Frelimo Party cells in public institutions. he debate arose from the growing belief that the existence of Frelimo Party cells inhibits freedom of expression in the civil service, where people are usually hesitant to give critical opinions, fearing that this could afect their employment status and hinder their careers. his situation can be conirmed by the proliferation of anonymous letters denouncing alleged misconduct in public institutions. he proliferation of these letters shows the absence of a spirit of openness and dialogue in the institutions in question. hese concerns were evident during the popular demonstrations on 1 and 2 September 2010 in protest against the high cost of living in the cities of Maputo and Matola. he demonstrations were initially ignored by Televisão de Moçambique, and participants felt that this position “denied the people’s right to information”. Participants also reairmed the indings of previous rounds about regional diferences in the practice of freedom of expression, by noting that the further one moves from the main urban centres, the more limited freedom of expression becomes. his is evident during visits by the Head of State to districts and administrative posts, where complaints are presented to him about alleged abuses of power by local State representatives. If freedom of expression existed in these localities, such issues could easily be presented and dealt with at the level of the respective local authorities. Mozambique still has no speciic legislation on broadcasting. A draft law on radio and television has been prepared and public discussion on the draft was launched by the Prime Minister, Aires Ali, in May 2010. In the absence of such a law, there is no independent entity regulating the broadcasting sector. As such, the sector continues to be regulated by a variety of legal provisions, implemented at various levels: GABINFO, the National Communications Institute (Instituto Nacional das Comunicações - INCM), and the Council of Ministers. While GABINFO is responsible for verifying the legality of the entity requesting a broadcasting licence, the INCM conirms that the applicant’s technical conditions are adequate and inally, the Council of Ministers grants the licence. his means that the entire regulatory system is under the government and therefore cannot be considered independent and legally protected from interference. he absence of this law also means that the government does not impose any public interest requirements on applicants when they are issued broadcasting licenses. As a result, there are radio or television stations that merely broadcast music or retransmit programmes produced externally, with no legal requirement to include local content. In the case of TVM, for example, after the Programme–Contract was signed with the government in order to obtain funding, a number of parameters were established about the kind of content that should AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MOZAMBIQUE 2011 73