[June 17, 2011] Mozambicans Striking Blows Against Poverty - Guebuza Tweet Maputo, Jun 17, 2011 (Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Thursday declared that poverty is suffering great blows struck by Mozambicans, and expressed in the increase in the number of social facilities set up to meet the needs of citizens. Guebuza was addressed at a rally in the locality of Mangani, in Angonia district, on the first day of his working visit to the western province of Tete in his "open and inclusive presidency". As blows against poverty, Guebuza also stressed the increase in food production, the increased number of wells supplying clean drinking water, the rise in the number of schools, and the growth in the telephone network. Angonia, a district blessed with fertile soils and high rainfall, is regarded as the granary of Tete, with a high production of crops such as maize, potato, sweet potato, beans and groundnuts. In 2010, Tete had an exceptionally good harvest, bringing in 1.35 million tonnes of produce, which was an increase of 66.8 per cent on the 2009 figure, and which beat the target set for the province by 37.8 per cent. Guebuza said that, despite such achievements, there were still many people in Mozambique going short of basic commodities. Thus Tete is the main producer of electricity in the country - but electric power still does not reach many parts of the country. Guebuza noted that even where electricity is accessible, there are many citizens who do not have the money to pay for it. To overcome poverty, he stressed, all Mozambicans must continue to fight against it. He warned that, because there is still a long way to go in this battle, some people are appearing who try to demoralize those working ceaselessly against poverty. "There are people who put the saucepan on the stove, but before the food they are cooking is ready they take it off again", he said. They complain everywhere that they are still poor, "but instead of lamenting, they should take up their hoes like everyone else", urged Guebuza. The President also told his audience that peace must be preserved, in order to allow Mozambicans to work and to produce. Everyone should defend peace "because it was won at the cost of so much sacrifice". "We continue to work and to defend peace, and the combination of these efforts will speed up our movement and will attract more investment", he said. The strength of Mozambicans lay in their unity, he insisted. "Unity is like the air we breathe", he said. "It is like the food we eat every day, and we cannot say we don't want to eat". [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]