Half of Mozambique’s 2009 budget faces a deficit


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More than half of the Mozambican 2009 Budget introduced in the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, is dependent on foreign aid.

The estimated 104.3 billion meticais, Budgeted by the government of Mozambique for 2009 faces a deficit of 58.1 billion meticais that must be made up for by foreign grants and loans.

According to the Finance Minister Manuel Chang, state revenue from taxes and other domestic sources are 46.2 billion meticais which is about 1.85 billion US dollars meaning the remainder of the budge will have to be from aids, loans and grants.

The 2009 budget will allow the state to recruit 16,000 new staff which will include 12,000 teachers, 1,200 health workers and 1,600 in the security and public order – essentially police recruits.

The priority areas for the government’s Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty include education, health, infrastructures, agriculture, governance and public order.

The Finance Minister also noted that the target for state revenue in 2009 is a 9.5 per cent increase on the figure for this year. He said the increase is possible thanks to the gains provided by macro-economic stability, and by the continued growth in the efficiency and effectiveness of tax and customs administration.

The Assembly’s Plan and Budget Commission had however detected a mistake in the government’s figures, concerning capital expenditure in the health sector.

This error pushes total expenditure down to 98.1 billion meticais, and the deficit down to 51.9 billion meticais.

If the Assembly’s Plan and Budget Commission calculations are correct, then 53 per cent of the budget must be covered by outside funding, rather than the 55 per cent announced by Chang.

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