Mozambique: CDD calls for investigation of former agriculture minister – AIM report

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Mozambique: CDD calls for investigation of former agriculture minister – AIM report

5:40 CAT | 02 Jun 2025

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

A prominent Mozambican NGO, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), has called on prosecutors to open an investigation against the former Agriculture Minister, Celso Correia, for allegedly “leaving a legacy of harmful and criminal management” during the implementation of the SUSTENTA agricultural project.

SUSTENTA, which was officially defined as a national programme aimed at integrating family farming into productive value chains, was the flagship agricultural project of the former government led by the then President Filipe Nyusi.

It was created in 2016 during Nyusi’s first term in office and initially implemented in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia. From mid-2019, the project was expanded to the rest of the country.

The CDD statement follows the reaction of the current Minister of Agriculture, Roberto Albino, who controversially told reporters on Friday that he doesn’t know anything about SUSTENTA.

“I don’t know anything about the SUSTENTA project. I’m only focused on designing the agricultural project for the current government’s term of office. I only talk about the current term, not the previous ones”, he said.

This astonishing admission of ignorance might logically lead to calls for Albino to be sacked. Instead CDD turns its fire against his predecessor, Celso Correia.

According to CDD, the minister’s reaction confirms “that the project, which was the banner of Nyusi’s government, was nothing more than a hoax. Its creation was aimed at political interests, including consolidating the influence of the former Minister and father of the project, Celso Correia.”

“The project leaves a legacy of harmful and criminal management with debts to the public purse. With the announcement of its end without the objectives of its creation having been achieved, the CDD calls on the bodies of the administration of justice to intervene to hold the project’s mentors accountable, especially Celso Correia”, reads the CDD statement.

The organization says that the debts left by the project are criminal and show how fraudulent it was.

“A group of extension workers have been demanding their wages. The last time they were paid was in August 2024. The non-payment of wages is a chronic problem in this project. Last June, around 5,000 agricultural workers nationwide approached the CDD to denounce the non-payment of wages. After five years of SUSTENTA, the workers feel cheated by Celso Correia and Filipe Nyusi”, declares the CDD.

According to the statement, data from 2017 shows that the National Sustainable Development Fund (FNDS) financed SUSTENTA with about 200 million dollars, which was disbursed by the World Bank.

“The wide range of areas of activity was designed with the aim of impressing donors into financing the Fund, which quickly became the instrument used by Celso Correia to strengthen his influence in Nyusi’s government and the ruling Frelimo party. SUSTENTA’s narrative of success does not stand up when confronted with the official data on food insecurity in Mozambique”, says the document.

Source: AIM