Chapo swears secretaries of state into office

Maputo, 20 Feb (AIM) – Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Thursday swore into office five new Secretaries of State, who are each subordinate to ministers.

He stressed that they are not members of the government and should not expect to receive luxury benefits and privileges. “The State only guarantees basic conditions for you to work and produce palpable results for the good of our people”, Chapo said. “Leaders are in institutions to serve the people and not to be served by them”.

The secretaries of state, he added, “should be enemies of corruption, allergic to boot-licking, and hostile to lethargy. You should exercise your duties in strict observance of the Constitution and other laws of the Republic”.

“We require pragmatism, creativity and objectivity in the search for solutions that can galvanise your areas of activity”, said Chapo. The job of a Secretary of State was to assist his or her Minister “to attain specific targets in each sector”.

The Secretary of State should also “mobilise partnerships to make projects viable in the areas you are heading. Don’t just wait for the State Budget, since our resources are scarce”.

This type of Secretary of State, declared Chapo, “should have more actions than excuses, because if you produce more excuses than concrete actions, I will have no alternative but to replace you with others who can do better”.

This type of Secretary of State, he continued, would have “clear and well defined responsibilities”, and would answer directly to a Minister.

The new Secretaries of State are: Antonio do Rosario Grispos, Secretary of State for Trade;
Fredson Bravo Bacar, Secretary of State for Tourism;
Momade Arnaldo Juizo, Secretary of State for the Sea and Fisheries;
Chinguane Marcos Mabote, Secretary of State for Transport;
Martilde Martins Muocha, Secretary of State for Art and Culture.

Addressing them one by one, Chapo told Grispos that he should work on improving the business environment, while he expected Juizo to fight against illegal fishing, and promote aquaculture.

He told Mabote that the country needs an efficient multimodal transport system to facilitate urban mobility and promote regional integration. For Muocha, he stressed the importance of empowering the creative industries “as an engine of economic growth and national identity”.

The top priorities, Chapo said, “are to rebuild the social, economic and political fabric of the country and to return hope to the Mozambican people”.
(AIM)
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