The Assembly of the Republic approved this Wednesday (31) the nine members who will be part of the Supervisory Committee of the Mozambique Sovereign Fund (FSM), the public entity that will be responsible for managing the revenues from the exploitation of natural gas in the Rovuma Basin, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
The approved group is made up of Benilde Nhalivilo and Estrela Charles, representatives of civil society; Inocêncio Joaquim Paulino, from the business community; Celestino Pedro Sitoe, from the Bar Association; Altino Xavier Mavile, from the Order of Accountants and Auditors; António Juliasse Sandramo and Mussa Suefe, from religious associations; and Alcides Malavone Nobela and Emanuel José da Conceição, as representatives of academia.
The WSF Supervisory Committee is responsible for controlling and monitoring matters relating to revenue, deposits in the transitional account, the allocation of revenue to the State Budget and to the Fund and for supervising the Fund’s management.
In response, the committee’s chairwoman, Vitória Diogo, explained that the selection process, which began in June, was complex and rigorous, and aimed to choose members who were suitable and had sufficient skills to carry out the activity.
According to information released by the DE, the approval of these members was initially scheduled for 30 June. However, it was postponed due to the complexity of the matter.
On 15 December, Parliament approved the creation of the SWF with revenues from natural gas exploration which, by the 2040s, should reach 6 billion dollars a year.
“Projections indicate that annual gas exports could reach around 91.7 billion dollars (5.8 billion meticals) over the life cycle of the project, in a scenario where all the development initiatives approved so far by the government are in operation,” explained the minister at the time.
On 12 March, the government estimated that the SWF would be operational in April, following the approval of its regulations that day, as stated by the Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Amílcar Tivane.
In the first quarter of this year, the state collected 5.9 billion meticals (94.2 million dollars) in revenue from oil and natural gas exploration, which was fully invested in Mozambique’s new Sovereign Fund.
According to data from the economic and social balance sheet on the implementation of the State Budget from January to March, the accumulated revenues include 73.37 million dollars (4.6 billion meticals) from 2023, 800 thousand dollars (50 million meticals) from 2022 and 20 million dollars (1.2 billion meticals) from the first quarter of this year.
