In addition to reforms in sectors vital to Mozambican President Daniel Chapo’s development, he made it clear in his speech on Wednesday 15 January that he will use a “fine-tooth comb” in the process of choosing the people who will be part of the government, and will restructure its composition, eliminating some positions seen as “unnecessary”.
Generally speaking, according to some definitions, a deputy minister is a member of the government of certain sovereign states or sub-national entities with a lower status than a minister. They are usually responsible for assisting the minister in the overall management of a ministry or for managing one or more of the ministry’s areas of competence, as delegated by the minister.
For many years, Mozambique has always had a deputy minister, with some ministries having up to two deputy ministers – such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which was headed by Adriano Maleiane and the following deputy ministers Carla Louveira and Amílcar Tivane.
This position will be abolished under Daniel Chapo’s government: ‘We are going to eliminate the figure of deputy minister’, as well as reducing the number of ministries, ministers and secretariats of state that are equivalent to ministries. The measure will help save ‘more than 17 billion meticals (263.7 million dollars) a year, which will be redirected to the areas of education, health, agriculture, water, roads and energy, with the aim of improving the lives of our people.’

Civil servants
A smaller government, but much more agile and efficient
‘From now on, we will have secretaries of state with clear and well-defined responsibilities, answering directly to the ministers. The duties of the permanent secretary in the ministries will be redefined so that he is not just a cosmetic figure,’ he clarified.
According to the new head of state, these changes are also aimed at simplifying the government machine and further reducing public spending. ‘It’s time to have a government that respects the sweat of the Mozambican people and uses every metical responsibly.’
‘We know that we need to optimise resources. That’s why we’re going to rationalise the institutions under our tutelage – be they institutes, agencies, funds or universities. This means uniting, extinguishing or reformulating these entities, ensuring that every cent invested directly serves the population,’ he argued.
Decentralisation of functions in the provinces
With a view to eliminating the conflict of protagonism that once generated tension between the governors and secretaries of state in the provinces, Chapo said that the latter will concentrate only on supervisory, monitoring and evaluation functions of the tasks of the state and central government, clarifying that executive tasks will remain with the Provincial Executive Council, led by the governor of the province, as provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique.
‘This will eliminate unnecessary duplication, reduce costs and improve service to the real needs of the people,’ he emphasised.
Elimination of perks and privatisation
Daniel Chapo wants to ‘put an end’ to the perks and expenses of some state officials. As such, he said: ‘We’re going to review the perks of our leaders. The changes include freezing the acquisition of protocol vehicles by the state, in order to acquire ambulances and other vehicles to serve the people.’
‘These and others are and will be concrete measures that show that the government is willing to tighten its belt and lead by example. We have to lead by example. In addition, companies and public assets that are not strategic will be privatised or concessioned. The aim is to reduce the burden on the state budget, generate revenue to invest in what is a priority and make important sectors of the economy more competitive,’ he explained.
According to the minister, ‘this is an essential step to boost development, create jobs, especially for young people, and bring more opportunities’. ‘We want transparency! That’s why each minister, chairmans and public manager, at various levels, will have programme contracts with clear and measurable targets, accompanied by public performance analyses,’ he said.

Fighting corruption also Chapo’s focus
With an audible voice and speaking to more than 2,000 people, Chapo said: ‘No more corruption, disorganisation and lack of transparency! Let’s start with the state procurement process. We’re going to create a State Procurement Centre, an institution that will be the heart of all public purchases.’
According to him, the entity ‘will plan, coordinate, supervise and oversee procurement processes, ensuring that every metical is invested fairly and efficiently. This measure will reduce costs, fight corruption and, above all, restore the dignity of the public procurement system, run by people of integrity with recognised merit and competence in society.’
‘We are going to strengthen supervision and control with the creation of the General State Inspectorate. This body, which will be elevated to the highest hierarchical level, will report directly to the Presidency of the Republic and will be endowed with total independence, ensuring that every public body, including state-owned companies, strictly adheres to the rules of transparency and ethics. The body will be accountable to the Assembly of the Republic, showing the people the results of its work. Anyone who is corrupt or has practised corruption will appear in the report and the respective disciplinary or judicial measure will be taken,’ he said.
Digital transformation for a modern government
To put an end to bureaucracy and slowness, the President guaranteed: ‘We will speed up the digitalisation of public services, creating a single platform to simplify and integrate all administrative processes and payments.’
In Chapo’s view, some will be eliminated and important ones created. ‘We will create the Ministry of Communications and Digital Transformation, the State Administrative Modernisation Agency and an Office for the Coordination of Government Reforms and Strategic Projects. These institutions will be responsible for ensuring the implementation of an efficient and accessible digital strategy at national level.’
‘Technology will be our ally. This will not only reduce costs, but also make it more difficult to commit corrupt acts, bringing more efficiency to public services and more convenience to our families and businesses,’ he said.
‘As for public companies, we will have stronger and stricter supervision. Each of them will have to set up independent committees, made up of highly qualified professionals, to monitor investments and strategic decisions. In addition, there will be annual audits carried out by external organisations and the Administrative Court,’ he said.
‘We want a state that operates in plain sight, with transparency and good governance, publishing clear and transparent reports on profits, expenses, debts and even conflict of interest situations,’ he emphasised.
With this set of reforms, the President intends to set a reformist tone at the start of his term, focusing on modernising the state, stimulating the economy and rigorous management of public resources. The impact of these measures will now be assessed by their implementation and the results they will bring to Mozambicans.
Next Friday, the new ministries and their heads will be announced, and the new dynamics brought about in the presentation of the government programme will begin to emerge.
Text: Cleusia Chirindza