Between 2018 and 2022, the government has already spent 106.8 billion Meticais on national security, following the start of the terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado, according to a study published today by the Center for Public Integrity (CIP).

"After 2018, the annual growth rate of national security increased dramatically. In other words, since 2018, the annual increase in security spending has risen by more than 8,081 million Meticais on top of the already growing trend," says the study "Revealing the Costs of War in Cabo Delgado", launched today in Maputo.

In relative terms, since 2018, the trend in the percentage of spending on national security in relation to total public spending has also accelerated by more than 1.20% per year, the analysis reads.

"Interestingly, allocations to the intelligence services were less directly affected, despite the increase in terrorist attacks, indicating the potential influence of other political considerations on this expenditure item," the study states.

In addition, the CIP study also draws attention to the loss of 384 million Meticais in tax revenue by the state, due to the suspension of the project of the consortium of the French multinational TotalEnergies, following an armed attack in March 2021.

Apart from that, the study says, the social fabric of the region is deteriorating, with Cabo Delgado standing out as the only province in Mozambique to witness a decline in literacy rates since the start of the conflict.

"We estimate that this educational impact could result in a relative decline in Cabo Delgado's GDP of up to 22.7 billion Meticais," says the document consulted by MZNews.

"By taking resources that should be going to other social sectors to deal with the war, they are going to be deprived," Rui Mathe, a researcher at CIP and responsible for the study, told the journalist.

As a recommendation, Mathe pointed out that the government should combine the effort to restore peace in Cabo Delgado with the dynamization of the social and economic fabric so that the country can follow a path of growth.

Mathe acknowledged that the government's opacity in relation to spending on the defense and security sector limits knowledge of the real scale of the costs of the war in Cabo Delgado, with the information available being based on the General State Account and other published documents.

The conflict in Cabo Delgado has killed 4,500 people and displaced more than a million, according to updated reports from the International Crisis Group.