Mozambique announces new measures to restrict gov't expenditure

MAPUTO, Dec.5 (Xinhua) -- The Mozambican government Tuesday announced new measures to cut government spending in a bid to save about 120 million U.S. dollars from the 2018 state budget.

The decision was announced by Minister of Finance Adriano Maleiane at a weekly council of ministers, saying the government will standardize the procurement procedure and set limits on its officials' spending on housing, transportation and communication.

The new austerity measures aim to reduce a variety of perks of officials at all levels of government to alleviate the financial burden on the state budget.

According to Maleiane, in addition to the limits on the cost of vehicles and house leases for civil servants, the measures also include rationalization of special bonuses as well as subsidies for fuels and communication.

The new limits on the subsidies for fuel and communication are expected to save more than 4 million dollars.

"We think that in this way we will discipline better; we are going to the market to get the car that is suitable for our capabilities and that the society accepts as being reasonable to be used," said the minister.

As for the vehicles' horsepower, the government decided that all senior personnel on state payroll will only be allotted 1.3 cc to 1.5 cc cars. There will be no more purchasing of luxury vehicles such as Mercedes-Benz.

Since October, the Mozambican government has been criticized over the acquisition of 45 luxury cars for parliament members at a time of financial crisis.

According to local press, the budget that the government plans to spend on the purchase of school desks represents less than half the total cost of these 45 cars. Enditem