The Standing Commission of the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on 26 January reappointed Mateus Katupha as its spokesperson for a further five-year term of office.

The Commission also decided that the next plenary session of the Assembly will be held in March.

Because of the 28 October general elections, the parliamentary sitting normally held between October and December did not take place. As a result, the budget has not yet been approved, and the state is still functioning on the basis of the 2009 budget

A further priority is the debate on the new government’s Five Year Programme, and the economic and social plan for 2010 that will flow from it.

Meanwhile the question of whether the Mozambican Democratic Movement (MDM) will be allowed to set up an officially recognised parliamentary group (which would allow it representation on Assembly commissions) is no nearer a solution.

In October’s parliamentary elections, the MDM won eight seats – but the parliamentary standing orders state that a parliamentary group must have a minimum of 11 members. The MDM is thus urging that the standing orders be amended so that it gets the rights and privileges of a parliamentary group.

In the end, the decision will rest with the other 242 deputies – the 51 from Renamo and particularly the 191 from Frelimo.