26-07-2025
Dancers and a Dam: World Bank Hones New Strategy in Mozambique
World Bank chief Ajay Banga's visit to Mozambique this month at the invitation of President Daniel Chapo to discuss a $6.4 billion hydropower project the lender is helping fund had all the hallmarks of a political rally.
Dancing women and gyrating men wearing traditional masks were among the hundreds of people who gathered to meet the dignitaries in the central town of Tete, many of them clad in the red garb of the ruling Frelimo party. The six-foot-eight Chapo towered above the crowd as he walked down a red carpet, shaking hands, pumping his fist and shouting chants, with Banga following close behind him. The scene was repeated in Songo, a short helicopter ride away.
