Africa-Press – Mozambique. A total of 250,000 women, including widows of the political-military conflict in central Mozambique, will benefit from income-generating projects to improve their livelihoods, the Italian ambassador said on Thursday.
The initiative, part of the Local Development for the Consolidation of Peace in Mozambique (DELPAZ) programme launched today, and which will cover 500,000 beneficiaries in rural communities in the provinces of Sofala, Manica and Tete, aims to provide a “decent quality of life” and eliminate social exclusion in areas devastated by the conflict.
“We will offer our experience to implement this component of the DELPAZ project,” said the Italian ambassador in Maputo, Gianni Bardini, who will develop an agri-food project aimed at women.
“If the person feels reintegrated and has a dignified life expectancy, peace will surely be achieved”, defended Gianni Bardini, insisting that it is necessary to guarantee development conditions, with employment for women and youths, so that peace may be lasting.
The ambassador of the European Union, António Sánchez-Benedito, who considered Mozambique a priority country in the EU’s vision for stability, said it was crucial now to “focus on the population” affected by the conflict, for their development, allocating essential services and improving local governance.
“This integrated EU vision for development is to improve living conditions, especially with a focus on youth, women and the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations,” António Sánchez-Benedito said.
Today, the European Union and the Mozambican Government launched in Gondola, district of Manica province, central Mozambique, the Local Development for Peace Consolidation (DELPAZ) project, a four-year initiative costing 25 million euros.
The project aims to “create conditions” for pacification by funding income-generating activities, improving governance at the district level as part of support to communities affected by the war in central Mozambique.
In addition to the European Union, which will fund the DELPAZ project, the initiative has the support of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the Austrian Development Agency and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
The initiative is part of the European Union’s support for implementing the Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement, signed in August 2019 between Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and the leader of the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo, opposition), Ossufo Momade.
The Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement provides, among other things, for the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of the armed arm of Renamo and has already covered more than 2,600 guerrillas out of a total of 5,000 planned members.
The understanding was the third between the government of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and Renamo, the main opposition party, and the three were signed following cycles of armed violence between the two parties, which mainly affected central Mozambique
