Mozambique’s Administrative Court has announced it will audit the accounts of the National Social Security Institute (INSS) in 2027, following a series of corruption scandals that have beset the institution in recent years. The move is also aimed at safeguarding the rights of pensioners.
The audit will be conducted within the framework of public accounts oversight, a mechanism that allows the Administrative Court to verify the legality of the application and management of public funds. Under the prior oversight process, institutions covered by the framework are required to submit certain contracts to the court before their execution, enabling verification of their compliance with applicable legislation.
“Regarding the INSS, we have conducted audits before — not recently, but in those audits, irregularities and deficiencies were identified. At the time, managers were informed to bring themselves into compliance with the law,” said Arquimedes João Varimelo, spokesperson and advisory judge of the Administrative Court.
“Next year, the INSS will be subject to an audit by the court, within the scope of the General State Account,” the spokesperson added.
The announcement follows the Administrative Court’s blocking, in the first half of 2026, of expenditures deemed irregular totalling 1.2 billion meticais (approximately €16.1 million).
In its half-year activity review, the court reported having analysed more than 28,000 processes submitted for prior oversight — either for visa approval or annotation. Approximately 20,000 were found to be legally compliant, while the remainder were refused, left unannotated, or returned to Public Administration bodies for further instruction.
The decisions to refuse, decline to annotate, or return files were the result of identified procedural failings within the Public Administration. Among the main deficiencies detected were a lack of transparency in public tenders and the absence of performance guarantees from contracted parties.
The Administrative Court also identified incompatibilities between the scope of contracts and the licences held by the contracted companies, as well as what it described as the abusive use of direct procurement. It is within this broader context of public expenditure legality oversight that the planned 2027 audit of INSS accounts is situated.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/09/economia/tribunal-administrativo-anuncia-auditoria-as-contas-do-inss-em-2027/
