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The theory of the chained elephant is this: A baby elephant is captured and tied up using a chain. The elephant is small, the chain is large. The elephant quickly discovers that it cannot move beyond the chain and stops trying. The elephant grows. The chain remains the same size. Eventually the elephant is very big and the chain is very small in comparison. However the elephant continues to believe that it cannot move beyond the chain and never tries.

So what does this theory have to do with Mozambique? This year the country celebrates 40 years of independence from Portugal. Mozambique has achieved so much in the intervening period. Despite the war of independence followed by a devastating civil war the country is now achieving impressive economic growth rates and making significant progress in the fight against poverty. There is a lot to celebrate.

However in some places the chains of Portuguese inheritance are still visible and restrict Mozambique’s development as a modern, independent country. The chains are most obvious in the public administration and legal framework.

An example – despachantes. These are intermediaries which anyone wanting to import to or export from the country is required to use. A fee must be paid to the despachante and in exchange they complete paperwork which they submit to Customs. Despachantes must be licensed to operate and licenses are not available to most people. Most countries do not have despachantes. Instead other countries trust that transporters, clearing agents and others are able to use the Customs tariff codes and interact with Customs without the need for a licensed intermediary.

It seems that the only reason that Mozambique has despachantes is because Portugal had them 40 years ago and still has them. Surely it is not the case that the government believes that the many, highly skilled and qualified Mozambicans working for shipping lines, transport or courier companies are incapable of using the Customs tariff code and filling in some forms? Why then do we continue to have a legally imposed group of intermediaries which adds time, cost and inefficiency to imports and exports? They are the remnants of the chain on the elephant.

The same is true for other legally imposed intermediaries. Take for example the public notary. In other countries notaries have a limited role. But in Mozambique many, many documents require a trip to the notary to verify a signature or that a photocopy is correct. Surely we are not saying that Mozambican lawyers are incapable of checking the validity of a signature or a photocopy? The pervasive use of notaries for everything from school enrolment forms to bank and mobile phone account applications adds time and cost. Here too we see the remnants of the chain on the elephant.

The chain is visible throughout the complex and unnecessary bureaucracy in the public administration and legal system.

Mozambique is a young, vibrant country with many opportunities. It has achieved great things since Independence. To take advantage of everything it has the potential to be, the country should throw off any negative vestiges of Portuguese heritage in public administration and the legal sector. It should look to modern economies around the world for models of efficiency rather than retaining old European systems. It should rid itself of unnecessary intermediaries and barriers which have no place in the modern world and only serve to make people’s lives more expensive and complicated.