Mozambique: NGO accuses central bank governor of ‘disrespect’

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Mozambique: NGO accuses central bank governor of ‘disrespect’

4:01 CAT | 05 Apr 2023

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

The Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), a Mozambican non-governmental organisation (NGO), on Wednesday accused the governor of the central bank of “disrespect” for missing a parliamentary hearing on the sovereign wealth fund.

“The frequent disrespect for a sovereign body, such as the parliament, has been manifested, not only by the constant absences to hearings of the parliamentary committees but also by the unavailability of information, such as reports and accounts of the institution,” said a statement from CIP.

The governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Rogério Zandamela, was due to have attended a hearing of the Planning and Budget Committee on Monday to provide clarification about the proposal to create the sovereign fund, but the leader “skipped” the hearing, and was represented at the session by an administrator, CIP said.

Zandamela’s absence led some opposition MPs on the commission to boycott the meeting, with only MPs from the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) remaining in the room, CIP noted.

The opposition MPs also failed to obtain documents from the Bank of Mozambique about the central bank’s accounts for last year and the 2023 activity plan.

The organisation described the behaviour of the directors of the Mozambican central bank as a “lack of transparency” and said that the bank had been repeatedly disrespectful to parliament.

The Bank of Mozambique has also remained silent in relation to questioning by the parliamentary committee about the unfavourable assessments of audits of the regulator’s accounts, CIP noted.

For this NGO, the central bank’s conduct raises doubts over its ability to transparently manage the future sovereign fund.

“Looking at the Bank of Mozambique, it is far from representing an institution that can be considered transparent, accountable and respectful of sovereignty,” reads the press release.

Source: Lusa