US embassy cable - 04MAPUTO517

C O N F I D E N T I A L MAPUTO 000517 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR INL AHENRY-PLOTTS AND JLYLE 
DOJ FOR OPDAT JSILVERWOOD AND ICITAP EBEINHART 
PRETORIA FOR INL SSNYDER 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2014 
TAGS: KCOR, KCRM, KJUS, EAID, MZ, PROG 
SUBJECT: ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW GOES BACK TO ASSEMBLY 
 
REF: A. 03 MAPUTO 1532 
 
B. MAPUTO 487 
 
1. (U) Summary. The Anti-Corruption Law passed by the 
National Assembly in November 2003 (Ref A) will be 
re-examined in parliament on April 15. It was sent back to 
the Assembly by President Chissano, who refused to sign the 
legislation, due to questions regarding the constitutionality 
of one its provisions. The delay in approving the law has 
already had negative consequences for the Attorney General's 
Anti-Corruption Unit, in particular regarding additional 
staff resources authorized under he law (Ref B). Some 
observers also have speculated that the delays in 
implementation can be attributed to concerns regarding the 
mandatory reporting responsibilities for auditors. End 
summary. 
 
2. (C) The law requires a declaration of assets by public 
servants, provides for whistle-blower protection, and 
authorizes the creation of a Central Anti-Corruption Office. 
The pro-government daily Noticias reported that the President 
considered the exclusive authority of the Attorney General's 
Office (where such a Central Office would reside, and provide 
own resources for the Anti-Corruption Unit created in 2002) 
for cases involving corruption and influence peddling to be 
problematic. He reportedly would prefer the entire judiciary 
to have jurisdiction for cases. Additionally, mission 
officers have been told that the provision for automatic 
denial of requests for government permits after a 45-day 
period is also an issue. The original draft of the law 
foresaw automatic approval after a short period, if no 
negative reply was issued by a government entity. This would 
have avoided a common friction point for corrupt officials to 
demand bribes. However the law as passed includes the 
reverse, which could prove highly problematic and possibly 
unconstitutional in certain situations, for example, in 
registering a birth or death. 
 
3. (SBU) On March 26, the Attorney General described the 
negative consequences caused by the lack of staff and budget 
envisioned in the legislation. Unfortunately, even once the 
Assembly revises the relevant passages of the law and the 
President signs it into law, it could still be a considerable 
wait before implementing regulations are drafted and 
approved. Post is aware of a similar problem regarding the 
implementing regulations for the Anti-Money Laundering Law 
passed by the Assembly in December 2001, which was ratified 
in February 2002. In April 2004, central bank officials told 
Econ/Pol Chief that the draft implementing regulations are 
now complete and they hope to see them finalized this year. 
 
4. (C) Comment: In addition to officially stated reasons 
for the delays in approving the Anti-Corruption Law, post has 
heard speculation regarding complaints made to the President 
by the major accounting and consulting firms present in 
Maputo. They claim that being forced to adhere to the 
mandatory reporting requirements, if and when they encounter 
negative information during an audit, would put them out of 
business. End Comment 
LA LIME