The government has once again contradicted itself over the payment of teachers' overtime debts, which have been outstanding since 2023. While Finance Minister Carla Louveira assures that the priority is the current financial year, the spokesperson for the Council of Ministers, Inocêncio Impissa, assured last Tuesday (07) that by November 30 all the debts owed to teachers will have been paid off.

However, the Minister of Education and Culture, Samaria Tovela, said on Thursday (09) that it is not possible to pay everything at once, i.e. it is not possible to pay a three-year debt in a single year, adding that "work is still being done to finish the 2023 debt and then continue with the subsequent years".

For the National Teachers' Association (ANAPRO), this disparity between the three governments reveals yet another "lie" about teachers' overtime.

In an opinion piece published in the Rigor newspaper and signed by ANAPRO's vice-president and national spokesperson, Daniel Muntaua, the class questions who is telling the truth among the three government leaders. "After all, who is telling the truth? And why should the teacher be solely responsible for this problem, knowing that the debt is the government's and those in office are only concerned with justifying it without paying?" ANAPRO asks.

Faced with this situation, the Mozambican teachers reiterate their commitment to defending the rights of their class, stressing that they will not accept being distracted, "because the Executive's concern is only with the end of the year", with the aim of persuading teachers to hand in their results and sit the exams, "but after that they will say nothing but the usual justifications".

"We reaffirm as ANAPRO that if necessary we will return to a general strike to demand our rights," the class warns.

"This worries the class because the government closes the lines of dialog throughout the year, and only at the end is concerned with misinforming about overtime, as if we as the teaching class were hostages and beggars for it," he adds.

(Photo DR)