The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, recently warned of the risk of budget overruns in the countries that will hold elections in 2024, including Mozambique.
“Almost 80 countries are going to have elections and we know that at these times there is greater pressure and spending ends up being excessive,” she said.
Speaking during an interview published by Agence France-Presse, the source emphasised that countries need to replenish their budget reserves and manage the debt that has accumulated in order to deal with the various shocks since the covid-19 pandemic.
“In 2024, the lessons learnt in recent years must be applied. We must be prepared for the uncertainties that will arise,” she argued.
Kristalina Georgieva emphasised that the institution is working to help countries find better measures, stressing that “if monetary policy remains restrictive and budget spending increases, this will go against the goal of reducing inflation”.
“The debt of all countries has increased significantly, creating difficulties for the most vulnerable states, which face barriers to repayment in a context of rising interest rates,” he warned.
According to the Mozambican government, the general elections in the country will cost the state coffers around 6.5 billion meticais. The money will also be used to cover the costs of voter registration, the production of voting material, the purchase and hire of vehicles and the payment of subsidies.
