"Civil servants, who are now deployed in various districts, must return to Mocímboa da Praia by the end of this month. Anyone who doesn't return will have their salary blocked. The order comes from the district government and comes on the eve of the start of voter registration," writes the Center for Public Integrity (CIP) in its latest bulletin on the political process. 

According to CIP, the provincial government's decision has two interpretations. The first is related to the fear that Renamo has been expressing that Frelimo wants to force elections in Mocímboa da Praia, due to the advantage it has in counting on the support of civil servants. In fact, the forced return, without prior notice, seems to be the reason for Renamo's protest.

The second interpretation is that the government's decision is the result of the multinational Total's constraints in returning to operations.

CIP also states in the document that MZNews has seen that Total has imposed the full functioning of public services in Mocímboa as a condition for returning to its activities.

It should be noted that many of the civil servants are still in displaced persons camps in the districts of Pemba, Metuge, Chiure, Montepuez, Mueda, Macomia, among others, and still have nowhere to live in Mocímboa da Praia, since their houses were completely destroyed by the terrorists. Meanwhile, the district government only wants the employees to return by April 30th.

Source: CIP