Mozambique: Costs with State staff rise 63% in five years, need to be cut urgently – NGO

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Mozambique: Costs with State staff rise 63% in five years, need to be cut urgently – NGO

4:04 CAT | 02 Nov 2022

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

The Mozambican non-governmental organisation (NGO) Centro de Integridade Pública (CIP – Centre for Public Integrity) on Tuesday said it was urgent for the state to cut staff costs, which have risen 63% in five years.

“It is important and urgent to reduce spending, mainly on staff and pensions, as these can pose a risk to public finances,” it said in its analysis of the administrative court’s report on the general state account for 2021.

Expenditure on personnel “has been increasing year after year”, with a 12% increase from 2020 to 2021 from 124.4 billion meticais (two billion euros) to 139.2 billion meticais(2.2 billion euros), a variation of 12%, the NGO notes.

“The situation becomes increasingly critical when one analyses the evolution of this expenditure from 2017 to 2021,” with an increase of about 63%.”

In 2017, the expenditure was 85.1 billion meticais(1.3 billion euros)

Despite attempts, CIP was unable to obtain detailed information about this growth in expenditure – a complaint about lack of data that is made about several other points in the state accounts.

The analysis takes on new meaning considering that the government has this year made a commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce the public sector wage bill to levels equal to neighbouring countries.

The commitment is part of the memorandum that underpins the IMF financial aid programme to Mozambique of US$470 million (462 million euros) until 2025.

The weight of the figures audited by the administrative court (TA), on staff and other transfers, justifies there being details about where the money went, argues the CIP.

“The execution of expenditure on personnel and current transfers has a weight of 70.3% of total current expenditure. As such, a separate and detailed analysis of these two components is important and urgent,” notes the organisation.

Still on the subject of 2021 expenses, the CIP highlights the “urgent” need for “clarification and publication of all expenses made with the training of agricultural extension workers”, in view of reports of irregularities in contracts and lack of payments.

On the other hand, “the government has not provided details of funding for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that benefited from funding from the German Development Bank,” in the amount of six million euros, the report said.

A risk also persists for the State’s accounts, it adds, because “as in previous years, the execution of a considerable part of investment spending financed with external funds was not made through the Single Treasury Account.

“This fact not only violates the law, but also represents a risk in the control of public funds,” the NGO points out.

In general, the TA report on the 2021 accounts, like previous reports, highlights the existence of a “deficient internal control system”, mainly at the central level, concludes the CIP.

The 2021 general state account will be voted on Wednesday by the Mozambican parliament.

Source: Lusa