Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican government intends to expand the time of military service from the current two years to five years, in order to guarantee the professionalization of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM).
According to a bill on Military Service, introduced on Thursday by Defence Minister Cristóvão Chume at the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, the extension of military service to five years will cover the general troops, while the time of service for special forces will be extended to six years.
This revision of military law emerges at a moment when the FADM is fighting terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, supported by military contingents of the Southern African Development Community (SAMIM) and the Rwandan Defence Forces.
“We are sure that the bill represents a full preparedness for FADM professionalization and modernization, for the defence of our country”, the minister said, explaining that the current functioning of military service is unsuitable for the public finances because of annual recruitment of personnel who then leave just two years letter.
The extension of military service, Chume claimed, constitutes an essential factor in order to shape an army capable of responding to the current defence challenges, taking into account the risks that threaten the survival of the Mozambican State.
“The investment in infrastructures and transport makes military expenditure heavy. However, the amendments to the law will reduce expenditure since the FADM will no longer recruit its personnel every year. It allows more retention and professionalization of soldiers in the ranks”, the minister said.
After a sharp drop in military expenditure following the end of the war of destabilization in 1992, spending on the FADM, the police and the security service (SISE), taken together, rose to 22.1 per cent of the total state budget in 2022.
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