Mozambique resists IMF audit demand – Analysts

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Mozambique resists IMF audit demand – Analysts

5:37 CAT | 02 Sep 2016

Pedestrians walk past the International Monetary Fund headquarters' complex in Washington Sunday, May 2, 2010. A senior International Monetary Fund official says the IMF's executive board is meeting in Washington to consider how much aid to grant Athens under a massive rescue loan package. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Voa (File photo)

The government of Mozambique is entitled not accept the International Monetary Fund’s demand for a forensic audit of its so-called “hidden debts”. This is the opinion of analysts who warn that such a move would have serious consequences,

Confronted with a situation where debts had been taken on without being registered in the public accounts and contracted without its knowledge, the IMF has demanded that the government of Mozambique submit to an independent forensic audit.

This requirement was reiterated last week by former IMF representative in Mozambique, Alex Segura, who said an audit was necessary to determine the final destination of the more than US$1.4 billion involved.

But economist João Mosca says that the Mozambican state is fully entitled not to accept the demand, although not accepting it would not necessarily mean that the IMF could not itself carry out the audit.

One economist said that the Fund could carry out a forensic audit regardless of the country’s wishes, “but this would mean that the relations between Mozambique and the IMF would change completely “.

João Mosca is the Director of the Centre of Rural Environment of Mozambique, one of the civil society organisations which organised a protest march against the so-called hidden debts in Maputo on Saturday, 27 August 27.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has opposed any external audit pending the results of an investigation that is being conducted by the Attorney General’s Office.

The question of the Mozambican public debt is expected to dominate the meeting between Filipe Nyusi and IMF director Christine Lagarde in Washington this month, and an IMF mission is to visit Mozambique starting 22 September to assess the country’s economic and financial progress in the wake of the debt crisis.

Government guarantees that it is doing its part

Mozambican Minister of Economy and Finance Adriano Maleiane however says that the government is doing its part to clarify the so-called hidden debts and facilitate the resumption of financial cooperation with the IMF and donors.

“We are doing our part. It will be up to them [IMF] to make the assessment that only they can make. Our relationship [with the IMF] has been good,” Maleiane told reporters on the sidelines of the head of state’s visit to the Maputo International Fair on Thursday.

Maleiane pointed to the recent approval of the amended state budget with its package of austerity measures as an indication of the implementation of the IMF mission’s recommendations.

Source: Voa Portugues