03 but it was only in April 2021 that some because of the outsourcing of cash received their first payment, and others are transfers, there were many errors in the still waiting: information collected, and this had to When we registered, we were told that they would receive the first payment of Mt 4,500 via Mpesa in September. But that did not happen. This April, we began to hear rumors that some people were being paid but our members had not been informed. Some rushed to the party [Frelimo] only to be told that their names had already been called be corrected at beneficiaries’ expense. Furthermore, while electronic payments were theoretically safer, many beneficiaries were robbed following the distribution of Vodacom phones. Because the login codes were “0000” Mpesa accounts could be easily accessed by thieves, explains a SINED member: and they would now have to wait until When thieves saw people gathering, they the next payment cycle but no one knows prepared to rob people. To reduce confusion when that is [...] If they had called people or INAS should have sent a message a week paid the transfer via Mpesa as promised, beforehand to inform us of the payment there would not have been a problem. date, time and place. They relied on the In a disorganized way, things ended up neighbourhood secretary, but the secretary happening. wasn’t always able to communicate with 3 In the absence of state support, SINED everyone. distributed food baskets to their members In addition, not all beneficiaries lived within and rolled out training programs to teach a 5-kilometer radius of an Mpesa agent members how to make personal protective and not all Mpesa agents had the cash equipment to sell. For domestic workers, to pay out the transfers. There was an this support was critical in the first phases effort to mobilize local traders to register of the pandemic, since approximately a with Mpesa but not all traders had the quarter of SINED’s members lost their jobs necessary documents needed to register. while another quarter saw a significant Because Mpesa agents are effectively own drop in income (Castel-Branco & Acciari, account workers, they have autonomy to 2021). define where and how to work. Therefore, A second and related challenge for beneficiaries was dealing with the failed digitalization process. Despite or perhaps neither INAS nor Vodacom had any power to hold them to account. This meant that beneficiaries were subject to the whims of Mpesa agents (PMSC-PS, 2020). 3 Interview with a state representative by Ruth Castel-Branco in Maputo, 14 October 2021. 20 Fast-tracking Financialization - International Financial Institutions’ Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic in Mozambique