The President of the Republic, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, ordered this Wednesday the dismissal of six ministers of the current government, according to a statement from the Press Office of the Presidency of the Republic.
Those implicated are the ministers of Economy and Finance, Adriano Afonso Maleiane; of Mineral Resources and Energy, Ernesto Max Elias Tonela; of Industry and Commerce, Carlos Alberto Fortes Mesquita; of Public Works, Housing, and Water Resources, João Osvaldo Machatine; of Sea, Inland Waters, and Fisheries, Augusta de Fátima Charifo Maita; and of Combatants, Carlos Jorge Siliya.
The document we quote does not give the reasons for the disinvestments. Nevertheless, a national portal at least points out the reasons behind the dismissal of João Machatine and Carlos Mesquita.
João Machatine was reportedly removed for his mismanagement of the Maputo Ring Road toll dossier and the collapse of the bridges over the Revúboè river (two years after their rehabilitation) and over the Licungo river (one month after their inauguration).
As for the tolls, it was under the aegis of Machatine and Adriano Maleiane, as ministers, the approval of the table of prices to be paid at those collection points.
In turn, according to our source, Carlos Mesquita failed in the management of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, having failed to stabilize the cement sector. With the start-up of the company Dugongo Cimentos, many other companies went bankrupt.
Our source says that in 2015, Adriano Maleiane, after being handed the finance portfolios, found empty coffers, and so he resigned, in the same year - it was not accepted.
"Maleiane was regarded as a "stabilizer" of the weak finances of Filipe Nyusi's rule, having played a leading role in keeping the country afloat after the suspension of foreign aid," the source writes.