Nyusi urges municipalities to step up participatory governance

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Nyusi urges municipalities to step up participatory governance

9:14 CAT | 05 May 2016

O País / Filipe Nyusi speaking at the opening of the OIDP in Matola

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Wednesday urged municipal managers to step up participatory government, because they are the servants of the people, which employs them.

Speaking at the opening session of a meeting of the International Observatory on Participatory Democracy (IOPD), under way in the southern city of Matola, Nyusi stressed that the creation of municipalities in Mozambique has allowed the decentralisation of power to ensure that citizens can participate in defending the interests of the people.

With the first municipal elections in 1998, democracy in Mozambique had gained a new impetus, said the President, with the involvement of citizens in decision making.

“Holding this event for the first time in Mozambique and in Africa, reflects the commitment of the country to participatory governance, declared Nyusi.

The Mayor of Matola, Calisto Cossa, who is now the chairperson of IOPD, said this is an organization which brings together cities and other local governments, research centres and civil society organisations committed to the production of knowledge about participatory democracy.

The Observatory, he added, intends to share experiences of citizen participation and promote their application elsewhere, in an attempt to deepen the foundations of democracy in local and municipal governance.

Attending this IOPD conference, he said, are 1,500 participants from 40 countries and 200 cities. Among the themes it will discuss are the use of internet networks to expand citizen participation, participatory budgets, and the role of the universities, the media and civil society organisations in educating citizens for participation.

Source: AIM