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15th January 2014.
His Excellency Roberto Vellano,
Ambassador of Italy,
Embassy of Italy
Av. Kenneth Kaunda, 387,
Maputo, Mozambique.
RE: NGO difficulties in contracting foreign workers.
Dear Ambassador Vellano,
As you will be aware, a significant proportion of foreign aid, provided to support the implementation of Mozambique’s poverty reduction strategy, is directed through NGOs for the implementation of social programmes to complement those of the Government of Mozambique. Many of these NGOs employ international staff to bring international experience and expertise to programmes and to fill gaps where local human resources are not available. NGOs in Mozambique are key partners of government and of international donors from whom they receive a significant volume of funding.
We write to you, Excellency, because since September, NGOs have been facing increasing difficulties in contracting foreign workers, which is having a negative impact on critical programmes. This is the result of changes in the way the Ministry of Labour implements the system for granting permission to work for international staff, making it an extremely long, bureaucratic and costly process. This change was effected without prior warning or consultation with NGOs and all signs point to the situation worsening and becoming increasingly obstructive.
The new system is not workable for NGOs, and is already creating serious operational difficulties for many. We expect to see serious consequences for all national and international NGOs that recruit non-Mozambican staff, thus limiting their important contribution to the country’s development objectives. This situation has placed a high administrative burden on NGOs and is causing lengthy delays in recruitment processes. Some organisations are beginning to reconsider the viability of staying in Mozambique, or of implementing certain programmes, which would result in planned activities not being carried out, loss of Mozambican jobs and a potential reversal of some key development gains.
While NGOs fully support the need to protect Mozambican citizens in the labour market and efforts to strengthen the national workforce, we believe that the current system and the way it has been introduced will not address national concerns about the influx of foreign workers in the country, and will have a significant negative impact on social development programmes in the country, as well as on the general employment of Mozambicans.
Excellency, as Chair of the G19 group of donors, many of whom are our funding partners, we request that this issue be considered as part of the agenda for political dialogue between the development partners and the Government of Mozambique. The 41 NGOs that are signatories to this letter believe that current measures will compromise the implementation of internationally-funded social programmes, and will likely have an impact on the social development indicators agreed with the Government of Mozambique. We urge the international community to raise awareness within the Mozambican government about the important role played by NGOs in working towards the country’s social development objectives, and of the need to ensure that tighter labour restrictions do not have an unduly negative impact on NGOs’ work and consequently the lives of their Mozambican employees and programme beneficiaries.
Please find attached a position paper explaining more about the current situation, the key issues and their impact on NGO programmes, with recommendations for improving the situation. We would be most willing to participate in a meeting with the Italian Embassy together with other development partners to explain further the situation and its impact.
Yours sincerely,
A.C. Engenharia Sem Fronteiras (ESF)
ACRA-CCS
ActionAid
ADRA
Aga Khan Foundation
Alianza por la Solidaridad
AVSI
CARE
CESVI
CIES
Consorcio Caia
Consorcio Zambesia
CUAMM
DSF
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Friends in Global Health
GVC
Handicap International
Helpage International
IBIS
IEPALA
ISCOS
LVIA
Médicos del Mundo Espanha
Medicusmundi
Medicus Mundi Italia
MLAL
MSF-Belgium
MSF-Switzerland
Noi di Bussolengo
OXFAM
PATH
Pathfinder
PSI
Save the Children
Solidarmed
Terres des Hommes Italia
Village Reach
Arquitectos Sem Fronteiras
Cc: Mr. Douglas Griffiths, Ambassador of the United States of America
Mr. Mogens Pedersen, Ambassador of Denmark
Ms. Seija Toro, Ambassador of Finland
Mr. Serge Segura, Ambassador of France
Mr. Philipp Schauer, Ambassador of Germany
Mr. Ruairi De Burca, Ambassador of Ireland
Ms, Frédérique de Man, Ambassador of the Netherlands
Ms. Mette Masst, Ambassador of Norway
Mr. José Augusto Duarte, Ambassador of Portugal
Mr. Santiago Miralles, Ambassador of Spain
Ms. Ulla Andrén, Ambassador of Sweden
Ms. Therese Adam, Ambassador of Switzerland
Mr. Shaun Cleary, British High Commissioner
Mr. Shawn Barber, Canada’s High Commissioner
Mr. Paul Malin, Head of Delegation of the European Union
Ms. Eva Kohl, Representative, Austrian Development Cooperation
Mr. Jean Mommer, Representative, Belgian Office for Development Cooperation
Mr. Joseph Ribeiro, Resident Representative, African Development Bank
Mr. Laurence Clark, Country Director, World Bank
Ms. Jennifer Topping, United Nations Resident Coordinator