Administrative division of Mozambique

Administration building of the General Government of the Colony of Mozambique (1929)

The administrative division of Mozambique is the vertical administrative structure of the Republic of Mozambique . The country is located in the southeast of the African continent, on the Indian Ocean .

Mozambique is divided into eleven provinces, which are subdivided into a total of 141 districts, and these are subdivided into a total of 415 administrative posts. In the 415 administrative posts there are 1024 localities, the Localidades , which usually include several villages ( Aldeias ).

history

The coast of Mozambique around 1500 (map from 1902)

Since the arrival of Vasco da Gama in 1498, the colonial power Portugal gradually expanded its control over Mozambique. For administration, "captains" ( Capitanias ) were set up, whose regents, the "captains", were subordinate to the Portuguese viceroyalty of Goa . In 1752 the Portuguese crown set up an independent administration for Mozambique, now independent from Goa. Only the sign of imperialist Zeitgeist in Europe Portugal began in the second half of the 19th century, its actual control also over the hinterland of Mozambique in campaigns against local rulers and kingdoms through, and the final borders were parallel negotiations especially with the British Empire set .

To overcome its difficulties in controlling the inland areas, Portugal granted a number of privileges and concessions to trading companies, notably the Companhia de Moçambique and the Companhia do Niassa , which were dominated by British capital. Their influence was ended in 1942 when the concessions were not renewed , in the wake of the increasing attention of the Salazar regime in Portugal to its overseas holdings. The designation of these colonies as overseas provinces from 1951 , partly as a reaction to the increasing international pressure on Portugal's colonial policy, was part of further reforms in Mozambique in order to equate the administrative structures of the colonies as much as possible with those of the mother country. In accordance with the administrative structure of Portugal, districts (distritos) and, below them, districts (concelhos) were set up.

Districts of the Portuguese overseas province of Mozambique (as of 1970)
No.	Surname	population	Size in km²	Capital
1	Lourenço Marques	799.358	26,358	Lourenço Marques
2	Gaza	753.347	75,709	João Belo
3	Inhambane	746.711	68,615	Inhambane
4th	Beira (emerged from the Manica e Sofala district in 1970 )	658.137	71,719	Beira
5	Vila Pery (emerged from the Manica e Sofala district in 1970 )	367.417	50,876	Vila Pery
6th	Tete with the Circunscrição (district) Mungári, which was affiliated in 1970	551,888	107,808	Tete
7th	Zambezia	1,756,864	107,808	Quelimane
8th	In 1974 Mozambique was divided into the districts of Nampula and Ilha	1,735,206	105.008	Nampula
9	Cabo Delgado	567.478	82,625	Porto Amélia
10	Niassa	297,478	129.056	Vila Cabral

The geographical-administrative structure from the final phase of the Portuguese colonial period was essentially retained after independence in 1975. The Portuguese districts became provinces, the earlier counties ( concelhos ) and simpler districts ( circunscrições ) became districts ( distritos ), and the colonial administrative posts ( postos administrativos ) became localities ( localidades ), the lowest level of the administrative structure of Mozambique. The People's Republic of Mozambique and, after its end of 1990, the Republic of Mozambique made some changes in the administrative structure, such as the reintroduction of the administrative posts ( Postos Administrativos ) to which the localities ( Localidades ) were assigned. Changes were also necessary due to population shifts and different developments in the country. In 2007, some administrative posts had a population that was many times higher than that of entire provinces. The last change was made in March 2013 when the number of districts was increased by 13, elevating eleven former administrative posts to districts and restoring the two districts of Ilha de Moçambique and Quelimane after their dissolution in 1986.

Since 1998, parallel to the establishment of district administrations ( Municípios ), the decentralization of the administrative structures in the country has been carried out in order to establish local self- government. After the controversial elections for the introduction in 1998, comprehensive local elections were held in Mozambique for the first time in 2003 , and have been held every five years since then. The ruling party FRELIMO also emerged as the clear winner in the 2013 local elections .

Administrative division since 1975

The provinces

Mozambique and its provinces

Mozambique is divided into eleven provinces ( Províncias ), the highest level of administrative division of the country after the country's independence in 1975. They roughly correspond to the NUTS 1 regions in Europe; in Germany, for example, these are the federal states . In addition to the ten provinces, the capital Maputo also has provincial status.

See also : Provinces of Mozambique

location	province	Capital
	Cabo Delgado	Pemba
	Gaza	Xai-Xai
	Inhambane	Inhambane
	Manica	Chimoio
	Maputo Province	Matola
	Maputo	Maputo
	Nampula	Nampula
	Niassa	Lichinga
	Sofala	Beira
	Tete	Tete
	Zambezia	Quelimane

The district administration of Manhiça

The districts

The eleven provinces are now divided into 141 districts ( distritos ). These are the second level of Mozambique's administrative structure and thus roughly correspond to the European NUTS 2 regions, for example the German government districts .

Since March 2012 the criteria for districts have been specified. A district should cover an area between 2,000 and 20,000 km². In addition, a district should have a population of at least 100,000 in a province with a high population density, in a province with a medium population density a population of at least 40,000, and in a province with a low population density a population of at least 10,000.

See also : List of Districts of Mozambique

The administrative posts

Building of the Posto administrativo of Kambulatsitsi , Moatize district

The 141 districts are divided into a total of 415 Postos administrativos (administrative posts). They represent the third level of administration in Mozambique and are roughly comparable to the European NUTS 3 regions. B. the counties customary in Germany . Since March 2012, the criteria for administrative posts have also been specified. A Posto administrativo should cover an area between 1,000 and 5,000 km² and a population between 2,000 and 50,000.

On February 18, 2014, the Council of Ministers of the government of Mozambique passed a bill to establish new administrative posts, which is to be submitted to parliament. Details of the new Postos administrativos have not yet been made public.

See also : List of Postos administrativos in Mozambique

The localities

Within the 415 administrative posts, 1024 localities are settled as localidades (localities). The localidades are the lowest level of the state administrative structure of Mozambique and are designated by the legislature as the basis of the administrative structure. In Germany, for example, they correspond to the municipalities .

The Localidades include the rural villages ( Aldeias ) in their administrative area . If they show the first signs of urbanization , they are listed as Povoação . The classifications of larger Povoações in small towns ( Vilas ) and towns ( Cidades ) date back to the time of Portuguese colonial administration . There are 23 Cidades and 68 Vilas in Mozambique (as of 2013). These designations only act as titles and have no further administrative competencies than that of a simple Povoação . The Povoações, Vilas and Cidades only gain importance within the framework of local self-government (see chapter Local self-government ).

Since March 2012 the criteria for localities have been specified. A localidade should cover an area between 500 and 2000 km² and a population between 1,000 and 10,000. A single Povoação within the Localidades encloses between 100 and 700 km² with a population between 100 and 3000.

Local self-government

The City Hall in Maputo, seat of the Municípios of Maputo

Mozambique is striving to decentralize its administrative structures. To this end, local self-government is gradually being expanded. In 1998 the first 33 districts ( Municípios ) were established in the main cities. In 2003 the first local elections took place in Mozambique. Since then, the number of Autarquias has increased further. After ten new circles were set up in 2007, another ten were created in 2013, so that there are now 53 circles (as of 2014).

In the local elections in Mozambique in 2013 , FRELIMO won a majority in 50 districts, while the MDM won the districts of Beira , Nampula and Quelimane . The Renamo boycotted the election and consequently lost all of their 100 seats in the various circles.

See also : List of Municípios of Mozambique

Traditional administrative structures

In parallel to the state administrative structure, traditional local administrative structures based on ethnic groups and tribes have maintained in rural Mozambique . In the course of the Portuguese colonial war in Mozambique from 1964 and especially after independence in 1975, the independence movement and later ruling party FRELIMO assessed the traditional leaders as predominantly reactionary and hindering the development of a modern democratic society, while the opposition RENAMO sought their proximity. The FRELIMO's skepticism towards the traditional local chiefs, the Régulos , can be explained by their role in the Portuguese colonial system, where, as Cabos-de-terra , they were often foremen and in the recruitment of slave labor.

After the Mozambican Civil War (1977-1992) the attitude of the FRELIMO government began to change. In 1995 President Joaquim Chissano declared that the traditional authorities were welcome. After the traditional authorities received their first legal recognition in 1994, their influence on politics in the municipalities was regulated in 1997 with Law No. 2/97. In this way, state institutions have the opportunity, but not the duty, to consult the traditional authorities on upcoming decisions. This is to take into account the regional differences in the influence of traditional leaders on the population.

Web links

• Law No. 8/2003 on the administrative organization of the state , pdf-download of the publication in the Mozambique Law Gazette ( port. )
• Basics and structure of the Republic of Mozambique , pdf download of a template for political education of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (port.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Manfred Kuder: Mocambique, a geographic, social and economic country studies , scientific country customers, Volume 10, Darmstadt 1975, p. 285
2. ↑ Kuder: Mocambique , 1975, pp. 288-289, footnote 3
3. ↑ Arricle of January 24, 2007 ( Memento of the original of July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from the Mozambique Government website, accessed June 9, 2014 
4. ↑ Article from March 21, 2013 ( Memento of the original from July 15, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from the website of the Government of Mozambique, accessed June 8, 2014 
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Article from March 21, 2012 ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from the Mozambique Government website, accessed June 9, 2014 
6. ↑ Press release of the government of Mozambique ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (pdf), accessed on June 9, 2014 
7. ↑ Act No. 8/2003 on state administrative organization ( Memento of the original of July 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , PDF access of the publication in the Mozambique Law Gazette , Capítulo II, Artigo 14, 1., accessed on June 8, 2014 
8. ↑ Article of December 6, 2013 on the outcome of the local elections in Mozambique , Angolan news portal www.portaldeangola.com, accessed on June 8, 2014
9. ^ Vitor Alexandre Lourenço, "Estado, Autoridades Tradicionais e Transição Democrática em Mozambique: Questões teóricas, dinâmicas sociais e estratégias políticas", Cadernos de Estudos Africanos, 16/17 | 2009, 115-138., Pdf download of the study on the relationship between the state and traditional authorities in the democratization process in Mozambique , website of the Institute for African Studies (CEA) of the ISCTE ( Instituto Universitário de Lisboa ), accessed on June 8, 2014