The crucial role of intellectual valuation and the safeguarding of professional experience in Mozambique

Paulo Vilanculo"

Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 178 of the Constitution of the Republic, the Assembly of the Republic, on May 4, 2026, carried out a punctual revision of Law No. 4/2022, of February 11, the General Statute of State Employees and Agents, and Law No. 10/2026, of June 29, was approved, amending Article 176 of the previous Law No. 4/2022, increasing the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65 years for all state employees and agents, regardless of gender. The decision, promulgated by the President of the Republic, Daniel Francisco Chapo, represents not only an administrative change; it symbolizes a redefinition of how Mozambique views the intellectual value of professional experience, investment in academic training, and the sustainability of the State's human resources. However, the new decision is not without criticism.

For many years, mandatory retirement at age 60 was seen as a natural mechanism for renewing the public administration workforce. However, this reality has always coexisted with a silent contradiction. Mozambican reality demonstrates that the training of a specialist is a lengthy process. Considering that formal schooling begins between the ages of six and seven, a citizen completes secondary education around the age of 18 or 19. Adding four or five years of undergraduate studies and the time needed to enter the job market, many professionals only effectively begin their careers around the age of 23 or 24. If they subsequently pursue postgraduate studies, specializations, master's degrees, and doctorates, the State continues to invest significant financial resources for another decade. The State invests for decades in the training of its professionals, financing undergraduate degrees, specializations, master's degrees, and doctorates, only to then dismiss many of these specialists precisely when they reach the peak of their intellectual maturity and professional experience. Mandatory retirement at age 60 meant that many of these professionals spent relatively little time giving back to society the knowledge acquired through this public investment. From this perspective, extending the retirement age can be interpreted as a measure of economic and institutional rationality.

Why did we title the text "The Time of the Heart Patients"? There is a social dimension that deserves reflection: the 60-year-old age group often corresponds to the beginning of greater physical limitations and an increased incidence of chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and hypertension, etc. However, while experience increases with age, certain public functions require high levels of training, operational capacity, and constant adaptation to rapid technological and administrative transformations. In many strategic areas, such as health, higher education, scientific research, and the judiciary, accumulated knowledge cannot be replaced solely by youth or the desire to renew generations. Senior professionals transmit tacit knowledge, organizational culture, and skills that are difficult to acquire only in universities, while younger professionals introduce new methodologies, technological expertise, and contemporary management perspectives. This provision demonstrates that the legislator recognizes the existence of areas where accumulated experience constitutes a strategic asset for the State.

More than simply postponing the reform, the new legislation invites Mozambique to rethink the concept of professional aging. Chronological age should not be the sole criterion for measuring a worker's productive capacity. Remaining in a position should not only mean occupying a job, but also multiplying knowledge and institutionally strengthening public administration. In many intellectual professions, the best contributions emerge precisely in the more mature phases of a career, when scientific knowledge is combined with practical experience accumulated over decades. It is about making longer use of highly qualified personnel, reducing the loss of human capital and ensuring greater institutional stability. Another relevant aspect concerns the need for a balance between renewal and preservation of institutional memory. No institution can evolve solely with experienced personnel, just as it cannot survive by relying exclusively on youth. Institutional development depends on the coexistence of innovation and experience. Paragraph 2 of the new Law 10/2026, published in Series I - Number 121 of the Official Gazette on June 29, 2026, contemplates the possibility of maintaining in their positions workers who have previously reached the age limit, provided that there are well-founded reasons of public interest and that their continued employment is considered essential for the normal functioning of the services.

In a country where youth represents the majority of the population and awaits an opportunity in public administration, extending the tenure of older employees could significantly reduce entry opportunities for thousands of young graduates facing high unemployment rates. Maintaining current employees for another five years could further exacerbate congestion in the state labor market. Ultimately, the discussion should not be limited to the question of whether employees should retire at 60 or 65. In many developed countries, the trend has been precisely to extend the tenure of workers, keeping pace with increased life expectancy and the need to preserve specialized skills, provided this proves indispensable to the normal functioning of the service, for duly justified reasons of public interest, as exceptionally provided for in paragraph 4 of the new Law 10/2026 of June 29. The real challenge lies not only in raising the retirement age. The central issue is creating mechanisms that allow more experienced employees to play mentoring, research, consulting, and training roles for new generations of public servants. The real question is how to transform accumulated experience into a bridge to the future, and not an obstacle to renewal. A strong state is one that can leverage the wisdom of the most experienced without closing its doors to the skills of new generations. Thus, legislative change could represent progress, provided it is accompanied by public policies that simultaneously promote the valuing of experience, generational renewal, and the creation of opportunities for young people.

2025/12/3