Emanuel Chaves chosen as chairperson of wealth fund supervisory committee

Maputo, 23 May (AIM) – Mozambican academic Emanuel Chaves has been chosen to chair the Supervisory Committee of the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund.

The Committee, which consists of nine personalities chosen by the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, will control sovereign wealth fund revenues from the production of liquefied natural gas from offshore areas 1 and 4 of the Rovuma Basin, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

It will also oversee the revenue achieved in the first 15 years of the operation of the sovereign wealth fund, of which 40 per cent is earmarked for the fund and 60 per cent for the State Budget.

Chaves was elected chairperson, on Thursday, in Maputo, after winning five votes against four for his opponent, Inocêncio Paulino. Speaking to reporters after the results were made public, the first deputy chairperson of the Assembly, Helder Injojo, said that the election symbolically closes a historic stage in the institutionalisation of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, and marks the end of the parliament’s role as the Fund’s structuring body.

Nonetheless, the Assembly will continue to monitor the body’s functioning. “The parliament will comply with the Sovereign Wealth Fund law with zeal and determination”, said Injojo. “It will do so responsibly, respecting the functional, administrative and organic independence that embodies the Fund’s governance structure, but without abdicating its role of protecting and safeguarding the interests of the Mozambican people”.

Addressing Chaves, Injojo stressed that the role he has just taken on represents a noble mission, with great challenges and responsibilities.

“We hope that, under your leadership, the Supervisory Committee will establish itself as a solid, vigilant and attentive entity, capable of ensuring good governance and the credibility of this strategic instrument for Mozambique’s development,” he said.

He added that the Supervisory Board “has the noble mission of being the guardian of public trust, and that its work should reflect the national interest and focus on protecting the assets that belong to Mozambicans, today and in the future.”

For his part, Chaves said that the nine members of the Board will not need a great deal of money for it to function.

“There are only nine of us. And our work doesn’t cost a lot of money”, he said. “There are many entities that are interested in seeing this Sovereign Fund succeed. And we’re going to bring these entities together, starting with the government itself, which must ensure that there are resources for us to carry out our role”.

The nine members were elected by the parliament last August. The other personalities chosen by the Assembly’s deputies are: Benilde Nhalivílio and Estrela Eduardo, from Civil Society; Inocêncio Paulino, from the business community; academic Alcides Novela; lawyer Celestino Sitoe, from the Mozambican Bar Association (OAM), Altino Mavile, representing the Mozambican Association of Accountants and Auditors; and António Sandramo and Mussa Suefe, from the religious community.

(AIM)
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