State workers forced to return to Quissanga district – Carta

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

State workers forced to return to Quissanga district – Carta

3:38 CAT | 12 Apr 2022

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Despite the Minister of State Administration, Ana Comoana, recently stating that the return of state officials and other employees to the districts affected by terrorism would not be mandatory, but would be achieved through sensitisation, the reality on the ground is different.

In Quissanga, state officials and workers from social sectors such as education and health have been told to return, even though housing conditions there are unsatisfactory.

The district government wants the officials back on the ground and threatens to take administrative action against anyone who refuses to respond to the instructions. But most employees are still unwilling to return to their posts, citing continuing terrorist attacks in some areas of the province.

As an example, some teachers say they are being forced to return to the district to perform their duties and that, if they do not comply, they risk being the target of administrative measures. This is what happened to the teachers in the pedagogical influence zone of Cagembe village, who have already received guidelines to teach in Tandanhangue village. Others have gone to Nacoba, Mahate administrative post, but have nowhere to stay.

According to one of the teachers, they are not returning of their own free will, but are rather following orders, those who refuse to comply suffering an impact on their status. The order to return to Quissanga also covers nurses, but in the initial phase they will work on a weekly rotation schedule. Only the district headquarters has conditions for nurses, who will live in a communal tent, to exercise their profession.

Officially, the authorities have not yet announced the return of displaced families, but some in Metuge are already returning.

The return of these families is associated with a lack of humanitarian support. A WFP document released in February informed the Cabo Delgado provincial government and state representation in the province that some displaced families in accommodation centres in Metuge would no longer receive food support, due to them refusing to cooperate in verification processes carried out by the organisation in partnership with the local government.

Source: Carta de Moçambique