and all had been elected in the general elections of 9 October, widely regarded as stained with fraud.
Eight of the governors had been re-elected for a second term. The exceptions are the governor of Nampula, Eduardo Abdula, chosen after his predecessor, Manuel Rodrigues, rejected the Frelimo instruction to stand for another term, and the governor of Inhambane, Francisco Pagule, who is in the post that used to be held by Chapo.
The president told the governors that there was no time for them to fall asleep on the job, "while our people are calling for better water supply, health, transport and education - while the people are calling for improvements in the provision of public services and in their living conditions'.
"We are inaugurating a historic stage in which we have to do things differently in order to obtain different results', declared Chapo.
He stressed that he would end the clash of powers between the provincial governors and the provincial secretaries of state. The secretaries of state will be restricted to the tasks of supervising, monitoring and assessing tasks of the State and the central government, while all executive functions will be in the hands of the Provincial Executive Council, headed by the Provincial Governor.
This, said Chapo, "will reduce unnecessary duplication, reduce costs and improve attendance to the real needs of our people in the province'.
The governors, he urged, "should be exemplary in the fight against corruption. To win this battle, it is fundamental that leaders should be examples of integrity at all levels'.
"A leader who does deals with his subordinates is doomed to lose this battle', Chapo warned, "because he will not have sufficient morale to put the house in order'.
As Chapo had stressed at last week's investiture, "the abuse of public assets, the ghost workers who suck the people's resources, the tenders simulated to favour friends, the cartels that enrich themselves at the cost of the people's suffering, must all end, and we are leaders to bring this about'.
Chapo insisted that the Governors must work on the basis of meritocracy. He admitted it had been common practice for people to be employed, or promoted or win tenders on the basis of friendships, nepotism, political orientation, regionalism or corruption. That must end: "the governors and all public servants', he said, "must value merit, skills, experience, competence and, above all, professionalism'.
The governors must also "live with the people'. Chapo noted that political leaders did live with the people during election campaigns, but after the vote, "it seems that the leaders become distant and inaccessible to our people. It is urgent to change this'.
He told the governors not to wait for instructions from above before acting. "The time of waiting for guidance is over', he said. "If you deserved the trust of the voters, it is because you are able to take decisions in favour of the public. Use your creativity to respond to the challenges that emerge during your governance'.
The election results announced by the National Elections Commission (CNE) on 23 October granted Frelimo sledgehammer majorities in all ten provincial assemblies. The governors are the people who headed the Frelimo lists of candidates for the assemblies.
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The results are just a compilation of the figures obtained from the provincial counts, which in turn are just a summation of the district and city results. The CNE did not present a single polling station result, despite calls from national and international observer groups to publish all the polling station results. The CNE made no attempt to refute the accusations of ballot box stuffing and other types of election fraud.
When, in December, the Constitutional Council validated and proclaimed the results, it did not make any substantial changes. The Council too did not publish any of the polling station results sheets.
The constituencies for the provincial assemblies are the districts, and, according to the CNE, Frelimo won in every district except one - the central city of Beira. Beira has long been an opposition stronghold, and this time the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) won 44.34 per cent of the vote to 42 per cent for Frelimo (and 5.46 per cent for Renamo).
