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Country
profile : Mozambique
Languages: Portuguese President: Armando Guebuza Prime Minister: Luisa Diogo
Agro-Industry Development
In 1998, the
agricultural sector engaged approximately 81
percent of the Mozambican labor force and
contributed 34
percent
of GDP. Mozambique's major agricultural products
include cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea,
cassava, corn, rice, tropical fruits, beef, and
poultry. Agricultural exports include prawns,
which are a type of shellfish similar to large
shrimp, cashews, cotton, sugar, copra (a coconut
product), citrus, coconuts, and timber.
As part of FRELIMO's socialist legacy, all land
is owned by the state. The latter, in turn,
leases parcels of land to individuals and
companies for up to 50 years, with an option to
renew. The system is designed to protect the
small family farm sector, which provides
employment for 90 percent of the agricultural
population. According to the IMF Country Report
Number 01/25, 98.9 percent of the rural poor in
Mozambique own land, with an average of 2.5
hectares per household. Many small holder
farmers can only produce enough for subsistence
(survival) purposes, while others are able to
produce a surplus to sell on the market. Land
tenure is a highly politicized issue and it is
unlikely that FRELIMO will privatize land
ownership any time soon. Estate production is
confined mostly to the sugar sector, though
there are some large agro firms maintaining
commercial operations of cotton, copra, citrus,
and maize production.
Since independence from
Portugal in 1975, Mozambique has been
battered by civil war, economic
mismanagement and famine.
A peace deal in 1992 ended 16 years of
civil war, and the country has made much
progress in economic development and
political stability.
Portugal began to colonise the
area that became Mozambique in the early 16th
century. An anti-authoritarian coup in 1974 in
Portugal ended colonial rule and its ten-year
war with the Frelimo independence movement.
AT-A-GLANCE
Politics:
Ruling Frelimo party's
Armando Guebuza won presidential
elections in 2004 and again in 2009
Economy:
Critics complain that
Mozambique is pursuing
capital-intensive, showpiece
mega-projects that generate little
social benefit; natural disasters have
slowed post-civil war reconstruction
International:
Mozambican UN
peacekeepers have served in Burundi
Mozambican support for armed
groups fighting the white-minority rule
governments in Rhodesia and South Africa led to
those two countries sponsoring the Renamo
movement, which fought Frelimo in the 1977-1992
civil war.
This conflict, combined with
Rhodesian and South African intervention and
central economic planning by the Marxist
leadership of Frelimo left the country in chaos.
About a million people died in the civil war and
millions more fled abroad or to other parts of
the country.
An attempt to secure a
ceasefire with South Africa in the Nkomati
Accord of 1984 broke down, and the government
and Renamo eventually began talks brokered first
by Christian groups and then by the United
Nations. Frelimo inaugurated a new constitution
in 1990 that enshrined free elections, and both
sides signed the resulting Rome Peace Accords of
1992.
Frelimo has won all subsequent
elections, some of which have been disputed by
Renamo and smaller opposition groups. Political
life has nonetheless remained stable, with
Renamo continuing to work within the
constitutional system.
Foreign investors are showing
interest in Mozambique's untapped oil and gas
reserves, and titanium mining is a growing
source of revenue. Most of the population works
the land, however, and infrastructure nationwide
still suffers from colonial neglect, war and
under-investment.
The economy suffered serious
setbacks when in 2000 and 2001 Mozambique was
hit by floods which affected about a quarter of
the population and destroyed much of its
infrastructure.
Furthermore, in 2002 a severe
drought hit many central and southern parts of
the country, including previously flood-stricken
areas. Poverty remains widespread, with more
than 50% of Mozambicans living on less than $1 a
day.
Armando Guebuza, from the
ruling Frelimo party, succeeded Mozambique's
long-time leader Joaquim Chissano in February
2005.
Armando Guebuza has
encouraged greater foreign investment
He won another term in office
in the October 2009 elections.
Frelimo, in power since it led
the country to independence from Portugal in
1975, won 191 parliamentary seats out of 250 -
enough to change the constitution at will.
Mr Guebuza, seen as welcoming
of greater foreign investment, beat his rivals,
long-time leader of the opposition party Renamo,
Afonso Dhlakama, and the head of a new party,
Daviz Simango, capturing 75.46 % of the
presidential vote.
Mr Guebuza, a millionaire
businessman, is under pressure to provide poor
Mozambicans with the benefits of tourism and
untapped mineral and energy resources that have
started to draw foreign investors, particularly
from neighbouring South Africa.
And Guebuza, who made his
fortune in the energy, transport and port
industries, faces the new challenge of
accommodating a new generation that was not born
in the liberation struggle nor the 16-year civil
war against Renamo.
He was a member of Frelimo's
armed wing and played a leading role in
Mozambique's struggle for independence. As a
former interior minister in 1975 he ordered the
expulsion of Portuguese citizens from the
country.
His predecessor, Joaquim
Chissano, became president in 1986 after the
death of founding president, Samora Machel. Mr
Chissano oversaw a move away from Marxism and
the introduction of a multi-party constitution.
Television is the most popular
medium in towns and cities, with state-run TVM,
the only national network, and private STV
topping the ratings. Portuguese state TV's
African service, RTP Africa, and Brazilian-owned
TV Miramar are widely-watched.
State-run Antena Nacional
radio is a key source of news for many
Mozambicans. Private FM stations operate in most
towns. BBC World Service broadcasts to Maputo
(95.5 FM), Beira (88.5 FM), Xai Xai (100.9 FM),
Nampula (88.3 FM) and Quelimane (95.3 FM).
Dozens of community radio and
TV stations are funded by the government and
Unesco. Print titles have little influence in
the countryside because of high levels of
illiteracy.
The constitution protects
media freedom, but criminal libel laws deter
total freedom of expression. The opposition says
it receives inadequate coverage in the state
media.
By early 2008, 200,000
Mozambicans were online (ITU figure).
The press
Noticias - main daily, has
government shareholding
Radio Mozambique
- state-run, operates national Antena Nacional
network and provincial and local channels in
Portuguese, English and many indigenous
languages
Radio Cidade - state-run,
youth-oriented FM network
>> Mauritania
Country
profile : Mozambique
Agro-Industry Development
percent
of GDP. Mozambique's major agricultural products
include cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea,
cassava, corn, rice, tropical fruits, beef, and
poultry. Agricultural exports include prawns,
which are a type of shellfish similar to large
shrimp, cashews, cotton, sugar, copra (a coconut
product), citrus, coconuts, and timber.
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