Chibuto — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza has encouraged residents of the district of Chibuto, in the southern province of Gaza, not to despair over the paralysis of a heavy mineral sands project, which it had been hoped would bring substantial employment to the region.

Guebuza was thus reacting to concerns presented to him by local residents during a rally at Chibuto town on Thursday.

"Let us not lose hope, but let us not depend on this hope either", he said, acknowledging that the investors have abandoned the project.

"This is a problem, but one should not stop working, waiting for the implementation of this project. Let us keep working. Let us not depend on that', said Guebuza, expressing his conviction that the people of Chibuto have the capacity to overcome this setback.

The exploitation of the titanium bearing heavy sands in Chibuto, reputedly one of the largest such deposits in the world, had been granted to the multinational mining company, BHP-Billiton, which had promised to invest over one billion US dollars.

Expectations were that the project would employ about 1,750 Mozambican workers during the construction phase, and in its operating phase, that had been planned to start in 2012, it would guarantee 450 jobs. However, BHP-Billiton now claims that it does not have the appropriate technology to exploit the Chibuto deposit, which has a different composition from the heavy sands in the northern district of Moma, currently exploited by the Irish company Kenmare.

In a message presented during the rally, Chibuto residents raised, among other problems, their concern about the interruption of the heavy sands project, which they had hoped would minimise unemployment, and give an impetus to the local and national economy.

"Abandoning the heavy sands project is a huge setback for the district, for the province, and even for the country. It was our expectation that the implementation would partly help solve the problem of unemployment, and enhance economic activity in the region", said the message.

Besides this problem, Chibuto residents also complained of the crime rate, shortages of clean drinking water, deteriorating roads, and sharp rises in food prices. They called for greater government support for agriculture, and for the establishment of a technical and professional school in Chibuto town.

In response, Guebuza said that the solution to these and other problems requires the involvement of everybody, though the government has its own important role to play.

He reminded the participants that poverty always and constantly brings concerns, which require patience.

"These constant concerns, resulting from poverty, may lead to impatience", he said. "These are concerns that we all have, and only we can solve them and change the scenario".

"For this to be possible, it is important that we value our victories and use our knowledge to find solutions to the problems that emerge day by day", he added.

According to Guebuza, faced with the challenge to put knowledge at the service of people, the country has defined education as one of the most important pillars in the fight against poverty.

"Education is the solid basis for the fight against poverty", he said, explaining that it was in this context that from independence in 1975 onwards, the government has been continually expanding the school network at all levels.