Maputo, 12 April (AIM) – Mozambican President Daniel Chapo called on Saturday for “investment in specific scientific knowledge” to make the country’s natural resources profitable.
Speaking at the close of a three-day meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Frelimo Party, in his capacity as President of Frelimo, Chapo said that the exploration and monetization of these resources “requires scientific knowledge in which we must invest, in a serious and strategic way”.
Chapo said Mozambique should learn from other countries that managed to industrialize despite having few natural resources. “We must invest more in technical and professional education for productive knowledge in strategic areas for development,” he added. “Only in this way will Mozambique be able to take a strategic leap in industrial development, without going through all the stages that developed countries have gone through.”
Chapo told the Central Committee that it was time to act “strategically and resolutely” in the face of the demographic explosion facing the country. The increase in population has resulted in an increase in demand for basic services.
The Central Committee meeting, he said, highlighted the “importance and urgency of far-reaching reforms in building an economic development model that will allow the country to achieve the desired economic independence”.
The debates at the meeting highlighted the use of Mozambique’s critical mineral resources “to create and distribute wealth for the prosperity and happiness of the Mozambican people. The centrality of the economic issue in the debates testifies to the clarity of the vision we have defined for the current cycle of governance, the vision of renewing Mozambique and creating the foundations for effective economic independence”.
At the opening of the meeting, Chapo stressed that security “is not negotiable”. It was a priority of his governance, with the objectives of defending national independence and sovereignty, guaranteeing the integrity of Mozambican territory and strengthening mechanisms for preventing and combating all types of crimes.
Chapo noted that Islamic terrorists operating in the northern province of Cabo Delgado “resort to kidnapping for ransom, psychological intimidation of the public, and infiltration of vulnerable communities as ways of securing logistical and financial support for their operations.”
He said the government has strengthened the operational capacity of the defense and security forces to deal with the situation. “We are making progress in the affected areas, including the return of displaced people to their areas of origin,” he declared.
He also highlighted that illegal mining is a national security problem, given its harmful impacts on the economy and the environment.
“So we began a mining restructuring program, starting in the province of Manica, where the environmental catastrophe has reached unsustainable proportions,” said Chapo. This restructuring included the creation of a “special operational theater in Manica” involving the relevant economic and environmental sectors, the defense forces and the Tax Authority.
(AIM)
Pf/ (479)
