Good afternoon. What are the chances of Mozambique receiving funding once more from the European Union (EU) to support the state budget, as the government is asking for (see below)? In some ways, ministers can be optimistic. The EU has sounded positive about cooperating with the government, and Zitamar News understands that it has decided to accept President Daniel Chapo’s administration as the legitimate government, despite the evidence for widespread fraud in last year’s elections (as described in great detail in a report by the EU’s own election observer mission).
The full Daily Briefing continues below for Pro subscribers. Subscribers to the Zitamar News tier can read the top half, including the full leader article, here.
The latest from Zitamar News:
Zitamar News
EU funding would be extremely welcome to the government, not only because of its acute cash shortage but also to alleviate the lack of foreign currency in the country that is making it so hard for many businesses to operate. But it is not going to materialise soon, for at least two basic reasons.
One is simply that EU funding takes a long time to be agreed. Once a funding package was designed, it would need to be voted on by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, and the whole process would probably take 18-24 months. It is not, therefore, going to alleviate the immediate problems in the public finances and the wider economy.
