Last Wednesday (31), the Assembly of the Republic approved the nine members who will make up the Supervisory Committee of the Sovereign Fund of Mozambique (FSM), the public entity responsible for managing 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.
Among the tasks of the WSF Supervisory Committee are the control and monitoring of revenues, deposits in the transitional account, the allocation of revenues to the State Budget and to the Fund, as well as supervising the management of these resources.
The chairwoman of the committee, Vitória Diogo, explained that the selection process, which began in June, was complex and rigorous, with the aim of choosing 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 June 30. However, it was postponed due to the complexity of the matter.
On December 15, Parliament approved the creation of the FSM with revenues from natural gas exploration which, by the 2040s, should reach 6 billion dollars annually.
“Projections indicate that annual gas exports could reach around 91.7 billion dollars (5.8 billion meticais) over the life cycle of the project, in a scenario in which all the development initiatives approved so far by the government are in operation,” the minister explained at the time.
On March 12, the government estimated that the WSF 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 meticais (94.2 million dollars) in revenue from oil and natural gas exploration, which was fully invested in the new Mozambique 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 meticais) from 2023, 800 thousand dollars (50 million meticais) from 2022 and 20 million dollars (1.2 billion meticais) from the first quarter of this year.
