The consortium SACOM will receive 3.1 billion meticais from the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME) for fuel quality control services in the distribution chain and at filling stations.

According to the weekly Mozambique Channelthe successful tenderer, the SACOM/ "Authentix", is formed by the Americans from Authentix and some Mozambican lobbyists.

The publication notes that this comes as no surprise, since in the past, in June 2020, it endorsed an international tender awarded by the same ministry, worth 2.5 billion meticais. The publication notes that, originally, the value of the tender was 1.5 billion meticais, but it was later increased by 1 billion meticais.

In total, the state will be able to drain 5.6 billion meticais for the SACOM/"Authentix".

The 2020 tender, according to the newspaper, was marred by defects and was even annulled by the Administrative Court in June 2021, but the Ministry nevertheless decided to proceed with the award in November 2021.

In fact, the lobbying controversy in the ministry's midst arises because the SACOM/"Authentix" proved to have heavier influences on the government than the company SICPASwiss citizens. This is the company that made the appointments, but it also worked in the ministry on the basis of lobbiesaccording to the publication.

A SICPA tried to stop that June 2020 award at the TA, but to no avail, despite having presented sufficient evidence of impartiality in the tender.

The tender was declared null and void for impartiality because the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy had handed over to SICPA different models of tender documents from those he gave to the successful tenderers, i.e. to the SACOM/"Authentix".

Even before the launch of the competition, Canal de Moçambique recalls that in one of its editions it gave advance information on who would be the winner of the June 2022 competition.

The tender involved other companies, and at the height of the controversy, while the weekly was investigating the matter, its premises were set on fire in August 2020.