The Package of Economic Acceleration Measures (EAP) was launched in August 2022 by Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi with the aim of contributing to the development of key sectors of the economy by improving the business environment, transparency and governance.
Even so, almost two years on, the private sector explains that there is still a lot of work to be done for the measures to bring the desired gains and begin to have a truly positive effect, and therefore argues that some points of the SAP should be readjusted based on the current scenario.
‘For example, we believe that it would be feasible to include the aquaculture sector in measure 2, which deals with exemption from Value Added Tax (VAT) on imports for the areas of agriculture and electricity,’ argued the president of Mozambican President of Economic Associations (CTA), Agostinho Vuma.
Speaking on Wednesday 17 July during the meeting of the Interministerial Group for the Removal of Barriers to Investment (GIRBI), he explained that it was advisable for the government to review measure 10, which introduces the obligation to mix imported fuels with biofuels.
For Vuma, in addition to the legal component, it is a critical step to look at the area of primary production and the existence of the processing industry for the crops, such as sugar cane, maize and maple, used as raw materials.
‘For example, we believe it would be feasible to include the aquaculture sector in measure 2, which deals with exemption from Value Added Tax (VAT) on imports for the areas of agriculture and electricity’
“The private sector is keen to extend the period of validity of some of the measures in the SAP, such as the reduction of the IRPC to 10 per cent, due to their complexity and impact on the economy. This measure has the power to boost the performance of the national economy,’ he said.
The CTA president also warned that some of the planned reforms cannot be implemented in isolation, but must be in line with current legislation and existing challenges, ‘in addition to recognising the fact that there are reforms that need other instruments to materialise, such as the regulation of labour and private investment laws. We therefore emphasise the need to create the conditions for this beforehand, which will significantly contribute to their effective implementation,’ he said.
For his part, the Minister of Industry and Commerce (MIC), Silvino Moreno, said that the private sector and the government should work together to improve the business environment in Mozambique.
‘We are inviting the partners and the Confederation of Economic Associations so that we can ensure better alignment and responsibility on both sides for the proposals for joint actions to improve the business environment in the country,’ he said.
The SAP is made up of 20 measures based on two areas of great importance for economic growth: the first concerns fiscal measures and stimulating the economy, and the second deals with measures aimed at improving the business environment, transparency and governance and accelerating strategic infrastructure projects.
