A study promoted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) reveals that industrialisation in the country remains stagnant and with a gloomy picture, despite the strategies that have long been implemented by the Government.
Called “Report of the Survey of Mozambican Manufacturing Industries 2022”, the document, published by Semanário Económico, illustrates that, in general, the Government’s policy objectives related to the industrial sector are far from the current reality of the country.
“Most of the objectives set in the 1990s have not been achieved by 2022. Apart from a few large industrial projects, most companies are concentrated in the same industries and perform basic manual labour without adding much value. Most micro-enterprises seem to be stuck in a low-level equilibrium, from which it is challenging to escape. Consequently, the overall picture is rather bleak,” the report reads.
The document indicates that the business environment in which manufacturing firms operate has worsened and remained the same over time, noting that “firms spend a lot of time dealing with bureaucratic processes, which has increased the incidence of bribe payments”.
With a growing population of young people looking for work, Mozambique’s aim should be to focus on creating more decent opportunities in the formal sector. However, the study notes that job creation is not happening among manufacturing companies that have been operating for more than a decade.
“In 2022, there were fewer jobs in this sector than in 2012. The number of jobs available has fallen sharply,” it says.
As part of the Inclusive Growth in Mozambique Programme (IGM), the report was developed in partnership with the National Directorate for Economic Policies and Development (DNPED), and with the support of the Centre for Economics and Management Studies (CEEG) of Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM).