Mozambique: Chang decision leaves SA president in difficult situation

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Mozambique: Chang decision leaves SA president in difficult situation

8:03 CAT | 19 May 2021

File photo: AFP

The consultancy NKC African Economics on Tuesday said that the president of South Africa is in a difficult situation due to the request for the extradition of Mozambique’s former finance minister, Manuel Chang, made by the Mozambican authorities.

“If South Africa extradites Manuel Chang to his home country and if he is not held to account, Ramaphosa opens his flank to charges of complicity at a time when he is trying to rid his government of a reputation for corruption,” said the analysts at Oxford Economics’ African branch.

In a commentary on the extradition request made last week, to which Lusa had access, the consultancy stressed that it is unlikely that the former Mozambican finance minister will face justice in connection with his alleged involvement in the scheme of ‘hidden debts’ in Mozambique. It recalled that five years have passed since the alleged practice of corruption.

“The delay in the final decision on his extradition is also not surprising, as regional heads of state have often prioritised the relationship between ruling parties, rather than holding those accused of offences to account,” the analysts added, arguing that Cyril Ramaphosa should be careful.

The Mozambican government has asked South African justice to force Pretoria to extradite without further delay former Finance Minister Manuel Chang, who has been detained for over two years in South Africa for fraud and corruption in his country.

According to the request submitted on Friday at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, the Mozambican government complains that an excessively long period has lapsed, pointing out that South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has failed and/or is neglecting to exercise his decision as ordered by the court.

“The reasons for the delay in making the decision are known to the minister,” the South African lawyers for the Mozambican government said, adding that the time without the decision being exercised has become grossly unreasonable.

Maputo authorities stressed that the detention of its former finance minister since 2018 in South Africa “violates” Manuel Chang’s right to justice, keeping him in prison awaiting extradition to Mozambique or the United States of America (US) to face charges of corruption and financial fraud for his role in the so-called hidden debts worth $2.2 billion (€1.8 million at the current exchange rate) in Mozambique.

“The minister of justice and correctional services are violating Mr Chang’s constitutional rights, and his behaviour is irrational and against fair administrative action, as enshrined in Article 33 of the 1996 South African Constitution,” the Maputo request to the South African court, consulted by Lusa, states.

Manuel Chang was arrested by the South African Police Service (SAPS) at the request of the US at Johannesburg international airport on 29 December 2018 on his way to Dubai on charges of money laundering and financial fraud and is being held at Modderbee prison in Benoni, east of Johannesburg.

The former Mozambican finance minister has considered a key player in the hidden debts the Mozambican state contracted between 2013 and 2014, in absentia of parliament, by signing the state guarantees on behalf of the government of former president Armando Guebuza.

The Mozambican state’s hidden loans with Credit Suisse and the Russian bank VTB were justified with maritime projects of the public companies Ematum, ProIndicus and MAM, provided by the Privinvest group, but which never materialised.

Source: Lusa