"Mozambique: Gaza develping "positively", despite floods"
Speaking at a press conference marking the end of his working visit to Gaza province, as part of his “open and inclusive presidency”, Guebuza said that the agricultural sector in Gaza had shown most progress in its performance.
“My impression is that Gaza province is continuing to develop, continuing to grow, both politically and economically”, he said, “even though it has faced disasters in the shape of floods”.
Despite the floods, he added, the persistence of the farmers ensured visible results of economic growth.
Guebuza said that the Limpopo river is the key to the economic development of Gaza, but the province lacks the infrastructures which could control the waters of the Limpopo.
“We all know the causes of the difficulties with the Limpopo - climate change, but also the lack of facilities that could help control the waters, such as more dikes and also dams”, the President said.
It had proved impossible to build those dikes and dams with the desired speed, because of their high costs. In particular, plans to build a dam on the Limpopo at Mapai, in the northern part of the province, remained on paper because of the lack of funding. Such a dam would be a major step forward in flood control in the Limpopo basin.
“The Mapai dam has been part of our plans”, said Guebuza. “But the resources needed to build it have not appeared”. He believed, however, that those resources would eventually be forthcoming.
Guebuza also stressed the need for serious dialogue in order to overcome problems. “We have to talk with each other and not at each other”, he said. “We have to learn from each other and hence build consensus at all levels”.
Source: allafrica.com
