Maputo — Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Wednesday laid the first stone for the construction in central Maputo of new headquarters for the Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body on constitutional matters and electoral law.
For several years, the Constitutional Council has undertaken its duties from rented premises, which have become increasingly unsuitable as the work load on the Council increases.
Nyusi said the move comes as a government commitment to ensure the independence of the justice system through providing appropriate human and institutional conditions.
“The Constitutional Council cannot fulfill its duties from a corner”, he said. “In February, at the opening of the judicial year, I pledged that we would soon lay the first stone for the Council’s new headquarters. At the space where we are now, we can proudly say the Constitutional Council will have a suitable new head office”.
Throughout the construction phase, he said, the contractor must strictly abide by the contract as well as hygiene and safety standards, in order to avoid occupational accidents. He added that the project supervisor must ensure that the headquarters is responsibly built, following international quality standards, making it resilient to natural phenomena and observing the agreed construction period.
The Chairperson of the Constitutional Council, Lucia Ribeiro, declared that the start of work on the new headquarters is a great achievement, since new premises are sorely needed, if the Council is to fulfil its duties properly.
“The history of the constitutional court is also a history of the search for premises. The current space where we are has not only become insufficient to ensure the normal undertaking of our duties, but also a stumbling block to the council’s development plan, structuring and growth,” she said.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique