What You Need to Know
The Centre for Public Integrity (CIP) in Mozambique has raised alarms about potential conflicts of interest involving Emanuel Chaves, who chairs both the Supervisory Committee of the Sovereign Wealth Fund and the Civil Aviation Institute. CIP calls for clearer regulations to manage such conflicts to maintain public trust in the management of natural gas revenues.
Africa-Press – Mozambique. The prominent anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), has called for transparent mechanisms for declaring and managing conflicts of interest in Mozambique’s state-owned bodies, since the same person, Emanuel Chaves, is chairing both the Supervisory Committee of the Sovereign Wealth Fund and the country’s Civil Aviation Institute.
Since August 2025, Chaves has been holding both positions despite the potential for a conflict of interest.
In a statement, CIP has called for clarification of the incompatibility regime applicable to members of the Supervisory Committee, because situations identical to that of Emanuel Chaves “expose gaps in the legislation and show that it lacks clarification regarding incompatibilities and subsequent conflicts of interest.”
“The Supervisory Committee itself should adopt transparent mechanisms for declaring and managing conflicts of interest, in order to ensure that the institution is accompanied by credible, independent oversight capable of preserving citizens’ trust in the management of the revenues from natural gas”, reads the statement.
The Supervisory Committee of the Sovereign Fund consists of nine personalities chosen by the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, to control sovereign wealth fund revenues from the production of liquefied natural gas from offshore areas 1 and 4 of the Rovuma Basin, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
According to CIP, the coexistence of these two functions, even if temporary, raises a relevant institutional question since the “Sovereign Fund Supervisory Committee was conceived of as an independent body, composed of representatives from non-governmental segments, all elected by parliament with the purpose of ensuring institutional plurality and functional autonomy in relation to the government.”
“Does the independence required of the supervisory body remain fully intact when its Chairperson simultaneously assumes public executive functions?”, questions the organization, claiming that “when the head of the body assumes public executive functions by government appointment, even if there is no proven direct interference in the Committee’s decisions, an institutional and reputational risk arises.”
Source: AIM
The Sovereign Wealth Fund of Mozambique was established to manage revenues from the country’s natural gas resources, particularly from the Rovuma Basin. The fund aims to ensure that these resources benefit the nation and its citizens. However, concerns about governance and transparency have emerged, particularly regarding the appointment of individuals to key positions within the fund’s oversight committee, which is intended to operate independently from government influence. The presence of conflicts of interest can undermine public confidence in the fund’s management and its ability to serve the public good.
