Terrorist attacks and movements are hindering the provision of social assistance in four districts of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, which has faced an armed insurgency since 2017, according to the National Institute for Social Action (INAS).
“Disbursements are not being made regularly, which prevents us from assisting our beneficiaries in a timely manner,” said INAS delegate in Cabo Delgado, Henriqueta Patrício, as quoted by local media Saturday.
Cabo Delgado, located in northern Mozambique and rich in natural gas, has been battling an armed rebellion since 2017, resulting in thousands of deaths and a humanitarian crisis, with over one million people displaced.
According to the INAS representative, armed violence in the province has slowed down the process of delivering aid under the Basic Social Subsidy Program.
“We’re talking about the districts of Ibo, Meluco, Macomia, and Quissanga. These districts are insurgent corridors, and their constant presence prevents us from doing our work on time,” she said.
Recent extremist movements in northern Mozambique have also spread to Niassa, the province neighboring Cabo Delgado, where, since the outbreak on April 29, at least two forest rangers have been killed and decapitated.
A report released Thursday by the Center for Public Integrity (CIP), a Mozambican non-governmental organization, estimated that only 5% of the Basic Social Subsidy was paid in 2024 nationwide, warning that the elderly are the most affected.
“In a country where two-thirds of the population live below the poverty line, social assistance programs should be a pillar of dignity and redistributive justice. However, the Basic Social Subsidy Program (PSSB) — Mozambique’s largest social assistance instrument — has become a symbol of broken promises, mismanagement of funds, and, in some cases, corruption,” the CIP report states.
According to the NGO, only a portion of the allocated funds were actually executed by INAS branches — 23% in 2023 and just 5% in 2024. This shortfall was “justified by the limited budgetary capacity influenced by the country’s current economic situation.”
CIP argues that the government’s insufficient budget allocation to the social services system has contributed to the poor performance of the ENSSB II [National Basic Social Security Strategy 2016–2024], caused in part by mismanagement of funds, lack of effective oversight, and poor inter- and intra-sector coordination.
According to the report, many subsidy beneficiaries — around 80% of whom are elderly — have been forced to rely on “charity from others” or adopt “undignified survival strategies.”
Source: Lusa
