Mozambique: Government wants "clarity" on the origin of CSOs funding
Beira Investment Conference: PM pledges resources for municipal development – Mozambique
5:54 CAT | 01 Jun 2018
From left to right; Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, Beira mayor Daviz Siango and Sofala governor Maria Helena Taipo. Photos: Notícias
Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario declared on Thursday that the government is mobilising resources to ensure the implementation of major structural projects in Beira and other municipalities.
He was speaking at the opening of a two day International Investment Conference in the city, organised by the Beira Municipal Council. Rosario praised the Council for hosting an event that brings together the municipality, the government, businesses and cooperation partners “to seek together solutions for the development of this city and the country in general”.
“We encourage and support this type of initiative , since it strengthens our conviction that municipalisation allows the organisation and participation of citizens in the management and development of their towns and cities. We want municipal development to contribute to improving the services provided”.
Rosario called for a focus on improving living conditions through job creation and generating increased income. “In the specific case of Beira”, he added, “the government has been prioritising water supply and sanitation, the expansion of the electricity grid, and mitigating the effects of climate change”.
Rosario called for better use of facilities along the Beira Development Corridor (the road and rail network linking the port of Beira to landlocked counties such as Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi). He also wanted to see increased efficiency in the Beira port and rail system, in order to attract more traffic from the neighbouring countries.
Of particular concern is the sharp decline in traffic along the Sena line, from Beira to the Moatize coal basin in Tete province. The main user of the line used to be the Brazilian mining giant Vale, which sent the coal from its open cast mine in Moatize to Beira along this railway.
But Vale has now switched all its coal exports away from Beira to the new deep water mineral port at Nacala-a-Velha on the northern coast. The coal reaches Nacala-a-Velha along a railway from Moatize across southern Malawi which Vale financed.
“One of the ways of capitalising on the Sena line is by promoting greater synergies between the initiatives under way in the Beira Development Corridor and in the Zambezi Valley, thus banking on an integrated development perspective”, said the Prime Minister.
He encouraged businesses to increase their investments in the various areas of economic activities which should increase the levels of production and the use of the Beira Corridor rail and port facilities.
He called for an increase in agriculture and fisheries production, capitalising on the potential offered by the Beira Corridor. “We should bank on the value chains of maize, rice, vegetables, beans, fisheries produce, chickens and eggs, in order to guarantee food and nutritional security, substitute imports and promote exports.”, Rosario urged.
A further attraction of the Beira Development Corridor is the Gorongosa National Park, regarded as the crown in Mozambique wildlife conservation efforts, and within easy reach of Beira.
Gorongosa, the Marromeu National Reserve, on the south bank of the Zambezi, and the Chimanimani National Reserve in the neighbouring province of Manica, “offer rich potential for tourism products”, said Rosario.
To ensure that the initiatives under way in transport logistics, agriculture and tourism have the desired impact on improving living conditions, the Prime Minister stressed it is imperative that small and medium enterprises should be better integrated in the supply of goods and service to the undertaking sin the Beira Corridor.
This conference, Rosario said, “is taking place at a time when the country is making progress in the search for effective peace, which is a fundamental condition for promoting , attracting and retaining the investments needed for economic and social development”.
He cited the recent approval by the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, of constitutional amendments paving the way for greater decentralisation as evidence for this progress.
Alongside these advances went a continual improvement in the macro-economic indicators, said Rosario, including a sharp reduction in inflation, and a stabilisation of the exchange rate of the Mozambican currency, the metical.
He noted that in April the annual inflation rate was only 2.3 per cent, whereas in November 2016 it had reached 26.4 per cent. In the first quarter of this year, Mozambican exports grew by 19.7 per cent, when compared with the first quarter of 2017.
“Currently, the country’s international reserves are more than 3.2 billion US dollars, which is enough to cover 7.2 months of imports of goods and services essential for the functioning of our economy”, he added.
The mayor of Beira, Daviz Simango, urged participants at the conference to unite to provide the people of Beira with a decent life, and to build a city resilient against climate change.
“The presence of the Prime Minister here is further witness that when we work together we will go far, making our country more productive and competitive, and leaving a legacy or future generations”, declared Simango.
Dutch ambassador Pascalle Grotenhuis promised that her country will continue to support implementation of the Beira Master Plan. “If we work together as donors, as investors, as financing agencies, and as interested parties, we can ensure that Beira is a real success story”, she said.
Holland is financing an initiative by the Municipal Council to build 25,000 houses in the Beira neighbourhood of Maraza. To ensure facilities for this social housing, the Council has already signed contracts for electricity and water supply.
Great coverage today of our #Beira #Mozambique investors conference! Its about building #partnerships together and delivering results #water #housing #logistics #coastalprotection pic.twitter.com/npML4RQltK
— NLAmbassadeur Maputo (@PMGrotenhuis) June 1, 2018
Source: AIM
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