Fighting corruption among leaders is the biggest promise of Maputo's new mayor

The new President of the Maputo City Council on Wednesday highlighted the fight against corruption among the city's leaders as the "hard line" of the new cycle of governance. 

"A city that wants to be prosperous cannot develop with corruption, and even less with corrupt elements, so it is our responsibility to fight against it and its many forms of action," said Razaque Manhique, during the customary speech after the swearing-in ceremony.

He said that over the next five years, municipal governance will be based on six pillars, namely: good governance; sustainable development; social and human development; economic development and job promotion; development of economic and social infrastructure, provision of basic services to citizens, sustainable urban land management; and inter-municipal and international cooperation.

Manhique highlighted the field of good governance and practically focused on combating corruption among the municipality's leaders and employees.

"A corrupt manager or official destroys our city's economy," he noted.

"Gentlemen, in the city of Maputo there is no one's turn, we are all equal and should enjoy the same rights and duties," said Razaque Manhique.

According to Maputo's new mayor, new senior staff will soon be appointed in the municipality who are expected to be excellent at working with the residents.

"Our state is no place for enrichment. Anyone who wants to get rich should not be a member of the state. We want leaders with integrity who feel the suffering of our people. We will not tolerate corrupt actions," he stressed.

Aware that the fight against corruption is a fierce battle to be one-sided, Manhique asked for the support of the state's legal and judicial institutions, as well as the population. "We ask you to work with us, support us and keep an eye on us."

"Yes, it's difficult to fight corruption. We are aware of that. But our national duty shows us that those who benefit from it are so few compared to the will of the people. Therefore, together we are sure that we will fight it, even if the first to fall in this fight are our highest officials and municipal leaders. We are counting on the support of our population so that our fight is firm and successful," he said.

In the same speech, he called for the selfless exercise of functions among municipal employees, so as to eradicate the habit of making citizens go round institutions without any solution or adequate response to their concerns.

"Come tomorrow, come tomorrow, come tomorrow, because the Head or Director isn't here or the Mayor hasn't signed yet, shouldn't be a feature of our City Council," he said.