Mozambique: Budget of the Presidency reduced by more than 2.7 billion meticais – Carta

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Mozambique: Budget of the Presidency reduced by more than 2.7 billion meticais – Carta

2:42 CAT | 09 May 2025

File photo: Folha de Maputo

The ‘budget maps’ omitted by the government during the initial submission of the Proposal for the Economic and Social Plan and State Budget (PESOE) for 2025 in the Assembly of the Republic, which led parliament to postpone its debate in plenary session twice, are now in the hands of the deputies and the debate in parliament would start today.

Among the expenses proposed by the government, as set out in the maps, the highlight is the drastic reduction in the budget to be allocated to the Presidency of the Republic. According to the maps consulted by ‘Carta’, the Presidency of the Republic will this year receive 349,513.97 thousand meticais for its operations, of which 195,145.22 thousand meticais will be allocated to personnel expenses; 153,167.72 thousand meticais for the acquisition of goods and services; and 1,201.03 thousand meticais will be spent on current transfers.

The amount represents a reduction of more than 2.7 billion meticais in relation to the 2023 allocation, the reference year for the analysis, since the General State Account for 2024, the last year of the Nyusi administration, is not yet available.

According to the General State Account for 2023, still “shelved” in the Assembly of the Republic, the Presidency of the Republic received a total of 3,100,979.45 thousand meticais for its operations, of which 828,891.95 thousand meticais were spent on personnel expenses; 2,270,088.97 thousand meticais on the acquisition of goods and services; 272.74 thousand meticais on current transfers; and 1,725.78 thousand meticais in other current expenses and general government expenses.

The PESOE 2025 maps also show a reduction in the budget for investment expenses in the Presidency of the Republic, which will fall from 91,209.24 thousand meticais in 2023 to 43,252.91 thousand meticais in 2025.

The same situation applies to the budget of the Presidency’s Military Household, the official bodyguard of the President of the Republic, his wife, children and assets. The maps consulted by “Carta” indicate that the Military Household will receive 231,422.92 thousand meticais this year for its operations, to be spent on personnel expenses (19,871.93 thousand meticais); on the acquisition of goods and services (43,448.29 thousand meticais); on current transfers (397.00 thousand meticais); and in expenditure on capital goods (167,705.70 thousand meticais).

The amount represents a reduction of just over 1.5 billion meticais compared to 2023. In that year, the presidential guard received 1,744,475.38 thousand meticais, of which 1,385,979.80 thousand meticais were spent on personnel expenses; 357,440.58 thousand meticais on goods and services; and 1,055.00 thousand meticais on current transfers.

In this case, for example, the government does not plan any investments in this sector. If in 2023, investment expenses consumed 81,632.00 thousand meticais, for this year, no resources are planned for investment in the Military Household.

For 2025, the government will also reduce the budget allocated to the FADM (Mozambican Armed Defence Forces), allocating 18,966,762.02 thousand meticais, compared to the 24,711,541.5 thousand meticais allocated in 2023.

The SISE (State Intelligence and Security Service) will also have its budget reduced, receiving 459,602.90 thousand meticais, compared to 3,501,544.24 thousand meticais allocated in 2023.

In 2023, the government had also allocated 918,550.30 thousand meticais for investment expenses in the FADM and 103,171.23 thousand meticais for investment expenses in the SISE. Meanwhile, for this year, no investment expenses are planned for either of the abovementioned entities.

The Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR), the riot police responsible for the massacre of dozens of citizens during the post-election demonstrations, will also have its budget reduced, from 33,796.06 thousand meticais in 2023 to 16,449.15 thousand meticais in 2025. In 2023, the reference year for the analysis, the UIR did not receive any investments.

It is worth recalling that it was in 2023 that the Defence and Security Forces popularized the idea that a coup d’état was in the making, a fact that led the Military Household to place soldiers along the wall of the Presidency of the Republic, on Av. Julius Nyerere, in the City of Maputo, and near the Ponta Vermelha Palace.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the investment expenditures made in 2023 in the entities analysed were not included in the State Budget, having been introduced after budgetary changes by the government, and are only included in the General State Account.
The PESOE 2025 is being debated this Friday, after being postponed twice.

Source: Carta de Moçambique