- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has urged the Mozambique government to invest natural gas revenues in the social fields, aiming to ensure a qualitative and equitable development, as well as combating poverty.
- Mozambique ranking on Transparency International’s highly respected Corruption Perceptions Index is 158 out of 180 — which means it is widely perceived to be riddled with graft.
UNDP representative in Mozambique, Alfredo Teixeira, was speaking last week a seminar on the challenges for national development under the Agenda 2030, held in Maputo.
“We are aware that Mozambique’s social and economic context is quite complex and presents several challenges, but also great opportunities,” Teixeira said.
Despite the wealth of natural resources, mainly natural gas, the impact on poverty reduction will depend on the diversification of the economy and job creation, he added.
Last week, Maputo announced an investment of $25 billion (€21.9 billion) for the exploration of natural gas in the Rovuma Basin, the northern part of the country, by a consortium led by the U.S. oil company Anadarko.
Related news: Mozambique Gets US 420 Million From World Bank For 400MW Gas to Energy Plant plus Transmission Infrastructure – read more
On the Goals of Sustainable Development, Teixeira defended the mobilisation of synergies between the government, civil society and cooperation partners to achieve the goals.
Mozambique ranking on Transparency International’s highly respected Corruption Perceptions Index is 158 out of 180 — which means it is widely perceived to be riddled with graft.
“Alongside enduring political instability between two rival parties, corruption is a major underlying cause of the country’s malaise and has been recently estimated to have cost the country nearly $5-billion between 2002 and 2014. Blighted by endemic corruption, Mozambique presents a textbook case of a country whose legal and institutional framework has been brought into line with international good practice, but whose good governance window-dressing is unable to compensate for blatant abuses of power,” Transparency International notes in a briefing on the country.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
