The President of the Autoridade Tributária (AT), Amélia Muendane, appealed to the women who carry out tax and customs activities to continue to make more efforts for the development of the national economy.

Amélia Muendane was speaking recently, in Maputo, on the occasion of the Gala of the Tax and Customs Women, an event that took place under the slogan "AT Revering the Woman", inserted in the context of the end of the festivities of the Mozambican women's month.

The event was attended by women from the country's 11 provinces, who participated in various cultural activities, with emphasis on dancing, singing, poetry recitation, a fashion show, aerobics, and a gastronomy fair.

The president of the TA insisted that several challenges still persist that prevent women from reaching the top positions in Mozambican society.

"The challenges for women in taking the lead in the development pro- cess continues to be evident, although she continues to work towards finding her space and the Tax Authority is no exception," said Muendane.

He added that "the AT is an institution with a paramilitary hierarchical nature, in which the role of women for a long time in the Armed Forces has been relevant, so we already have women running specific areas."

It is Muendane's wish that in the future there will be more women with a leading role, especially in terms of prominence in management and leadership positions.

The source said he had no data on women who are contributing to the growth of the country's economy, but stressed that they have a significant presence in the informal sector and related associations.

"In the Mukhero Association, for example, we have several women who are interacting directly with the TA as leaders and we believe that women play an important role in the family and guarantee the resources for the survival of their families through the informal economy and other forms of livelihood," she advanced.

For the president of the AT, looking at the rural economy, particularly in the agrarian sector, where it has more than 90 percent, we find women leading this sector, which means that they cannot be ignored when talking about economic development process.