The European Union (EU) and Portugal on Thursday are launching a four-year project to train and employ young people in Cabo Delgado, a northern province of Mozambique experiencing a humanitarian crisis caused by rebel attacks.
The four-year +EMPLOYMENT pilot project aims to provide vocational training in natural gas to 800 young people aged 15-25 – 25% of whom are women, the partners said.
The aim is that at least half are employed or have created their own jobs thanks to public-private partnerships in the sector.
“This project stems from the partnership between the EU and Camões, I.P. and represents a European commitment to the development and stability of the province, bearing in mind, in particular, the worsening security and humanitarian situation in Cabo Delgado Province,” they said in a statement.
Cabo Delgado has natural gas reserves under the Indian Ocean which from 2022 should catapult Mozambique to the group of 10 main world producers.
The resources mean that the biggest private investment in Africa is being built in the region, led by French oil company Total.
At the same time that the projects began in 2017, an armed insurgency began, which intensified this year and has already caused between 1,000 and 2,000 deaths and 435,000 internally displaced people fleeing the attacks.
The +EMPREGO has an overall budget of €4.2 million (about 357 million meticais), €4 million (340 million meticais) financed by the EU under the 11th European Development Fund and €200,000 (17 million meticais) by Camões – Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, which will be responsible for managing the project.
