Thursday, March 28, 2024

Mozambique’s ex-finance minister arrested in South Africa

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Fred Dzakpata
Fred Dzakpata
Fred Dzakpata is a Ghanaian journalist who specializes in business reporting in Africa.

A former finance minister of Mozambique, Manuel Chang, has been arrested in South Africa.

His arrest according to South African officials was at the request of the United States.

A South African police spokesman, Vish Naidoo said on Monday that Chang “is wanted by the U.S.”

Chang is already in trouble back home. His ministry guaranteed $2 billion in secret borrowing by state-owned firms in 2013 and 2014.

Local media in Mozambique reports that Chang, 63 is a wanted man on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and money laundering.

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The $2 billion secret borrowing was disclosed two years ago, forcing foreign donors including the International Monetary Fund to cut off support.

Mozambique last year said it spent $250 million paying non-existent public sector workers usually referred to as ‘ghost’ workers.

The payments were made to these ghost workers in the last two years.

Mozambique was ranked as the 153rd most corrupt in the 2017 Transparency International Index.

It was recently ranked 135th out 190 countries in the latest World Bank Ease of Doing Business released in October last year.

Mozambique’s GDP growth has been among the world’s highest – thanks to foreign investment and an expanding tourist sector.

It is however still one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world.

 

 

Source: Africafeeds.com

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