The exploration of the heavy sands of Moma, which began seven years ago, is not generating, for the State, the tax revenues that were supposed to be generated by an undertaking of that size. The Center for Public Integrity (CIP) conducted a case study on the tax revenues generated by Kenmare's exploration of Moma's heavy sands, which concludes that “for every dollar that Kenmare earned exporting minerals from Mozambique between 2008 and 2011, Mozambique received only one cent of tax payments”. Thus, in this period, the Irish company's revenues totaled US$326.7 million, while taxes paid to the State totaled only US$3.5 million. Reacting to this study, Kenmare assumed that, in fact, it does not pay significant taxes as a result of the various tax exemptions it enjoys, but claimed that CIP was ignoring “the economic and social development” generated in the community as a result of the exploitation of the heavy sands.
