Mozambique sees positive change, but reforms need to be faster: AfDB – Read the Country Results Brief 2018 here!

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Mozambique sees positive change, but reforms need to be faster: AfDB – Read the Country Results Brief 2018 here!

11:07 CAT | 28 Nov 2018

Image: Twitter / @TorvinenLaura

The director of the African Development Bank (ADB) in Mozambique praised the country for the positive developments seen in the last decade, but stressed that the implementation of the reforms “must be accelerated,” especially in terms young people in first time employment.

“The development trajectory over the past ten years has been positive, but certainly the policy steps have to be accelerated for Mozambique to get out of the economic crisis of the last two years and accelerate economic progress,” Country Manager for the African Development Bank in Mozambique Pietro Toigo said.

Speaking to Lusa on the day the AfDB released a report examining the past decade in terms of the Bank’s involvement in the country, he stressed that policies should “focus on youth employment to ensure that the 500,000 young people who enter the labour market every year have serious and sustainable opportunities.”

Looking back on the last ten years, “what we see is very significant progress towards poverty reduction in the last decade, although there are some setbacks in indicators that measure governance, but this is due to the crisis of the last three years, in relation to which the country is taking important steps,” added the head of the AfDB in Mozambique.

Congrats to @AfDB_Group #Mozambique and @Univ Pedagógica for interesting debate on the Bank’s results achieved in Mozambique during 2007-17. #Finland committed partner of the AfDB also in Mozambique @Ulkoministerio pic.twitter.com/wMbExcVRfj

— Laura Torvinen (@TorvinenLaura) November 26, 2018

In terms of challenges for the future, Toigo pointed to agriculture, noting that “there has been some progress in this sector, but it has to be accelerated for Mozambique to have a sufficiently diversified economy and not simply to be a producer of mineral resources.”

Investments in this area “are very important for the country to have a stronger economic foundation in the future,” added the head of the AfDB in Mozambique.

The Bank + #Mozambique?? =
– Construction of 811km of roads ?️
– Access to water to 1.8m ppl ?
– Access to energy to 820K ppl ?
– Access to micro-credit to 435K ppl ?
– ?incomes of 8K rural households through support to irrigation ??
Read report ??https://t.co/RhbF7bPh0v pic.twitter.com/eDT5Ulzlyx

— African Development Bank Group (@AfDB_Group) November 26, 2018

The AfDB is a multilateral financing institution with the objective of promoting economic development in Africa, and is present in most of the continent’s countries.

Present in Mozambique for over 40 years, the AfDB has financed more than 100 projects totalling more than US$2 billion, “focusing particularly on agriculture and transport,” according to a report on the country issued on Tuesday.

In December last year, the AfDB had financing operations worth US$623 million and two regional operations of US$164 million, which means that the AfDB portfolio in Mozambique totals US$787 million, with four private sector operations, included in the ‘Nacala Corridor’ totalling US$352 million.