Oxfam, a Mozambican non-governmental organization, says that weak legislation on the extractive industry has led companies in the sector to avoid paying the Mozambican state more than 300 million dollars in 2021.
According to Oxfam's Tax Policy Advisor in Mozambique, Henrique Machado, the tax regulations surrounding the extractive sector in Mozambique still have a long way to go.
"There is the issue of multinational companies trying to avoid paying taxes, which could make a huge difference in terms of the quality of public services and the country's economic development," said Henrique Machado, quoted by VOA.
It should be noted that many Mozambican organizations dedicated to transparency and good governance, including the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), have also warned that many companies in the extractive sector do everything they can to avoid or pay as little tax as possible.
Meanwhile, the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Coordination Committee Forum welcomed the fact that Mozambique is the first country in Africa and the third in the world with a high degree of transparency in the extractive industry, according to the latest assessment by the EITI International Board, based in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
For Germano Brujane, from that forum, this shows that "we are making progress in terms of reforms that can guarantee greater transparency in the extractive sector, although there are still many challenges because the country is new to this sector".
"The advantage is that Mozambique will have greater credibility internationally because investors want to do business in a country where things work transparently," said the member of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Coordination Committee Forum.
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