Overview of corruption and anti-corruption in Mozambique

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Purpose

Our agency is refocusing and strengthening its development cooperation strategy towards natural resource management and energy. This document will be used in the planning of cooperation in order to identify any risks and ways to mitigate these.

Content

1. 1. Overview of corruption in Mozambique
2. 2. Anti-corruption efforts in Mozambique
3. 3. References

Summary

In Mozambique prevalence of corruption remains an area of concern for both the public as well as donors, who support almost half of the state’s budget. Corruption manifests itself through various forms, including political, petty and grand corruption, embezzlement of public funds, and a deeply embedded patronage system. Checks and balances are weak, as the executive exercises strong influence over the legislative and the judiciary.

Corruption also affects several sectors in the country, such as the police, public administration, judiciary, and public financial management. The recent gas and oil discoveries and the potential of mining industries in increasing state revenues have raised discussions around the importance of establishing mechanisms ensuring more transparency and accountability in the extractive industries.

The government has introduced important reforms in recent years, such as the public administration reform. It has also called for a crackdown on corruption, adopting an anti-corruption strategy in 2006. Nevertheless, Mozambique’s legal and institutional framework remains inadequate. Anti-corruption institutions - particularly the Central Office for Combating Corruption - lack technical expertise, financial resources, and are subject to political interference. Freedom of association and of expression is guaranteed by the constitution and civil society organisations and the media play a growing role in the fight against corruption in the country. However, their potential as effective watchdog institutions is hampered by the lack of a more detailed law on access to information.

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