The Central Office for Combating Corruption (GCCC) in Mozambique said the cost of corruption in the country is “violent”, criticising the lack of mobilisation of society against this type of crime.
“The cost of corruption remains violent in public administration and its impact hits the peaceful citizen,” said GCCC spokesman, Estêvão Manjate, in an interview with Mozambique Information Agency (AIM).
In 2020 alone, corruption resulted in the diversion of 1.3 billion meticais (14.2 million euros) from the State Budget for the public managers’ own benefit, Estêvão Manjate advanced.
“This loss was most evident in the context of the covid-19 pandemic, which showed the fragility of our social infrastructure,” he added.
Manjate pointed to grand and petty corruption characterised by the embezzlement of funds in the public administration and perpetrated by senior officials and managers as one of the biggest scourges in public administration.
The GCCC spokesman pointed to the sectors of health, registration and notary, the National Institute of Land Transport (Inater), education and customs as the most critical, due to a greater demand for services by users.
