Deepening Integration in SADC - Fes-botswana.org

In the last 10 years, Mozambique recorded an annual average growth
rate of about 6.7%, with the lowest registered in 2000 (1.5%), as a
result of floods during that year, which destroyed a considerable part
of food and cash crops. The Government of Mozambique is committed
to moving forward with policies and programmes aimed at maintaining
the economic growth rate at 7-8% levels within the next five years.
Projections show this to be a realistic scenario given the country's relative
macroeconomic stability in terms of attracting foreign investment, and
also due to the entry into operation of Mozal II and other mega projects,
including SASOL, Chibuto Heavy Sands (Figure 3).
Employment and Unemployment Rates: Although without
official figures, some researches indicate that the unemployment
rates in Mozambique, either urban or rural remain very high. The
only available statistics are from the 1997 Population Census, which
showed that about 21% of the labour force was unemployed. From
the labour force employed, about 81% was in agriculture, 6% in
industry, and the remaining 13% in services. There is a current census
underway which will bring additional figures.
Formal Employment: Formal employment plays an important role
in increased productivity and state revenue. However, its growth
remains limited - indicated by the formal employment elasticity
estimates to a 0.1% growth, which is below average in other African
countries. Thus, further analysis of the causes and strategies/policies
aimed at reversing this trend are required.
Investments Inflows and Outflows: A combination of factors such
as political and macroeconomic stability of recent years, the economic
reforms which adopted a greater integration of the country in regional
and international markets, and an aggressive marketing strategy,
played a role in the high foreign investment flows.
Although the bigger portion of these investments is channelled into
mega projects, there are some positive aspects worth being highlighted,
namely: (i) The strong growth of exports; (ii) Training of the labour
force and (iii) Access to new and modern technologies, which stimulates
improvements and investment in infrastructures. In terms of negative
aspects, the mega projects do not generate many jobs as they establish
only few linkages with the rest of the economy, and they provide little
value added for the national economy (Figure 4).
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