An overly civil society?

Mozambican activists lack the power to intervene on behalf of the most vulnerable, says a report. Bayano Valy investigates.

Mozambican government suspends fuel tax

The Mozambican government is to suspend temporarily customs duties and value-added tax on all imported fuel products.

Mozambique's Aids children slipping through the cracks

At the tender age of 12, Pedro Moniz is already a veteran when it comes to observing the regimen of anti-retroviral drugs that keeps Aids-related illnesses at bay. "I take one tablet at 6am, another at 1.45pm just before school, another at 5.45pm when I return from school -- and the last at 10pm," he says, without pausing to think.

Mozambican anti-trafficking laws welcomed

Mozambican organisations have welcomed the country's creation of laws to protect victims, but say it is too early to measure their effectiveness.

Aids hits Mozambique business sector

Mozambique's business sector is currently feeling the consequences of HIV/Aids through the increased absence of workers.

Reeling from shock

In Maputo, Bayano Valy finds a range of explanations for the attacks on foreigners in South Africa.

Mozambique moves to fight human trafficking

More than 1 000 Mozambicans, including children, are trafficked to South Africa every year where they are forced into prostitution or used as free or cheap labour. In response, Mozambique's Cabinet last week approved a new law that will make human trafficking a crime punishable by long prison sentences.

Mozambique learns from the past

Sandra Alberto was heavily pregnant when Cyclone Favio struck Mozambique earlier this month, ripping the zinc roof off the house she and her two children had taken refuge in. "I grabbed hold of my children because I thought the wind would blow them away," she said. "Roofs and other objects were flying all over the place."

Gender battle not yet won for Mozambican women

The contradictions in Maria's life are typical of many women in Mozambique. On one level the 33-year-old is advancing. She is able to attend night school to gain the education that the 16-year-long civil war interrupted when she was a child. She has learnt to sew to complement the money she makes as a trader. She is trying to take the necessary steps to ''live positively'' after finding out that she has contracted HIV.

Traditional healers' practices under Aids spotlight

A motley group of about 20 Mozambican men and women eyed each other tentatively as they met for the first time to discuss how they could jointly fight HIV/Aids. On one side of the table were doctors, nurses and counsellors. On the other side sat traditional healers, or cureindeiros as they are known in Mozambique.

Mozambican citizens mete out rough justice

With a lack of faith in the police seeming to have escalated in certain suburbs of the Mozambican capital, Maputo, citizens have lately resorted to taking the law into their own hands, and meting out rough justice to alleged criminals. This has resulted in a body count of more than 20 since August.

More policies needed to help farmers affected by Aids

Lying outside her hut on a tattered mat, 20-year-old Maria struggled with her breathing as she tried to explain why she and her five orphaned nieces and nephews in her charge had not eaten. Maria was dying from Aids-related diseases, as well as from severe malnutrition. "I had to sell my plot of land to survive," she said through her gasps for breaths.

Nearly as good as new will do just fine

At 9am on a Monday morning, the used clothing vendors at Chiquelene Market in Mozambique's capital, Maputo, are still unpacking their wares. The sale of clothing donated to charities in Europe and North America has supported Angelina Arnaldo and her seven children for 17 years. On a good day, she takes home around $10. "It's easier than selling food because it doesn't go off," she explained.

Widows stripped of their rights by Aids

When her husband died two months ago, Albertina Come did not only lose him. She also lost their house and belongings acquired through hard work over ten years of marriage. Come's husband is among some 97 000 Mozambicans who health authorities say will die of HIV/Aids this year alone. And Come's situation is not unique.

Mozambican dream

A new centre for children infected with HIV, which opened in Maputo this week, plans to use advanced technology to treat the disease.

More antiretrovirals for Mozambique

Last Friday UN Special Envoy for HIV/Aids in Africa Stephen Lewis called for a rapid increase in the provision of antiretroviral drugs for Mozambique.

TB on the rise in Beira

Tuberculosis cases are rising rapidly in the Mozambican coastal town of Beira, according to local doctors.

Mozambique says malaria deaths on the rise

Mozambique registered a rise of 15% in the number of people who died of the disease last year, news reports said on Wednesday. Health Ministry spokesperson Martinhio Djedje said more than six-million cases of the disease were reported in the country's public health centres last year.

UN: HIV rate heightens Mozambique poverty

The spread of HIV in Mozambique has hit the economy and is heightening poverty, the United Nations chief representative in the country said on Friday.

Another five years for Frelimo

There were few surprises this week when the final results for Mozambique's general elections on December 1 and 2 were announced. On Tuesday, the National Elections Commission said the presidential poll had been won by Armando Guebuza of the ruling Frelimo party. This group also garnered a majority of seats in Parliament.

'Mr Gue-business' elected Mozambican leader

Armando Guebuza, one of Mozambique's richest businessmen and a stalwart of the ruling party and the country's fight against Portuguese colonial rule, crowned his political career on Tuesday by being elected president in key polls. Guebuza inflicted a crushing defeat on main opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama in the polls.

'Mozambicans may rise up in protest'

Mozambique's ruling party and its presidential candidate, Armando Guebuza, have secured a landslide victory in polls to choose a successor to veteran leader Joaquim Chissano amid opposition outrage and demands for new elections. Opposition party Renamo and 20 smaller parties on Tuesday demanded fresh elections.

'Election results will kill democracy' in Mozambique

Former rebel leader and opposition candidate Afonso Dhlakama on Friday demanded fresh elections in Mozambique, accusing the ruling Frelimo party of "criminal fraud" during two days of voting for a new president and Parliament. Dhlakama accused Frelimo of preventing millions from casting their ballots.

Rain, spoilt ballots delay election results

Mozambican electoral officials on Tuesday blamed heavy rain, muddy roads and spoilt ballot papers for the delay in counting the vote from last week's presidential and parliamentary elections. The main opposition Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama has accused the National Electoral Commission of trying to fix the vote.

Mozambique adopts new Constitution

The Mozambican Parliament on Tuesday unanimously adopted a new Constitution for the first time since the advent of multiparty politics in the Southern African nation. The new Constitution adopted on Tuesday will come into force after elections on December 1 and 2 to elect a successor to President Joaquim Chissano.

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