MOZAMBIQUE

AT A GLANCE
Head of Government: Prime Minister Aires Bonifacio Ali
Next election: 2014
Capital: Maputo
Population: 21.67 million
Independence: 1975 (from Portugal)
Human Development Index (HDI): 175th out of 179 countries
Gender Gap Index (GGI): 18th out of 130 countries
Gross National Index (GNI) per capita: US$320

Improving Access to Public Services Information

Status: Operational
Local Organization: Mozambique Documentation and Information Center (CEDIMO), Ministry of Public Service
Canadian Expert: Steve Neilly

Mozambique is a Portuguese-speaking member of the English-speaking Commonwealth. It has a highly concentrated and centralized government, seeking to re-establish and re-empower local authority.  It is also a country racing to modernize and re-invent many aspects of the state apparatus.  Against this backdrop, CIDA’s Deployment for Democratic Development (DDD) is helping to implement a broad Public Sector Reform Strategy aimed at improving the management of information in Mozambique.  In the age of the Internet and social networking, citizens expect information to be available at the click of a button.  Recognizing this fact, the Government of Mozambique has prioritized the establishment of a more efficient public services documentation and information management system for the satisfaction of citizens.

Information management expert, Steven Neilly, travelled to Maputo in the summer of 2008 to complete a needs assessment and work plan for the DDD to help transform the current Mozambique Documentation and Information Center (CEDIMO) to ensure documentation and information on public services is available and easily accessible to the citizens of Mozambique. He also conducted a study on how best to undertake CEDIMO’s conversion process.  Due to personnel changes at CEDIMO, the implementation of the work plan has been delayed. Plans are currently underway to launch the next phase of the initiative.