The Mozambican government approved on Tuesday a decree that extinguishes the public company Correios de Moçambique, as part of the plan to restructure the state's business sector.

"All public or state-owned companies are being visited. This time it was the company Correios de Moçambique, and it was found that it is not in the category of strategic and structuring for the Government," said the Minister of Economy and Finance, Adriano Maleiane, moments after a session of the Council of Ministers in Maputo.

The services provided by the Mozambique Post Office are to be fully run by the private sector, but the process is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, and the company will be obliged to continue operating until the end of 2021.

In the last year alone, the Mozambique Post Office has accumulated $349,000 in losses, a result associated with the covid-19 outbreak.

But even before the pandemic, the company was going through a bad period, with the 2019 accounts showing that the company owed more than 50 million meticais to employees, following a decrease in customers due to the emergence of new companies in the industry.

In addition to the Mozambique Post Office, at Tuesday's session, the Mozambican government decided to extinguish Empresa Moçambicana de Exploração Mineira and sell its shares in DOMUS - Sociedade de Gestão Imobiliária, the entity responsible for managing one of the largest buildings in the capital.

"For all three of these companies, the Institute for the Management of State Holdings is mandated to implement the subsequent stages, which will lead to their liquidation," the Minister of Economy and Finance added.