The Economy: Effort to Speed Up Pace of Development |
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June 22,2010
Western donors need success stories in Africa to justify their efforts and, for 15 years or more, Mozambique’s economic performance has fitted that requirement. Since the country’s recovery from civil war began in 1993, it has had one of the continent’s best track records, with growth averaging about 8 per cent a year. But the question a number of international officials and economists ask is whether, given all the funding flowing into the country, it should have been growing even faster.
Western donors need success stories in Africa to justify their efforts and, for 15 years or more, Mozambique’s economic performance has fitted that requirement. Since the country’s recovery from civil war began in 1993, it has had one of the continent’s best track records, with growth averaging about 8 per cent a year. But the question a number of international officials and economists ask is whether, given all the funding flowing into the country, it should have been growing even faster.
Amid concern about a loss of momentum, the government and international funders have been looking at ways of stepping up the pace. For the first time since Mozambique emerged from successive debt relief programmes in the mid-2000s, the government is considering turning to non-concessional borrowing to widen its access to finance. This would mark a departure for a country that has remained one of the most aid-dependent in Africa.
The record of comparatively strong growth has been partly a matter of post-war catching up from a low starting point. But the country’s potential, with outstanding natural resources, mostly unused farmland, its Indian Ocean coastline and its privileged position on South Africa’s doorstep, is still largely untapped.
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