Mozambique: 22.1% of 2022 State expenditure went to defence and public security

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Mozambique: 22.1% of 2022 State expenditure went to defence and public security

3:41 CAT | 24 Nov 2023

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

The defence and public security sectors, which comprise the Armed Defence Forces of Mozambique, the State Intelligence and Security Service (SISE) and the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), continue to consume a large part of the General State Budget every year.

In 2022, according to the Report and Opinion on the General State Account, published this week by the Administrative Tribunal, the military sector consumed 22.1% of state expenses, calculated at more than 315.5 billion meticais.

The Security and Public Order sector, which brings together the Police and secret services, consumed 45.9 billion meticais, equivalent to 14.6% of state expenses last year, while the defence sector was responsible for 7.5% of the state budget, consuming 23.5 billion meticais.

Together, the defence and public security sectors surpassed all social sectors, but were themselves surpassed by general public services (executive and legislative bodies; financial and tax administration; general services and debt burden), which were responsible for consuming 40% of state expenditure (126 billion meticais).

The health sector, for example, spent the equivalent of 8.7% of expenditure, consuming 27.5 billion meticais, while environmental protection spent just over one billion meticais, equivalent to 0.3% of expenditure.

Social protection consumed 7.7 billion meticais, corresponding to 2.5% of expenditure, and the economic affairs sector spent 11.7 billion meticais, equivalent to 3.7% of expenditure. I
Within this sector, the highlight is road construction, which consumed 710 million meticais, corresponding to 0.2%.

The only sector that came close to defence and public security is the education sector, which consumed 68.6 billion meticais, equivalent to 21.8%.

Housing consumed 1.6 billion meticais (0.5% of the state budget) and recreation, culture and religion consumed 1.3 billion meticais (0.4%).

It should be noted that the preference for the military sector began in Armando Guebuza’s second term, registering still greater growth during the Nyusi administration. In 2021, for example, the sector consumed 18.9% of state expenditure, but not as much as the general public services (26.6%) and economic affairs (20.3%) sectors.

With a political crisis underway due to the VI Municipal Elections and the “ghost” of a coup d’état shadowing the Ponta Vermelha Palace since last March, it is almost certain that expenditure in the defence and public security sectors will skyrocket this year, with a tendency to worsen in 2024, when the VII Presidential and Legislative Elections are to be held.

Source: Carta de Moçambique