Mozambique: Over 3,500 requests received by Ombudsman

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Mozambique: Over 3,500 requests received by Ombudsman

12:38 CAT | 06 Nov 2025

Photo: Notícias

The office of Mozambique’s Ombudsman, Isaque Chande, received, over the last year (from April 2024 to March 2025), 3,521 requests for information from across the country, which was a one per cent decrease from the 3,528 registered in 2023.

According to Chande, who was presenting his annual report to the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on Wednesday, of the total number of requests, 3,080 were related to legal advice requested by citizens on various matters.

The Ombudsman said that during the year he assisted 307 citizens by phone call and granted 134 hearings.

“Of the complaints received by the Ombudsman, 348 were in person, 49 by post, 41 by email, and 18 orally”, said Chande. “There is also an upward trend in the number of complaints submitted in person and by post, to the detriment of other means”.

According to Chande, through news reports in the media, the Ombudsman learned of environmental pollution in the district of Moatize, in the central province of Tete, caused by coal mining companies, particularly the Indian company Vulcan.

“The Ombudsman sent the case to the district administration and community representatives, and the investigation concluded that there were indeed environmental pollution problems affecting the community. The report on this matter has been sent to the central government for appropriate action”, he said.

Chande denounced serious irregularities in the public administration, including corrupt schemes in public tenders.

“There is growing dissatisfaction with the performance of public services”, he said. “Many citizens are reporting slowness in the processing of their cases, discriminatory attendance, and, in some cases, demands for illicit payments to obtain services which ought to be free of charge”.

There were also serious challenges in public access to basic services. Chande denounced shortages of medicines in the health units, and lack of skilled medical staff, particularly in the rural areas. As for education, quality, he said, is compromised by the shortage of teachers and educational materials and by inadequate schools.

“There are difficulties in access to clean drinking water and to basic sanitation, in addition to increased unemployment and poverty, which worsens the social vulnerability of countless households”, he said.

Currently the effectiveness of Chande’s office is limited by the fact that it only exists in Maputo. He told the Assembly it is essential to establish provincial offices of the Ombudsman and increase the number of staff “so as to ensure the effective functioning of the state body that protects citizens’ rights and defends legality and justice in the actions of the public administration.”

Source: AIM