Africa-Press – Mozambique. The government is developing a programme to empower former combatants of the national liberation struggle, distributing the means of self-employment in order to reduce veterans’ dependence on the pension they receive from the state.
Minister of Combatants Josefina Mpelo recently delivered metalwork kits to former combatants in Cabo Delgado’s Mueda, Nangade, Muidumbe and Montepuez districts, the first to be covered in the province.
Mpelo said the initiative aimed to improve the living conditions of combatants and their dependents, and is expected to gradually extend to the entire country, depending on the availability of materials acquired in a joint effort between the government and cooperation partners.
“The contents of the kits that we are offering are not acquired only with the resources allocated to the Ministry of Combatants (from the State Budget); we also depend on the support of our partners,” the minister explained.
Rosa Simbanguele, one of the veteran beneficiaries of the metalwork material, praised the efforts that the government was making to support the well-being of the combatants, highlighting the value of the kit she received.
She said the material would not only benefit her, but would also help her companions to improve their lives.
“I’m going to put together a group which include someone who knows metalwork. I will improve my life, that of my children and that of others, because I will not work alone,” said another beneficiary and former fighter.
For this realisation of the programme, the Ministry of Combatants was working in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Minister Mpelo stressed in a brief interaction with journalists.
The minister took the opportunity of her trip to Cabo Delgado to salute the work of the Local Force in the fight against terrorism.
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