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Mozambique

Which countries lead in budget accountability? Which ones need improvement? Explore our data and recommendations for each of the 120 countries assessed.
Open Budget Survey Results

Public Participation

11

Budget Oversight

50

Transparency

42

Open Budget Survey 2019

Government budget decisions – what taxes to levy, what services to provide, and how much debt to take on – affect how equal a society is and the well-being of its people, including whether the most disadvantaged will have real opportunities for a better life. It is critical that governments inform and engage the public on these vital decisions that impact their lives.

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The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions such as the legislature and auditor in the budget process.

The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 7th edition of the OBS covers 117 countries.

Summary
Country Specific Assessments
Country summary EN
pdf, 230.48 KB
Questionnaire EN
pdf, 824.26 KB
42 /100

This part of the OBS measures public access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources. It assesses the online availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of eight key budget documents using 109 equally weighted indicators and scores each country on a scale of 0 to 100. A transparency score of 61 or above indicates a country is likely publishing enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.

Transparency in Mozambique compared to others

Global Average
45
South Africa
87
Zimbabwe
49
Mozambique
42
Botswana
38
Angola
36
Eswatini
31
Zambia
30
Malawi
27
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Mozambique’s ranking: 64 of 117 countries

0
100

How has the transparency score for Mozambique changed over time?

28
2010
47
2012
38
2015
41
2017
42
2019
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Public availability of budget documents in Mozambique

Key
Available to the Public
Published Late, or Not Published Online, or Produced for Internal Use Only
Not Produced
Scroll
Document 2010 2012 2015 2017 2019
Pre-Budget Statement
Executive’s Budget Proposal
Enacted Budget
Citizens Budget
In-Year Reports
Mid-Year Review
Year-End Report
Audit Report

How comprehensive is the content of the key budget documents that Mozambique makes available to the public?

Key
61-100 / 100
41-60 / 100
1-40 / 100
Scroll
Key budget document Document purpose and contents Fiscal year assessed Document content score
Pre-Budget Statement Discloses the broad parameters of fiscal policies in advance of the Executive's Budget Proposal; outlines the government's economic forecast, anticipated revenue, expenditures, and debt. 2019 Published Late
Executive’s Budget Proposal Submitted by the executive to the legislature for approval; details the sources of revenue, the allocations to ministries, proposed policy changes, and other information important for understanding the country's fiscal situation. 2019 41
Enacted Budget The budget that has been approved by the legislature. 2019 83
Citizens Budget A simpler and less technical version of the government's Executive’s Budget Proposal or the Enacted Budget, designed to convey key information to the public. 2018 67
In-Year Reports Include information on actual revenues collected, actual expenditures made, and debt incurred at different intervals; issued quarterly or monthly. 2018 67
Mid-Year Review A comprehensive update on the implementation of the budget as of the middle of the fiscal year; includes a review of economic assumptions and an updated forecast of budget outcomes. 2018 Not Produced
Year-End Report Describes the situation of the government's accounts at the end of the fiscal year and, ideally, an evaluation of the progress made toward achieving the budget's policy goals. 2017 57
Audit Report Issued by the supreme audit institution, this document examines the soundness and completeness of the government's year-end accounts. 2016 29

Mozambique’s transparency score of 42 in the OBS 2019 is near its score in 2017.

Recommendations

Mozambique should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

Publish the Pre-Budget Statement online in a timely manner.
Include additional information in the Executive's Budget Proposal, for example on tax expenditures, government assets and liabilities and on the impact of different macroeconomic assumptions on the budget.
Include additional information in the Year-End Report, for example on debt composition, on the accuracy of original macroeconomic projections, and on performance related to both inputs and results.
Ensure that the Audit Report is published within 12 months of the budget year that it refers to.
Produce and publish the Mid-Year Review online in a timely manner.
11 /100

Transparency alone is insufficient for improving governance. Inclusive public participation is crucial for realizing the positive outcomes associated with greater budget transparency.

The OBS also assesses the formal opportunities offered to the public for meaningful participation in the different stages of the budget process. It examines the practices of the central government’s executive, the legislature, and the supreme audit institution (SAI) using 18 equally weighted indicators, aligned with the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency’s Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policy , and scores each country on a scale from 0 to 100.

Mozambique has a public participation score of 11 (out of 100), compared to 7 in the previous round.

Public participation in Mozambique compared to others

Global Average
14
Zimbabwe
33
South Africa
24
Zambia
20
Malawi
15
Mozambique
11
Angola
9
Botswana
9
Eswatini
0
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

For more information, see here for innovative public participation practices around the world.

Extent of opportunities for public participation in the budget process

0
/100
Formulation
(executive)
33
/100
Approval
(legislature)
17
/100
Implementation
(executive)
0
/100
Audit
(supreme audit institution)
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Mozambique's Ministério da Economia e Finanças has established public consultations during budget implementation but, to further strengthen public participation in the budget process, should also prioritize the following actions:

Pilot mechanisms to engage the public during central government budget formulation.
Expand mechanisms during budget implementation that engage any civil society organization or member of the public who wishes to participate.
Actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, directly or through civil society organizations representing them.

Mozambique's Assembleia da República has established ad hoc inputs related to the approval of the annual budget, but should also prioritize the following actions:

Allow any member of the public or any civil society organization to testify during its hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval and on the Audit Report.

Mozambique's Tribunal Administrativo should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in the budget process:

Establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist in developing its audit program and to contribute to relevant audit investigations.
50 /100

The OBS also examines the role that legislatures and supreme audit institutions (SAIs) play in the budget process and the extent to which they provide oversight; each country is scored on a scale from 0 to 100 based on 18 equally weighted indicators. In addition, the survey collects supplementary information on independent fiscal institutions (see Box).

The legislature and supreme audit institution in Mozambique, together, provide limited oversight during the budget process, with a composite oversight score of 50 (out of 100). Taken individually, the extent of each institution’s oversight is shown below:

Legislative oversight

0
58
100
limited

Audit oversight

0
33
100
weak
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Mozambique's Assembleia da República provides adequate oversight during the approval stage of the budget cycle and weak oversight during the implementation stage. To improve oversight, the following actions are recommended:

The legislature should debate budget policy before the Executive’s Budget Proposal is tabled and approve recommendations for the upcoming budget.
In practice, ensure the legislature is consulted before the executive shifts funds specified in the Enacted Budget between administrative units; spends any unanticipated revenue; or reduces spending due to revenue shortfalls during the budget year.

To strengthen independence and improve audit oversight by the Mozambique Tribunal Administrativo, the following actions are recommended:

Require legislative or judicial approval to appoint the head of the supreme audit institution.
Ensure the supreme audit institution has adequate funding to perform its duties, as determined by an independent body (e.g., the legislature or judiciary).
Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.

The emerging practice of establishing independent fiscal institutions

Mozambique does not have an independent fiscal institution (IFI). IFIs are increasingly recognized as valuable independent and nonpartisan information providers to the Executive and/or Parliament during the budget process.

*These indicators are *not* scored in the Open Budget Survey.

Methodology

  • Only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31 December 2018 were assessed in the OBS 2019.
     
  • The survey is based on a questionnaire completed in each country by an independent budget expert:
    Celeste Banze
    Centro de integridade publica (CIP)
    Rua Fernão Melo e Castro n° 124, Bairro da Sommerschield, Cidade de Maputo CP 3266
    [email protected]; [email protected]
  • To further strengthen the research, each country’s draft questionnaire is also reviewed by an anonymous independent expert, and in Mozambique by a representative of the Ministério da Economia e Finanças.

 

Past reports
Years
Language
Country summary EN
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary PT
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Country summary PT
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Country summary EN
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Questionnaire EN
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Questionnaire PT
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Country summary PT
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Country summary EN
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary PT
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary EN
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Country summary PT
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary EN
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