
Maputo, 1 Jul (AIM) – The Mozambican Confederation of Business Associations (CTA) claims that it has not yet been formally notified by the Maputo City Court of the seizure of its head office arising from a debt of 25 million meticais (393,000 dollars at the current exchange rate) that the Confederation owes to the engineering firm, the Mondego Group.
According to a statement from the Confederation, “the CTA has not yet been formally notified of the Judicial Order of Attachment, since, by law, this is first ordered and then communicated to the Executed Party to present the defense mechanisms it is entitled to or to make payment.”
The CTA statement denies information that went viral last week, claiming that the Court has ordered the blocking of the Confederation bank accounts, as well as the seizure of its head office because of a debt.
“The contract with Construtora Mondego was signed by the Board of Directors that preceded the current Board, on 23 March 2017, a fact that made it difficult for both parties to execute the contract in a timely manner”, claims the note.
According to the document, the contract was for the construction of an office building in Xai-Xai, capital of the southern Province of Gaza, and another office building in Inhambane province.
“Under the Contract, the two buildings would cost the CTA around 12 million Meticais, an amount that would be paid in full upon receipt of the finished buildings, by mortgaging them to a bank, despite the fact that an advance payment of around 20% of the amount was made on 5 December 2016, in good faith by the previous Board, without any bank guarantee, bringing the amount payable down to around 9 million Meticais”, the note says.
In the document, the CTA accuses Construtora Mondego of not complying with its contractual obligations since, under the contract, the infrastructure built in Inhambane should have been completed by 25 April 2017, “but to this day it has neither been completed nor handed over to the CTA and, on the other hand, it has surprisingly applied to the court for payment of 25 million Meticais.”
The CTA believes that “this private matter between the parties has been and continues to be treated by the media with the aim of influencing public opinion.”
“However, we would like to reassure our members by clarifying that attachment is a judicial act that indicates the assets of the defendant sufficient to pay a certain debt. Enforcement is not immediate and requires subsequent steps, including the possibility of a challenge by the defendant using the appropriate legal means”, says the note.
(AIM)
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