Mozambique: Huge debts suffocate public telecoms company

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Mozambique: Huge debts suffocate public telecoms company

3:29 CAT | 13 Jun 2022

File photo: Notícias

Mozambique’s publicly owned telecommunications company, Tmcel, is sinking under the weight of huge debts owed by other public companies, or government institutions, according to a report in the latest issue of the independent weekly “Savana”.

The total debt is over a billion meticais (about 16.7 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate). The debt is preventing Tmcel from paying its suppliers, and today it even faces difficulties in paying wages to its 1,800 strong workforce. The company has not paid wages since April.

According to the list published by “Savana”, the largest debtor is the National Electronic Government Institute (INAGE) which provides Internet services to various other state bodies. It owes Tmcel over 380 million meticais.

Other major debtors include the Mozambican Tax Authority (AT) – which demands that everybody else pays what they owe to the state, but has run up a debt to Tmcel of over 91.6 million meticais.

The list of debtors also includes CEDSIF, a body supervised by the Ministry of Economy and Finance which modernises the financial management systems throughout the state, which owes almost 32 million meticais; the State Security and Intelligence Service (SISE), which owes 12.6 million meticais; and the publicly owned television and radio stations (TVM and RM) which between them owe over 86 million meticais.

Tmcel is now belatedly reacting by cutting off the Internet access enjoyed by various public institutions. The National Road Transport Institute (INATRO), which issues the country’s driving licences, had enjoyed access to the Internet via INAGE. Because of the INAGE debt to Tmcel, INATRO suddenly found its connection to the Internet cut off.

This interruption only lasted three days in Maputo, but was continuing in the rest of the country, “Savana” said. This followed a warning from Tmcel to INAGE, dated 31 May – unless the debt was paid, with interest, Tmcel would cut off its services.

So far Tmcel has reacted very mildly – if it were to cut off all the services it provides via INAGE, the civil identification service would be unable to issue identity cards, the National Immigration Service (SENAMI) would not be able to issue passports, the electronic financial management system (e-SISTAFE) would stop working, thus compromising wage payments throughout the state apparatus, and all public universities would find themselves with no internet access.

The Tmcel financial director, Mario Albino, told “Savana” that the matter is being dealt with “at institutional level”. But he recognised that the debt is creating enormous constraints for the company, including its difficulty in paying Tmcel workers their wages.

Source: AIM