Catholic Church demands declaration of illegality of hidden debt – Mozambique

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Catholic Church demands declaration of illegality of hidden debt – Mozambique

12:00 CAT | 05 Jul 2017

O País

The Catholic Church is asking that the competent body declare unconstitutional the adoption by the Assembly of the Republic of hidden debts “contracted unilaterally, illegally and illegitimately”.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Episcopal Commission on Justice and Peace, the Catholic Church demands the accountability of those who directly contracted the debt, as well as those individuals and institutions who did not respond to the request for information from Kroll, the consultant in charge of auditing Ematum, Proindicus and MAM.

“We cannot allow the Mozambican people to be held responsible for paying the debts contracted in their name illegally and unconstitutionally,” the statement reads.

In a message to Catholic Christians, the church says that no-one is obliged to obey any political party or leader contrary to their own conscience. “We cannot place a party or its leaders above justice, love of God and love of brothers. At the end of our day, we will be judged according to love, not according to riches or power,” the bishops warn.

The Episcopal Commission notes inconsistencies between the explanations provided by ‘Individual A’, the Ministry of Defence and the contractor regarding the actual use of the US$500 million loan amount.

According to the audit summary, lacunae remain on how exactly US$2 billion was spent, despite considerable efforts to address the lack of information.

Source: O País