The Mozambican state may be about to make one of the most expensive fiscal decisions in its recent history, without sufficient public scrutiny and with critical information out of reach of citizens. At stake are more than $4.5 billion in claimed costs in the Mozambique LNG project, the recognition of which could delay for years or decades the moment when the country effectively begins to benefit from its own resources. In a context of recurring promises of future prosperity, the lack of transparency about the assumptions underpinning these projections raises a question: who is, in fact, controlling the fate of gas revenues?
This is not just a discussion for technicians or specialized reports. It is also about how decisions that affect everyone are being made away from the public eye. When secrecy is invoked to refuse information that directly influences the future of the country’s finances, a dangerous distance is created between those who decide and those who live with the consequences. And this distance has concrete effects: it reduces the capacity to question, limits debate, and weakens the state’s own position in negotiations. Ultimately, the choice is simple: continue as is, either accept not knowing, or demand clarity before irreversible decisions are made.
