Mozambique: Chapo Appoints Six More Ministers

Maputo — Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Monday appointed six more ministers to his government, including Nyeleti Mondlane, the daughter of the man regarded as the founder of Mozambican nationality, Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane

Nyeleti becomes the new Minister for Veterans' Affairs. In the previous government, under President Filipe Nyusi, she was Minister for Gender, Children and Social Welfare. Previous positions she has held include Minister of Youth and Sport and Deputy Foreign Minister.

She is only the second member of Nyusi's government to be re-appointed by Chapo. The first was Defence Minister Cristovao Chume.

Chapo appointed Samaria Tovela as Minister of Education and Culture. She was previously a National Director in the Ministry of Education and Human Development.

Ivete Ferrao Alane becomes the Minister of Labour, Gender and Social Welfare. She was previously Permanent Secretary in the now abolished State Secretariat for Youth and Sport.

Ricardo Sengo becomes Minister in the President's Office for Civil Matters. He is a businessmen who rose to prominence as chairperson of MECTS (Mozambique Electronic Cargo Tracking System), which won the contract to track and seal petroleum product cargoes.

The new Minister of Youth and Sport is Caifardine Manasse, a former secretary for mobilisation and propaganda of the ruling Frelimo Party. His appointment is a remarkable come-back, since he had been embroiled in a bitter legal struggle with Frelimo parliamentary deputies from his home province of Zambezia.

He accused 23 of these deputies of defaming him and was then expelled from the Frelimo Zambezia Provincial Committee in March 2023. This committee threw the book at Manasse, accusing him of incitement to violence, leaking Frelimo secrets, incriminating colleagues in cases of alleged drug trafficking, and failure to pay his party membership dues.

But Manasse has clearly won - he is in the government and his adversaries are not! The PGR in March 2024 shelved the defamation case against 19 of the deputies accused by Manasse, but opted to continue the case against three others. The matter was supposed to be discussed at the Frelimo Central Committee, but that has never happened.

Chapo also appointed Fernando Rafael as Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources. He was previously director of finance at Revimo, a company that operates several major roads, including the Maputo Ring Road, and the suspension bridge over the Bay of Maputo.

Chapo's cabinet is now almost complete. The only position still vacant is that of Minister of Justice.

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