Natural resources should bring development

Maputo,10 Feb (AIM) -Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Monday declared that natural resources should bring development to the country and to the communities where mega-projects are installed, rather than being an excuse for complaining at the lack of infrastructure.

Chapo was speaking at the ceremony where he swore into office Joao Machatine as executive coordinator of the Office of Reforms and Strategic Projects (GCRPE), a new body intended to advise the President on the formulation of the strategic measures required to lead the country to economic independence.

The new office, he said, should have a significant impact on the lives of citizens, and should assist the President in monitoring and assessing the reforms that Chapo announced on 15 January, the day he took office.

“This office should change the reality lived in the country”, declared Chapo. “Full advantage should be taken of the country’s strategic location”.

“We set up this office, not to be just another administrative structure”, said the President, “but to be an engine of concrete change that will maximise the gains that the State and the population should obtain from the mega-projects under way and those in the future”.

The GCRPE “will not just observe reforms”, said Chapo, “but will be a catalyst for significant transformations in the economy, and in managing the country’s resources”.

“Our objective is clear”, he added. “We want the exploitation of our strategic resources to benefit Mozambicans directly, and not just the foreign investors”.

He called for a shift away from a merely extractive model of the economy to industrialisation.

The GCRPE will be run by a Coordinating Council chaired by Chapo, including representatives from private business and from civil society. Chapo said this structure “will guarantee transparency and coherence in the implementation of reforms”.
(AIM)
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