Chissano considers conclusions on Mozambique’s ‘hidden debts’ premature

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Chissano considers conclusions on Mozambique’s ‘hidden debts’ premature

6:19 CAT | 21 Jun 2016

Lusa (File photo) / Joaquim Chissano, former president of Mozambique

Former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano said yesterday that he considered any conclusions about the so-called hidden debts in Mozambique premature, arguing that the investigation process should proceed calmly because it involves people with “certain integrity”.

“This is a sensitive issue and it has to do with people who have some integrity,” Mozambique’s former head of state told reporters at the launch of a book, “Construindo um novo Dia” (“Building a New Day”), an initiative of the Portuguese embassy in Maputo.

Stressing the importance of a peaceful environment for the investigation of debts the previous government contracted between 2013 and 2014 without notifying parliament or international financial institutions, Chissano said the matter was in hand, and the best way forward now was to maintain a calm atmosphere without interfering in the investigations.

According to Chissano, the Mozambican people should avoid acting or commenting emotionally, as the Mozambican government had shown the openness needed to resolve the issue.

“The issue of debt is in good hands,” said the former president.

The Mozambican government recently went to parliament to explain the outlines of hidden debts of more than one billion contracted and adopted by the previous executive.

Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario in April acknowledged the existence of previously undisclosed debts of US$1.4 billion (EUR 1.25 billion), which the government justifies on national security grounds, and which led the International Monetary Fund to suspend the second instalment of a pre-agreed loan to Mozambique and cancel a visit to Maputo.

The G14 group of donors from the state budget also suspended its payments, a move followed by the United States, which announced that it would review its support and, like the United Kingdom, has demanded an international forensic audit.

The Attorney General of the Republic of Mozambique has initiated two legal cases to ascertain the legality of debts and hearings are already underway.

On Saturday, hundreds of people took to the streets of Maputo to protest against the political and economic situation in Mozambique, demanding accountability for the perpetrators of hidden debt and an end to military confrontations between the government and the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), the main party opposition.

With the revelation of new loans, Mozambique’s public debt now stands at US$11.66 billion (EUR10.1 billion), of which US$9,890 million (EUR8,6 billion) is external.

Source: Lusa