Mozambique elections: Nyusi promises to diversify Tete economy – AIM report

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Mozambique elections: Nyusi promises to diversify Tete economy – AIM report

8:42 CAT | 23 Sep 2019

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Photo: Noticias de Moçambique & do Brasil

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has promised to diversify the economy of the western province of Tete, so that it ceases to depend on coal.

Speaking on Saturday at an election rally in Moatize district, where the main coal mines are located, Nyusi said “Many people think that coal is all that Tete needs. But the coal will run out. Furthermore, when the price of coal dropped on the world market, the mining companies had to lay off workers”.

For the next five year cycle of governance (2020-2024), he added, diversification and industrialisation should be the watchwords.

“Tete cannot remain solely dependent on coal”, Nyusi said. “We want to industrialise Tete, and Mozambique in general. Here in Tete there is an abundance of iron ore, granite, fish, all kinds of livestock, and a variety of crops”.

Projects to exploit the potential wealth of Tete had been drawn up, he added, but to implement them, the electorate should vote for him and for the ruling Frelimo Party in the elections scheduled for 15 October.

Frelimo, said Nyusi, “is the only force that will ensure the passage, through votes in parliament, of the laws that guarantee the well-being of this country”.

Industrialisation, he explained, means transforming the raw materials produced in Mozambique, expanding the value chain, and hence employing more Mozambican workers.

He also called for import substitution, declaring that it makes no sense for the country to go on importing tomatoes, bananas and other crops that are produced in Mozambique. Likewise with animal feed: why should this be imported, Nyusi asked, when Mozambique can produce all the ingredients, such as maize, soya and beans?

“We should produce scientifically, and not empirically, so that we can obtain foreign currency”, he added.

Nyusi also pointed to the investments in forestry plantations in the northern province of Niassa, saying that these now justify the installation of paper industries.

He called for harmony between the local population and the mining companies that operate in Tete, particularly in Moatize. “We shall respect the companies, and they must also observe Mozambican legislation”, he said.

Source: AIM