Maputo, 2 Jul (AIM) – Former presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane on Tuesday submitted to the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, a preliminary bill aimed at reducing the age of majority , as established under the Civil Code, from 21 to 18 years.
In a document that he delivered to the Assembly chairperson, Margarida Talapa, Mondlane claims that measure is aimed at harmonizing the age of majority with the age applicable in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and in most countries around the world, where the general age of majority is set at 18.
“The age of majority is closely linked to human development and awareness of the moment of responsibility to be attributed to individuals. The current age (21) is linked to historical and cultural roots and has already been abandoned by many countries, including Brazil”, reads the document.
According to Mondlane, the reduction in the age of majority is the result of society’s evolution “because as a rule, young people start working for others at the age of 18, they get married, vote and are voted for, as well as fulfilling their military and patriotic obligations.”
“Since Mozambique is mostly a young country [United Nations data shows that almost 80 per cent of its inhabitants are under 35, with half under 16], it makes no sense for it to be out of step with the community of nations and the globalization of commercial transactions in goods, especially real estate”, reads Mondlane’s bill.
Mondlane explained that the bill has no budgetary impact, as it only aims to “make it easier for 18-year-olds to enter into business deals that, under the terms of the Civil Code in force, can only be entered into by those who have reached the age of majority.”
“I am submitting the document as a politician, because I have been receiving a number of concerns from young people about maintaining the age of 21 as the civil age of majority in Mozambique”, he added.
(AIM)
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