The Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) recently advocated in Maputo the adoption of preparatory measures so that national micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) can benefit from extractive industry projects in the country.

The group praised the government for approving the decree that regulates the terms and agreements of the contracts between the Mozambican state and the operators of the Coral Norte FNLG project, which "for the first time provides gains for MSMEs, through the integration of the country's business sector".

However, according to the president of the business association, Agostinho Vuma, the executive urgently needs to move forward with additional measures "that embody a gasification model, so that, when the gas is released, the initiatives of the downstream can be made possible immediately".

So, alongside this commitment from the government, entrepreneurs need to go deeper into political will and to create a content law, in order to oblige international investors by law to expand the participation of national private companies, "thus fostering their contribution to the national economy".

In this sense, at first, it would be essential to set up a working group involving the stakeholders (multinational operators in the country), the private sector and the government. In CTA's vision, the tripartite group would take responsibility for designing specific projects and identifying the best investors.

In this context, another aspect associated with the recent approval of the development of the Coral Norte project has to do with job opportunities. From the entrepreneurs' point of view, the Executive should ensure that, from now on, the areas of specialty with job opportunities are publicized.