Mozambique Celebrates Independence 25 June 2023
By Joy Osiagwu
The Republic of Mozambique is a southern African country with the Indian Ocean on its border to the East, Tanzania to the north, Malawi, and Zambia to the Northwest, and Eswatini and South Africa to the southwest. Maputo is the largest city and capital of Mozambique.
The voyage of Vasco da Gama in 1498 paved the way for colonization and settlement in the region by the Portuguese. Mozambique gained independence in June 1975 from Portugal as a
colony. Samora Moises Machel, a military commander, became the country’s first president.
Samora Moises Machel, first President of Mozambique. Photo credit: Wikipedia.
With a landmass of 799,380 sq km, Mozambique witnessed massive emigration and economic dependence on South Africa due to a prolonged civil war between 1977 to 1992 which contributed to the slow-paced development until the mid-1990s. As a result, the
nation held its first multiparty elections in 1994. Some of the natural resources of Mozambique are- Titanium, graphite, Tantalum, natural gas, and coal. The languages spoken are Portuguese, plus Makhuwa, Sena, Tsonga, Lomwe, and Chan. The Republic of Mozambique is a member of the African Union, United Nations, African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States, and the African Development Bank Group.
Current Governance Structure
Mozambique operates a presidential republic where the president is the Chief of State and head of government under the Executive branch. Filipe Jacinto, Nyusi is the current and fourth president; he assumed office in January 2015 while Adriano Afonso Maleiane became the Prime Minister on 3 March 2022, after President Nyusi ousted former Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho DO Rosario from office on the same day, 3 March 2022, to reshuffle his cabinet. The legislative branch is unicameral.
Trending News
The government of Nyusi has approved a bill proposing pay cuts for ministers, deputy ministers, state secretaries, and Members of Parliament to deal with the wage bill.
Mozambique Finance and Economy Minister, Max Tonla announced that the proposal also took cognizance of provincial assembly members’ salaries which contradicted the principles of fair play. Specific amounts of the pay cuts were not stated; however, they will not affect the public
servants who witnessed an adjustment in a recent exercise under the Unified Pay Scale (TSU) approved earlier this year. According to BBC News, the development is coming on the heels of a notice from the International Monetary Fund to the government to reduce public expenditure.
Meanwhile, in response to the havoc wreaked by Cyclone Freddy; the World Bank contributed $150m for projects in Mozambique in its recovery drive from the deadly storms. Meteorologists described it as the “deadliest storm” to hit the continent in the past two decades. The storm affected Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar in February before returning in March to wreak more havoc. Reports indicate that over 1,000 people lost their lives in the region.
Mozambique Ottawa Connection.
There is currently no Embassy for Mozambique in Canada. However, the Embassy in Washington DC, USA issues visas to individuals in Canada and the United States of America residents.