New labour ministry headquarters inaugurated

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza has inaugurated the new headquarters for the Labour Ministry, built from scratch with funds from the state budget. Labour Minister Helena Taipo said that the new five-storey building has 85 offices, 12 open spaces, a library with the capacity for 25 users at a time, a parking lot for 51 vehicles, meeting rooms, and other facilities. Speaking during the ceremony, Guebuza said the new building will improve working conditions for Labour Ministry staff, and thus help increase the productivity of the institution.

"In this festive environment, we want to challenge our social partners (i.e. the trade unions and the employers' associations) to use this space as a true nursery of reflection to produce consensus that will lead to an increase in productivity rates", he said. "When we become as productive as possible we are also contributing to improving the business environment in Mozambique, to attracting investments and to generating more wealth and jobs", he added. Guebuza said that increasing productivity implies a change of attitude and more awareness that everyone must do their part to eradicate poverty. "Poverty of the spirit, the poverty of the mind, may be a serious obstacle in increasing productivity at the work place. That poverty must be replaced by self-esteem that arouses the innovating and enterprising spirit within each of us", declared the President.

He encouraged the Labour Ministry to continue working to consolidate a good environment to attract national and foreign investment and strengthen conditions to guarantee social and business stability, an important factor for increasing levels of productivity. "The Ministry should thus continue playing a very important role as a promoter of employment, by applying policies and programmes that the government has been adopting in the areas of employment, professional training, social security and labour relations", he said. According to Guebuza, to professional training must be added leadership training at all levels across the country, and these leaders play a crucial role in increasing productivity.

The new building comes as a relief for Ministry staff who have been working from cramped and inappropriate premises ever since the country's independence in 1975. The old building (on the opposite side of the road from the new one) was shared with training centres and residential apartments. A few of the Labour Ministry services will continue functioning in the old building. (Agencia de Informção de Moçambique)