Final evaluation of the decentralization/traditional authority component of the African-American Institute"s project -- democratic development in Mozambique

The component, implemented by the African American Institute (AAI), aimed at helping the Mozambican Ministry of State Administration (MAE) undertake research to determine the role of traditional authority in relation to local government structures in the context of the government"s democratization and decentralization program. One national and eight province-level work and discussion groups (CTDs) brought over 1,000 traditional authorities, government officials, politicians, religious leaders, and business people together to discuss the role of traditional authorities in local government. The CTDs brought the debate on traditional authority to the attention of the media and the society at large, and resulted in a mass of information that was utilized to produce educational materials and to draft legislation formally recognizing the role of traditional authorities in the construction of democracy in local government. This draft legislation reflected the D/TA project"s initial attitude -- that traditional authorities could be a panacea for all of the country"s ills. However, as the project progressed and as the peace held, the project researchers and the government itself become more realistic; the Council of Ministers temporarily postponed the legislation in favor of more informal collaboration between traditional institutions and government officials. Far from being seen as a failure of the project, this should be considered a victory. In the early 1990s, it may have been necessary to overstate the case for the return of traditional authority in order to counteract attitudes of the post-independence FRELIMO government and to bring the issue into public debate. The revised tactic of informal collaboration has had profound effects on rural society, where traditional authorities are once more trying court cases, and cooperating with government officials in health campaigns, tax collection, and census taking. Also, traditional authorities are once more fulfilling their religious obligations for the well-being of their communities.