Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Environment Sector at the Council for State Representation Services in Manica province, central Mozambique, issued four forestry licenses in the first quarter of this year.
The plan for the first three months of 2025 was to authorize 38 licenses, Provincial Director of the Environment Teresa Guinda said at the 6th ordinary session of the Council for Provincial State Representation Services.
Guinda said that with regard to forestry licensing, in the period under analysis, 18,952 cubic metres out of the 49,252 planned for the current year have been authorized.
“This licensing resulted in revenue collection of around 309,290.00 meticais, compared to the annual target of 2,740,067.37 meticais. The amount was collected due to the transition to new legal frameworks and the process of adjusting licensing procedures,” she explained.
Although there were some difficulties, Guinda said she believed the established target would be achieved.
Some operators still have not mastered the technology to process their licensing.
“We believe we will be able to achieve the target. Licensing is currently underway. It is a process that is carried out through the Forest Information System (SIF). In this system, operators are required to enter some data for their registration. Many still do not know how to use the online system,” she acknowledged.
“When the Forest Information System is accessed, it allows all the information required for licensing,” Guinda pointed out. “As the registration process is underway, the entire country has information through the system. Therefore, although it is still slow, we are continuing with the licensing process and we believe that we will achieve the target set for this year,” she reiterated.
Guinda said another constraint was related to the payment of costs after authorization by the government. Because it is expensive, some applicants delay payment, as they do not have the money to complete the process.
“When the government issues the order, applicants sometimes do not have the money. They are forced to seek out some partnerships and meet all the conditions for payment,” she said. “One of the requirements is to have the machinery that guarantees operationalisation,” she noted.
According to Guinda, to ensure flexibility in licensing, teams to work with operators have been set up, providing assistance to those who do not yet master the online process technology.
The Provincial State Representation Services on Tuesday (01-06) discussed other points regarding the preparation of the 11th Edition of the Young Creative Award.
The Young Creative Award is an annual government initiative aimed at recognizing, honouring and distinguishing young people aged 15 to 35 who stand out for their contribution to the country’s development, through entrepreneurship, technological innovation and artistic creation.
In this context, Manica province was assigned a target of 180 young people for the district phase. Of this number, 36 young people will qualify for the provincial phase, of which 15 will go on to the national phase, to be held in the northern province of Nampula.
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