Mozambican judges ask the MP to investigate delays in subsidies

“ Omagistrates, over two years, never received the management grant ", said today the vice president of AMJ, Jafete Fremo, in a press conference, considering that the delay in payment raises doubts that must be clarified by the competent authorities.

The responsible added that the institution has doubts about compliance with the provisions of the Single Wage Table (TSU), in particular regarding the payment of the management allowance to the magistrates.

According to Fremo, the legislation provides that civil servants exercising management functions are entitled to a grant corresponding to 25% of the basic management salary, but the magistrates have only begun to receive this benefit in 2024, although the TSU has previously entered into force.

The association also questions the treatment given to requests for car allowance, claiming that there are magistrates who have been waiting five or six years for payment, while others who have submitted applications subsequently have already received.

“ But there are individuals, even colleagues, who before or after those who are waiting, submitted requests and then received ", said, questioning the criteria used by the Finances to determine the payment order.

AMJ believes that differences in the processing and payment of subsidies should be clarified and admits that an investigation may determine whether irregularities or possible criminal liability have occurred.

“ Therefore, we ask the Public Prosecutor to within the studies, that within the entire criminal association, investigate these situations and reach the conclusion to tell us, the community in general, what is happening”, he said.

The judges' claims occur in the context of a broader challenge to working conditions and the class framework in the TSU, adopted in 2022 to eliminate wage asymmetries and control the state's wage mass.

In July 2025, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo promised, in Quelimane, province of Zambézia in the center of Mozambique, to correct “incongruities” of the TSU, arguing that the measure should contribute to bringing justice to state officials and agents.

In May of the same year, the president of AMJ, Esmeraldo Matavel, asked the head of state for improvements in the living and working conditions of the magistrates, including a response to wage and security problems, considering judicial independence as a guarantee of citizens.

In June 2025, AMJ announced that it had practically completed a preliminary draft law on the financial independence of the judiciary, which it intended to submit to the Government for further referral to parliament. In August 2024, the association suspended a class strike after the opening of the executive to dialogue on the demands of the magistrates.

Approved in 2022 to eliminate asymmetries and keep the State's wage mass under control, the TSU set wages at around 36%, from an expenditure of 11.6 billion metical/month (16.9 million) to 15.8 billion metical/month (231 million euros), according to previous government figures, although officials complain of asymmetries and pay cuts.

The TSU cost about 28.5 billion meticals (410 million euros), “more than expected,” according to a document from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the evaluation of the Mozambique assistance programme released in early 2024.