Circular - 2 June 1980

BANCO DE MOÇAMBIQUE CIRCULAR

Article 6 of Decree No. 2/80, of April 11, published in the Official Gazette No. 15, First Series, of April 11, 1980 (Supplement), stipulates that:

• State organs and institutions;
• State enterprises, mixed-economy enterprises, and private enterprises, including enterprises covered by Decree-Law No. 16/75, of February 13;
• Cooperatives;
• Associations of a social, cultural, and recreational nature; and
• Merchants and industrialists in their own name, provided that the volume of sales exceeds 200 contos per month.

They are obliged to accept checks in national currency issued by all State Organs and Institutions and by State Enterprises.

Thus, in compliance with the present Decree and with a view to dignifying the role of the check, the Bank of Mozambique and the Popular Development Bank will henceforth honor checks of any amount from State organs and institutions, as well as from State Enterprises.

It is therefore imperative that state organs and institutions and state enterprises dependent on this Ministry create accounting provisions that allow for the avoidance of the lack of control that sometimes exists, and which forces their issuance into overdraft. Because this situation reflects, in its essence, a form of financing, the Bank will be obliged to charge interest of 8.5% per year on the outstanding amounts until their regularization.

Regarding any irregular situations that may arise, whether from the services or from the enterprises under your supervision, we will provide information to Your Excellency.

To prevent both the issuance of checks without coverage and to contribute to the ongoing organizational offensive, we request that Your Excellency sensitize the services and enterprises under your control regarding the civil and criminal consequences for those responsible for issuing uncovered checks.

In our opinion, because passing a check without coverage reflects disorganization, this responsibility should obviously be attributed personally to the managers of the service or enterprise that issued the check. It should be the responsibility of these managers to pay the interest unnecessarily incurred due to the disorganization and/or negligence that led to the overdraft, never the entity itself.

Furthermore, it must be considered that the fact that the Bank honors checks from state entities and enterprises does not remove the criminal nature of issuing a check without coverage, which is punishable by the law in force.

That is to say, regardless of the responsibilities as is the norm, the Bank will file the appropriate complaint with the competent police and judicial authorities against the person or persons who issued the check.

We would like to thank Your Excellency in advance for the sensitization you will carry out, as well as for all measures you may take to enhance the use of checks as a form of payment.

Please accept my compliments.

Maputo, June 2, 1980

The Minister Governor of the Bank of Mozambique