A total of 328 contractors have abandoned work that had been awarded by the government in Nampula province, northern Mozambique, due to the alleged lack of disbursement of funds for the execution of the contracts.

This is an unquantified number of works in the education and health sector - classrooms and health units - in various districts of the province.

Speaking during the province's development observatory session, the representative of the Mozambique Chamber of Commerce in Nampula, Juliana Harculete, explained that they have been pursuing the client for the payment of the debt since 2018, but without success.

"I've already appealed to the central level to see if they would pay the debt, and I admit it was in vain. The association has already asked for a meeting with the provincial directorate of finance, the Tax Authority and other entities, to update them and find a way out of the debt problem, but we haven't succeeded," lamented Harculete, quoted by the local newspaper "Wamphula Fax".

However, the governor of Nampula, Manuel Rodrigues, did not agree with the version presented by the association, and justifies that the contractors abandoned the work out of dishonesty, that is, after having received the first tranche of the value of the work.

"There are people in the private sector who pass themselves off as businessmen when, in fact, they are fraudsters. I know that many businesspeople get very scared when we talk about the Public Prosecutor's Office and the courts, because they know they're on the hook," said Rodrigues.