The 2021 State Budget comes in a context of uncertainty due to the effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic¸ at a global level¸ and the conflict scenario in the central and northern areas of the country. It is a Budget based on a moderate¸ unrealistic¸ scenario of an estimated GDP growth of 2.1% and inflation of 5%, minimizing the context of deep crisis in which the country finds itself¸ and which may prevail in the next financial year, giving an indication lack of clear policy guidance for crisis response.
In a context of crisis, greater sacrifices were expected from top leaders as a viable alternative for mobilizing internal resources without additional costs for the public purse. Fiscal consolidation¸ in this budget¸ has been camouflaged by an unrealistic increase in GDP to convey a misconception that sacrifices are being made while in fact not.
CIP believes that it is very optimism on the part of the Government to consider achieving GDP growth of 2.1% as, for example, ExxonMobil and Eni announced the postponement of the final investment decision for the Rovuma LNG project which was planned for the first semester of 2020 and no deadline for a new date
Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), specifically the State's large economic enterprises concessioned for private management, are a potential source of State revenue. However, as in previous years, there is no forecast of revenues, expenses or budgetary risks associated with PPPs, which constitutes a systematic violation of the Law. In fact, this situation is a way of hiding the revenues from the Assembly of the Republic and from Mozambicans from PPPs.
In a context in which the Attorney General's Office (PGR) announced that corruption tends to increase, the budget proposal's foundation document does not provide any action to combat it. It is essential to move from theory to practice. In other words, there is a very incisive political discourse on combating corruption, but in terms of creating concrete measures for this purpose, nothing can be seen.
