Maputo, November 4, 2006 – The World Bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Juan José Daboub, praised Mozambique’s macroeconomic performance and political stability over the last 15 years while also encouraging the country to broaden private sector involvement and focus on results in addressing the complex and multi-sectoral challenges ahead. At the conclusion of his two day visit and after meeting a variety of key stakeholders Mr. Daboub said, “Mozambique is a country of significant achievements and great opportunities. It takes strong government leadership and vision, a transparent and flexible regulatory framework, and a vibrant private sector to extend and deepen the impressive growth performance of the past decade into the next ten to twenty years”. Mr. Daboub held talks with the Prime-Minister, Ms. Luisa Diogo, as well as with key Ministers, including the Ministers of Planning and Development, Finance, Mineral Resources, Transport and Communications, and Public Works. During these meetings, Mr. Daboub stressed the central role the private sector can play as Mozambique focuses on infrastructure needs, growth, and delivery of key services to poor people. He also noted the growing importance of governance and the need to demonstrate results on the ground. Touring the Mozal Aluminum Smelter, he said, “this Mozambican flagship investment is a good example of how countries can effectively combine support from various parts of the World Bank Group [International Development Association -IDA, International Finance Corporation - IFC, Multilateral Guarantee Association – MIGA] to create jobs, and fight poverty.” He stressed that it is this type of investments that needs to be replicated in more countries around Africa. He also praised Mozal’s “Linkages” program, as he visited Spectrum Graphics Limitade – a locally-owned business and Mozal supplier, saying that, “mega-projects like Mozal ignite follow-on effects that strengthen Small and Medium Enterprises, create jobs and income streams and often exceed the benefits of the initial investment”. While visiting some of Maputo’s neighborhoods, including “Bairro Malhangalene”, the Maputo Central Hospitaland the Industrial Institute of Maputo, Mr. Daboub stressed the need for more investments in social sectors. He said “Government’s focus on providing public goods, such as access to health care, including for HIV/AIDS and malaria, good education, and safe water and sanitation, is key to ensuring that human development keeps pace with the strong economic growth.” Mr. Daboub also met with representatives of civil society organizations and members of the Poverty Observatory, a platform used by different stakeholders to monitor the Government’s actions in fighting poverty. While listening to their views, he noted the vital role that civil society organizations play in guiding the development agenda in Mozambique, ensuring accountability on the part of Government, and promoting effectiveness and results in development projects. The Managing Director reconfirmed the commitment to continue working with development partners to expand support to sector wide programs [and direct budget financing]. He said “Effective donor coordination, under a strong Government leadership, is key to accelerating development results. The World Bank is committed to doing its part by concentrating its support in those sectors where it has a comparative advantage, for example energy, agriculture, education and urban water supply..”
At the conclusion of his two day visit Mr. Daboub said, “Mozambique is a country of significant achievements and great opportunities. It takes strong government leadership and vision, a transparent and flexible regulatory framework, and a vibrant private sector to extend and deepen the impressive growth performance of the past decade into the next ten to twenty years”. During this trip to Africa, his first since joining the World Bank Group in June 2006, Mr. Daboub also visited Senegal, the Central African Republic, Uganda, Kenya and Malawi. South Africawill be the final stop on his visit. Mozambiquejoined the WBG in 1984. It has received support from 58 IDA projects, with a total value of $3,135 million, of which about $2,586 million has been disbursed to date. In addition, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has directly provided $208 million to the private sector. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), another WBG agency, has a portfolio in Mozambique valued at $423 million in gross exposure and has facilitated roughly $2.8 billion in foreign direct investment into Mozambique. For more information on the World Bank’s work in Sub-Saharan Africa visit: http://www.worldbank.org/afr For more information on the World Bank’s work in Mozambique visit: www.worldbank.org/afr/mz |
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