The Center for Public Integrity (CIP) reveals that the provinces in the northern region of Mozambique are the most neglected by the government, as fewer resources are allocated to finance investment spending.

"In the period from 2013 to 2023, the State Budget failed to allocate around 8,447.8 million meticais to the investment component for the provinces in the North and Center of the country. The provinces of Zambézia, Cabo Delgado and Nampula were the most neglected in the process," reveals the civil society organization.

On work which analyzes the allocation of resources to the provinces over ten years (2013-2023), CIP found that the provinces of Zambézia, Cabo Delgado and Nampula continue to be neglected in the allocation of public spending. In average annual terms, they received 215.9 million meticais, 196.6 million meticais and 179.6 million meticais, respectively, below what they should have received.

The province of Zambézia stopped receiving around 2.374.9 million meticais; Cabo Delgado 2.162.7 million meticais; Nampula 1.975.6 million meticais; and Niassa 792.1 million meticais.

The paper notes that this is due to the lack of implementation of the criteria proposed by the Medium-Term Fiscal Scenario (MTFS), which provides for the distribution of resources according to population size, the incidence of poverty and territorial size.

This may have to do with political bias such as the absence in these provinces of a sufficiently influential political and economic elite and/or interests to push for an improvement in the allocation of resources, and / or: (ii) the lack of interest on the part of the government of the day in improving the provision of public goods and services.

"On the other hand, the provinces of Gaza, Sofala, Maputo Province and Maputo City, which by the way have low levels of population density and poverty incidence, are the ones that benefit from a greater allocation of resources for investment spending," the organization says.

The document criticizes the fact that the CFMP - 2023 2025, does not address the criteria for allocating resources for the coming years, creating scope for an unequal and equitable distribution in the provinces.