15 Sep Rand Sandton Advances Natural Resource Governance in Mozambique under AfDB-GONAT Partnership
From 26 to 29 August 2025, Rand Sandton Consulting Group, contracted by the African Development Bank, hosted a three-day GONAT training at Lagar do Mar, Macaneta, Mozambique. The Governing Natural Resource Outflows for Enhanced Economic Resilience (GONAT) initiative is a partnership between the African Development Bank and Rand Sandton, dedicated to strengthening governance, transparency, and institutional resilience in natural resource economies across fragile and transitional African states.
Rand Sandton senior IFFs and Capacity Building expert, Dr Bernd Schelenther, delivering training on in Macaneta, MozambiqueÂ
The training in Mozambique brought together 45 participants representing government ministries, civil society, academia, and oversight institutions. The sessions built on the core themes of the GONAT programme: addressing illicit financial flows, reinforcing fiscal governance, improving oversight of resource-backed loans, and embedding transparency as a foundation for long-term economic resilience. Participants engaged in discussions and technical exercises that highlighted the governance risks facing natural resource economies and the tools available to mitigate them.
The training was delivered by Dr. Bernd Schlenther, Rand Sandton Consulting Group’s Senior Illicit Financial Flows expert, who provided technical guidance throughout the eight training modules, which included natural resource accounting, measuring and combating IFFs, exploring the risks of resource-backed loans, among other key topics. He was joined by the firm’s Executive Director, Fewstancia Munyaradzi, and Senior Analytical Expert, Peter Chiwawa, who supported the training. Together, they ensured that the sessions combined international best practices with regional relevance, offering participants practical approaches to apply within Mozambique’s evolving natural resource sector.
On the left: Rand Sandton Executive Director Ms Fewstancia Munyaradzi. On the right: Rand Sandton Country lead for Mozambique, Professor Salvador Mondlane.
Mozambique’s growing profile as a natural gas and mineral producer underscores the importance of strengthening institutional capacity in this area. By focusing on oversight of financial flows and responsible borrowing, the GONAT training directly supports Mozambique’s efforts to ensure that future revenues from its resources are managed transparently and used to support broad-based development. The training also emphasized the value of inclusive governance, stressing that sustainable reform requires the involvement of civil society and communities alongside government institutions.
The event offered an ideal environment for focused learning and collaboration. The African Development Bank and Rand Sandton partnership’s decision to bring the GONAT training to Mozambique highlights the strategic importance of the country in the broader regional effort to curb financial leakages and promote accountable resource governance.
By hosting this training, the African Development Bank and Rand Sandton reaffirmed their joint commitment to supporting African nations in addressing governance challenges linked to natural resource wealth. For Mozambique, the outcomes of the training are expected to strengthen institutional oversight, foster transparency, and reinforce the country’s pursuit of resilient, sustainable economic growth.