A house on Av. Kim Il Sung (before: Rua General Rosado) with many elements unique to the style of Portuguese architecture such as a tiled roof; verandah and visor which prevent harsh sunlight from entering the house. Projects conceived from the 1930s onward were based on an accumulated knowledge of the climates. The style is found all over the Portuguese colonies such as Angola and Mozambique where architecture had started to become climate responsive.
A document released at Docomomo Portugal provides interesting history on the development of climate specific architecture
By October 9th, 17 million Mozambicans had registered to vote in the general elections. The turnout was less than expected but observers and the public noted grave irregularities in the process and the contested election results led to a nation-wide boycott. The aggrieved opposition resorted to its horde of internet savvy denizens to orchestrate a shutdown of the country. Confrontations between law enforcement and an irate public ensued with accusations of police brutality. The events continue to unfold in a scenario that would have been better written into a plot.
Sensing changing tides, a group of academics, lawyers and journalists banded together to develop what would be this nation’s first citizen manifesto. Such a task could not have been more opportune. By getting citizens to imagine a favourable tomorrow, there is lesser chance of breaking what is there today as prolonged protests, however peaceful, invariably lead to destruction.
To remake Mozambique as a country safe for citizenship, the motto of the manifesto, means to have a serious reflection on the political trajectory of the country, one that encourages, facilitates and protects the discharge of citizens’ rights, according to the manifesto; which puts at centre the rights of citizens for self-determination.
At a time when confidence in the public institutions, whose cardinal preoccupations would be to serve the public is at an all-time low, Mozambicans are living in an increasingly autocratic and tyrannous nation.
The citizen manifesto makes a call, but is not limited to the review of:
Separation of powers
Presidential powers
Electoral justice
Political inclusion and participation
Regional and local autonomy and decentralization
Freedoms of expression
Standards and structures for economic and social development
National reconcilliation
Role of the State
The manifesto ends with an appeal to all public actors and institutions; political parties and social organizations for the calling of a National Conference to establish a way out of the post electoral crisis in the spirit of “Mozambique as a country safe for citizenship“.
Manifesto Cidadão “Fazer de Moçambique um País Seguro para a Cidadania”
Terra Velha 