Maputo — Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has called on municipalities to continue working for the welfare of their citizens, in order to boost the economic and social development of the country.
Nyusi, who was speaking on Monday at the inauguration of a municipal market and an administrative building of the Municipal Council in the town of Quissico, in the southern province of Inhambane, said that such development are a clear and unequivocal demonstration of the gains that the country has been achieving in decentralization.
"For our government, fulfilling the promises made to our citizens should continue to be the focus of the action of local government bodies, as a way to affirm the commitment made to the citizens in the provision of services of increasingly high quality", he said, adding that the construction of the infrastructures complements the government's action in promoting sustainable development and reducing local asymmetries.
He added that "as a government we intend this investment to accelerate the improvement of public services, contributing to attracting more investment, with the ultimate goal of boosting local economic development, one of the central objectives of decentralization."
The construction of the market, which includes 68 grocery stores, 16 other stores, four restaurants, ans 172 stalls for fruit and vegetables, was made possible thanks to the support of the German government, in the framework of the Integrated Development Program for Municipalities and Surrounding Rural Areas (PRODIA).
With this initiative, the governments of Mozambique and Germany are co-financing programs for the construction of municipal infrastructure in 15 municipalities in the provinces of Manica and Sofala, in the central region and in Inhambane.
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"The government will continue to invest in building the capacity of municipalities, in recognition of their important role in providing services to the population. The government's vision is based on the principle that the transfer of powers to the municipal level should be reflected in the strengthening of the capacity of local bodies to solve local development problems", he explained.
"We call on users, both vendors and the population, in general, to make the best use of the market, and we encourage those who crowd onto the public road with products on their heads, running after motorists, to abandon the practice", he said.
So far, the German government has provided over 88 million euros (over 87 million dollars at the current exchange rate) through PRODIA.
