Mozambique: Government to reintroduce Action Plan for Business Environment - AIM
in file CoM
The Mozambique Chamber of Commerce (CCM) warned today that the wave of kidnappings in the country could “scare away” businesspeople and reduce investment, asking authorities to do more to combat this species of crime.
“These acts can scare away businesspeople, contributing to a rise in unemployment and all related criminal factors,” the CCM says in a statement reacting to the kidnapping of a businessman in Maputo on Wednesday.
The businessman, of Asian origin, was seized by a gang of six people as he was opening his commercial establishment located between Karl Marx and Ho Chi Min avenues in the centre of the Mozambican capital. During the kidnapping, one of his employees was shot in the leg, a source from the Mozambican police in Maputo told Lusa on Wednesday.
“Such an incident not only undermines and compromises the efforts that have been undertaken, at various levels, in favour of the country’s socio-economic development, but also compromises the business environment and may diminish investment interest,” the CCM warns in its note.
The Police of the Republic of Mozambique recorded a total of 185 cases of kidnapping since 2011, with at least 288 people detained on suspicion of involvement in this type of crime, the Minister of the Interior announced in March.
The wave of kidnappings in Mozambique has affected businesspeople, especially those of Asian descent, and their families, which the authorities believe requires reflection.
The majority of kidnappings committed in Mozambique are masterminded from outside the country, which makes combating this type of crime particularly difficult, Attorney General Beatriz Buchili told parliament in April.
The majority of the prime movers live in South Africa, she alleged.
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