RESPECT for political pluralism is what analysts based in the city of Beira consider to be one of the challenges facing Cecília Chamutota, the new Secretary of State for Sofala province, who was recently appointed by the President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, to succeed Stella Zeca.

Cecília Chamutota was the Deputy Minister of Public Works and Water Resources, succeeding Stella Zeca, who was nominated as FRELIMO's list leader in the Beira municipal election.

For journalist Fernando Cerveja, the short time left until the end of the five-year term will make it difficult for them to live together politically, given the fact that Sofala province is one of the points of confluence and acceptance for almost all political formations.

"If she wants to do well, the new Secretary of State will have to know how to be and behave in front of different political players, because it is politics that characterizes the lives of citizens in Sofala province. You may think this is an exaggeration, but it is in this part of the country that democracy is cultivated. Equidistance is required, because she represents the Head of State in this part of the country," said Cerveja, explaining that if she allows herself to be entertained only by her FRELIMO party, to the detriment of others, she will meet with discontent.

"The population of Sofala province is sensitive to political pluralism, which is why the new head must follow these traits, always seeking balance in her governance," explained the media professional.

Journalist Francisco Raiva believes that he should learn from the most notable politicians in the province in order to move forward. "It's important to explore those who have been active for a long time, as is the case with Lourenço Bulha and others from his party, seeking the experience of dealing with different people. If we don't get the expected results, we have religious figures here whom the rulers look up to," explained Raiva

According to Francisco Raiva, former governors such as Alberto Vaquina, Félix Paulo, Felício Zacarias and Helena Taipo turned to the then Archbishop of Beira, Dom Jaime Gonçalves, for advice on how to govern without blemish. "Sometimes it can catch on, but at first you should turn to the most experienced politicians in your party. Lourenço Bulha could be one of them, he could give you some advice. For the rest, this is a challenge that he will have to face in these few months when the five-year term is over," explained Raiva.

For his part, José Jeco, a journalist with Canal de Moçambique, points to political and governmental coexistence as being of great importance. "On the one hand, we have a municipality that is governed by another political party, in this case the MDM, but everything is a state. There is a need for the new Secretary of State, from time to time, to find out how it works and share her knowledge or what she thinks. For good measure, she should meet with politicians and other living forces in society, this will help to promote peace," says José Jeco.

Fighting corruption, accessibility and education

Other areas that deserve analysis as a challenge for the new SE are the fight against corruption, accessibility, education and health.

Father Suade José Suade, who is also a communicator, chose the fight against corruption as one of the areas that the new head of Sofala could work on in depth. "If you do a deeper analysis, you can see that all public institutions are sick with corruption. It seems to have become normalized, they do nothing without asking for something, or even create barriers to doing their job in order to hunt for favours."

As for access roads, Fernando Cerveja said in an interview with Moz News that Sofala province has the most dilapidated access roads.

Francisco Raiva singled out the schools whose children still study sitting on the floor for lack of chairs, to which José Jeco suggested giving the go-ahead to extract the rotting timber, ownerless in some districts, to make desks.

In the health sector, service continues to be poor, as Fernando Cerveja explained: "It seems to me that some health professionals are still on strike. Their way of working in some health units leaves something to be desired. But what I really want to talk about is the access roads in Sofala province. Since she comes from the Ministry of Public Works, I think they might listen to her and repair the roads," he explained.

Cecília Chitoto could be handed the reins as head of the province this Thursday, at a public ceremony at the Licungo University premises in the city of Beira. 

Article by Rodrigues Luís