“Gas is not edible”: Daniel Chapo calls for a focus on agriculture in Mozambique

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“Gas is not edible”: Daniel Chapo calls for a focus on agriculture in Mozambique

7:30 CAT | 02 Sep 2025

President Daniel Chapo was speaking during a public rally on Saturday (August 30) in the Katembe district of Maputo. [Photo: FRELIMO 1962]

The President of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, called for a focus on agriculture, commerce, and tourism to develop the country, reiterating the government’s mission to combat corruption, kidnappings, and alcohol and drug use in schools.

“We, as Mozambicans, have a rich country. It’s true that we have gas, we have coal, we have other resources, but we cannot forget that our basis for development is agriculture, commerce, and tourism, and this is what Mozambicans do every day. Gas is not edible, coal is not edible,” said Daniel Chapo during a public rally on Saturday (August 30) in the Katembe district of Maputo city.

The Head of State called for a focus on these “usual development sectors”, which are the same ones that “bring money home”.

“It’s little, but it’s our money (…). Those sectors that bring food to our homes: agriculture, working the land, producing food, and this food is not only for us to consume, but also to sell if there is a surplus and we have money to support our families,” he explained.

For Chapo, the country’s development also starts with combating certain “evils”.

“We know very well that we live in a society where, at this moment, the issue of corruption is an evil that we all need to combat,” he said.

He also added that corruption directly or indirectly affects everyone: “because the money that could go to build more schools, more hospitals, more medicine, more books for children, more energy, more roads ends up going to one person or a group of people; this impoverishes our people”.

“Another evil we need to combat is the consumption of alcohol, which is harmful to health, especially by young people,” he said.

According to the Mozambican President, distilled alcohol is harming young people.

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“We need healthy young people; young people are for our future, we cannot allow people to consume beverages that are harmful to their health. That alcohol (…) is the same thing that cleans wounds. Ethyl alcohol is not alcohol for anyone to consume, which is why we will continue working to combat these drinks. We will work with those who make these drinks to do useful things,” he stated.

Chapo also promised to continue combating drug use in schools, stating that the same substances are sold in the form of bread or candy around educational institutions.

“They sell and addict our children from adolescence onward. We will enter this fight so we can truly combat this evil,” he assured.

According to the Head of State, since the beginning of the current government cycle, which began on January 15th, following the violent and turbulent presidential elections held on October 9th in the country, one of the “biggest” concerns in the Mozambican capital, especially among businesspeople, was kidnappings.

“Almost every day, almost every week, there are kidnappings in the city of Maputo, and we decided that there is no country in the world that develops with this level of crime,” said Chapo, adding that, currently, the levels of these crimes in the country are decreasing.

Source: Lusa