Africa-Press – Mozambique. The fuel trading company Mitra Energy claims that the 561.7 million meticais (8.7 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate) received, over the last year, from the Mozambican State, is not fraudulent, but corresponds to payment of a debt owed by the State to the fuel distribution companies.
The company’s statement follows a report by the Administrative Tribunal (AT), the body responsible for checking the legality of Mozambican public expenditure, in which it denounces the existence of supposedly fraudulent payments to Mitra Energy.
The company’s CEO, Michel Ussene, is the son of Lucia Ribeiro, chairperson of the Constitutional Council, Mozambique’s highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law.
According to Michel Ussene, speaking to reporters, the amount corresponds to a payment from the state to fuel distributors, within the framework of the compensation mechanism created to subsidize fuels between 2021 and 2023.
He explained that, during this period, the accumulated debt reached a total of 22.1 billion meticais. “The amounts paid depended on the debt accumulated during the period in which the government decided to keep fuel prices below the real cost, with the aim of protecting consumers from international fluctuations in the price of oil”, he said.
According to Ussene, in addition to Mitra Energy, all fuel distributors received payments, “but our company was the only one mentioned in the financial report.”
“We reached an understanding with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Energy, defining that fuel prices should reflect the real cost and that companies would be able to recover the value of the accumulated subsidy, which totalled approximately 22 billion meticais. Several companies ceased operations during this period, but we maintained a regular supply, guaranteeing the country’s energy security”, he said.
The payment, he said, was made through the price structure mechanism, “recognized in the addendum to the agreement between the fuel companies and the government. This mechanism allowed companies to recover amounts corresponding to the sale of fuel below cost during the crisis.”
The company also denied having a relationship with Cláudia Nyusi, daughter of the former Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, claiming that such rumours are not real and they may “affect future international financing and the reputation of the national energy sector.”
“Our organization does not work directly with the State nor does it know the intricacies of how funds are disbursed. We request that the amounts be paid to us through the ministry with which we have a direct relationship”, Ussene said.
“Within the State, we do not know if the funds come from the Stabilization Fund or another source, as this is not within our competence. Our responsibility is limited to contributing to the fund and, when necessary, requesting reimbursement of the amounts due”, he added.
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