cxlvii. T he country gained its independence amid a chaotic and violent exodus of Portuguese settlers, including almost all of the technical and managerial elite. Property and productive infrastructure were sabotaged and abandoned, and the country was left with a largely dysfunctional economy and an unskilled human resources base. Before long, the country was engulfed in a civil war. In the immediate aftermath of the conflict, training programmes were hurriedly established under the pressure to demobilise over 90 000 soldiers. While they have had some success, they have also created frustration and unfulfilled expectations. There has been a boost in school enrolment over time, but the educational system, especially at the tertiary level, has not been able to meet the demand for critical skills. cxlviii. Mozambique has articulated a clear vision of its future in its Constitution, economic and poverty reduction strategies, and sectoral plans. Legislation, decrees and policies have been adopted, and institutions and mechanisms put in place to realise this vision. However, the country needs to comply with and implement these constitutional, legal and institutional frameworks and fill in existing gaps. At present, the critical challenge facing the country is the energetic, comprehensive and effective implementation of these measures and how to make the system function as it was intended to. cxlix. The CRM noted that often legislation and policies exist to promote governance in all four thematic areas, but they are not implemented. While institutions have been established, they function ineffectively, and well-intentioned and clearly articulated goals are set aside. Although there are several reasons for the gap between plans and implementation, such as the lack of political will, the principal reason appears to be deficiencies and gaps in capacity. Accordingly, as a matter of top priority, the government and people of Mozambique should concentrate their efforts on building the capacity of the state so that it can implement policies and programmes effectively and efficiently. cl. Invariably, the capacity gaps are larger at the provincial and district levels than at the national level. For this reason, capacity building should be a central feature of the decentralisation process. The goal should be to empower local communities fully so that they become increasingly responsible for their own destinies, within the framework of a common national vision. cli. Equally important is the need to recognise that capacity building is a goal, not only for the state, but also for the nation as a whole. Often, genuine good political and economic governance is negated by deficiencies in the capacities of other stakeholders, notably CSOs. These organisations fall short in their ability to act as effective advocates of the citizens and agents of development. Another area in which these organisations often fall short is in their ability to address some of their challenges through their own efforts, rather than to rely most (or all) of the time on the government or donors to solve problems for 31