The Mozambican government maintains that revenues from liquefied natural gas (LNG) production should finance the country's current development while simultaneously building wealth for future generations. Finance Minister Carla Louveira says the Mozambique Sovereign Wealth Fund (FSM) is already delivering tangible results.

"The objective of the Government of Mozambique is precisely to ensure that resources from natural gas can generate intergenerational wealth. We do not want all resources to be entirely consumed by the current budget," the minister said in an interview with the Lusa news agency.

Under the existing model, approximately 60% of revenues are channelled into the State Budget and the remaining 40% into a savings account managed by the Bank of Mozambique (BdM). This arrangement, the minister explained, allows the country to deploy part of the revenues into priority investments while reserving another portion to respond to future crises or financial needs.

"Resources are already financing structural projects. Gas revenues are already being channelled into resilient infrastructure, such as roads, schools, bridges and hospitals," she said.

In 2025, $109 million was transferred into the savings component of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, which now holds a balance of $151 million, Carla Louveira indicated.

Parliament approved the creation of the FSM on 15 December 2023. The government's proposal received 165 votes in favour in the final ballot — all from the Frelimo party — while 39 opposition lawmakers from Renamo and the Movimento Democrático de Moçambique (MDM) voted against. Then-President Filipe Nyusi promulgated the law on 8 January 2024.

The fund is constituted from natural gas production revenues, which could reach 379 billion meticais ($6 billion) per year by the 2040s.

"Projections indicate that annual gas exports could amount to $91.7 billion in nominal terms over the life of the project, in a scenario where all development initiatives approved to date by the government are in operation. In this scenario, annual revenues to the state will peak in the 2040s at more than $6 billion per year," then-Minister of Economy and Finance Max Tonela explained at the time.

Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=552850