Acquisition of Aircraft for Mozambique in the First 100 Days of Governance: Chapo Discovers Nhonguista Plan at LAM or Empty Coffers (…)?

Paulo Vilanculo "

This article analyzes the scandal at Mozambique Airlines (LAM) during the first 100 days of Daniel Chapo's government. The discovery of corruption schemes ("plano de nhonguistas") and mismanagement in which those responsible, metaphorically called "henhouse cats", were tasked with "taking care of the mice" illustrates the continuation of practices that are harmful to the public purse. The article explores the implications of the acquisition of aircraft without transparency, the financial shortfalls and the initial corrective actions proposed by the new government, based on recent journalistic sources and literature on public management and corruption in Mozambican state-owned companies. Keywords: Mozambique, LAM, corruption, public management, Daniel Chapo. In the first 100 days of government, a corruption scheme involving the acquisition of new aircraft came to light, revealing that former managers nicknamed "nhonguistas" were perpetuating fraudulent practices, worsening the company's financial deficit. Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) has always occupied a strategic position in the Mozambican transport and economic landscape. However, in recent decades, LAM has been associated more with financial scandals than with the provision of quality services. LAM’s difficulties date back to the 2000s, when insufficiently regulated liberalization policies allowed the infiltration of clientelistic networks (Hanlon, 2017). In 2022, LAM declared technical insolvency, operating with losses exceeding US$40 million (Club of Mozambique, 2022). The KPMG (2023) audit revealed that “LAM’s management was captured by private interests that manipulated aircraft acquisition, financing and leasing processes” (KPMG, 2023, p. 45). According to the Ministry of Transport, the government is considering the possibility of partially privatizing LAM, through a public-private partnership model that ensures greater transparency (Ministry of Transport, 2025). The rise of Daniel Chapo to the presidency of the Republic in 2025 rekindled hopes for profound reforms. Chapo announced a plan to revitalize LAM, including the urgent acquisition of aircraft to modernize the fleet. Chapo's government uncovered a Nhonguista Plan at LAM. According to the newspaper Carta de Moçambique (2025), it was a plan to purchase overpriced second-hand aircraft from foreign intermediaries and offshore companies. "Nhonguistas" is a word that refers to petty corruption practices (nhonguismo), but which, in public management contexts, represents a systemic chain of favors, embezzlement, and resource capture (Tamele, 2020). Nhonguistas include directors, administrators, and external suppliers colluding to extract revenue from the State. In the bearded cases of LAM, we can remember that the former Mozambican Minister of Transport and Communications, Paulo Zucula, and the director of the company Xihevele, Mateus Zimba, were sentenced to a term of 10 years in prison each, for corruption in the purchase of two aircraft from the Brazilian company Embraer.190 by LAM between 2008 and 2010, and the investigation revealed that Embraer may have paid bribes, disguised as commissions where theThe Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) accused Zucula of receiving US$430,000 and Zimba of pocketing US$370,000 for their participation in the deal. In the same case, José Viegas, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of LAM, was acquitted. (Voa, 09/13/2021).On the other hand, Mozambique Airlines (LAM) paid more than 70 million meticais to rent an aircraftBoeing B737-300, acquired for dedicated cargo transportation that was returned to its origin, which never came into operation. (MZNews, 1/23/2025). An internal investigation, supported by reports from the General Inspectorate of Finance, found that "the same people who caused the previous downfall were kept in key positions" (Notícias Online, 2025). The discovery of the corruption scheme at LAM in Chapo's first 100 days illustrates the depth of the management crisis in Mozambican public companies. In the highly convincing metaphor of: "Chicken coop cats tasked with taking care of the rats at LAM" (Carta de Moçambique, 2025), Chapo, in his speech, stated: "We cannot regenerate Mozambique by maintaining the old schemes. You cannot fight the rat by putting the sick cat in charge of guarding the larder." (Chapo, 2025). The challenge for the new government will be to dismantle the deeply entrenched clientelist networks and establish a new management paradigm based on competence, transparency and accountability. The struggle will be long, but necessary for the institutional regeneration and credibility of Mozambique Airlines as a national asset and not as a financial "black hole".

2025/12/3