The Institute of Social and Economic Studies (IESE) presented the latest edition of the book Challenges for Mozambique 2023-2024 at a session held on Thursday (6) at the Pedagogical University of Maputo. The event, which brought together students, teachers, activists, journalists and representatives of public institutions and civil society, addressed the country’s main socio-political and economic challenges.
Researcher Egídio Chaimite, who presented the book, explained that this thirteenth edition of the book comes in a particularly challenging context for the country. ‘Mozambique is facing a crisis that is not new, but which has deepened in recent years. This crisis has been characterised as threefold: socio-economic, security and political,’ he said.
According to Chaimite, the socio-economic crisis has its roots in the contraction of so-called illicit debts between 2013-14, while the security crisis has worsened with the armed conflicts in the centre and north of the country, with Cabo Delgado being one of the main focal points. ‘Data from the latest Household Budget Survey shows that poverty has risen from 45.1 per cent to 65 per cent in the last decade,’ he said.
The book’s main highlights
The 2023-2024 edition of the book Challenges for Mozambique presents a comprehensive approach to the main problems affecting the country, organised into four sections: Politics, Economy, Society and Mozambique in the World. Amongst the various chapters covered in the presentation, three papers stood out and sparked intense debate.
The first, entitled ‘Third (Inverse) Wave of De-democratisation in Mozambique’, by researcher Eduardo J. Sitoe, discusses the regression of democracy in the country. The author analyses the phenomenon of the concentration of power and the erosion of democratic institutions in Mozambique, contextualising it within a global pattern of democratic regression.
‘The democratic process in Mozambique has suffered a significant setback, characterised by the increased centralisation of power and the fragility of the institutions of control,’ said Sitoe during the presentation.
Another chapter of great impact was ‘Armed Conflict and Human Crisis in Cabo Delgado: Contributions to the Decolonisation of Peace and Development Studies’, by Teresa Cunha, Liliana Zambrano-Quintero, Jokin Alberdi Bidaguren and Terezinha da Silva.
This study details the humanitarian crisis in Cabo Delgado, addressing the impact of forced displacement, organised violence and the need for new approaches to resolving the conflict. ‘The crisis in Cabo Delgado cannot be analysed solely from a security perspective. It is essential to understand the social and economic roots of the problem in order to formulate sustainable solutions,’ emphasised Teresa Cunha.
Challenges for Mozambique 2023-2024
Gabriel Muthisse’s essay ‘From the Aromas, Luminosity and Misery of Madzukane to the Sovereign Fund’ offers a reflection on the challenges of exploiting natural resources in Mozambique. The author raises questions about the impact of the ‘Dutch disease’ and the viability of a Sovereign Fund to manage revenues from the extractive industry, considering the equitable distribution of resources for current and future generations.
‘The great challenge is not just to exploit natural resources, but to ensure that their benefits are properly channelled into the sustainable development of the country,’ Muthisse stressed.
Opening the ceremony, the Rector of the Pedagogical University, Jorge Ferrão, emphasised the importance of the initiative: ‘We are always delighted to host events of this nature, because we feel that this is a space created for the entire literary, artistic and cultural movement. Universities will always remain centres of reference and knowledge’.
Jorge Ferrão also emphasised that the Pedagogical University has maintained a fruitful relationship with IESE, which periodically donates books to the university library, encouraging access to knowledge.
For her part, the Minister of Education and Culture, Samaria Tovela, present at the event, emphasised the need to transform knowledge into concrete action for the country’s development: ‘The biggest challenge we have is to put it into practice. We have to work, we have to do things. It’s not enough just to train, but it’s important to organise ourselves so that our graduates can contribute their knowledge to the development of our country’. The minister also emphasised the importance of cultural and educational integration as a fundamental pillar for building a more equitable and sustainable Mozambique.
The book launch event also allowed for a broader reflection on the country’s structural challenges, with participants emphasising the importance of a multidisciplinary and evidence-based approach to tackling the problems identified by IESE.
The session ended with a call for academic knowledge to be increasingly integrated into the country’s political and economic decisions, promoting sustainable solutions to Mozambique’s challenges.
Read the full book here.
Text: Felisberto Ruco
