The European Union and the Mozambican Government launch today, in central Mozambique, the Local Development for Peace Consolidation (Delpaz) project, an initiative budgeted at 26 million eurosindicates an official note.
The project aims to "create conditions" for pacification by funding income-generating activities, improving governance at the district level, and supporting war-affected communities in central Mozambique.
"The launching act will be an opportunity for discussion on the importance of improving socio-economic opportunities in conflict-affected communities as a way to contribute to more inclusive and equitable development at the local and national levels," the note said.
In addition to the European Union, which will finance the Delpaz project, the initiative is supported by 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 the implementation of the Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement, signed in August 2019 between the President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, and the leader of the National Resistance of Mozambique (Renamo), Ossufo Momade.
The Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement provides, among other things, for the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of the Renamo armed wing, 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. All three were signed following cycles of armed violence between the two parties, which mainly affected central Mozambique.
In June of this year, in an interview to Lusa, the ambassador of the European Union in Mozambique, António Gaspar, said that of a total of 62 million euros that the organization intends to make available for peace in Mozambique, most is destined for communities affected by the conflicts.
Lusa Agency