Maputo — Local officials in Cheringoma district, in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, have been accused of demanding bribes in order to allow projects to be approved for funding from the government's Local Initiative Investment Budget (OIIL).

The OIIL is a fund, which started out in 2006 as seven million meticais (about 265,000 US dollars) for each of the 128 districts, to support viable projects that could increase food security and create jobs.

According to a report in Wednesday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias", at a meeting in Inhaminga, capital of Cheringoma district, local residents informed the Sofala Provincial Governor, Alberto Vaquina, of abuses of the OIIL by neighbourhood secretaries.

A man named Lucas Patricio said that the secretaries allocate the OIIL money to their relatives and friends. Other people only gain access if they pay bribes. He claimed that he presented projects every year, but they were never approved. "My friends who agreed to bribe the secretaries have now benefited from this money", he said.

Maria Angelo backed up Patricio, confirming that when projects are submitted to the District Consultative Council, the applicants found themselves facing demands for "illicit charges" (a euphemism for bribes).

Angelo said that she had submitted a project for a flour mill, "but the secretary of my neighbourhood said he wanted a share of the amount I asked for. I rejected this swindle, because I know that I would have to repay the money I asked for on my own".

A third resident, Mario Fombe, said that many neighbourhood secretaries are improving their living conditions, thanks to the money they demand from the people applying for loans from the OIIL. He said he had informed the district administrator of the problem last year, but had received no response.

Vaquina told the meeting that neighbourhood secretaries have no power of veto over projects, and that, if people distrust the secretaries, they can also submit the projects via traditional leaders. He pointed out "it is the members of the District Consultative Council who approve the projects and not the neighbourhood secretaries".

He advised Cheringoma residents to respect the neighbourhood secretaries, but always to denounce any corrupt acts they commit.

He promised that the matter would be thoroughly investigated. "If this is happening, we have to act as quickly as possible", said Vaquina. "That money is to help people who have projects to develop the district, and not for opportunists. We will take measures against anyone found acting in this way".