UN Praises Mozambique's Gender Parity in Government

The United Nations has praised Mozambique for achieving gender parity in its government. In a message on his Twitter account, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote “I congratulate Mozambique for attaining gender parity at ministerial level for the first time in the country’s history. Only with the equal participation of women in all spheres can we hope to attain a better future for all”. The same sentiment was expressed in a joint statement from the personal envoy of Guterres to Mozambique, Mirko Manzoni, and the UN Resident Coordinator, Myrta Kaulard.

There are 22 members of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) with 11 men and 11 women. This parity was achieved with the appointment of the new Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Josefina Mpelo. This post has traditionally been a male preserve, as has been the post of Minister of the Interior. The first woman Interior Minister, Arsenia Massingue, was appointed last November.

The achievement complies with the promise by President Filipe Nyusi in 2021 to improve gender representation in all sectors of the government.

“A year later, achieving gender parity in the Council of Ministers is a historic landmark”, the statement declared. “It is a reflection of the work being done to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women nationally, including through investment in the education of girls, and in fighting against gender-based violence”.

Taking the planet as a whole, only 20 per cent of ministerial posts are held by women. Mozambique joins a group of only 14 countries where at least 50 per cent of ministers are women. It is the third country in Africa to achieve gender parity at ministerial level.

“Mozambique is leading by example in how to build a more peaceful, inclusive and resilient society”, the statement added. “It is showing the world that the pandemic cannot be used as an excuse for keeping gender parity waiting”.

Manzoni and Kaulard said that achieving gender parity is a collective effort. They expressed their willingness to work together with Mozambican institutions and all parts of society to consolidate this historic gain.

Government to slash Mozambique’s debt

Minister of Economy and Finance, Max Tonela, told reporters on 30 March that the government is to slash the country’s indebtedness.

Speaking in Maputo, on the sidelines of the Annual Private Sector Conference, Tonela said the debt is currently 113 per cent of Mozambique’s GDP, and the government hopes to reduce this figure to 60 per cent within three years.

Asked about the sale by the Brazilian mining giant Vale of its coal and logistics assets in Mozambique to the Indian company Jindal, Tonela said there will be capital gains tax to be paid, which the Mozambican Tax Authority (AT) estimates at US$32 million.

As for the agreement reached between the government and a technical mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Tonela said the IMF loan envisaged, of US$470 million, will be free of interest.

The statement from the IMF mission speaks of reform in the public sector wage bill, supposedly to reduce the pressure on the public finances. Tonela said this will involve consolidating various allowances into the basic wage. Because of the existence of allowances and indexing factors, “the state finds it difficult to forecast the evolution of costs”. So, if an increase of five per cent in the basic wages is decreed, the indexing factors turn it into a ten per cent rise, he claimed.

Consolidating all allowances into the basic wage would allow for better forecasting and better control by the government over the wage bill.