Complaints opened by Mozambican ombudsman increased by 46%

From 2021 to 2022, the number of closed cases (cases in which the competent bodies issued a decision) also increased by 84% to 604 closed cases, Chande said at the plenary session of the Mozambican Parliament.

“The remarkable increase in closed cases was possible due to the undeniable cooperation of the different public administration institutions, which shows a greater understanding of the role of this body,” said Ombudsman Isac Chande.

In 169 cases, the petitioner was granted justice, while in 207 cases, there was no legal basis.

He noted that the courts were the focus of complaints “due to procedural delays,” followed by ministries and the National Institute of Social Security (INSS).

The Ombudsman urged MPs to cooperate more: “As in some countries, a specialized committee of Parliament can legally demand clarifications from a public administration that is the subject of a complaint by the Ombudsman,” Isac Chande stressed.

While acknowledging that his role is to “mediate” between citizens and the public administration, Chande argued that it would be a mistake to devalue the part of the Ombudsman in a democratic state governed by the rule of law.

“The answer to the role of the Ombudsman is found in the former members of Parliament who have turned to the body and whose complaints have been heard by the institutions against which they complained,” he said.

The ruling party, Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo), approved the Ombudsman’s annual information with its parliamentary majority.

In contrast, the main opposition party, Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (Renamo), and the third party, Movimento Democrático de Moçambique (MDM), voted against the document.

The opposition objected to the content of the information, believing that the Ombudsman ignored the “partisanship of the state apparatus” by Frelimo and the Ombudsman’s “inaccessibility” to the majority of the Mozambican population because he was based in Maputo.