The representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Mozambique, Alexis Meyer Cirkel, says that the kidnappings that have plagued the country's cities since 2011 have reached alarming proportions and are damaging the business environment.

According to Cirkel, who was speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Maputo on the sidelines of a seminar organized by the Assembly of the Republic's Planning and Budget Committee, "there is certainly an impact, because the public insecurity generated by kidnappings has an impact on the willingness to invest."

"Investors, feeling threatened, end up canceling planned investments," added the IMF representative, quoted by AIMHe stressed, however, that the institution he represents has not yet carried out a quantitative study to determine the real economic impact of the phenomenon.

Meanwhile, preliminary data from a study carried out last year by the Confederation of Business Associations of Mozambique (CTA) indicates that kidnappers have already pocketed 2.2 billion meticais in ransoms.

The latest kidnapping took place two weeks ago, when a businessman from the Hindu community, known as Dharmendra, was abducted a few meters from a military barracks on Amílcar Cabral Avenue, in Maputo's upmarket Sommershield neighborhood.

Recently, the secretary-general of the Mozambican Chamber of Commerce (CCM), Teresa Muenda, condemned the increase in kidnapping cases, arguing that "at any moment, kidnappings will no longer be limited to businesspeople, but could include any citizen".

Faced with this imminent risk, he called on the government and society in general to "join forces to fight this evil".