At least 27 civil servants charged with corruption in central Mozambique

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At least 27 civil servants charged with corruption in central Mozambique

1:45 CAT | 12 Dec 2024

File photo: Lusa

At least 27 civil servants have been charged in central Mozambique this year in proceedings linked to corruption cases, the Sofala Provincial Anti-Corruption Office announced today.

Speaking to journalists in the city of Beira, Bernardo Duce, director of that public prosecution department, said that there were cases of civil servants illegally charging citizens for services, and of citizens who, on their own initiative, tried to pay civil servants for simple acts of public administration.

“To reverse the current scenario, we ask for the involvement of all segments of society in combating it, taking into account that this type of crime hinders the socioeconomic development of this province and the country,” Duce stressed.

Analysis of the cases, he said, led to the conclusion that there continued to be corruption among public servants at various levels and that, either alone or in coordination with users, they were taking advantage of their functions to appropriate public resources.

“We are aware that the numbers indicated may not represent the total number of corruption cases that have occurred in our province,” Duce admitted.

Up until November, he explained, 34 defendants had been named in such cases in Sofala province, of which 27 were public servants and seven private sector workers, with 11 being arrested ‘in flagrante delicto’.

He added that the total involves a universe of 92 cases processed from January to November in the central region of Mozambique, 22 of which were carried over from 2023 and the remaining 70 initiated this year.

Of the total number of cases processed, 61 were concluded, of which 30 were charged and sent to the courts for trial, and 15 were archived due to lack of sufficient evidence for formal charges, while another 16 were sent to other bodies, depending on the subject matter.

Source: Lusa