Mozambique: Danish Embassy Denies Aid Reduction Story

Posted to the web 21 August 2008 Maputo The Danish embassy in Maputo on Wednesday categorically denied a press report that Denmark is to cut 47 million dollars off its annual aid to Mozambique. This piece of fiction surfaced on Wednesday morning in "TribunaFax", one of the capital's many faxed newssheets, citing Danish Finance Minister Lars Rasmussen as its source. If true, this would have been a drastic cut indeed, since total pledged Danish aid to Mozambique in 2008 is 77.4 million dollars. But Rasmussen said nothing of the sort. Last Friday, at a joint press conference in Maputo with his Mozambican counterpart Manuel Chang, far from announcing a reduction in aid, Rasmussen said Danish aid was likely to increase slightly in the coming years. It is true that there was a reduction in Danish support for the Mozambican budget... [read full story]