Local Economic Development in Mozambique - Responsible Tourism: Critical Issues for Conservation and Development - page 13

business skills and training to improve the quality of the products. As a result,
ASARUNA have linked to the export market and currently sell to the US, China
and Europe, as well as participating in trade fairs. The Association are not content
with their current size and want to be linked directly to buyers in Europe, remov-
ing links in the chain, such as intermediaries that reduce their profit. They have
been assisted by the Institute for Export Promotion (IPEX), a non-profit socio-
economic unit, to make links with foreign buyers and display their products at
international trade fairs. In addition, ASARUNA want to conduct market research
to identify what products different markets demand and which of these options
are financially viable.

Conclusion

This chapter has addressed the disparities between the intentions of PARPA and
the practicalities of its implementation. It finds Nel and Rogerson's conclusion
that LED in South Africa is ' pro-poor in policy not practice ' applicable in the case of
PARPA and Mozambique (2005, p16). It has assessed the appropriateness of
tourism as an instrument to promote local economic development, concluding
that it is a valid avenue for stimulating the growth of local economies but, in
reality, it has not gone far enough to promote the development of communities.
National and local governments lack the financial resources, experience and
capacity to construct and implement an LED strategy. Instead, responsibility has
been deferred to NGOs and Associations, exposing a gap that links policy to
action in a coordinated manner. Development agencies are offering solutions to
developmental problems but not in a strategic, structured approach. The question
is: if central government cannot perform this role then who will?
Nevertheless, the case studies from Nampula province have provided some
encouragement for the future and the assistance that the private sector and NGOs
can offer to communities to access the opportunities of tourism.
Vázquez Barquero's criteria have provided a framework from which one can
assess whether the PARPA policy has been transferred into practice. It has
allowed broad conclusions to be drawn using current empirical data but does not
provide a conclusive statistical analysis. The ambiguous nature of the assessment
criteria limits their validity but instead, it does highlight the discrepancies between
the policy and practice of tourism-led LED in Mozambique and encourages
debate around the role of NGOs and pro-poor community development strate-
gies. However, the lack of statistical data and the recent construction of PARPA
(2001) mean that it is difficult to draw firm conclusions.

Notes

1 This chapter will elaborate on these criteria in their related sections.

2 This chapter will draw upon evidence from both the 2001-2006 and the 2006-2009

plan.