Paula Monjane from the Civil Society Budget Monitoring Forum, which
coordinated the statement, said those who broke the law - on both sides
of the transactions - should be investigated for corruption.
Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi speaks to media during a news
conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) after their
meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, April 19, 2016
A group of 26 Mozambique civil society organisations said on Monday $1.86 billion of government debt arranged by Credit Suisse and Russia's VTB Bank was illegal and should not be paid.
In
a joint statement, the organisations said the loans breached a law
requiring all borrowing and guarantees longer than a year to be approved
by parliament. The debt also exceeded limits in the 2013 budget and
were not entered into that year's budget, the groups said.
Paula
Monjane from the Civil Society Budget Monitoring Forum, which
coordinated the statement, said those who broke the law - on both sides
of the transactions - should be investigated for corruption.
"The officials who broke the law in Mozambique need to be held accountable," she said.
"This
includes the lenders and financial institutions which facilitated these
loans. In defence of the common good and against the continued
impoverishment of the Mozambican people, we do not want, do not accept
and will not pay the debts."
Mozambique's
parliament has agreed to set up a commission of inquiry into the issuing
of the debt, which has pushed the foreign borrowing levels to 80
percent of the impoverished southern African country's GDP.
The
controversial loans are an $850 million Eurobond issued in 2013 to
build a tuna-fishing fleet, a $622 million loan to enhance maritime
security and a $535 million loan to build shipyards for the offshore
natural gas sector.
The tuna bond has already been
restructured and the state company behind the $535 million loan missed a
repayment of $178 million due on May 23, putting the government on
track for default.
Financial watchdogs from
Switzerland and Britain are looking into the arranging of the sovereign
borrowing, which was done without consultation of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) or Mozambique's foreign donors.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said last month the lack of transparency behind the transactions was "clearly concealing corruption". She did not elaborate.
Credit
Suisse has consistently declined to comment on the maritime security
loan. VTB, which arranged the shipyard loan, says it expects the
government to honour its sovereign guarantee.
Both banks say the tuna bond was above board and had the approval of the finance minister.
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