The president of Mozambique’s Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) said on Thursday that the post-election protests “almost destroyed” 40% of the country’s industrial fabric, and therefore defended a sound macroeconomic policy in the recovery phase.
Emphasising the role that the CTA has played in gathering information “that affects the (…) macroeconomy” of Mozambique, Agostinho Vuma said at a press conference that the confederation was “aware that emotional speeches can scare the market”, which is why he called for patriotism “in the search for a solution” for the market, “especially after this wave of violence that has almost killed 30% to 40% of the (…) Mozambican industrial fabric”.
In December, the CTA told Lusa that more than 500 companies were vandalised during the post-election demonstrations and at least 12,000 people were left unemployed.
The president of the organisation said today that the private sector is in a phase of recovery after the violent demonstrations that have taken place in Mozambique since October and that, at this stage, the presence of a sound macroeconomic policy is “very necessary”.
“We want the Bank of Mozambique to go hand in hand with the vision of the recently installed government, combating inertia, increasing production and also combating situations that undermine the macroeconomy in order to finance the productive market,” said Vuma.
The president of the CTA said that 67 companies and managers had met with Mozambique’s president, Daniel Chapo. In this meeting, the private sector agreed to join the government group surveying the protests’ impacts.
“We had very good agreements (…). We’re working with the government and we can no longer announce the results, since there’s a specific group involved in this that we’re carrying out with the public sector,” he concluded, justifying not providing new data on the impact of the protests on the sector.
Since 21 October, Mozambique has been experiencing a climate of serious social unrest, protests, demonstrations, and stoppages called by former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane. These have included violent clashes between police and demonstrators.
At least 327 people have died, including around two dozen minors, and around 750 people have been shot during the protests in Mozambique, according to the electoral platform Decide, a non-governmental organisation that monitors electoral processes.
Lusa
