President Nyusi listens to residents in Tete province

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President Nyusi listens to residents in Tete province

8:57 CAT | 31 Jul 2018

Photo: Frelimo Tete Facebook

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Monday appealed for people living in the district of Chiuta to increase food production and to remain vigilant against anyone who uses unemployment as a pretext for destabilising the country.

The President was speaking at a rally in Manje on the first stage of his visit to the central province of Tete. Addressing a large crowd, he called on residents to raise their concerns with him.

Laurinda Sabuga thanked the authorities for bringing electricity to the area but added that a lack of water is a major problem. She suggested that perhaps the logging companies could help by pumping water from the Zambezi River, which is a long walk from Manje.

Other residents wanted a local hospital, a community radio station, a bridge over Kofi River, and a technical school. Local people also argued the government should prioritise increasing the number of agricultural extension workers as the area has a huge potential.

Foto de Frelimo Tete. — *Photo: Frelimo Tete*

In his response, President Nyusi noted that before the rally he had visited a market and seen the local produce. This included coal, kapenta, potatoes, and various types of beans. He added that he hoped the produce is consumed in the province to avoid pockets of hunger.

He stressed the need to increase both productivity and production, noting for example that agricultural methods are used in other parts of the country leading to yields of five tonnes of maize per hectare.

At the rally, there were conflicting voices over levels of hunger. President Nyusi promised to create a technical team to ascertain the real situation.

Responding to questions about the water supply, the President explained that the government will open over fifteen new wells in the district at a cost of 28 million meticais (about 480,000 US dollars at today’s exchange rates).

The President also called for vigilance against those seeking to create destruction and death. He was referring to the Islamic insurgency which began in October in Mocimboa da Praia district and later spread to other districts in the northern part of Cabo Delgado. The Islamic fundamentalists, known as “Al Sunna” or “Al Shabaab”, have killed dozens of people and forced hundreds to flee their homes.

The President expressed his exasperation, stating “we do not know what these people want. They say they kill because they do not have jobs, a claim which does not correspond with the truth”.

He explained that these groups tricked young people with false promises of scholarships abroad and added that they also recruited some of their members in other countries. Therefore, he appealed to young Mozambicans to repudiate the acts of these groups which only aim to destabilise the country.

After visiting Chiuta, President Nyusi inaugurated the first branch of the National Investment Bank (BNI), which is in Tete city. The role of BNI is to finance large-scale development projects and to contribute to the growth of the agricultural sector, the energy sector and the hydrocarbon industry.