Maputo, 4 Mar (AIM) – The Mozambican government intends to increase the mandatory retirement age for state employees from the current 60 years to 65 years.
The retirement age was compulsorily lowered from 65 to 60 years in 2017. This was a cost cutting measure, apparently applauded by the International Monetary Fund.
It was a hugely damaging measure, since skilled professionals at the height of their career (including, for example, specialist doctors and university lecturers) were suddenly told that they could no longer work for the Mozambican state, even if they wanted to carry on working.
These professionals were forced into retirement, or into the waiting arms of the private sector.
The government has now changed course, and is welcoming people over 60 years old back into the public administration.
Speaking in Maputo on Tuesday after a meeting of the Council of Ministers (cabinet), the government spokesperson and Minister of State Administration, Inocêncio Impissa, explained that the proposal, which is part of the revision of the General Statute of State Employees and Agents (EGFAE), will be submitted to the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, for its approval.
“The revision of the mandatory retirement age is aimed at achieving a balance between valuing professional experience, the need for staff renewal, and ensuring the efficiency and continuity of public service to citizens”, he said.
He also said that the change in retirement age will also contribute to the institutional strengthening of the State and the improvement of the quality of services provided.
“With the proposed revision of this law, the mandatory retirement age for state employees and state agents is raised from 60 to 65 years, which has been the regional trend in the PALOPs (Portuguese-speaking African Countries) and the universal trend where the retirement age has been between 65 and 70 years”, he said.
The proposal, he said, also introduces the possibility of an additional five-year period for the categories of specialist doctors, full professors, associate professors, ambassadors, and several other highly skilled positions.
So senior state employees can now, if they wish, stay at their posts until they are 70 years old.
(AIM)
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