within the framework of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), the Joint Assessment Programme and the Consultative Councils. However, a major challenge facing the country is to make these consultation processes more meaningful and effective. Urgent requirements in this regard are to increase the capacity of the private sector and CSOs, and to ensure that relevant information is more widely disseminated, especially in rural areas. xlvii. As in many other African countries, Mozambique is plagued with the problem of corruption. There is widespread awareness of the importance of this problem for good governance, and the government has been taking steps to address it. In addition to the measures designed to strengthen the public sector and increase transparency and oversight in public finance management, specific measures have been adopted to reduce corruption, including the Anticorruption Strategy for 2006–10 and the establishment of the Central Office for Combating Corruption. Two major shortcomings in the Anticorruption Strategy are the lack of effective autonomy of this office from the Executive and the widespread perception that the government is not strongly committed to combating corruption, notably in the case of senior government officials and well-placed and connected individuals. It is therefore essential for the government to take tangible and energetic steps to demonstrate its firm commitment to this goal. xlviii. The country is committed to regional integration, especially within the framework of the SADC, of which it has been a member since 1980. Mozambique has also entered into the Growth Triangle Initiative with Malawi and Zimbabwe, and has signed bilateral agreements with South Africa and Swaziland. However, the country does not seem to have been gaining much from its membership in the SADC. This is mainly because entrepreneurs are neither strong enough to face the competition from other SADC members, especially South Africa, nor are they and the public in general sufficiently well informed about the activities of the SADC and how they could benefit from them. Both the government and the CTA, which share responsibility in this area, are to blame for this situation. The launching of the SADC Free Trade Area in August 2008 provided a good opportunity to address these shortcomings. xlix. In summary, while Mozambique has made impressive progress in economic governance and management during the last decade, a significant number of challenges still remain. These entail continuing, expanding and deepening the structural adjustment reforms upon which the country has already embarked. The APR Panel strongly recommends that these reforms be accompanied by a broad-based strategy of economic development in which the private sector, especially SMEs, plays a more important role. Only in this way will Mozambique’s dependence on external aid and its vulnerability to external shocks be reduced. A broad-based strategy of economic development will also generate employment and contribute to the alleviation of poverty. 11