Maputo, 28 Jul (AIM) – The head of the Confederation of Mozambican Business Associations (CTA), Álvaro Massingue, believes that a shortage of foreign currency (particularly of US dollars) constitutes one of the main constraints on the efficient operation of productive sectors, particularly manufacturing, commercial agriculture, tourism, mining, and logistics.
Massingue was speaking in Maputo on the sidelines of the 11th Business Environment Monitoring Council, about the problems of resuming the 20 billion dollar megaproject headed by the French oil and gas company, TotalEnergies, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
He stressed that the difficulty in accessing foreign currency prevents the timely acquisition of raw materials, agricultural inputs, spare parts, fuel, and essential equipment, affecting production levels, productivity, and the competitiveness of Mozambican companies.
“Furthermore, this limitation weakens the ability to fulfill contracts with international suppliers, compromises value chains, and significantly increases production costs. In some cases, it leads to partial or total shutdowns of operations, job losses, and reduced tax revenues”, he said.
In order to solve the situation, Massingue called on the government to implement macroeconomic policies that promote greater exchange rate stability and encourage domestic foreign exchange generation through export diversification.
He also wanted to see measures aimed at increasing domestic production to replace imports, and mechanisms to encourage foreign direct investment, especially in sectors that contribute most to foreign currency capture.
Massingue also called on the authorities to continue fighting terrorism in Cabo Delgado so that TotalEnergies may resume its operations after it was forced to halt them in 2021 following a major attack against Palma town.
“Total would have been producing liquefied natural gas a long time ago, but the problem is that these attacks create constraints. It is not possible for multinationals to operate without peace and this was one of the points I made in my speech – that peace is essential for business to flow. Without peace, it is impossible for investors to feel comfortable about continuing in our country”, he said.
(AIM)
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