Sweden grants funds for Mozambican employment policy – US$8.7 million over five years

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Sweden grants funds for Mozambican employment policy – US$8.7 million over five years

7:10 CAT | 21 Nov 2016

The Swedish government has granted 80 million crowns (about 8.7 million US dollars) to Mozambique for implementation of the National Employment Policy (PNE).

The sum will be disbursed over the next five years, and will be channelled through the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It is intended to implement the programme “Decent Jobs for Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Transformation”, in accordance with the PNE, which was approved by the Mozambican government in September.

The agreement was signed in Maputo by the ILO regional director for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, Alexio Musindo, and Swedish ambassador Irina Nyoni.

The programme seeks to ensure that more Mozambicans, particularly young people and those living in the rural areas, will have access to productive employment opportunities, and to contribute to improving regulations concerning employment.

Labour Minister Vitoria Diogo who witnessed the ceremony said there was a clear focus in how the funds granted by Sweden will be used.

“The Employment Policy is our beacon”, she said. “The first priority is to develop a plan of action with targets, indicators and objectives which make monitoring and assessment possible”. She pledged to value and make maximum use of the resources, so that more Mozambicans would gain access to employment.

“The programme we are signing today derives from a partnership between Sweden, the ILO and the Mozambican government, and is one of the many efforts that the country needs to undertake to guarantee that the greater part of the population has access to decent and productive jobs”, said Nyoni.

Providing jobs is a major challenge given the rapid growth of the Mozambican population, and the fact that well over half of all Mozambicans are under 18 years of age. According to the latest National Poverty Assessment, published last month, about 300,000 people enter the labour market every year.

Source: AIM