{"id":99597,"date":"2026-04-14T16:27:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T16:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique"},"modified":"2026-04-14T16:57:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T16:57:04","slug":"graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique","title":{"rendered":"Graca Machel Critiques Foreign Contractors in Mozambique"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

What You Need to Know<\/h4>\n

Graca Machel, a prominent Mozambican activist, criticized the ongoing practice of hiring foreign contractors for public infrastructure projects in Mozambique. Speaking at Pu\u0301ngue\u0300 University, she emphasized the need for national engineers to be involved in major projects, arguing that the country incurs double costs by relying on foreign expertise. Machel called for a focus on training local youth<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Africa-Press – Mozambique. <\/strong> <\/span>Mozambican social activist Grac\u0327a Machel on Monday criticised the repeated hiring of foreign companies and specialists in public tenders for infrastructure construction financed by international partners, questioning the exclusion of national engineers from major projects.<\/p>\n

Grac\u0327a Machel was speaking in Chimoio, in Manica province in central Mozambique, during the inaugural lecture of Pu\u0301ngue\u0300 University, under the theme \u201cYouth Builds the Future: Training and Patriotism for National Sustainable Development\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy must all tenders be won by foreigners? They are paid \u2014 those tenders are financed by the World Bank. But the World Bank is not giving us the money. It is lending it to us. We are going to repay it,\u201d the activist questioned.<\/p>\n

According to Mozambique\u2019s first Minister of Education (1975) and widow of the historic former Mozambican President Samora Machel (1933\u20131986), the country ends up bearing double costs by hiring external companies to carry out projects financed through international loans.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment, we pay foreigners to come and build roads and bridges for us, we pay the bank and we pay the foreigners. But how many engineers do we have? Engineers of various specialisations,\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

Grac\u0327a Machel argued that Mozambican universities must play a central role in training professionals capable of leading major structural projects in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho builds our roads in Mozambique? Who builds our roads and bridges? It is foreigners, isn\u2019t it? That means that this know-how, this ability to transform, must produce elites from our universities \u2014 and from this one in particular \u2014 elites who will build our roads, bridges, dams and cities, but also ensure that we do not continue to suffer hunger as if it were normal,\u201d said Grac\u0327a Machel.<\/p>\n

She added that national development also depends on the country\u2019s ability to use scientific knowledge to address economic and social challenges, including food security: \u201cAgronomists, veterinarians and others must know how to create a Mozambique, to build a Mozambique without hunger. A Mozambique in which we are the material builders of our own development.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same ceremony, Grac\u0327a Machel also warned about educational challenges affecting young people, noting that \u201c31% of young people are illiterate, 25% have not completed any level of education, only 18% go beyond primary education, and 1.5% reach higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graca Machel, a significant figure in Mozambique’s history, has long been an advocate for national development and education. As the first Minister of Education, she has witnessed the challenges facing the country’s youth, particularly in terms of literacy and educational attainment. Her recent comments reflect a broader concern about the reliance on foreign expertise in a nation rich in potential talent and resources. Machel’s advocacy for local engineers and professionals underscores the importance of self-sufficiency in Mozambique’s development journey.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Mozambique<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What You Need to Know Graca Machel, a prominent Mozambican activist, criticized the ongoing practice of hiring foreign contractors for public infrastructure projects in Mozambique. Speaking at Pu\u0301ngue\u0300 University, she emphasized the need for national engineers to be involved in major projects, arguing that the country incurs double costs by relying on foreign expertise. Machel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":99596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[228,8734,3557,283,8735],"class_list":["post-99597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-education","tag-graca-machel","tag-infrastructure","tag-mozambique","tag-public-works"],"yoast_head":"\nGraca Machel Critiques Foreign Contractors in Mozambique - Mozambique<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Graca Machel questions the reliance on foreign firms for Mozambique's public works, advocating for local engineers and better\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Graca Machel Critiques Foreign Contractors in Mozambique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Graca Machel questions the reliance on foreign firms for Mozambique's public works, advocating for local engineers and better\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mozambique\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-14T16:27:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-14T16:57:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2026\/04\/sm_1776185463.693182.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1040\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"695\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Graca Machel Critiques Foreign Contractors in Mozambique\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-14T16:27:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-14T16:57:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique\"},\"wordCount\":544,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/sites\/64\/2026\/04\/sm_1776185463.693182.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Education\",\"Graca Machel\",\"Infrastructure\",\"Mozambique\",\"public works\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mozambique\/all-news\/graca-machel-critiques-foreign-contractors-in-mozambique\",\"name\":\"Graca Machel Critiques Foreign Contractors in Mozambique - 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