Mozambique: Up to the government to find a solution for the €1.53B in outstanding balances – central bank | Watch

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Mozambique: Up to the government to find a solution for the €1.53B in outstanding balances – central bank | Watch

12:46 CAT | 01 Aug 2025

Screen grab: Banco de Moçambique

The governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Rogério Zandamela, says it’s up to the government to find a solution for the €1.53 billion in outstanding balances from exchange rate fluctuations owed by the state since 2005.

“Whether or not [the State] will issue bonds to deal with this is also not a question we should answer, because it’s not up to us. So, you have to ask the other party. If you ask me, I don’t know. Because it’s not me, it’s not us who should make a decision on this,” the central bank governor said in response to questions by journalists after the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (CPMO), held on Thursday in Maputo.

Lusa reported on July 7 that an audit of the Bank of Mozambique’s 2024 accounts concluded that the state has not assumed responsibility for the institution’s exchange rate fluctuations since 2005, totalling 115.4 billion meticais (€1.53 billion).

“The auditor once again noted this aspect, but the answer on how to deal with it is not the responsibility of the auditors,” the governor retorted.

According to the Forvis Mazars, the independent auditor of the central bank’s 2024 financial statements, this position contradicts the Bank of Mozambique’s organic law, which stipulates “that the outstanding balances from exchange rate fluctuations must be recognized by the Mozambican State”, which “in turn must issue public debt securities in favour of the bank”.

“We have found that the Mozambican State has not assumed its responsibilities since fiscal year 2005, for the accumulated amount of 115,366,652 thousand meticais, quantified with reference to December 31, 2024,” reads the independent auditor’s “Basis for qualified opinion” chapter, which is included in the central bank’s financial statements, dated June 30.

READ: Mozambique: State has not assumed central bank currency fluctuations since 2005

Furthermore, it adds in the same chapter, that the central bank “has also failed to record in its individual and consolidated financial statements interest and income associated with this Mozambican State debt, in the amount of 27,648,902 thousand meticais [€367 million]”, as of December 31.

The Bank of Mozambique posted losses of 4.15 billion meticais (€54.9 million) in 2024 and sharply revised downward the profits initially posted for 2023, according to its financial statements.

According to the report, approved on June 30, the net profit for the 2024 fiscal year contrasts with the profits of 886.2 million meticais (€11.7 million) in the previous year, in this case revised downward from the initial profit of almost 2.34 billion meticais (€30.9 million).

“In 2024, the bank identified an anomaly in its computer system regarding the accounting of exchange rate variations occurring at the maturity of term deposit and overnight deposit transactions for prior years up to 2023. In this context, the bank made the appropriate adjustment, resulting in the retrospective restatement of the 2023 financial year,” the document reads.

READ: Mozambique: Central bank makes €54.9M loss in 2024, lower profit in 2023

The Bank of Mozambique ended 2024 with total assets growing to 759.2 billion meticais (€10 billion), compared to total liabilities rising to 754.1 billion meticais (€9.9 billion), for an equity capital of 5.07 billion meticais (€67.1 million).

Source: Lusa