Victoria Kwakwa, vice president of the World Bank for Eastern and Southern Africa, evaluated positively the return of life to the streets of Palma and Mocímboa da Praia, together with the gas projects, during a visit to Cabo Delgado, Mozambique.
“I am happy with what I saw: it is encouraging to see vibrant economic activity in the markets, and it is pleasant to see youth training, construction, and agriculture”, said the director.
Kwakwa visited northern Mozambique, which suffered from an armed insurgency since 2017, leading to the suspension of gas projects in 2021.
A coalition of troops from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) helped Mozambican forces to liberate the area, which should see major investments restarting this year.
French oil major TotalEnergies said it was assessing safety and human rights aspects in order to make a decision to restart its project, although local companies and Italian subcontractor Saipem have already mentioned that the project resumption will take place mid-2023.
Also read: Mozambique’s GDP projected to grow by 6.5% in 2023
“What is happening in the north is very important and I wanted to see the stabilization efforts” that open doors to “major economic activities, such as natural gas projects”, said Victoria Kwakwa.
“The World Bank has been helping residents to resume access to living conditions and essential basic services” and trying to make them even “better than they were before”, she concluded.
On this first visit to Mozambique, Victoria Kwakwa intends to discuss the government’s reform plan, the causes of the country’s deficiencies, and the increase in Mozambique’s resilience.
The agenda for this visit includes meetings with the President of Mozambique, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Economy and Finance, and the Governor of the Central Bank, among others, days after the organization approved a new partnership framework with the country until 2027.
Also read: Mozambique stimulus package begins to show results
The new partnership framework, approved on February 24, provides for a commitment to “greener development” over the next five years, mainly through the creation of opportunities for low-skilled labor outside subsistence agriculture, the bank announced.
