Mozambique's president promises 'Over 60% new faces' in govt

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi announced on Wednesday that "more than 60 per cent" of the government he is about to announce will consist of "new faces".

Speaking at the lunch offered at the Ponta Vermelha presidential palace in Maputo to the guests who attended his investiture ceremony, marking the start of his second five year term of office, Nyusi also promised that most of the Ministers will be young.

The figure of 60 per cent new faces implies that he intends to reappoint 40 per cent of the outgoing government. He added that the gender balance in the government will improve, promising that governance will be "agile, flexible and sustainable", with ministers capable of solving the problems in their various sectors.

His refusal to reappoint many of the old ministers, who had worked with him over the previous five years, did not mean they were incompetent, Nyusi added - merely that there was a pool of high quality talent to choose from.

"Within days you will know the constitution of the government I have decided to form", he said. "I am immune to all pressures, although in democracy these exist. The only pressure which weighed on me was the national interest of Mozambique".

Nobody in the new government would have rights inherited from the past, he promised, and all holders of government posts should regard them more as missions, than as jobs.

He would demand "ethics, competence, loyalty, good sense and humility" from all government members, as well as teamwork.

The government's task was to improve the living conditions of the poorest members of society, Nyusi stressed, "through concrete work, such as the rebuilding of schools and health posts, roads and electricity supply". He intended to build "a practical government, focused on results".

Nyusi promised to work with other political forces, but warned that the concept of "inclusion" did not merely mean giving opportunities to opposition parties. Mozambique needed, not simply opposition, but "a free and healthy confrontation of ideas".

"Inclusion is much more than accommodating a small group of fellow countrymen, regardless of their origin", he added. "Inclusion means listening to those who think differently, giving equal opportunities to all, exercising social justice".

The State is not just the government, Nyusi added, and he called on the involvement of all citizens in the construction of Mozambican democracy.