via “The people are my only boss” – Nyusi The Zimbabwean 15 January 2015
“The people are my only boss”, declared Mozambique’s new President, Filipe Nyusi, moments after he was sworn into office as Head of State, in Maputo’s Independence Square, on Thursday.
“My pledge is to serve the Mozambican people as my only and exclusive boss”, he said. “My pledge is to respect, and ensure that others respect, the constitution and the laws of Mozambique. I am ready. I am confident that together we will build a bright future for our children”.
The new president offered his condolences to the victims of the floods that have devastated parts of central and northern Mozambique, particularly the province of Zambezia. He promised to do all in his power “to respond to this natural disaster as quickly as possible”, and “to do everything to rebuild destroyed infrastructures, so that the lives of Mozambican can return to normal”.
Nyusi hinted that he may reduce the size of the government. “The government I shall set up and lead will be a practical and pragmatic government”, he said. “It will be a government with the most simple structure possible. It will be functional and focused on solving the concrete problems of citizens’ day-to-day lives. It will be a government guided by the objectives of cutting costs and fighting against unnecessary expenditure”.
Nyusi promised that he will follow policies of “inclusion” and “dialogue”. His will be “a participatory government”, characterised by “permanent and genuine dialogue”. No Mozambicans would be excluded from this dialogue.
“We need to build consensus, we need to share, without any fear, information about the major decisions that will be taken by my government”, he insisted.
“Building a society of inclusion requires more than speeches and declarations of intent”, Nyusi continued. “I shall work to make more visible and more real the inclusion that we all talk about and greatly desire”.
Nyusi said he was open to considering proposals from opposition political parties. “Good ideas have no political party colours”, he said.
He pledged “respect for plurality and diversity of opinions”. Nobody would be left out just because they thought differently. “There are no citizens who are more Mozambican or less Mozambican”, he stressed. “The multi-coloured flag which covers all Mozambicans represents this unity in diversity”.
All Mozambicans, Nyusi said, should be able to make themselves heard, regardless of whether they belonged to any particular political party.
He promised a crackdown against crime and corruption. “My government must be firm in defence of the public interest, and intolerant towards corruption. My government cannot tolerate any discrimination in state institutions at all levels”.
Nyusi wanted to see public institutions, and particularly the institutions of the administration of justice, work on the basis of “merit and professionalism”. Public bodies, he added, must demonstrate integrity “to inspire confidence among citizens”.
State leaders, Nyusi continued, must be accountable for their actions, and would be held responsible for any acts of corruption, favouritism or nepotism. “We shall not accept violations of the social contract with our people”, he said. “Nobody is above the law. All are equal before the law”.
His government will wage “an implacable struggle against crime, and particularly organised crime”. The institutions of justice and of law and order “must be strengthened so that people do not live cyclically in a climate of fear and insecurity”.
Nyusi promised to consolidate the “fundamental gains” of the Mozambican people, namely independence, national unity and peace. “These are gains that are understood by all Mozambicans”, he said.
“I will do all I can to ensure that brother no longer fights against brother, no matter what the pretext”, he added.
As for the economy, Nyusi pledged that his government will be “a strategic partner in the affirmation of a broader and more robust business class”.
“I want our State, and Mozambicans in general, to be the true masters of the riches and potential of our country”, he declared. “My government will promote a balanced and sustainable macro-economic environment so as to consolidate trust in secure investment and in fair returns”.
His government, Nyusi concluded, “will rest on an ethic that places life and human dignity above profit”, It would be “a government that promotes dialogue above domestic disputes for power, A government that priortises solidarity above unfair competition”.
“I am the President of all of you”, he declared. “Everything I do shall be for each Mozambican to feel part of national development. Stronger, more united and more determined, we shall build a nation that belongs to all of us”
Predictably, the main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo and its leader, Afonso Dhlakama, boycotted the inauguration ceremony. But the mayor of Beira, and leader of the second opposition party, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), Daviz Simango did attend.
Among a large number of foreign dignitaries at the investiture were five heads of state – King Letsie III of Leotho, the outgoing president of Namibia Hifekepunye Pohamba, and the Presidents of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, and of Portugal, Anibal Cavaco Silva.
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