OPEN LETTER TO HER EXCELLENCY PRIME MINISTER BENVINDA LEVI

Alexandre Capeia"

In accordance with Articles 79, 88, and 89 of the Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique

Her Excellency the Prime Minister of the Republic of Mozambique, Benvinda Levi,

I, Alexandre Capeia, a Mozambican citizen and professional driver for 16 years, residing in Matola, contact number 84 233 3111, respectfully submit this Open Letter, in accordance with Article 79 (right of petition), Article 88 (right to education), and Article 89 (right to health) of the Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique, in response to Your Excellency's statement of October 28, 2026, according to which parents send students to private schools out of preference and not due to problems with public education.

Your Excellency, I dare to disagree, respectfully, but with factual truth. Allow me two questions based on facts:

First question:

If a child sitting on the sand due to a lack of desks and classrooms is considered preferential treatment, then is a mother pawning her cell phone at the HCM (Hospital Central de Mafra) due to a lack of 1200 MT worth of bandages for her son who suffered 80% burns also considered preferential treatment? A TV Sucesso report from October 27th documents a mother who pawned her cell phone at the HCM. That's not preferential treatment, it's a lack of resources.

Second question:

No father earning 8000MT has the option of paying 15000MT in private school tuition. He is obligated to. With all due respect, Your Excellency, 8000 minus 15000 equals a negative number. No Mozambican father chooses to be poor by choice. He runs away from children sitting on the sand, without desks, under trees, without a teacher for years.

Article 88 states that education is a right and a duty of the State to guarantee quality. When the State says it is a preference, it abdicates its duty. Article 89 says the same for healthcare. The people do not have a preference for paying privately; they lack public services.

I conclude, as in my letter Mozambique Cries: Governing is not about clever rhetoric, it's about the science of management. Science is counting how many schools lack desks, how many classrooms lack roofs, how many hospitals lack lightbulbs and gauze, how many doctors are using their cell phone flashlights at José Macamo Hospital.

I humbly ask Your Excellency, as a driver who has been transporting Mozambique for 16 years: visit a school in Matola, sit for two hours on the sand with the children, then tell the country if it's preferential treatment or a lack of resources. The struggle continues; it's not against people, it's for lights in hospitals and school desks. May God enlighten Your Excellency to transform forced preferential treatment into a guaranteed right.

With due respect to the Constitution,

Matola, October 29, 2026

Alexandre Capeia

Professional Driver

Contact: 84 233 3111

2025/12/3