Money from Census diverted in Zambezia, Mozambique

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Money from Census diverted in Zambezia, Mozambique

1:50 CAT | 02 Nov 2017

Two heads of administrative posts in the Mozambican province of Zambezia have been accused of embezzling money from general census funds, and other employees are being investigated.

The police are continuing investigations the Prosecutor’s Office of Zambezia says, but nobody knows the exact amount missing. It is estimated that around 300,000 meticais (EUR 4,170) was disbursed between five district government officials, including two chiefs of the Namarrói and Regone headquarters.

Zambézia police spokesman Miguel Caetano confirmed the arrest of the two heads of post, adding that they were now out on bail.

“The money belonged to the National Institute of Statistics. After the arrest, the case was sent to the prosecutor’s office. At present, the accused are awaiting trial in freedom, having lodged bail,” Caetano said.

More officials may be involved

Armando Terenha, Statistiker Mosambik — Armando Terenha

The Zambezia provincial delegate of the National Institute of Statistics, Armando Terenha, says that the embezzled money was intended for training for census taker and controllers.

“The disappearance of the value forms part of a complaint from Namarrói district logistics, and we realized that the heads of the administrative posts had diverted part of the funds, which did not reach the beneficiaries. The money was intended as training allowances for candidate controllers and census takers,” he says.

Terenha has no doubt that there are more civil servants involved in the diversion of funds from the General Census of Population and Housing. He says an “ongoing process of account collection” will verify that other public servants “took money improperly”.

“Culture of impunity in the public sector”

Journalist Thomas Find criticises civil servants’ behaviour, saying local reporters are appealing to the judicial authorities to investigate this case in particular. “There’s a culture of impunity in the public sector,” he maintains.

“It is not good in a democratic country like ours for public servants to remove public funds for their own personal use. It’s called political corruption.” Political corruption, when it pervades the economic fabric of society, renders the country evil, he says.

Source: Deutsche Welle