Mozambique is getting $116 million grants from the European Union (EU) to support its budget. This is the first time since 2016 that Europe will assist the southern African nation in its fiscal expenditure. Such help ceased because of Maputo’s none disclosure of debts and alleged none fiscal accountability.
Reports on the grant shows that it will be released in two tranches, ne this year and the rest in 2021. EU Ambassador, Antonio Sanchez-Benedito Gaspar says the agreement had “different characteristics” to the direct budget support the EU used to provide and was focused specifically on helping with the socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EU stopped direct budget support to Mozambique back in 2016, after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donors froze direct assistance when the government admitted it guaranteed more than $2 billion in debts, more than half of which had been undisclosed.
Meanwhile, in July 2020, Rwanda received an $11.4 million grant from the EU for the country’s private sector development and creation of jobs. The grant is part of the $522.6 million package of support to the country until the end of 2020.