On Monday 2 December, the government asked teachers for more calm and patience, reaffirming that it will soon pay the overtime owed and thus honour its commitments, reported the Agência de Informação de Moçambique.
The agency reports that on 2 December (the first day of exams across the country), at least eight secondary schools in Maputo province did not hold their final exams in protest at the lack of payment of overtime, something the teachers had said they would do for days.
In a brief conversation with journalists after the official opening ceremony of the country’s school exam season, which took place in the Manhiça district of Maputo province, the Deputy Minister of Education and Human Development, Manuel Banzo, recognised that the government’s overtime debt to teachers is illegal.
‘We ask for a little more patience because the government is going to resolve this problem. This is not a false promise,’ he said.
Asked about the situation of the students who were unable to take their exams, Manuel Banzo said he was not aware of the matter, promising to comment once the facts had been established on the ground.
Regarding the government’s current mandate, which is about to end, Manuel Banzo explained that the payment process has nothing to do with government mandates, as there is an institutional memory.
The deputy minister assured that, regardless of which government takes office, ‘overtime has to be paid’, admitting that the government is making a tremendous effort to do so.
‘I’d say it’s a somewhat complex process, which involves identifying overtime and that work has been done. Then we proceed with the payment, which is centralised. The amount goes directly into the teachers‘ accounts,’ he said.
There are maps showing the teachers who have already received their overtime pay and those who are still missing, for the years 2022 and 2023. ‘The decision that was taken was to finalise the payment for 2022 and then start the payment for 2023, and so on. But I guarantee that the government will pay the overtime,’ he reiterated.
Asked about the danger of having disgruntled teachers in a sector that is crucial to the country’s training and human development, Manuel Banzo said that there are highly qualified, professional human resources in the sector ‘with above average levels of motivation and commitment’.
