Mozambique’s Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Letícia Klemens, is considering revising the country’s minerals licensing process in order to minimise, or even prevent, possible corrupt practices, local media has reported.

This was one of the major outcomes of the third Coordinating Council of the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, held during the first week of this month in the city of Matola, which is adjacent to the capital, Maputo.

The spokesperson for the Coordinating Council, Afonso Mabica, told ‘Notícias’ newspaper that the issue was “quite deeply [discussed] and we have found that, in fact, there is a need to improve the way we serve the public in order to facilitate the licensing process.” During the council session, Klemens appealed to the “cadres” of the Ministry to establish measures to prevent corruption and denounce anyone involved in corrupt activities, so that they could be vigorously dealt with and subjected to administrative and/or criminal sanctions.

She had highlighted the issue in her address when she opened the council. “We are, above all, concerned by the evidence of misappropriation and failure in the duty of good administration in some areas of our sector,” she said. “Such evidence is mainly exposed through acts of corruption, which represent the abuse of public power to achieve personal benefits or to satisfy private interests.”

The licensing of mining activities was identified as the process most subject to corruption. The Minister expressed the desire to reform the licensing process to combat extortion and bribery. “With a view to making our institutions more effective, we have also to consider other actions with the potential to contribute to the reduction or elimination of corruption, such as simplifying the licensing processes.”

Other matters considered by the Coordinating Council were a review of the decisions and recommendations made at the Ministry’s second Coordinating Council and of the 2017 Economic and Social Plan. It also undertook a midterm review of government’s 2015–2019 Five Year Plan. The third Coordinating Council further determined the draft Budget and the Economic and Social Plan for 2018.

Mabica reported that it had been verified that, in general, the objectives of the 2017 Economic and Social Plan and the Five Year Plan were being achieved. Among the achievements of the 2017 Economic and Social Plan highlighted at the meeting were the creation of a formal precious stones and metals market, the modernisation of the minerals cadastre, the introduction of diesel with 50 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur (in place of the current diesel with 500 ppm of sulphur) and the introduction of monthly adjustments in the fuel prices.