SOFALA GOVERNOR CRITICISES EDUCATION DIRECTORATE

The governor of the central Mozambican province of Sofala, Helena Taipo, has insisted that the education authorities in the province must do everything in their power to complete school buildings left unfinished by dishonest contractors. On a visit to the Provincial Directorate of Education and Culture, Taipo was told that in the past ten years contractors have abandoned 200 classrooms in the province, and the authorities have only managed to finish half of them.  Cited in Wednesday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, Taipo said the situation made no sense since the province receives funds from the central budget every year for school construction and rehabilitation.“We cannot understand the reasons which have led to failure to finish the jobs, since you receive money for this”, said the Governor. “In the report you gave me, you said that 93 per cent of the budget received was spent. So why didn’t you finish the jobs?” “We have children studying in the open air, sitting on the floor”, Taipo pointed out, “and this can affect adversely the quality of the education we so long for”.She was also irritated to find that the Provincial Education Directorate has no offices of its own, but is operating out of rented premises. She accused the managers of the Directorate of “irresponsibility”. She pointed out that a plot of land on which the Directorate can build has already been identified, but to date there is not even a sketch for new premises.Taipo challenged the Provincial Directorate to move into new offices of its own by the end of this government’s term of office, in order to comply with the norms for institutions of the public administration.