Good afternoon. To little surprise, Adriano Maleiane announced yesterday that civil servants will not receive the traditional ‘13th month’ salary for 2024. The state of the public finances, and the priority of paying overtime to teachers and medical staff, were the reasons given.

President Nyusi had promised before the elections that a 30% salary bonus would be paid between January and February 2025, but clearly the post-election events have forced this decision which was informally announced by Maleiane in what seems to have been his final act as Prime Minister and minister of finance. He was dismissed from both jobs today, in preparation for the inauguration of Mozambique’s new president tomorrow.

The episode is an example of the gigantic tasks that president Daniel Chapo will face. The state coffers are empty and there is a mountain of debts to pay: to civil servants, to commercial banks that lend money to the state, to service providers, and to international creditors.

Resorting to international solidarity this time will not work — at least not under the current circumstances. There is clearly a fatigue among donors in terms of economic support for Mozambique, and there is also latent hostility towards the way in which Frelimo, the ruling party, conducted the general elections, and the actions of the police in the post-election protests that have already caused at least 300 deaths, and likely many more.

The lack of international enthusiasm for the Mozambican government is evidenced by the poor showing of foreign dignitaries dispatched to Maputo to attend tomorrow’s inauguration ceremony. It is not known how many heads of state and/or government will take part in the ceremony that will take place amid protests called for by Venâncio Mondlane, the presidential candidate who claims to be the rightful winner.

Given such an adverse scenario, Chapo's first priority will be to seek an understanding with Mondlane and the opposition in general. Only then will the minimum conditions for his governance be reestablished.

An emphasis on that in the immediate term could mitigate the concerns of the international community and the United Nations over the inflexibility shown by the Frelimo government, and its apparent ambition to maintain power at all costs. Despite the scale of problems at home, external diplomacy will also have to be one of the priorities of the new president, including to mobilise funds for the day to day running of the state.

It is therefore expected that a diligent and competent minister of foreign affairs will be appointed to be dispatched on difficult missions abroad, explaining, in a straightforward and transparent manner, the situation in the country and a potential new era involving a political pact with the opposition. If that does not happen, the first steps in the new government with Chapo at the helm of the ship Mozambique will be stormy.

The latest from Zitamar News:

Agenda:

Wednesday: Inauguration of president-elect Daniel Chapo

Today’s headlines:

Government can’t afford to pay annual bonus (TV Miramar, AIM)
Police and Malawians clash in Niassa border district (Rádio Moçambique)
Zimbabwe border crossing congested due to demonstrations in Maputo (Notícias)
Libyan delegation in Mozambique to recover seized rice project (APA News)
TotalEnergies Replaces Mozambique LNG Project Manager (Africa Intelligence)
Nyusi calls for a more sustainable electoral model (O País, O País, Lusa)
Nyusi dismisses entire government (Notícias, TV Miramar, Rádio Moçambique)

Government can’t afford to pay annual bonus (TV Miramar, AIM)

The government does not have the funds to pay civil servants the usual 13th salary for 2024, Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane told private television channel TV Miramar in parliament yesterday. Maleiane, who also heads the finance ministry, said that the government was focussed on many other unresolved issues, including overtime and the payment of this month's salary.

The measure, announced a few hours before the PM was formally dismissed, leaves behind the promise that this year public servants would be paid 30% of their 13th salary. In a letter to the IMF, the former minister of finance Max Tonela said the government had committed to reduce the 13th salary to 50% of a monthly salary for the four years from 2025 to 2028 .

Police and Malawians clash in Niassa border district (Rádio Moçambique)

At least one person died and two others were injured following riots yesterday morning between Mozambican police and Malawians in the village of Lataria, Mecanhelas district, Niassa province. The incident occurred after a group of Malawians were questioned by the police for illegally possessing bags of fertiliser. A team was deployed to the scene to ascertain the true circumstances, according to a local police spokesman.

Border clashes are very frequent between Malawi and Mozambique, usually over land disputes and the delimitation of territory between the two countries.