Maputo, 8 Oct (AIM) – In an instruction circulated early on Tuesday morning (but dated Monday), Mozambique’s National Elections Commission (CNE) banned “the automatic movement of national and provincial trainers to exercise simultaneously the jobs of MMVs (polling station staff)”.
The CNE declares that the contracts they signed as trainers, which give them other tasks on polling day, are still in force.
The Elections Bulletin published by the anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), argues that “the move appears to be part of a panicked last-minute response to protests about Frelimo’s takeover of training and of polling stations.
Most trainers and MMVs were named by the Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE) illegally, and not by open competition. The same people were named as trainers and as MMVs. Most are already employed as teachers or as other public administration staff.
Under the Law on Public Probity, which forbids any “office holder or member of a public body to receive remuneration from other public institutions”, these MMVs should not receive anything which could be interpreted as a wage. A food allowance is permitted (of perhaps 1,000 meticais – less than 15 dollars), with promises of more money later. MMVs are protesting at this.
This follows claims that Frelimo held illegal meetings with the MMVs and offered them extra money as allowances.”
CIP obtained the list of MMVs from more than 100 districts and found that those who will be heading the polling station staff are staff of the public administration or members of Frelimo.
“Between Sunday night and yesterday, 7 October, clandestine meetings were held with the MMVs, where Frelimo distributed allowances”, claimed CIP.
But in some districts MMVs rejected the “allowances” as too small and negotiated to increase them.
(AIM)
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