Mozambique: Guebuza Wants Stricter Control of Use of District Money

Posted to the web 25 July 2008 Lichinga Mozambican President Armando Guebuza said on Thursday that the government will from now on impose stricter checks on the selection of beneficiaries for the Local Initiatives Development Fund. This is the fund under which the government allocates a minimum of seven million meticais (about 290,000 US dollars) from the state budget every year for each of the 128 districts. The money is supposed to be lent to local businesses and individuals for projects that will generate employment and increase food production. Guebuza was speaking at a press conference in Lichinga, capital of the northern province of Niassa, at the end of a working visit to Niassa. Asked whether the low repayment rate on these loans would not jeopardise the goal of the initiative, Guebuza admitted that this is a... [read full story]