Maputo, 1 Jul (AIM) – The prominent anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), claims that the accommodation of politicians linked to the ruling Frelimo party on the boards of publicly-owned companies cost 185.1 million meticais (2.8 million dollars at the current exchange rate) in 2023.
According to a study carried out by the organization, the amount was spent on salaries paid to 33 non-executive members of governing boards in the State Business Sector.
“The amount refers to the non-executive members of seven public companies and institutions, namely Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), which operates the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi River; the insurance company EMOSE; the rail and port company, CFM; the Matola Silos and Bulk Terminal (STEMA); the National Investment Bank (BNI); the Mozambique Stock Exchange (BVM), and the Mozambique national publishing house (Imprensa Nacional)”, reads the report.
The document suggests that this amount surpasses the 184.9 million meticais paid by the state to 1,760 class 1C employees, the lowest category in the Unified Wage Table (TSU) in the public administration.
Of the seven companies analyzed, HCB spent the most money on non-executive board members. In 2023, the CIP report said, “HCB had two non-executive members, to whom it paid a total of 77.2 million meticais per year.”
“CFM came in second, paying a total of 27.9 million meticais a year to the one and only non-executive member of the board. EMOSE had five non-executive members, who consumed 24.2 million Meticais a year.”
Up to 2022, STEMA had nine non-executive members, who were paid 21.5 million meticais a year. For its part, the BNI had eight non-executive members up until 2023, earning a total of 16.8 million Meticais a year.
The Imprensa Nacional is in penultimate position, with salary expenses of 12.5 million meticais, paid to three non-executive members of its board per year. The last institution is the BVM, which has five non-executive members, to whom it pays five million Meticais a year.
“The appointment of political figures to the governing bodies of public companies, in addition to being an indicator of a lack of transparency, represents risks of illicit political financing and deterioration of the companies, especially during election periods when political interests can influence administrative and financial decisions, affecting the governance and sustainability of these companies”, says the study.
The organization warns that in order to guarantee transparency and monitoring of the activities carried out by non-executive members in public companies, it is essential that they be selected through transparent criteria (such as public tenders) that allow for public scrutiny and public contracts that set out the work to be carried out by them, the expected results and accountability actions in the event of non-compliance with the targets.
(AIM)
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