Maputo, Sept. 15, 2026 (Lusa) – Mozambique's minister of labour, Ivete Alane, has called for strengthening of the National Social Security Institute's (INSS) control mechanisms to prevent fraud, corruption and misappropriation of funds, following allegations of misuse of funds.
Speaking at the opening of the National Social Security Meeting in Tete province, in central Mozambique, on Monday, Ivete Alane acknowledged the impact of recent events on the confidence of workers, taxpayers and pensioners, emphasising that the INSS's funds come from the contributions of millions of Mozambicans.
«There can be no tolerance for fraud, corruption, manipulation of systems or the misappropriation of social security funds,» stated the minister of labour, gender and social action, Ivete Alane, calling for the strengthening of internal controls, auditing, the separation of duties, risk management, the traceability of operations and the security of IT systems.
She noted that the meeting was taking place at a time that required more than a routine assessment of institutional performance, given the events relating to the alleged misuse of INSS funds, which are under investigation by the authorities.
«We need to identify and close the institutional loopholes that make such practices possible,» she said, adding that technology should reduce manual intervention, prevent fraud and enable the detection of anomalous transactions.
The minister also advocated for systems capable of identifying who carried out each transaction, when it was carried out and under what authorisation, given that social security funds represent the contributions of millions of workers and their expectations of protection in the event of illness, maternity, disability, old age or death.
This intervention follows the public prosecutor's office's indictment, on 20 August, of INSS officials, a businessman and a communications company in a corruption scheme that is alleged to have caused the State a loss of around 319 million meticais (€4.3 million) through the irregular award and execution of service contracts.
According to the indictment issued by the attorney general's office (PGR), to which Lusa had access at the time, the case involves at least six suspects, including four who were arrested in April: the then Director-General of the INSS, the Director of the Administration and Finance Department, a technician from the Procurement Management Unit and a businessman, as well as a communications company.
According to the indictment, a contract signed in 2022 for communications services, initially valued at 23.7 million meticais (€308,000), ultimately resulted in payments totalling 265.7 million meticais (€3.5 million), whilst a second contract, signed in 2023 and budgeted at 55 million meticais (€736,000), is said to have involved payments totalling 138.2 million meticais (€1.8 million).
The Attorney General's Office maintains that those involved resorted to cash withdrawals, deposits into third-party accounts and cash handovers to conceal the origin and destination of the funds, and also points to an increase in assets incompatible with the defendants' known incomes. The suspects are charged with embezzlement, corruption, mismanagement, abuse of office and duties, criminal association, money laundering and forgery of documents.
«The ever-increasing number of public officials involved in financial offences warrants reflection on the effectiveness of sanctions,» said the Attorney General, Américo Letela, in April, calling for more severe punitive measures for the most serious cases and for repeat offences.
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