The Public Ministry assumes that there were deviations in the management of Covid-19 funds, and that the fight against corruption is not making progress in the country.

But the Center for Public Integrity (CIP) says that the lack of progress is due to the inoperativeness of public authorities, including the judiciary itself, in the fight against this evil, which, in 2021, damaged the state by about 304 million meticais, about 4.8 million dollars.

This week, according to VOA, the Central Office for Combating Corruption, under the Attorney General's Office of Mozambique, is promoting debates in the country as part of the African Day for the Fight against Corruption, July 11.

For the celebration of the date a suggestive motto was chosen: "Strategies and Mechanisms for the Management of Funds for Covid-19".

Deviation

It should be noted that the Mozambican Administrative Court accused the government of "deviations of various forms" and "undue payments" during the critical phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At stake are $700 million received from partners, most of this money having been donated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which recently resumed aid to Mozambique.

The spokesman for the Central Office for Combating Corruption, Romualdo Jonas, has already acknowledged that in the management of these funds "there have been reported situations of mismanagement, embezzlement, and non-compliance with the rules of public procurement for the purchase of products for Covid-19.

He mentioned, for example, that two cases of corruption have been registered in the northern province of Nampula, one of which has already been charged and referred to court.

Lack of seriousness

Jonas said that in Mozambique, the fight against this evil is not progressing, adding that over time, the country has been recording a stationary result, "which is not positive for its image."

Meanwhile, the Center for Public Integrity (CIP), says that in the case of Mozambique, the lack of progress in combating corruption is due to the lack of seriousness of the public authorities, namely, Government, Parliament, and the judiciary.

The jurist and CIP researcher, Baltazar Fael, wonders how to fight corruption "with corrupt people who say they have the power to fight this evil and that, in fact, in practice, they contribute to the worsening of corruption in our society?"