Prime Minister Aires Ali on 12 December presented to the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, the government’s economic and social plan for next year, envisaging an economic growth rate of 7.5 per cent.
The target for growth in 2011 was 7.2 per cent. By the end of June, the growth rate was 6.8 per cent, and the government is confident that by the end of the year it will reach the targeted 7.2 per cent.
The 2012 plan envisages a 9.9 per cent increase in agriculture, livestock and forestry production. This includes a 4.8 per cent rise in maize production – from an estimated 2.18 million tonnes in the 2011 harvest to 2.28 million tonnes in 2012.
For the transport and communications sector, an increase in production of 16.9 per cent is envisaged. Contributing to this is the transport of coal along the rebuilt Sena railway from the Moatize coal basin to the port of Beira, the rehabilitation of the Beira Coal Terminal, the dredging of the entrance channels to Maputo and Beira ports, allowing much larger ships to dock, and the resumption of coastal and lake shipping.
The inflation target is to hold the average 12 monthly inflation rate over 2012 to no more than 7.2 per cent. This rate was 14 per cent in July (although the accumulated January-July inflation rate was only 3.36 per cent).
The plan also envisages commodity exports of $3.02 billion in 2012, and a level of net international reserves sufficient to cover 4.7 months of imports of goods and services.
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Dredging Today Staff, December 16, 2011;