The President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, defended this Tuesday that the best way to combat public debt is financial discipline, increased production and exports and incentives to the private sector.

Asked about how Mozambique faces the challenge of public debt during a debate at the annual meetings of the African Development Bank (ADB), Nyusi recalled that debt is just one of his country's challenges, as well as being a challenge common to all of Africa.

The Mozambican head of state recalled other challenges, such as cyclone Idai, the largest recorded in all of Africa, covid-19, which "has slowed development," and terrorism, which "is destroying part of the country," as well as the energy transition.

On debt, he recalled that "the best way to fight debt is not to take on too much debt" and, when necessary, to take it on in a rational way.

"A country doesn't take on a lot of debt when it increases production, when it increases exports and imports less. It doesn't take on debt when it has financial discipline, greater transparency," he exemplified.

Stressing that Mozambique "embarked on this battle," Nyusi explained: "We have lived for some time at our own expense, and the solution has always been more production, especially in traditional areas," such as agriculture and fishing, but also in transport, by qualifying the infrastructure, such as roads, railways, and ports.

"That makes the country more revenue and reduces debt. Financial discipline, more production and incentives to productive areas - the private sector. These investments alone will help the country to avoid taking on a lot of debt," stressed Nyusi quoted by Lusa.

Questioned at the same event about the ADB's position that the energy transition in Africa cannot exclude natural gas, the President of the Republic said that "the position of the ADB summarizes the feeling of its members," among which is Mozambique.

He said that the world should give Africa a chance, because this "is the moment when Africa can discover its resources."

"In Mozambique we have coal - lots of coal and quality coal, we have the gas that is said to be in huge quantities, but we also have the soil, we have the winds and the sea, in addition to the rivers - of the 15 basins in Southern Africa, nine flow through Mozambique. Africa has to be given the opportunity to emerge, because if we don't give it a chance when others have had it, we will be blocking development."

The Mozambican Head of State also defended that "it is not the gas that is in total question": "Who is polluting the world? My country doesn't even pollute 2%, but it is a victim of those who pollute".

Filipe Nyusi is currently on a state visit to Ghana, which coincided with the annual meetings of the AfDB, taking place in Accra until Friday.

The President of the Republic participated yesterday in the opening ceremony of the meetings and was one of the speakers in the debate that followed, in which the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, the Vice President of Ivory Coast, Tiémoko Meyliet Kone, the Prime Minister of Rwanda, Édouard Ngirente, by videoconference, and the President of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani, also participated.