Good afternoon. Plans by the transport ministry to publish concession contracts (see below) are a welcome step in the direction of greater transparency and ethics in government contracting. It is not a coincidence that they come while the government is conducting a consultation process on changes to laws regulating mining, oil and gas, electricity concessions and other areas. It all forms part of President Daniel Chapo’s agenda to ensure that concessions and other profitable contracts are awarded through fair competition and that corrupt practices around them, which to date have essentially benefited senior people in his ruling Frelimo party, are eliminated.
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Alexandre Nhampossa
Zitamar News
Chapo’s agenda is driven by the need to restore Frelimo’s reputation, after the protests sparked by last year’s disputed elections revealed the depth and breadth of anger with the ruling party. So it is very likely that the decision to publish concession contracts is linked to the widespread suspicion that leading figures in Frelimo are earning money improperly from some of these contracts.
