During the first half of 2016, the growth of Mozambique’s economy has slowed to 4% against 6.1% the same period the previous year, forecasts released by the government on August 10, show.

For the whole year, Maputo now foresees a growth of 4.5% against an initial forecast of 7%, the same source adds.

In June, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that the nation’s economic growth should slump to 4.5% over the year from 6.6% in 2015, as inflation and public debt rise.

On April 15, 2016, the IMF called off a delegation of experts, which was to visit Maputo to evaluate public accounts and approve the payment of a new loan tranche, after it discovered that Mozambique’s authorities hid $1.4bn of debts from international finance institutions.

The loans which were contracted in 2013 and 2014 and served to fund port installations and military ships for the protection of key infrastructures, propelled the nation’s public debt to 86%.