Maputo, 25 Jun (AIM) – Mozambican President Daniel Chapo believes that political independence is not enough to guarantee the nation’s sustainable development, which means that the country must focus on economic independence.
According to the President – who was speaking on Thursday, in Maputo’s Heroes Square, at a ceremony marking Independence Day – the 51st anniversary of the proclamation of the country’s independence from the Portuguese colonial rule on 25 June 1975 by the late President Samora Machel – Mozambique must focus on achieving economic independence.
“This day remains a landmark date in the country’s history, symbolizing the courage and sacrifice of the men and women who fought for national liberation. 25 June belongs eternally to the soul and history of the Mozambican people. We remember all those who faced oppression and restored to the Mozambican people the right to exist as a free, independent, and sovereign people”, he said.
The President believes that the country’s new phase is grounded in increased production, productivity, and wealth creation “because political independence, while indispensable, is not enough to guarantee the nation’s sustainable development.”
“The second independence is called production and productivity; it is called work, discipline, patriotism, and economic nationalism. We also need to make honesty, integrity, patriotism, competence, and responsibility non-negotiable values of our national life”, he said.
Chapo also called for an unrelenting fight against corruption, the misappropriation of public resources, and a lack of collective responsibility.
“Mozambique’s greatest wealth lies in its people. Mozambique’s greatest wealth is not found merely in the subsoil, the rivers, or the seas. Mozambique’s greatest wealth is the Mozambican people”, he said.
The main challenge, he added, also lies in transforming national resources and potential into concrete benefits for the population through the industrialization of the economy, “the leveraging of natural resources, job creation, and the strengthening of national productive capacity.”
During the ceremony, Chapo also paid tribute to the veterans of the national liberation struggle and the military personnel currently confronting Islamist terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
Am/
