Watch: INATRO says cannot settle the debt, refers ‘drivers licences’ matter to Minister – reports

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Watch: INATRO says cannot settle the debt, refers ‘drivers licences’ matter to Minister – reports

1:29 CAT | 19 Jan 2022

Photo: TVM

The transition from INATTER to INATRO has confused administrative procedures, causing the production of driving licenses in Mozambique to be suspended, TVM reported on Monday.

INATRO spokesman Jorge Muiambo says that the process is in the hands of the supervisory authorities, and no date has been given for the resumption of production of driving licenses.

‘O País’ reports that, since July of last year, INATRO has been run solely by the chairman of its board of directors, without administrators, so there is therefore no quorum to make decisions. INATRO has therefore referred the matter of the debt for drivers’ licenses to the Minister of Transport and Communications.

INATRO owes licence producer Brithol Michcoma Mozambique forty million meticais [around US$626,664] for services provided between July and November 30 of last year.

The failure to pay Brithol is caused by the lack of an Administrative Tribunal (TA) ‘visa’ for the contract between the two parties.

As the INATRO spokesperson advanced at a press conference yesterday, the now-extinct INATTER started the process of obtaining the TA visa, but the institution was extinguished and INATRO created in its place. Its Chairman of the Board was sworn in at a time when the deadline for processing the visa had already expired.

Read: Mozambique: INATRO suspends production of biometric driving licenses

“In this change from INATTER to INATRO there was also a change in the organs. That deadline expired and there was no time to send it, because there were no conditions, but the product was sent in good faith,” explained Jorge Miambo. “The problem that was created is no longer within the competence of INATRO, as, minus the INATTER, it must be referred to the competent authorities.”

The referral [to the Ministry] becomes necessary because, since its creation, INATRO has had no board of directors, being directed solely by its chairman, without administrators to compose a quorum so that the body can make decisions. The problem thus devolves to the Minister of Transport and Communications.

“An entity superior to INATRO has to resolve [this matter],” Jorge Miambo says. “We are an entity supervised by the Minister of Transport and Communications and, as the amount exceeds 600 minimum wages, this matter must go through the Attorney General’s Office and the Administrative Tribunal for prior inspection. These entities must solve the problem.”

There are no dates to resume the issuance of driving licences

INATRO not only claims to have no competence; neither can it impose any deadline for the resolution of the issue. “We cannot impose deadlines on an entity superior to ours. We all know the importance of driving licenses, but how long entities have cannot be defined by INATRO,” Miambo says.

While the problem is not resolved, the stop-gap solution involves provisional drivers’ licences, which the National Institute of Road Transport says are valid nationally and accepted by the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)

Regarding Brithol Michcoma Mozambique’s threat to cut off the supply of the special paper used for issuing provisional drivers licences, INATRO says that such a pronouncement makes no sense, as it is covered by a different contract.

INATRO also denies that it is taking Brithol Michcoma Mozambique to court over the suspension of the issuance of driving licenses.

Brithol would normally issue between 800 and 1,000 biometric driving licenses a day. The private company claims to have issued more than 100,000 of a total of 250,000 drivers licences it is contracted for.

Minister declines to give interview

‘O País’ contacted Minister of Transport and Communications Janfar Abdulai yesterday for comment on the matter. The minister first agreed to give an interview, even advancing that a public tender resulting in the appointment of the missing two directors could be concluded within a maximum period of two weeks.

The reporting team that went to the Ministry of Transport and Communication building was however on its arrival referred to the Communication Department, which, in turn, said that it was not possible for an interview to take place.

Source: TVM / O País