Maputo — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Monday sacked Prime Minister Aires Ali.

The fall of Ali had been widely expected since the congress of the ruling Frelimo Party in late September, when Ali lost his seat on the party's most powerful body, the Political Commission.

The new Prime Minister is Alberto Vaquina, formerly governor of Tete province, and one of the newcomers elected to the Political Commission at the Congress.

Guebuza also sacked the Minister of Youth and Sport, Pedrito Caetano, replacing him with Fernando Sumbana, who was previously Minister of Tourism. The tourism portfolio is now occupied by Carvalho Muaria, who is another of the newcomers to the Frelimo Political Commission. Muaria was governor of Sofala province, and previously held the post of Deputy Minister of Public Works.

The Minister of Education, Zeferino Martins, lost his job and was replaced by one of the deputy ministers, Augusto Luis Jone. The governor of Zambezia province, Francisco Itai Meque is appointed to Jone's former position as deputy education minister.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Venancio Massingue, was also dismissed. His replacement is Luis Pelembe, a professor of food technology at the country's largest institution of higher education, the Eduardo Mondlane University.

Guebuza also took the opportunity to dismiss the governor of Nampula, Felismino Tocoli.

He had clearly lost the confidence of Frelimo members in Nampula. In the provincial conferences that preceded the Frelimo Congress, Tocoli was the only one of the 11 governors who was not elected onto the Frelimo Central Committee.

Guebuza replaced Tocoli with a Frelimo parliamentarian Cidalia Chauque, and a second parliamentarian, Joaquim Verissimo, becomes governor of Zambezia. Both Chauque and Verissimo are members of the Standing Commission (governing board) of the Mozambican parliament, and will now have to be replaced.

The new governor of Sofala is Felix Paulo, a former national director of veterinary services, and the new governor of Tete is Ratxide Gogo, a former deputy general director of the Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE).

Following this reshuffle, the composition of the Mozambican government is as follows

President of the Republic: Armando Emilio Guebuza

Prime Minister: Alberto Clementino Vaquina

Ministers

Foreign Affairs and Cooperation: Oldemiro Julio Baloi

Planning and Development: Aiuba Cuereneia

Finance: Manuel Chang

Agriculture: Jose Condungua Pacheco

Industry and Trade: Armando Inroga

Transport and Communications: Paulo Zucula

Mineral Resources: Esperanca Bias

Energy: Salvador Namburete

Public Works and Housing: Cadmiel Muthemba

Fisheries: Victor Manuel Borges

Education: Augusto Luis Jone

Health: Alexandre Manguele

Defence: Filipe Nyussi

Interior: Alberto Mondlane

State Administration: Carmelita Namashalua

Veterans' Affairs: Mateus Oscar Kida

Tourism: Carvalho Muaria

Youth and Sport: Fernando Sumbana Junior

Public Service: Vitoria Diogo

Labour: Maria Helena Taipo

Justice: Maria Benvinda Levy

Science and Technology: Luis Augusto Pelembe

Culture: Armando Artur

Women's Affairs and Social Welfare: Iolanda Cintura

Coordination of Environmental Action: Alcinda Abreu

Minister for the President's Office - Antonio Fernandes Sumbana

Ministers in the Presidency:

For Social Matters - Feliciano Gundana

For Parliamentary, Municipal and Provincial Assembly Affairs - Adelaide Amurane

Deputy Ministers:

Interior - Jose Mandra

Finance - Pedro Couto

Planning and Development - Maria Jose Lucas

Foreign Affairs and Cooperation - Henrique Banze

- Eduardo Koloma

Defence - Agostinho Monjane

Coordination of Environmental Action - Ana Paula Chichava

Public Works and Housing - Francisco Pereira

Mineral Resources - Abdul Razak Noormahomed

State Administration - Jose Tsambe

Energy - Jaime Himede

Industry and Trade - Kenneth Marizane

Agriculture - Antonio Raul Limbau

Public Service - Abdurremane Lino de Almeida

Justice - Alberto Ntukumula

Education - Arlindo Chilundo

- Francisco Itai Meque

- Leda Florinda Hugo

Health: Nazira Abdula

Fisheries - Gabriel Muthisse

Women's Affairs and Social Welfare - Virgilio Mateus

Veterans' Affairs - Marcelino Liphola

Youth and Sport - Carlos Castro de Sousa

Provincial Governors:

Niassa - David Marizane

Cabo Delgado - Eliseu Machava

Nampula -Cidalia Chauque

Zambezia - Joaquim Verissimo

Tete - Ratxide Gogo

Manica - Ana Comoana

Sofala - Felix Paulo

Inhambane - Agostinho Trinta

Gaza - Raimundo Diomba

Maputo - Maria Elias Jonas

Maputo City - Lucilia Nota Hama

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