The president of the Administrative Court (TA), Lúcia Maximiano do Amaral, on Wednesday (30) defended the creation of an autonomous Court of Auditors as a way of strengthening oversight of public finances, according to the Agência de Informação de Moçambique (AIM).
The proposal, presented in Maputo, comes in response to the country’s recent economic development, marked by a substantial increase in the national budget and growing demands for effective financial control, especially in the context of the exploitation of natural resources.
During the launch of Legality Week, the presiding judge of the TA emphasised that the public accounts section needs a more independent structure to respond to the current challenges of governance.
‘The budget that the Administrative Court controlled more than a century ago is not the same as it is today. The country’s socio-economic growth requires a leap in our supervisory capacity,’ said Lúcia do Amaral, who said that transforming the public accounts section into a Court of Auditors, or an independent general audit body, would allow for more specialised supervision and less dependence on the TA.
‘Among the main challenges listed by the TA are the creation of customs, tax and appeal courts, and strengthening the response capacity of the Administrative Court itself’
The magistrate emphasised that the intention is not to replicate international models, but to adapt a solution that best serves Mozambique’s interests and specificities. ‘It’s not a question of copying experiences from other countries, but of reflecting on what is most appropriate for our context,’ she emphasised. In this sense, preliminary studies and analyses carried out by the TA already point to a need for structural reform in the inspection system.
Among the main challenges listed by the TA are the creation of customs, tax and appeal courts, and strengthening the response capacity of the Administrative Court itself. So far, nine tax courts have been established at provincial level, progress that aims to reduce the TA’s overload and facilitate access to financial and tax justice.
The proposal also includes the development of higher courts aimed at shortening the distance between the first instance and the TA, in order to make the appeals process faster and more accessible. ‘To consolidate the independence and autonomy of administrative and tax justice, we need a system that guarantees efficiency and transparency at every stage,’ added Lúcia do Amaral. The creation of an autonomous Court of Auditors would thus be an important step towards strengthening the rule of law and good governance in Mozambique, consolidating the role of the public administration in overseeing state resources
