OWN CORRESPONDENT, Maputo | Wednesday 1.00pm.
THE future development of Mozambique will be mapped out on Wednesday at the country’s annual consultative group meeting with its donors.
The country is doing well economically, having reached an annual growth rate of 12,4% in 1997, the best in Africa. Inflation is practically non-existent. “Mozambique right now is an island of good news in many ways,” said the country’s World Bank director Phyllis Pomerantz.
But the government and donors are increasingly disagreeing over issues such as using aid to increase civil servants’ salaries, and using funds released by debt relief to bolster health, education and water spending.
The parties to Wednesday’s meeting are expected to announce that Mozambique’s external financing needs in 1999 will be entirely covered by foreign aid, which totalled $357-million in 1997, with loans standing at $176-million.