Mozambique: Ministry of Finance will manage seized assets and goods
File photo: Lusa
The Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), a Mozambican civil society organisation, on Tuesday called for an urgent audit of international support to the country to combat the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There is a need for an urgent audit of these resources, so they are not diverted, especially because the needs imposed by Covid-19 are immediate and there should be no room for weak accountability,” according to a statement.
The CIP accused the government of lack of justification of spending, noting the omission of details on the execution of funds in the fifth report on partner support, released in February.
“The document does not explain on what basis services were acquired and contracted to deal with the pandemic,” the analysis said.
CIP said the lack of justification is even more worrying given the context of doubt surrounding budget transparency in the country.
The organisation recalled that the government had budgeted $700 million (€588.7 million) for the needs to face the pandemic but got commitments of $808 million (€679.5 million) from international partners.
Of that amount, $661.5 million (€556.3 million) had been disbursed by December.
According to the CIP, the document did not provide sufficient details about the funding application and considered the situation particularly worrying concerning estimates for the health sector, classified as a priority.
The doubts prevail, above all, because there are grey areas in the range of needs and actions identified as priorities, the document said.
The organisation also criticised the money transferred to low-income families concerning the impact of Covid-19, noting that they had received only about $39 million (€32.8 million) up to last December.
“This aspect may jeopardise the development of social protection activities, in a context where the situation of vulnerability of families has increased, as well as the number of people in that situation,” it said in the analysis released on Tuesday.
CIP also said there was a lack of details about the funds allocated to micro-businesses, considering that the alleged gap creates opacity concerning the funds earmarked for this business segment.
Mozambique had, by this Tuesday, reported 700 Covid-19 deaths and 62.882 confirmed cases, of which 47.729 are recovered (75.9%), and 166 are hospitalised (68.1% of these patients in the city of Maputo).
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