Good evening — and apologies again for the late delivery of what is now yesterday’s Daily.
The Mozambican private sector yesterday had its first face-to-face with the new government. After a troubled succession process, Álvaro Massingue, whom the previous leadership tried in court to ban from running for the position, surprisingly but easily won the election for president of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique, the CTA.
The other side had taken its seats with even more drama, of course. Benvinda Levy, the prime minister, and a handful of ministers in her cabinet, attended the first meeting to assess the country's business environment, after months of street confrontations that left many economic infrastructures in ruins. The most fragile, targeted by devastating looting, will likely never reopen, worsening unemployment, especially in the Maputo metropolitan area.
But while the new get together brought new faces into the limelight, the problems, for the most part, are well known. At the top of the list, the CTA maintained its demands for the government to fulfil its promise to pay the $50m in unpaid bills owed to the private sector, as well as VAT refunds. In a positive move, the Ministry of Finance secretary of state said the government had allocated $23.7 million this year to pay arrears for the period 2017-2023, and promised additional payments in 2026.
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.
