Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican state plans to transfer 722 million meticais (10.2 million euros) to community development programs this year, with resources obtained from mining and gas extraction, according to official data consulted today by Lusa.
According to the government’s estimate, the amount of 7,224 million meticais (€101.8 million) is expected to come from taxes on mining and gas production by 2025, of which almost 5,842 million meticais (€82.4 million) correspond to mining production and 1,382 million meticais (€19.4 million) to gas production.
“The 10% rate earmarked for the development of the provinces, districts and local communities where the projects are located is deducted from the total amount,” the government document on the legislation regulating these annual transfers recalls.
“This tax system is part of an effort to ensure alignment with international taxation practices in the sector and promote responsible fiscal management of natural resources,” it adds.
However, this is a decrease compared to the 1.159 billion meticais (€16.4 million) that the state transferred in 2024 to community development programs with resources obtained from mining and gas extraction, according to budget execution data previously reported by Lusa.
In 2025, the government plans to transfer 523.7 million meticais (€7.3 million) corresponding to the rate of 7.25% to the provinces, and the remaining 198.7 million meticais (€2.8 million), equivalent to 2.75%, to the communities, “in accordance with the legislation in force”.
In 2023, Mozambique began allocating 10% of tax revenues from mining and gas production to structural projects in the provinces and to support local communities.
The measure was determined by a decree that recognizes the “need to regulate the criteria for allocating and managing the percentage of revenues earmarked for the development of the provinces, districts and local communities where mining and oil exploration projects are implemented”. The decree states that 7.25% of the revenue collected from the Mining Production Tax and the Oil Production Tax will be allocated to the province and districts, “namely for structural projects”, and 2.75% for “local communities”.
By “structural projects”, the Mozambican government understands “those that boost the production sector, aiming at the collective development of a given region”, which are the responsibility of the provincial authorities, with those related to technical and professional education, health, agriculture, including infrastructures to support production, dams and irrigation, as well as industry, commerce and fisheries, infrastructures of social and economic interest, namely land use planning, roads, bridges and electrification, water and sanitation, among others, being “eligible for financing”.
The financing of projects designed and selected to support local communities must be coordinated by the Local Consultative Council, “according to principles of transparency, participation and relevance to the District Development Plan”.
The projects involve areas such as education, in the construction of classrooms and their equipment, in technical and professional training, in health, with community sheds and their equipment, in agriculture, with community irrigation, animal breeding and treatment, aquaculture and dams.
The projects can also be launched for fisheries and fishing infrastructures, in forestry, through the development of community forests, as well as roads, bridges and means of transport, namely small boats, of strictly community interest, and in the water and sanitation sector.
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