Analysts criticize the lack of public debate and more information in the process of adopting the Single Wage Table (TSU) in the country, warning of the risk of unsustainability in the face of State Budget limitations.

"I don't know if the state will have the financial capacity to support these very high increases. This has implications for the state budget, which is already highly deficient and where public debt is constantly increasing," João Mosca, an economist and researcher at the non-governmental organization Observatório do Meio Rural, told Lusa.

At issue is Tuesday's approval of the final pay scales for state employees under the TSU, a new pay model proposed by the government with the intention of reducing pay discrepancies in the civil service.

For João Mosca, although the process is not over and public information is still scarce, it is possible to say that the process has been poorly conducted, insofar as the changes imply additional revenue, at a time when economic indicators show a negative scenario for Mozambique.

"I don't think that the current fiscal measures are in line with these new burdens derived from salary increases. Naturally, civil servants will be happy [...] but the problem is to see if the state will have the financial capacity to bear the new costs," said the economist, recalling the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) directives on the need for Mozambique to reduce "personnel costs".

Also for the activist and director of the Center for Democracy and Development (CDD), Adriano Nuvunga, the state will have difficulties in fully complying with the TSU due to the "frequent" limitations in the state budget.

For Adriano Nuvunga, although most salaries have been doubled, including the minimum wage, the changes won't really benefit the lower classes, insofar as the leaders will continue to receive the lion's share of the state apparatus' wage bill, although there have been announcements of a 20% reduction in the salary of the Mozambican head of state.

"The state won't be able to comply with the TSU because it has become uncharacteristic [...] This wasn't the purpose. The idea was to standardize salaries and, in the end, what has happened is that managers will continue to receive the biggest piece of the pie," the activist told Lusa.

On the other hand, Adriano Nuvunga continued, the process was not accompanied by a debate that included the opinion of civil servants.

"There was no participation from the various sectors of the public administration in the conception, design and entire legislative process. The whole process was centered in the hands of the government and a small group," said the activist.

Although he also considers there to have been a lack of information, Rui Mate, an economist at the Center for Public Integrity (CIP), classifies the rise in salaries as positive, especially the doubling of the minimum wage, but believes it is necessary to clarify the situation of professionals who have seen their salaries fall as a result of subsidy cuts.

"It would be interesting if the government could now provide details on the number of existing basic employees and how much was spent on salaries for this group in the old table and now in the new one how much will be needed. The same should happen for the other categories, so that we can see which levels have the greatest burden and understand the levels of sustainability," said the CIP economist.

"In the end, what's going to happen is that we're going to reach a point in the year when the salary lines can no longer support the payment of these changes that have been made and the government is going to have to resort to redistributions within its own budget, sacrificing some perhaps crucial activities," said the CIP researcher.

The final remuneration figures for state employees under the TSU set the minimum wage at 8,758 meticais, compared to the previous figure of 4,689 meticais.

In addition to the minimum wage, corresponding to assistants, agents and workers, the new salary scale for the Mozambican civil service sees a specialist rise from the current 24,882 meticais to 60,758 meticais, while a senior technician (N1) rises from 17,539 meticais to 37,758 meticais.

Senior technicians (N2) and professional technicians go from 13,565 meticais to 24,358 meticais and 8,531 meticais to 17,758 meticais, respectively.

The average technician goes from 7,443 meticais to 14,758 meticais, while the technical assistant will earn 10,758 meticais, compared to 5,531 meticais in the previous table.

The implementation of the new TSU, adopted in the final months of last year, was strongly contested due to "inconformities" presented by various professional classes in Mozambique, namely judges, teachers and doctors, and they even organized a strike to demand a review of the process.