The turn around of Mozambique was considered a miracle. It was thought that foreign aid dollars were the impetus in improving the lives of Mozambicans. After a war for independence and a subsequently devastating civil war, Mozambique was apparently an economically growing multi-party democracy.
But the reality is quite different. The vast majority are still poor. They haven't seen progress. Their lives aren't getting better. The rich are getting richer and, in real terms, the poor are getting poorer. Foreign NGOs don't stay long in Mozambique enough to see their programs through; thus, they fail. The Bretton Woods institutions, who supposedly has a role in the remarkable reversal, were responsible for the destruction of one of the most profitable of Mozambican exports, cashews. It wasn't until the government threw away the suggestions of the World Bank and IMF that the cashew market returned to its previous status.
Now, most of the government is corrupt. There are strong ties between President Armando Guebuza and Mohamed Bashir Suleman, a notorious drug trafficker. Illegal drugs are the most profitable business in Mozambique. Mozambique is the second largest transit point for illegal drugs in Africa behind Guinea-Bissau.
Do these realities signify a miracle that the international community should be proud of? Or should the course be changed? Should the Bretton Woods Institutions stop dictating terms and start listening to locals? The free market has failed Mozambique. So did the socialist state of the early independence era. Shouldn't a middle ground be found?
(More at The HQT-IE)
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