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The following article investigates the state of Mozambique's political economy 20 years after the end of its civil war between FRELIMO and RENAMO, in 1992. This paper is written from the theoretical perspectives of growing criticism of the neo-liberal assumptions that underlie development policy and places the analysis of Mozambique's economic growth and development within the field of development studies as they are played out in African realities. Mozambique is viewed by the donor community and multilateral institutions as a success story of postwar construction, yet a closer look at the development outcomes in Mozambique calls this conclusion into question. The paper found that, despite improvements in reducing the number of people living in poverty between 1992 and 2012, hunger persists and malnutrition and diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are on the increase. The author concludes that global governance reforms that take cognisance of Mozambique's and indeed Africa's governance challenges are needed to forge a development paradigm relevant for Africa.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank Professor Lungisile Ntsebeza and Dr Horman Chitonge, and academic staff at the University of Cape Town, who commented on the draft, and Dr Moses Sithole, at the HSRC who laboured to ensure that data were concise and current. He also thanks his family, especially his Dad, Mr James Phiri (World Vision Mozambique), who helped him understand the challenges of transformational development in Mozambique; and friends, Sizwe Zondo and Dr Imelda Catherine Seymour, who walked this journey with him.
Notes
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