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POINTERS:
ECONOMY:
There is increasing confidence in the upper echelons of President Filipe Nyusi’s government that,
despite some daunting hurdles ahead, 2017 will see Mozambique moving on from the annus
horribilis that followed last April’s exposure of the secret ‘toxic debt’ inherited from the
administration of former president Armando Guebuza.
Toxic debt:
“We want to honour our debt, but …” – Prime Minister (Page 17). Prime Minister Carlos
Agostinho do Rosário says that his government’s top priority is normalising relations with
creditors and the IMF, and that discussions are under way: “The principal challenge in
negotiations with the IMF is to assure a balance between the reforms to consolidate public
policies, on the one hand, but also assure that this does not affect resources for the Five-Year
Programme. We have to implement reforms in the public sector and state companies, but in a
way that leaves space for the most necessary areas, namely education, health and social
protection”. Joseph Hanlon’s take on this statement is that it is carefully nuanced to mean either
a) The government will accept responsibility for the loans, but only if the creditors take a major
‘haircut’ and the banks (Credit Suisse and VTB) accept some of the responsibility; or b) the debts
will be repaid, but will have to be deferred until there is gas production (early/mid-2020’s), and
there will be no punishment for those in Frelimo’s top ranks who were involved in the illegal acts
committed.
Could the ENI-Exxon deal plug the hole? (Pages 17-19 and 28-29). The government has been
eagerly waiting for a major investment with enough CGY exposure to resolve the debt crisis and
pave the way for re-instatement of IMF and G14 budgetary support. Its hopes were dashed in
2016 by historic lows in the LNG price and, although reluctant to admit it, Mozambique’s
mishandling of IMF / G14 / debt-holder relations. ExxonMobil’s US$2.8-billion purchase of a 25%
indirect stake in ENI’s operations in Rovuma Basin Area 4 is therefore long-awaited ‘manna from
Heaven’. The deal remains subject to clearance from regulatory authorities in Mozambique (and
elsewhere); but as far as the Mozambique government is concerned this will be a mere formality,
as it moves to extract as large a payment as it can from ENI, as soon as it can.
How much cash is the government expecting? The official position of the government is
awaited, but the Tax Authority tariff on CGT currently stands at 32%. On $2.8-billion that’s
approximately $900-million.
Is it that simple? No, there is a precedent that could complicate the matter. In 2013, when ENI
sold 20% of the same concession to CNPC for US$4.16-billion, it challenged demands from the
Tax Authority by arguing that it was selling a portion of a subsidiary of ENI registered in Italy. Only
after negotiations involving then president Armando Guebuza and the then ENI CEO, Paolo
Scaroni, was a settlement figure of US$400-million reached (alongside a commitment by ENI to
invest another US$130-million in the construction in a gas-powered electricity plant in Cabo
Delgado). The full 32% would have netted more than US$1.3-billion. The precedent is relevant
because ENI currently holds its 50% indirect share in Area 4 through its 71.4% stake in ENI East
Africa SPA, also registered in Italy. It’s not that ENI won’t end up paying, but rather that the
amount eventually agreed by negotiation could, like in 2013, be less than 32%. The Mozambique
government is on the back-foot when it comes to urgency of reaching an agreement with ENI.
This is not the best hand when it comes to negotiating with a major international oil company,
particularly one like ENI who are well-versed in the ‘intricacies and nuances’ of doing business
with Mozambique’s ruling political elite.
Will the ENI-Exxon deal positively affect Mozambique’s relationship with the IMF? (Pages
19-20). IMF spokesman, Gerry Rice replies: “I just don’t have anything on that
issue…Mozambique faces a very challenging situation…We have been emphasising the
importance of the independent audit and in that context pursue discussions on the possibility of a
new IMF-supported programme”.
World Bank forecasts recovery of Mozambican economy starting this year (Pages 19-20).
Resident Representative, Mark Lundell, predicts that Mozambique’s economic development
partners will return this year; but qualified this by saying that it will depend on the outcome of
international debt audit being conducted by Kroll (due at the end of March). He also believes that
the economy will return to previous levels of growth, thanks to the possibility of strong investment
in various sectors. “Mozambique’s economic growth has a strong base to increase this year. The
international situation is improving in several ways; investment will be strong and investors will
also strengthen their support for Mozambique.”
GDP growth & inflation (Pages 20-21). The economy grew by 3.9% last year (versus an
average growth rate of circa 7.5% over the last two decades). Annual inflation as at December
2016 was 20%, but the Banco de Moçambique predicts that it will fall to 14% this year and that
the gross domestic product (GDP) will increase by 5.5%. BMI consultancy lowers that growth
forecast to 3% with the comment: “The initial phase of developments in the natural gas industry
and a more flexible exchange rate will be the main drivers of the economic expansion over the
next two years, which will be very challenging”.
The ENI-Exxon-Mobil deal – quick summary: After many months of speculation ENI sells a
25% indirect interest in Rovuma Basin Area 4 for $2.8-billion. Area 4 is 70% owned by Italian-
registered ENI East Africa SPA (“EEA”). The deal will leave ENI and ExxonMobil with equal
stakes in EEA of 35.7% each, with CNPC of China holding the remaining 28.6% stake. In Area 4
this translates (indirectly through EEA) to 25% each for ENI and ExxonMobil, and 20% for CNPC.
The other Concessionaires in Area 4 are Portugal’s Galp Energia, South Korea’s KOGAS and the
Mozambique government through Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), who each own
a 10% stake. ENI will remain the operator.
ENI sells Mozambique stake to ExxonMobil for US$2.8-billion (Pages 28-29). Prior to the
ExxonMobil deal, the ENI consortium invested about US$2.8-billion in Area-4, and it is estimated
that the Floating Liquified Natural Gas (FLNG) project will cost a further US$8-billion. Production
of LNG is due to begin in 2022. However, the final investment decision cannot take place until
CNPC formerly commits itself to the investment (all the other partners have now approved their
share of the investment). ENI stated that it will continue to lead the Coral FLNG project and all
upstream operations in Area-4, while ExxonMobil will lead the construction and operation of
natural gas liquefaction facilities (“trains”) onshore.
Government awaits contract notice between ENI and ExxonMobil (Page 29). Friday 10
March: Minister Mineral Resources and Energy, Leticia Klemens, says that the government is
awaiting formal communication on ENI’s contract with ExxonMobil, in order to deduct capital
gains tax (CGT).
Exxon deal with ENI expected to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in capital gains for
Mozambique (Pages 29-30).
ENI maybe the last conventional E&P major in the world (Page 30-32). ENI’s strategy of early
monetisation has enabled it to cash-in more than US$9-billion in the last four years. According to
Goldman Sachs, ENI’s approach on conventional E&P will make it the top cash flow-making
machine among the major oil & gas companies. Its operating cash flow as a percentage of total
cash flow is projected to increase by more than 65% by 2021. The same projected ratio for
ExxonMobil is less than 20%, and less than 30% for Shell. Chevron is projected to see its
operating cash as a percentage of total cash flow grow by almost 50% during the next five years.
ENI’s ongoing conventional exploration activity has resulted in a reserve-replacement ratio of
139%. ENI’s organic reserve-replacement ratio even surged to 193%, the best performance in its
history. ENI aims at increasing production by 3% per year on average in the next four-year
period.
Pemba logistics base delayed, but will go ahead – ENH (Pages 32-34). 10 March. ENH’s
Chairman, Omar Mithá, issued an assurance that the logistical base for Mozambique’s oil and
gas industry in the city of Pemba (Cabo Delgado Province) is delayed, but far from abandoned.
He categorically denied rumours that the operators of the natural gas fields in the natural gas
fields in the Rovuma Basin, ENI and Anadarko, were not interested in the base. Mithá said that
some work has been done at the base, such as fencing it, building access routes, installing a
coffer dam, and resettling most of the families that had to be moved. But everything else has
been delayed because the timetable for processing and exporting Rovuma Basin gas has
slipped. The two consortia headed by ENI (Area-4) and Anadarko (Area-1) have yet to announce
their final investment decisions. Those final investment decisions, Mithá said, were crucial for
pushing ahead with the Pemba base, “otherwise we would be in danger of building a white
elephant”. Mithá denied claims that there was any kind of ban on one of the key investors in the
Pemba base, Orlean Invest, working with United States companies such as Anadarko. He
pledged that the Logistical Base would not abuse its quasi-monopoly position, and there was “no
intention of making the base expensive or non-viable”. The Pemba logistics base is being built by
China Harbour Engineering Corporation for a controversial joint venture between Italian-born
Nigerian businessman Gabriele Volpi’s Orlean Invest, ENH and the port and railway company
CFM. Critics of the proposal say the idea was to force ENI and Anadarko to use this logistics
base, but they never agreed, and plan to run their own logistics base at Palma (where Shell will
be based). Disagreement over Palma v Pemba could delay final investment decisions.
Another disagreement that could lead to delay in FID’s: while the biggest gain for government is
the capital gains tax, another is that if the gas and oil companies want to pay their contractors,
they must bring the money into Mozambique and convert half of it to meticais, even if they are
paying the contractors in foreign currency. While this provides important extra dollars for the
Banco de Moçambique, it is also regarded by foreign as an additional ‘tax’ on their operations.
Added to this is the problem of local content. Sasol’s response to the allegation that it is not giving
enough business to small and medium-sized local companies is that that local companies simply
do not meet their quality standards.
According to the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), the aim of using local content in the extractive
industry is to ensure that it generates development in the local economy by linking with other
sectors of economy, creating jobs outside the extractive sector; technology transfer; boosting the
private sector in the host country/community, and developing local social infrastructures.
However, Mozambique still does not have a specific law of local content. “Local content is not
used to benefit local communities or local business. It is used as a business opportunity for
figures from the political and economic elite…The role of these figures is to ensure the facilitation
of business through the influence of traffic in public licensing and inspection institutions”.
Búzi block shows good oil and gas potential” – ENH (Page 38).
Fuel subsidy costs over US$300,000 a day (Pages 39-40). Follow-up to letter Amepetrol sent
to PM (Rhula Weekly 169 Pages 37-38). Fuel is cheaper in Mozambique than in all the
neighbouring countries, leading to tanker trucks crossing the border from South Africa and
Zimbabwe to buy fuel and then export it illegally to resell it. Amepetrol repeats warning that the
country could be at a real risk of running out of fuel. Minister of Mineral Resources guarantees no
interruption in fuel supply (Page 40).
Transformation of Moatize coal waste could reduce fuel imports (Page 40).
Mining:
Indo-Canadian magnate Stan Bharti is preparing to break into the Mozambican mining sector
through the creation of a subsidiary of his Forbes & Manhattan fund (Page 41).
Savannah Resources tenders to set up Mozambique mineral sands plant (Page 42).
However, after 22 months Savannah and Rio Tinto are still waiting for formal approval from
Mozambique’s Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy to combine their three projects.
Energy:
EN4 roadworks between Ressano border and Moamba may cause delays (Page 46).
Real estate industry get shake-up in Nacala-Porto, due to the effects of the construction of the
international airport, the multi-user coal terminal in Nacala-a-Velha and the rehabilitation of the
railway transporting coal from Tete (Pages 47-48).
Locust plague and drought look set to cause hunger in central Mozambique, affecting the
entire district of Cahora Bassa and the southern part of Tete Province. 108,000 farming families
have lost their crops (Pages 49-50).
POLITICS:
Effective peace in sight: Dhlakama confident in signing a definitive agreement (Pages 53-
54). Working groups on administrative decentralisation and military affairs have 60 days to
present proposals in their respective areas. The working group on decentralisation have to submit
a draft law to the Assembly of the Republic, providing for the direct election of provincial
governors and the financial autonomy of the provinces. The military issue is simpler.
Government/Renamo dialogue resumes in Maputo (Page 54). Monday 6 March, the new
phase of the dialogue between the government and Renamo resumed in Maputo. Although no
statements were given to the press at the conclusion each day’s session, off-the-record
comments by government and Renamo officials express optimism on progress of talks.
The Contact Group, created by President Filipe Nyusi, made up of the ambassadors of
Switzerland (Chair), the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Botswana, Ireland,
Norway, China and the European Union was publicly presented on Wednesday 1 March. The
formation of the contact group “results from understandings between Dhlakama and President
Nyusi” and (since) “its members live in Mozambique and this will mean that there is no need for
additional costs or funds to keep them in the country” (Pages 54-55).
The President’s move to invite the ambassadors of countries who give direct support to the State
Budget is an attempt to solve, at a stroke, two or three problems at the same time. There is, for
example, the problem of the [hidden] debts and re-instatement of IMF and G14 budgetary
support. This model can be far more effective than the (previous) model of the mediators,
because here it is not only a political issue but also a content one. Some of these countries have
been at the forefront of the discussion of a set of reforms, from public sector reform,
decentralisation, etc. They have knowledge and experiences that can be useful in forming a
decentralisation package that better responds to the wishes of the people and Renamo. This
may be one of the smartest steps the president has ever taken in his relationship with the
international co-operation partners.
“It is not necessary for civil society to be at the negotiating table” – Dhlakama (Page 57).
National Assembly ratifies African Charter on Democracy (Page 59). The Charter’s declared
intentions are “to promote adherence to the universal values and principles of democracy and
respect for human rights”, and “the principle of the rule of law premised upon respect for and the
supremacy of the Constitution and constitutional order”. This entails “the holding of regular free
and fair elections to institutionalise legitimate authority of representative government as well as
the democratic change of governments”.
Why opposition parties in southern Africa struggle to win power (Pages 60-62). Survey of
five countries in the Southern African region by Afrobarometer. In Mozambique levels of trust in
opposition parties was found to be at its highest level ever. However, there’s a much more
lopsided distribution of power and resources for opposition parties in countries with dominant
governing parties than for those in competitive party systems. This, coupled with a lack of
governance experience, makes it difficult for opposition parties to be seen as credible
alternatives. Only a minority of citizens in the five southern African countries with dominant
parties agree that the opposition’s primary role should be to monitor and criticise the government
in order to hold it accountable. This suggests that opposition parties might put off potential voters
if they are seen to be constantly criticising the ruling party rather than contributing to the country’s
development. Opposition parties might do better if they highlight their policy platforms and gain
citizen confidence in their plans and capabilities. This is a crucial insight for opposition parties in
the region as it runs counter to the opposition’s conventional role in Western democracies.
SECURITY:
US sees “low-intensity civil war” in Mozambique (Page 63). The annual report on human
rights prepared by the US State Department, released 3 March, uses the term “low-intensity civil
war”, coined by the Mozambican Human Rights League, to describe the situation in the country
(prior to the current ceasefire). The most significant human rights problems in the country are the
arbitrary and extra-judicial executions (“death squads”), the lack of respect for civil liberties and
impunity at all levels of government, police and armed forces.
Thieves on the prowl in Maputo and Matola (Page 69). Beware of new tactic – criminals
throw rocks at vehicles windshields in the dead of night and spring into action when drivers stop
to investigate and assess the damage. Worst affected are Avenida OAU (after the roundabout in
the Avenida 25 de Setembro direction), the EN4 before the toll gate (especially at the pedestrian
bridges), and the Estrada-Velha in the city of Matola.
According to the UN, more than 2.1-million Mozambicans face prospect of hunger, an
increase of 700,000 compared to November, “in the face of declining stocks and while waiting for
the next harvest” in April (Pages 75-78).
HEALTH:
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION:
Mozambique cracks down on illegal logging (Pages 90-91). Search for illegally logged timber
valued at US$300-million. Most of those responsible are of Chinese origin.
END
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Click on a title to follow the link to the related article. To return to the Contents Page, click on the link
at the top-right hand corner of the page.
Macro-economy: ...................................................................................................... 17
“We want to honour our debt, but …” – Prime Minister .............................................. 17
Could gas money plug the hole? ................................................................................ 17
Will taxes from ENI/Exxon deal affect Mozambique’s debt restructure? .................... 19
World Bank forecasts recovery of Mozambican economy starting this year .............. 20
BMI consultancy lowers Mozambique’s growth forecast to 3% .................................. 20
China puts industrialisation of African economies on the international agenda .......... 21
President Nyusi attends the Indian Ocean Rim Summit............................................. 23
Strong foundations for co-operation with Indonesia ................................................... 24
President Nyusi invites Indonesian businesses to invest ........................................... 25
Mozambican businesses regard IORA forum as “positive” ........................................ 26
Financial Services:................................................................................................... 27
Criminal proceedings against “Chinese Bank” ........................................................... 27
Mining: ...................................................................................................................... 41
Stan Bharti slips quietly into Maputo .......................................................................... 41
Mustang’s share rise on high-grade Mozambique graphite discovery ....................... 41
Savannah Resources tenders to set up Mozambique mineral sands plant ................ 42
Energy:...................................................................................................................... 42
EdM wants to raise electricity prices .......................................................................... 42
World Bank supports rural electrification to decisively curb poverty in Mozambique . 43
Molumbo village headquarters linked to national electricity grid ................................ 45
POLITICS...................................................................................................................... 53
Effective peace in sight: Dhlakama confident in signing a definitive agreement ........ 53
Government/Renamo dialogue resumes in Maputo ................................................... 54
Analysts question President Nyusi’s contact group for peace talks in Mozambique .. 54
Decentralisation by June unrealistic, analyst says ..................................................... 55
MDM wants a place at the dialogue table .................................................................. 56
“It is not necessary for civil society to be at the negotiating table” – Afonso Dhlakama
................................................................................................................................... 57
Renamo requests the return of its Nampula base ...................................................... 57
President Nyusi praises courage of the Frelimo women’s detachment ...................... 58
National Assembly ratifies African Charter on Democracy ......................................... 59
Labour law to be revised this year ............................................................................. 59
President Nyusi in Sofala on working visit .................................................................. 60
Why opposition parties in southern Africa struggle to win power ............................... 60
SECURITY .................................................................................................................... 63
US sees “low- intensity civil war” in Mozambique ...................................................... 63
Government forces accused being behind various abuses in central Mozambique ... 63
Renamo members kidnapped in Manica .................................................................... 64
Sofala residents return home following the extension of the truce ............................. 65
CRIME........................................................................................................................... 66
GRAPH 2: Region by Day of Week ........................................................................ 66
GRAPH 3: Province by Time Period ....................................................................... 66
Portuguese authorities “very concerned” about disappearance of Portuguese citizen
................................................................................................................................... 67
Renamo accused of being behind the abduction of Portuguese businessman in Sofala
................................................................................................................................... 67
Renamo denies any link to disappearance of Portuguese citizen .............................. 68
Thieves on the prowl in Maputo and Matola............................................................... 69
Fake traffic cop accused of soliciting bribe, swallowing vital piece of evidence ......... 69
INAE inspector detained for corruption in Maputo ...................................................... 69
Large scale driving test fraud uncovered in Maputo ................................................... 70
Police officer in Inhambane arrested for selling drugs ............................................... 71
Crew of train involved in wheat theft arrested ............................................................ 71
Man rapes and kills his sister in Gaza Province ......................................................... 72
Inharrime woman accused of abducting a baby ......................................................... 72
Maputo man kills mother after she refuses to give him food ...................................... 73
Maputo city mulls MT240,000 fine for illegal parking.................................................. 73
Lack of water leads to vandalism ............................................................................... 73
HEALTH........................................................................................................................ 86
Maputo prisoners unable to receive food from relatives due to cholera outbreak ...... 86
Assembly passes bill on medicines ............................................................................ 86
Families in Gaza refuse to have houses sprayed for mosquitoes .............................. 87
INAE incinerates rotten fish meant for hospital patients in Pemba ............................. 87
INAE warns bakers to follow recommendations ......................................................... 88
Government will not be blackmailed, will continue to shut down irregular business
premises .................................................................................................................... 89
INAE tackles sale of food from cars in Maputo .......................................................... 89
Out-of-date products discovered at supermarket in Sofala ........................................ 89
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It was a carefully crafted statement of the The government has always hoped that
government’s negotiating positions with gas and other minerals would provide
the IMF and the private creditors. With the enough short-term money to resolve the
IMF he took a clear stand: reforms, crisis caused by the US$2-billion secret
especially of state companies, but no debt and subsequent cut in donor budget
austerity. support and to the IMF loan.
With the private creditors, the position Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do
was more nuanced – “honour our Rosário at his 1 March press conference
agreements” can mean many things, and reiterated these hopes, while implicitly
still leave space for the government to say admitting delays.
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Major investments are expected this year. plant, on the Afungi peninsula. This
The northern gas fields are controlled by requires moving 471 families, and
consortia headed by ENI of Italy (farthest government has been demanding that the
offshore) and Anadarko of the USA gas companies provide more facilities for
(nearest the Cabo Delgado coast). the relocated community.
Both plan to convert most of the gas to Prime Minister Rosário said he expects
liquefied natural gas (LNG) – the gas is contracts to be signed for gas and oil
cooled to -162ºC and takes up only prospecting by the winners of last year’s
1/600th the space of natural gas, so can auction, announced 27 October.
he shipped by boat.
Six exploration and production contracts
LNG plants cost billions of dollars. LNG were awarded, to ENI (offshore Angoche),
prices hit historic lows at the start of 2016 ExxonMobil with the Russian company
and work on the Mozambique projects Rosneft (offshore Angoche and offshore
was sharply slowed. Prices are rising at the mouth of the Zambezi) river, Sasol
again, so work and various negotiations (onshore Pande/Temane, Inhambane
are resuming. Province adjoining Sasol’s existing
concessions) and Delonex (onshore
Most important for Mozambique’s Palmeira, Maputo Province).
finances, ENI Chief Executive Claudio
Descalzi told the Financial Times that the The companies are committed to spend
company is “within weeks” of agreeing to US$691-million in the first four years.
sell part of its 50% ownership of Area-4,
offshore of Cabo Delgado. Meanwhile Sasol last year found small
amounts of light oil in its Inhambane gas
This could generate more than a US$100- fields, however, reports of further new oil
million in capital gains taxes. discoveries have been denied.
Prime Minister Rosário said he expects a But Sasol has also been penalised for
final investment decision in the first half of having too many foreign workers in
this year on ENI’s floating LNG plant. This Mozambique; 34 workers, most from
had been expected last year, and one South Africa, were suspended after an
Area-4 shareholder, China National inspection in late February. (Click here for
Petroleum Company (CNPC), still needs link to related article).
to approve the deal.
Sasol also wants to build a 400 megawatt
The project includes the construction of (MW) gas fired power plant at the well
six subsea wells connected to a floating head in Temane, Inhambane and
LNG plant, able to produce more than 3.3- Mozambique wants to build an electricity
million tons per year of LNG. line to Maputo as the first link in the
central-south power line. But finance will
Production could start as early as 2019 be hard to find.
and the entire LNG production would be
sold to BP over 20 years. Zitamar reports that work has stopped on
the Pemba logistics base, being built by
He also said he expects agreement with China Harbour Engineering Corporation
Anadarko and ENI on the onshore LNG
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for the controversial joint venture of and convert half of it to meticais, even if
Nigerian-Italian owned Orlean Invest and they are paying the contractors in foreign
two state companies, the hydrocarbon currency; this provides important extra
company Empresa Nacional de dollars for the Banco de Moçambique, but
Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) and the port and one reason for the delay is gas
railway company Portos e Caminhos de companies are trying to renegotiate this.
Ferro de Moçambique (CFM).
Local spending provides economic and
The idea was to force ENI and Anadarko tax boosts. And taxes are paid on mineral
to use this logistics base, but they never exports.
agreed, and plan to run their own logistics
base in Palma. The joint venture office in (Click here for link to related article).
Pemba is now closed, says Zitamar, and
workers are being dismissed. Source: Mozambique news reports &
clippings
Prime Minister Rosário also noted that
rising coal prices mean that coal exports Will taxes from ENI/Exxon deal affect
are expected to increase. And China Mozambique’s debt restructure?
Brazil Xinnenghuan International
Partial transcript of a press briefing with
Investment (CBStell) on 24 February
Gerry Rice, director of the IMF
signed an agreement with the Ministry of
Communications Department and IMF
Industry and Commerce to build a coking
spokesperson. Washington, D.C. March
plant in Nacala.
9, 2017.
This would be an important first step in
Questioner: (…) Exxon has purchased a
Mozambique processing its minerals.
substantial stake in a gas project in
Coking (or metallurgical) coal is converted
Mozambique and, you know, obviously
to high carbon coke for iron making by
this will have tax implications for the
heating the coal at high temperature (over
government, probably positive tax
1,100ºC) in a kiln in an oxygen deficient
implications. I’m wondering if the IMF has
atmosphere to drive off the water, coal-
a view on that, whether it changes the
gas, coal-tar and other impurities.
government’s fiscal picture in any way; if it
The plant would cost US$1.4-billion and changes the Fund’s view of that
be financed by the Chinese government. restructuring there.
The coke would be exported to Brazil.
Mr. Rice: I just don’t have anything on
(Also see Chinese investment in coking
that issue.
coal, Rhula Weekly 169 Pointers and
Page 39). Questioner: Do you have anything – Do
you have anything – What’s your most
Government revenues on these projects
recent, the most recent view you have on
come from various sources. The biggest
Mozambique?
is the capital gains tax.
Mr. Rice: You know, I think we’ve talked
But another is that the gas and oil about it here before; Mozambique faces a
companies want to pay contractors, they very challenging situation. Mozambique
must bring the money into Mozambique defaulted, as you know, in January on a
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bond payment, a coupon payment. What I This is a vision shared by several national
can tell you, is an IMF Mission was there. and foreign institutions (including the
We are very much engaged with Banco de Moçambique) that have been
Mozambique to help them face the following the course of the national
situation. We have been, as you know, economy since the beginning of the crisis
emphasising the importance of the in late 2015.
independent audit to take account of the
spending that was discovered a number The World Bank director also believes in
of months ago. So we continue to follow the recovering confidence of international
that independent audit, and in that context partners – which has been taken as a top
pursue discussions on the possibility of a priority agenda – who suspended financial
new IMF-supported programme. That’s support to Mozambique a year ago
probably as much as I have for you on following the discovery of undisclosed
Mozambique. government debts. But he reiterates that
this depends on the international debt
Source: imf.org audit being conducted by Kroll. “Being
able to finish the audit later this month
World Bank forecasts recovery of would be a good step and we have every
Mozambican economy starting this confidence that it will be”, Lundell said.
year
Economic instability has led Mozambique
The World Bank predicts that to grow by only 3.3% last year, one of the
Mozambique’s economic development lowest rates in the last two decades, when
partners will return this year. The Banks average growth rates have been around
resident representative, Mark Lundell, 7.5%. Inflation is still above 20%, but the
also believes that the economy will return Banco de Moçambique predicts that it will
to previous levels of growth, thanks to the fall to 14% this year and that the gross
possibility of strong investment in various domestic product (GDP) will increase by
sectors. 5.5%.
Lundell, who, without advancing details or Source: O País
figures, has said he thinks that there are
now conditions for a reversal of the BMI consultancy lowers Mozambique’s
current deterioration in almost all growth forecast to 3%
indicators of macro-economic
performance with a strong impact on the On Monday 6 March, Business Monitor
cost of living and business performance. International (BMI) said that
Mozambique’s economy could grow 3%
“Mozambique’s economic growth has a this year, up from the 2% it posited last
strong base to increase this year. The year, but below the average of 6.5%
international situation is improving in between 2010 and 2016.
several ways; investment will be strong
and investors will also strengthen their “The initial phase of developments in the
support for Mozambique”, Lundell natural gas industry and a more flexible
predicts. exchange rate will be the main drivers of
the economic expansion over the next two
years, which will be very challenging”,
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analysts commented in a note sent to the the most disadvantaged areas, namely
financial news agency Bloomberg. In the education, health and social protection”.
note, the Fitch group economic analysis
unit also anticipates 3.5% growth in 2018 On public debt, Prime Minister Rosário
and sees delays in the development of said he wanted to fulfil commitments. “We
infrastructure as likely “because of the want to honour the commitments that we
financial default in January”. have made with our creditors, but in a
balanced way. Honouring commitments,
The forecast 3% growth this year yes, but also, on the other hand, leaving
represents a decline from estimates at the space for us to have resources to fund the
beginning of last month, when BMI government’s Five-Year Programme”.
anticipated a 4% expansion in the GDP,
already a downward revision against its Source: Lusa
previous 5% forecast.
China puts industrialisation of African
The Mozambican executive expects economies on the international agenda
growth to accelerate from 3.9% in 2016 to
5.5% this year, similar to forecasts by Continued low commodity prices have led
Mozambique’s central bank and that of countries such as Angola, Equatorial
the Analysis and Policy Division of the UN Guinea and Mozambique to place greater
Department of Economic and Social urgency on economic diversification, at a
Affairs in a report published earlier this time when the industrialisation of Africa
year. The BMI forecasts come in the has the support of major international
context of evolving relations with the IMF partners, especially China.
and the attempted resumption of
A report prepared for the last G20 summit
negotiations with public debt creditors.
in Hangzhou (China) in September 2016,
In a meeting with journalists last week, contains a set of recommendations for
Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do African countries, including an
Rosário said that normalising relations unprecedented reference to what is
with lenders and the IMF remains at the dubbed the “New Industrial Revolution”,
top of the executive’s priority, stressing strengthening access to internal and
that “the main challenge in negotiations external financing as well as increased
with the IMF is to ensure a balance integration of global and regional trade.
between the reforms we have to make to
The report, along with the outcome of the
consolidate public policies on the one
latest ministerial meeting of Forum
hand, but we also want to ensure that we
Macau, also focuses on supporting the
do not affect the resources allocated to
development of agriculture and agro-
the government’s Five-Year Programme”.
industry, and the need for technology
In a meeting with the journalists in transfer, investment in energy efficiency
Maputo, Prime Minister Rosário added: and materials and promoting
“We will have to implement reforms at the environmentally sustainable technologies
level of the public sector and in public and industries. Li Yong, director-general
companies, in a way that effectively gives of the United Nations Industrial
us space so that we have resources for Development Organisation, argues in a
recent article that Africa “can easily
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President Nyusi attends the Indian One question on the IORA agenda,
Ocean Rim Summit Macdonald said, “is how to protect
ourselves from the impact of natural
The Mozambican government regards the disasters. We have had phenomena such
Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) as tsunamis and oil spills, among others.
Summit as a moment for reaffirming the And we must also not forget that, as
importance of the organisation in coastal countries, we are subject to rises
strengthening co-operation between the in sea level, which are already visible”.
member states, according to Albertina Sea level rise, caused by climate change,
Macdonald, director for International is particularly a threat in the central
Organisations and Conferences in the Mozambican province of Sofala, and its
Mozambican Foreign Ministry. capital, Beira.
She was speaking to reporters outside the IORA is a regional organisation consisting
meeting of senior officials who attended of the coastal states bordering the Indian
the IORA Heads of State Summit, at Ocean.
which Mozambique was represented by
President Filipe Nyusi. The organisation consists of 21 member
states and is based on the principle of
The summit is a special occasion, open regionalism to strengthen economic
Macdonald said, since it marks the 20th co-operation, in particular to facilitate
anniversary of the creation of the IORA investment, promotion and social
(this year held under the theme development in the region.
‘Strengthening Maritime Co-operation for
a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous Indian The IORA Summit produced four
Ocean’). “As one of the founder members documents in a bid to turn the Indian
of IORA”, she added, “Mozambique is Ocean into a peaceful, stable and
reaffirming its importance in strengthening prosperous region.
co-operation between its member states
and other partners with interests in the The four documents are IORA Concord,
Indian Ocean, so that we can advance IORA Action Plan, IORA Declaration on
with agendas such as the blue economy, Preventing and Countering Terrorism and
sustainable development, and making Violent Extremism, and Joint Declaration
marine resources profitable. Cross-cutting of the IORA Business Community to Build
actions such as eco-tourism and the Partnerships for a Sustainable and
empowerment of women are also part of Equitable Economic Growth.
the IORA agenda”.
The documents had been discussed in a
Among the priorities for Mozambique, ministerial meeting on Sunday 5 March,
Macdonald said, was co-operation in and had received support from 21
fisheries. Mozambique sought assistance member states of IORA and seven
from IORA in terms of training, both in dialogue partners. They were
fisheries and in other areas of interest to subsequently discussed at the ministerial
the country. There are also two co- level meeting on Monday before being
operation projects in agriculture that are ratified by the heads of state on Tuesday,
just starting. 7 March.
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The key document (i.e. the IORA of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries,
Concord, also known as Jakarta Concord) Agostinho Mondlane; Ambassador
is a strategic document containing vision Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
and norms of IORA meetings to Mozambique to the Republic of Indonesia,
strengthen regional architecture in facing Maria Gustava and other staff members of
the challenges ahead. The IORA Action state institutions.
Plan contains the actions plan for Jakarta
Concord and enhancement of Among the priority matters on the summit
implementation of priority areas and agenda were maritime security, the
cross-sector commitment. facilitation of trade and investment,
fisheries management, disaster
The third document is the IORA management, academic, scientific and
Declaration on Preventing and Countering technological cooperation, as well as
Terrorism and Violent Extremism which tourism co-operation and cultural
underlines the importance of co-operation interchanges.
among IORA member states in combating
terrorism. The last one is the Joint Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Declaration of the IORA Business Moçambique/Folha de Maputo/Tempo
Community to Build Partnerships for a Jakarta
Sustainable Economic Growth which is
Strong foundations for co-operation
aimed at strengthening co-operation and
with Indonesia
partnership to expand and diversify trade
and investment, with a focus on small, On Tuesday 7 March, President Filipe
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Nyusi declared that there are strong and
clear foundations for Mozambique to co-
During the summit, according to a
operate advantageously with Indonesia,
statement from President Nyusi’s office,
through the establishment of partnerships.
the Mozambican President was one of the
main speakers at the Third Session of the Speaking to journalists in Jakarta, where
IORA Business Forum, held under the he took part in the first Heads of State
motto ‘Towards Sustainable and Equitable Summit of the IORA, President Nyusi said
Growth in the Indian Ocean Rim’. Mozambique hopes to take advantage of
the technological potential and the
The participants at this forum will show
experience of Indonesia.
the business potential which their
countries possess and will seek to attract “We have consolidated our relations”, he
investments. said. “Our meetings with the leadership of
this country will continue in order to
President Nyusi also met with his
strengthen our economic co-operation”.
Indonesia counterpart, Joko Widodo, and
with Indonesian business people President Nyusi added that he had noted
interested in investing and establishing the great interest shown by Indonesian
partnerships in Mozambique. business people in co-operating with
Mozambique, but that they raised the
During this visit, President Nyusi was
issue of facilitating investment
accompanied by the Ministers of Foreign
procedures. He said some Indonesian
Affairs and Co-operation, Oldemiro Balói;
businesses are interested in Mozambican
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cotton, and this will be analysed, bearing facilitate the entry of Indonesian
in mind that Mozambique wants to companies into Mozambique, and that
process its cotton internally. legislation on foreign investment is being
reformed.
Increasing co-operation between the two
countries was on the table when “There are many opportunities in
President Nyusi met with his Indonesian Mozambique, where your technology and
counterpart, Joko Widodo, on Tuesday. your financial capacity can be capitalised
upon”, he said.
At the meeting, President Widodo
promised a line of credit for Mozambique, Agriculture in particular was a strategic
to strengthen the operations of area in Mozambique’s development plans,
Mozambican businesses, particularly in President Nyusi added, and he believed
the areas of road and rail transport. that Indonesian agricultural experience
and know-how could be of great value.
“This credit can be used this year”, said Mozambique has favourable agro-
President Nyusi. ecological conditions, he stressed, and
there were guaranteed markets for
As for the IORA summit, he believed it Mozambican agricultural produce.
had achieved its goals, and had provided
Mozambique with an opportunity to Other areas the President stressed were
publicise its potential. tourism and the hotel industry, energy,
mining and hydrocarbons, and fisheries.
The summit was held under the theme of
‘Strengthening Maritime Co-Operation for “We already have many hotels built by
A Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous Indian Asian investors”, said President Nyusi,
Ocean’. The rotating presidency of IORA “but as yet we don’t have any that are the
passed from Indonesia to South Africa. result of Indonesian investment”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de As for energy, he said that Mozambique
Moçambique has massive potential for hydropower and
renewable sources of energy, as well as
President Nyusi invites Indonesian enormous coal and natural gas deposits.
businesses to invest
Turning to transport, he pointed to the
On Tuesday 7 March, President Filipe airport at Nacala on the northern coast,
Nyusi invited Indonesian businesses to which could be an important hub in air
invest in Mozambique. links between southern Africa and Asia.
(At the moment, however, not a single
Speaking in Jakarta at a meeting with
international airline stops at Nacala, and
Indonesian business people, he said he
the only flights are domestic, operated by
hoped their companies would do business
Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique, Ltd.,
in Mozambique, taking advantage of the
LAM).
enormous opportunities that the country
offers. He told the business people that earlier in
President Nyusi guaranteed that the the day he had met with his Indonesia
counterpart, Joko Widodo, and “we
government will do all in its power to
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In July 2016, the central bank froze the The agreed terms between ExxonMobil
Association’s accounts, and since then and ENI include a cash price of around
the depositors have been trying to recover US$2.8-billion. ENI currently holds a 50%
their money, without success. indirect share in the Mozambique natural
gas site through a 71.4% stake in ENI
According to the Attorney-General’s East Africa.
Office, this illicit operation involved
MT482-million, and 16,000 depositors. The deal will leave ENI and ExxonMobil
This banking fraud cost the state over with equal stakes in ENI East Africa of
MT29-million in lost taxes. 35.7% each, with CNPC of China holding
a 28.6% stake. The other three partners,
The prosecution is charging the seven with 10% each, are Galp Energia of
suspects with fraud, the illegal collection Portugal, KOGAS, and Mozambique’s
of deposits, money laundering, and ENH.
membership of a criminal association.
“During the investigation”, said a release Plans are advanced to set up a floating
from the Attorney-General’s Office, “it was liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility in
found that the association is not Area-4 above the Coral South gas field.
registered in Mozambique, and has no So far, the consortium has invested about
authorisation to exercise financial activity”. US$2.8-billion in Area-4, and it is
estimated that the FLNG project will cost
Prosecutors have now sent the case to a further US$8-billion.
the Kampfumo district court in Maputo,
where a judge will decide if there is Production of LNG is due to begin in
sufficient evidence to hold a trial. 2022. However, the final investment
decision cannot take place until CNPC
Source: Agencia de Informacao de formerly commits itself to the investment
Moçambique (all the other partners have now approved
their share of the investment).
Oil & Gas:
An agreement has already been reached
ENI sells Mozambique stake to under which all the gas produced from the
ExxonMobil for US$2.8-billion FLNG plant will be sold to the British
company BP over a 20-year period.
ExxonMobil has emerged as the buyer for
a 25% indirect stake in ENI’s Mozambique Darren Woods, chairman and chief
operations after weeks of speculation that executive at ExxonMobil, said that the
the Texan oil giant was the frontrunner. purchase would be “a major addition” to
the company’s global development
Italian group ENI had been looking for a
portfolio, stating:
partner to help bring Mozambique’s vast
offshore gas resources to the global “This strategic investment will enable
market, with ExxonMobil tipped as the ExxonMobil’s LNG leadership and
most likely candidate due to its experience to support development of
exploration licences in the southeast Mozambique’s abundant natural gas
African country. resources.
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Previous operation and capital gains: ENI maybe the last conventional E&P
major in the world
ENI tried to evade tax office demands in a
similar previous financial operation, but The sale of 25% stake in the Area-4 block
because of the economic and financial in Mozambique to ExxonMobil signal once
crisis that Mozambique is experiencing as more ENI’s “dual-exploration” model,
a result of the discovery of undisclosed which aims at strictly controlling costs and
state-guaranteed debts in April 2016, optimising the supply chain.
which slashed income from co-operation
partners and direct foreign investment, Analysts have been raising their rating on
any prospective income will be welcomed. the Italian firm’s shares, stating its unique
position in the E&P segment, which will
Beyond the investment expected to take ultimately boost its operational cash flow
place – with China’s state-owned CNPC in the next five years.
yet to announce its final decision for Area-
4 – this financial transaction could benefit Since its five-year peak in 2014, natural
state coffers by several hundred millions gas prices have more than halved, falling
of US dollars from ENI and ExxonMobil from a little more than US$6 to US$2.95
capital gains tax. By law, the Tax MMBtu at Nymex.
Authority can tax around 32% of the
amount of the operation. Just as with oil, conventional exploration
& production (E&P) has become
particularly challenging, even for
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multinational oil and gas companies. In The average upstream cost of ENI’s new
response to this new market environment, projects was reduced from an already low
many of them have turned to US$30 barrels of oil equivalent per day
unconventional E&P and acquisitions to (boe) level in 2014 to around US$20/boe
remain profitable. today. This cost structure is built on
exploration costs of less than US$1.5,
Chief Executive Officer of ENI since the opex of US$7 and capex of US$11/boe.
year the oil and gas prices started
collapsing, Claudio Descalzi, has quite a Such strategic moves by ENI have
different approach. He actually wants to precedents in Africa. In December last
turn the Italian-based and highly year, ENI agreed to sell a 30% stake in its
diversified company into a more focused giant Egyptian offshore gas field Zohr to
E&P enterprise. Russia-based Rosneft for US$1.575-
billion. This transaction occurred less than
For instance, the group sold several a month after the sale of another 10%
pipeline and oilfield services businesses. stake in the same gas field to Russia-
From this perspective, it comes as no based Rosneft for more than US$2-billion.
surprise that ENI Mozambique finally
announced the sale of interests in its gas- According to Goldman Sachs, ENI’s
rich Area-4 block, offshore Mozambique, approach on conventional E&P will make
to ExxonMobil for US$2.8-billion. it the top cash flow-making machine
among major oil & gas companies. Its
The long-term transformation of ENI into operating cash flow as a percentage of
an E&P focused company requires a total cash flow should increase by more
model in which costs are minimised. This than 65% by 2021.
means making partnerships with other
experimented competitors that can share The same ratio should only increase by
the costs, while freeing up capital for ENI. less than 20% for ExxonMobil, less than
30% for Shell, while Chevron may see its
“This deal represents material evidence of own operating cash as a percentage of
our exploration strategy based on the total cash flow grow by almost 50% during
early monetisation of our exploration the next five years.
discoveries, as a part of our dual-
exploration model”, confirms ENI’s CEO, “Among the European majors, only ENI
commenting the sale and purchase has been able to successfully translate
agreement with ExxonMobil to acquire an exploration activities into valuable giant oil
ENI’s 25% stake in the Area-4 block. and gas discoveries”, says Michele Della
Vigna, analyst at Goldman Sachs, who
While ENI will continue to lead the Coral initiated a coverage of the stock with a
floating LNG project and all upstream “Buy” rating last month.
operations in Area-4, ExxonMobil will lead
the construction and operation of natural “The industry has forgotten how to do
gas liquefaction facilities onshore. This exploration”, said Claudio Descalzi in an
strategy based on early monetisation has interview with the Financial Times last
enabled ENI to cash in more than US$9- week. He added that while “everybody
billion in the last four years. else” was looking for tar sands or tight oil
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or acquisitions he thought “there was still Pemba logistics base delayed, but will
potential in conventional exploration”. go ahead
As a result of this reduced interest from oil The logistical base for Mozambique’s oil
& gas companies – in part due to currently and gas industry in the city of Pemba
low level of energy prices – global (Cabo Delgado Province) is delayed, but
discoveries of new fields have dropped far from abandoned, the chairperson of
substantially last year. ENH, Omar Mithá, assured reporters on
Friday 10 March.
IHS Markit reported that discoveries of
new oil and gas fields had dropped to a He categorically denied rumours that the
60-year low in 2016, with only 174 operators of the natural gas fields in the
discoveries (76 in conventional oil, 75 in Rovuma Basin, ENI and Anadarko, were
conventional gas) against an annual not interested in the base.
average of 400 to 500.
The Pemba Logistical Base was
In the meantime, ENI’s ongoing inaugurated by the then president,
conventional exploration activity has Armando Guebuza, who laid the first
resulted in a reserve-replacement ratio of stone in August 2014, amid considerable
139% for the firm, many times greater fanfare. The government granted the
than industry average and including the company Ports of Cabo Delgado (PCD) a
effect of the disposal of Zohr in Egypt. Its 30-year lease on the base.
organic reserve-replacement ratio even
surged to 193%, the best ever PCD is owned 50% by ENH and 50% by
performance in ENI’s history. CFM. PCD then subleased the Pemba
base to ENH Integrated Logistics Services
Thanks to a strong production in the last (ENHILS), which is a partnership between
quarter of 2016, a high proved reserve- ENH Logistics (a 100% owned subsidiary
replacement ratio, a well-stocked pipeline of ENH) and the Nigerian company
of new and high quality projects ENI aims Orlean Invest.
at increasing production by 3% per year
on average in the next four-year period, Mithá said that some work has been done
while intensifying the restructuring at the base, such as fencing it, building
process of its mid-downstream access routes, installing a coffer dam, and
businesses. resettling most of the families that had to
be moved.
“The solidity of our balance sheet has
been preserved by maintaining a But everything else has been delayed
sustainable level of gearing, while ENI because the timetable for processing and
has been the only major to reduce its exporting Rovuma Basin gas has slipped.
leverage during the 2014-16 period”,
explains Descalzi in ENI’s most recent Back in 2014, there was optimism that
annual report. LNG would be available for export in 2018
or 2019. Now 2022 is mentioned as the
Source: Club of Mozambique/Levy-Sergio most likely date for the start of LNG
Mutemba exports.
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The two consortia headed by ENI (for buy a 25% stake in Area-4 for US$2.8-
Rovuma Basin offshore Area-4) and billion.
Anadarko (Area-1) have yet to announce
their final investment decisions. The first phase of exploiting the Area-4
gas will be a floating LNG unit (FLN)
Those final investment decisions, Mithá positioned above the Coral South gas
said, were crucial for pushing ahead with field, which will cost about US$8-billion, in
the Pemba base, “otherwise we would be addition to the US$2.8-billion already
in danger of building a white elephant”. invested.
Furthermore, if the base had been built, it An agreement has been reached under
would currently be mostly idle, but with which all the gas from the floating unit will
wages and other fixed costs needing to be be sold to the British company BP.
paid.
The floating LNG unit, Mithá said, with be
Mithá denied claims that there was any the largest investment ever in
kind of ban on Orlean Invest working with Mozambique, amounting to about 10
United States companies such as times more than was invested in the
Anadarko. In its operations in Nigeria, Mozal aluminium smelter just outside
Orlean Invest had US clients including Maputo.
Chevron and ExxonMobil “which wouldn’t
be the case if Orlean Invest was on a ExxonMobil, however, will not be involved
blacklist”. in the floating unit. Its expertise is
earmarked for what is known as “Mamba
He pledged that the Logistical Base would onshore” – taking gas from a second
not abuse its quasi-monopoly position, Area-4 field, the Mamba field, and
and there was “no intention of making the processing it onshore.
base expensive or non-viable”.
Whereas all production from the floating
Mithá said that the final investment unit will be exported, some of the Mamba
decision for Area-4 is likely by the end of gas can be used domestically.
this month. Only one of the partners, the
Chinese company CNPC has yet to The quantity of LNG that will be produced
commit itself to the investment. at the floating plant will be relatively small,
said Mithá, which is why it is more
ENI controls a 50% indirect interest in advanced than the plans for Mamba
Area-4, owned through ENI-East Africa, Onshore, or the Area-1 production which
which holds 70% of the concession. The will also be onshore.
remaining 20% held via ENI-East Africa
belongs to the CNPC. The other three The FLNG, Mithá said, “will put
partners, with 10% each, are Galp Mozambique on the map, show that
Energia of Portugal, KOGAS, and ENH. Mozambique is serious and can handle
complex projects”.
But this ownership structure is about to
change, since ENI announced on As for the onshore processing, Mithá said
Thursday that it has signed an agreement that in December the government had
with ExxonMobil under which the latter will reached agreement with Anadarko and
ENI on building the jetty and maritime
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offloading facility on the coast of Palma added to its exploration success with
district. another discovery at the Purple Angel
prospect.
He expected work to start soon on the
“Resettlement Town” where families will Anadarko is expecting to continue the
be moved from those parts of the Afungi advancement of the Mozambique LNG
Peninsula, where the LNG factories project, where it is has made progress on
(known as “trains”) are to be built. the legal and contractual framework, and
recently submitted a development plan to
Resettlement is expected to cost US$350- the government of Mozambique for the
million, and follows a long series of Golfinho/Atum discoveries.
consultations with the local villagers, and
the provincial and district authorities. Source: LNG Industry
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and Social Security, while the other 11 Mozambique, the IGT claimed. In addition
workers did not present any documents to the South Africans, they included
authorising them to work in Mozambique workers from Britain, Canada, Iran, Brazil
at all”, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and the United States.
and Social Security document reads.
The inspection at the Sasol plant was part
Sasol said at the time that 10 of the 11 of a national campaign to inspect the
workers were working on a short-term mining and building industries.
basis and one as a service provider, but
did not present any work permits enabling In a Monday press statement, Sasol gave
them to work in the country. a different version of events.
A further 17 workers without permits were It said the IGT “reviewed the work
identified at Sasol Petroleum Mozambique authorisations of expatriate staff.
and immediately suspended. Those However, although the expatriates had
identified were of British, Iranian, work authorisations, some concerns were
Canadian, Brazilian, American and South raised. After the inspection, an Inspection
African nationality. Minute was provided which included the
suspension of the workers involved”.
Source: O País
Sasol said it is currently analysing the
Sasol reacts to suspension of foreign Inspection Minute “and is working with the
workers Labour Ministry in order to clear up the
matter”.
Reacting to the suspension of 34 of its
foreign workers in the southern province Sasol added that, according to its own
of Inhambane, the South African records, its recruitment is in line with the
petrochemical company Sasol has denied quota system, and with the work
that it is in violation of Mozambican labour authorisation procedures.
legislation.
“In Mozambique, as in other projects
Last week, the IGT in the Labour Ministry throughout the world, we promote
announced that it had suspended 34 localisation and compliance with local
foreigners, 17 of them South Africans, labour legislation”, the company added.
who were supposedly working illegally at
the Sasol gas processing centre in “We remain committed to our growth
Temane. plans in Mozambique and we are
continuing our partnership with the
Six of the South Africans, the IGT said, Mozambican government”, the statement
had been contracted under the quota said.
system for foreign workers. But Sasol had
already exhausted its quota, the IGT Despite the suspensions “all the functions
claimed, and in order to employ additional and operations of the Temane Processing
foreign labour, it should have requested Centre and of the drilling campaign are
authorisation from the Labour Minister. proceeding”.
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Labour Ministry maintains suspension that local companies do not meet their
of foreign workers at Sasol quality standards. According to the Centre
for Public Integrity (Centro de Integridade
The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Pública, CIP), “local content is not used to
Social Security has confirmed the benefit local communities or local
continuing suspension of the 34 Sasol business. It is used as a business
workers found to be working in opportunity for figures from the political
Mozambique illegally. The 17 workers and economic elite”.
identified during an inspection campaign
into the mining and of civil construction In addition, the South African
sectors of the company had no petrochemical company gives preference
certification authorising them to work in to foreign labour at the expense of
the country. Of the other 17 persons Mozambicans, last week the IGT
located at the company’s Temane facility, discovered 34 foreign workers who has
11 had no work permits, and the six with been illegally employed by Sasol.
certificates were found to be in excess of According to the National Statistics
the quota to which the company was Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estatística,
entitled. INE), over the course of the past 16
years, Sasol has been exploiting
Authorisation in such cases can only be Mozambique’s resources and yet “almost
made by the Ministry after verifying that no benefits were obtained locally with
there are no nationals with qualifications regard to basic infrastructure or job
equivalent to those of the foreign workers creation”.
being hired. The company’s reaction to
the IGT measure does not therefore stand According to @Verdade, despite the
and may lead the company to an multi-million dollar investments,
erroneous interpretation of the facts. sumptuous profits and tax benefits, last
According to a statement sent to Folha de year Sasol employed only 147
Maputo, the Labour Ministry is Mozambican citizens, out of a total of 166
investigating the case of the six workers employees, and not all were from
who obtained permits without being Inhambane. In addition to the preference
entitled to them. The national inspection for foreign labour, particularly from the
campaign meanwhile continues until 22 parent company in South Africa, over the
March. course of the past 16 years, the oil
company has giving priority to foreign
Source: Folha de Maputo companies for the supply of services and
goods. According to the CTA, only five
Sasol gives preference to foreign local companies had the opportunity to
workers provide goods and services to Sasol.
Sasol, which has been exploring natural Most of the company’s consumables,
gas in Inhambane Province for 16 years, even those that are not industry-specific
is still not giving business to small and and some of which Mozambique does not
medium-sized local companies. According have, are imported by foreign companies
to an unnamed representative of Terra da or companies that are not wholly owned
boa gente (Land of the good people), by Mozambican citizens.
Sasol justifies this behaviour by arguing
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“From the provision of the articles on the blocks most recently concessioned
local content in the above-mentioned provided a “vote of confidence in the
laws, we learn that the use of local likelihood of more resources to be
content in the extractive sector is a discovered”.
standard option and not a mandatory rule.
That is, it is not mandatory. It is only This is not the first time that the Búzi
advisable to resort to local content when it region has revealed hydrocarbon
proves more advantages”, said Nhamire, potential. In the 1960s, natural gas was
adding that: “the Local Content Law has discovered there, but the quantities
been in development since 2015”. identified by US multinationals at the time
were considered commercially non-viable,
According to Nhamire, “practice in which is why the government granted the
Mozambique shows that local content is area to an Indonesian company to carry
not used to benefit local communities or out studies.
local entrepreneurship. It is used as a
business opportunity for political and Working in partnership with ENH, Búzi
economic elite figures. These figures are Hydrocarbon has carried out seismic
associated with international capital, studies and environmental impact
sharing an average of 5% to 15%. The assessments as the necessary precursor
role of these figures is to ensure the to sinking research wells.
facilitation of business through the
influence of traffic in public licensing and The Búzi block, formed by the districts of
inspection institutions”. Búzi, Machanga and Chibabava, is
located in the Mozambique sedimentary
“In the cases studied by CIP, in the basin, one of the least explored regions
extractive and infrastructure sector, the from the point of view of hydrocarbon
participation of local entrepreneurs in potential.
large projects is often done without the
realisation of capital. It is a jury rather Source: O País
than capital participation. Being that the
Mithá ensures that natural resources
capital of these figures is political”,
are competitive in the international
concluded Nhamire.
market
Source: @Verdade
The Chairman of ENH, Omar Mithá,
“Búzi block shows good oil and gas recently assured that natural resources
potential” – Mithá possessed by Mozambique are
competitive in the international market.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of
ENH, Omar Mithá, recently revealed to During a parliamentary hearing Mithá said
parliamentarians that surveys of the Búzi that more than 500 families will be
hydrocarbon exploration block in Sofala resettled in the district of Palma (Cabo
are giving strong indications of the Delgado Province), to give rise to the
presence of hydrocarbons there. Mithá construction of a liquefied natural gas
explained that investment in the plant. Gas projects, he said, could
exploration phase could reach US$700- generate close to 70,000 jobs.
million and that research in the new
Source: Folha de Maputo/Rádio Moçambique
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Currently, the government fixes fuel South African trucks also find it very
prices, at a level lower than the world convenient to refuel in Mozambique.
market price of petrol or diesel. The “Every day we see large, long distance
government is supposed to pay the trucks entering Mozambique from South
difference to the fuel distribution Africa along the N4 motorway”, said the
companies. But it does not pay the Amepetrol source, “If each of those trucks
subsidy promptly, and Amepetrol says the buys 600 litres in Mozambique, that
government currently owes the amount, multiplied by 1,200 trucks a day,
companies around US$70-million. That is an enormous burden for the
sum is rising by between US$7-million Mozambican economy”.
and US$10-million a month.
He noted that, even if the government
Amepetrol suggests returning to the old were to increase the petrol price by 20%,
system of monthly reviews of fuel prices, raising it to MT60 a litre, it would still be
based on the world market price of refined the cheapest petrol in the southern
fuels and the exchange rate of the metical African region. This is true despite the
against the dollar. Under that system, recent appreciation in the value of the
jettisoned several years ago, any variation metical against the dollar, since the
in market prices or the exchange rate in revaluation of the metical is lower than the
excess of 3%, in either direction, would rises in recent weeks in international fuel
automatically trigger adjustment of the prices.
prices paid by the public.
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Amepetrol insists that it is urgent to end The experts proposed the transformation
the subsidy system, since there is a risk of coal waste from mines in Moatize into
that, if the government is unable to honour fuel. In addition to reducing environmental
its commitments to the distribution pollution, this initiative would lower
companies, they will be unable to honour imports and create jobs.
their commitments to the suppliers, and
the country could be at a real risk of “The oil refinery project will give us clean
running out of fuel. diesel fuel close to home. It will save the
government US$60-million a year, and the
Source: Agencia de Informacao de fuel will be sold to the state in meticais,
Moçambique not in dollars, which is a great advantage.
During the life of the project, the
Minister of Mineral Resources government could save US$6-billion and
guarantees no interruption in fuel generate 9,000 direct or indirect jobs in
supply Tete and Beira”, Hugh Brown said.
Last week, Amepetrol sent a letter to the Former minister of Mineral Resources and
Prime Minister, warning that the country Energy, John Kashamila, was one of the
risks running out of petrol and diesel, if key speakers at the event and recalled
the government does not change its that 25 years ago he had participated in
current fuel subsidy system. In the letter, the design of the projects. He argued that
the companies said they can no longer go the initiatives could be successful and
on shouldering the difference between the would have the advantage of being
price which they pay for fuel on the supported by the private sector.
international market (denominated in US
dollars), and the price in meticais at “I believe in the success of these projects,
Mozambican filling stations, which is fixed and that the government will evaluate
by the government. them correctly. It will not be one of those
initiatives that goes nowhere”, Kachamila
In an exclusive with O País this week, the said.
Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy
confirmed that she received the letter and Rector of the Pedagogical University, Luís
assured that is looking for solutions. As Jorge Ferrão, committed the university to
such, Minister Leticia da Silva Deusina creating more opportunities to discuss the
Klemens promised that there would be no matter.
fuel shortage.
“We were there to talk and we got to talk
Source: O País about the possibility of funding master’s
degree programmes and doctorates to
Transformation of Moatize coal waste give the country the capacity to respond
may reduce fuel imports to the challenges”, he said. The seminar
also addressed policy framework,
At a time when the country is having
investments in the oil and gas industry
difficulty importing sufficient fuel, the
and their benefits to the population.
Pedagogical University (UP) on Tuesday
brought together experts, teachers and Source: O País
students to discuss solutions tailored
specifically to Mozambique.
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Pathak, a Russian resident who had Results from the first five diamond drill
already announced in the Armenian press holes have returned grades of up to 26%
in late December that he was looking for total graphitic carbon (TGC).
new investments for F&M in Russia and
Armenia, is to take a 5% stake in the new The recent diamond holes drilled on the
African company. Bharti, a former mining project have an average of 15.9% TGC
engineer who was trained in Moscow, has within the mineralised graphitic
taken a number of initiatives recently in mineralisation zone from 10 meters to
Mozambique. He is chairman of Canadian 65.68 meters.
investment company Sulliden Mining
Capital Inc., which established a The graphite mineralisation is shallow with
subsidiary in the country in May. high grades close to the surface, including
23.2% TGC at11 meters from surface,
To run his international operations, Bharti 23.6% TGC at 12 meters from surface
draws on a large network of personalities and 22.8%TGC at 13 meters from
who sit on to F&M’s consultative board. surface.
Among them are American star TV
presenter Larry King, former Canadian The highest TGC value recorded for this
international trade minister Pierre hole is 24.9% TGC at 24.44 meters.
Pettigrew and retired Canadian general
Lewis MacKenzie. Bharti’s son, Julian The Caula drill core is now on its way to a
Bharti, who is managing director at F&M, Perth lab, which will assess its
is also developing his own investment metallurgical characteristics.
company in Toronto called Delano Capital
These results, combined with the assays,
Corp. In October, this company invested
will be used to calculate a maiden Joint
US$2.6-million in Desert Lion Energy,
Ore Reserves Committee-compliant
which is working on lithium projects in
resource estimate.
Namibia.
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Mustang expects to publish this estimate Mutamba prospect, and Rio Tinto’s
in the June quarter followed by an initial Chilubane prospect further south in Gaza
scoping study in August. Province.
The company also intends to undertake a While the approval is still pending, the
comprehensive analysis of flake size companies have entered into a new
distribution and preliminary flow sheets for ‘consortium agreement’ to start work on
high-quality graphite concentrate the projects even without approval for the
products, aimed at confirming field JV. Exploratory drilling is currently
observations which suggest the Caula underway, and Savannah announced on
graphite deposit contains large flake- 28 February that it had “identified
sizes. significant zones of high grade total heavy
mineral (THM) mineralisation” at the
The company’s shares closed the day up Ravene deposit on the Mutamba North
9.64%. concession.
Source: Mining Weekly Source: Zitamar News
per kilowatt-hour – the first increase in the Speaking to reporters at the time, the
price of electricity for five years. chairperson of the EdM board, Mateus
Magala, said price rises were essential “in
In percentage terms, the prices rose by order to mobilise resources to ensure
between 27% and 40%. The price per universal access to electricity by 2030”.
kilowatt-hour roses from MT4.16 to MT5.8
for consumers on the low voltage general Magala said that, with a general tariff
tariff (for industries, trade, offices, shops equivalent to 5.3 US cents per kilowatt
and similar establishments) who use up to hour, Mozambican electricity remained
300 kilowatt-hours a month. This was an the cheapest in the region. In other
increase of 39%. members of Southern African
Development Community (SADC),
Use of more than 300 kilowatt-hours electricity cost 12.5 US cents per kilowatt-
pushed the price up steeply. Between 301 hour, which made further investment
and 500 kilowatt-hours the price rose from possible, and this greater access to
MT5.94 to MT8.29 per kilowatt-hour. electricity.
Above 500 kilowatt-hours a month, the
increase was from MT6.5 to MT9.07 per Source: Agencia de Informacao de
kilowatt hour. Moçambique/O País/Rádio Moçambique
In addition, all these consumers pay an “My life is not the same anymore”, said
additional fixed rate, irrespective of Laura Chissico, a resident of Moamba
consumption, which rose from MT108.82 district who recalls how life has changed
to MT152.37 a month (a 40% rise). for better. “Now that we have electricity,
we have been able to earn MT5,000 to
The “social tariff” for low income domestic MT7,000 (approximately US$60 to
consumers who use less than 100 US$100) a month from the sale of
kilowatt-hours a month remained ‘badjias’ and other cookies. We even
unchanged, at MT1.07 per kilowatt-hour. started to use a conventional oven that
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allowed us to diversify our products and including over 400 kilometres of new
expand the business”. transmission and distribution lines. Other
areas benefiting from World Bank support
Like many other residents in Moamba and are the improvements of institutional and
other districts impacted by the project – regulatory capacity in the energy sector,
including those in the provinces of Cabo as well as efforts to extend access to
Delgado, Niassa, Manica, and Inhambane energy in rural areas through off-grid
– Laura used “xiphefo”, a homemade renewable solutions such as photovoltaic
unreliable kerosene lamp, as the main solar panels installed in the provinces of
source of light, rendering it almost Inhambane, Manica, Cabo Delgado, and
impossible to carry out any public or Niassa, connecting over 500 health
commercial activity at night in the district. centres and 300 schools.
With investments in new distribution lines, The nexus between poverty and energy:
installation of transformers as well as new
connections, her life, and those of many In Mozambique, poverty is concentrated
other rural residents across the country, in rural areas. The authorities established
has turned around completely. that accelerating and expanding access to
rural electricity is key in fighting poverty.
Schools, health centres, and businesses As part of this thrust, Mozambique is one
among the biggest beneficiaries: of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa
with the highest rate of new connections,
José Filimone, a wood artisan in Maputo averaging 120,000 new connections per
Province, who owns a small business with year over the past five years.
over 10 workers, is another satisfied
beneficiary who explained how his The authorities’ energy-mix plan is to
business is thriving these days thanks to maximise hydropower potential, especially
electricity. “We are now using electric through the Cahora Bassa Dam as the
tools, which means working faster and primary source of electrification while also
getting better finishing quality, something investing in alternative sources of energy.
that hardly ever happened before”, he To that end, the government approved
recalls visibly happy. “We have bigger recently the Renewable Energy Strategy
orders today, and our lives improved which seeks to boost energy access to
significantly”. rural areas.
The World Bank is currently in the second Solar power offers great potential for
phase of a US$120-million programme Mozambique and remains largely
called Energy Development and Access untapped in the country. The authorities
Project aimed at improving access to have recently set forth their medium-term
electricity in Mozambique. As part of this energy-mix plan which includes 55% of
project, which is about to close, 42,500 renewables by 2030. The World Bank has
new clients from peri-urban settlements also provided support for planning, policy,
have been added to the network. and institutional development of
Mozambique’s power sector. This
Investments under the project include the includes assisting in the elaboration of the
expansion of existing networks in fast- National Rural Electrification Strategy and
growing areas as well as in large cities, investment programmes. In addition, the
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Source: World Bank Notícias reports that bad weather was the
main cause of the postponement.
Molumbo village headquarters linked
to national electricity grid The Maputo-South Development
Company is the public entity in charge of
On 28 February, the headquarters of the the works that are being carried out by
town of Molumbo district (Zambézia China Road and Bridge Corporation
Province) was connected to the national (CBRC).
power grid fed by the Guruè sub-station.
With the completion of the bridge,
The electrification of this district will improved performance is expected with
stimulate the local economy through the regard to companies and tourist areas in
realisation of various projects, in addition the southern part of Maputo Province.
to the connection of approximately 1,300
new consumers. Temporary suspension of maritime traffic
had been announced.
The project was budgeted at MT187-
million, financed by the government, and The bridge will span of 680 meters in
consisted of the construction of 65 length at a height of 60 meters in relation
kilometres of medium voltage line at 33kV to the sea level, in order to ensure
from Gurué to Molumbo; 115 kilometres of navigability to the Maputo and Matola
medium voltage line at 33kV from ports.
Molumbo to Milange; 30 kilometres of low
voltage line at 0.4kV in Molumbo and The construction of the Maputo-Catembe
Malange and the assembly of 18 bridge is part of a project that includes
transformer stations in Molumbo and connecting roads to the southernmost part
Milange. of the province of Maputo, with an
estimated final cost of US$785-million, an
The electrification of Molumbo is part of amount financed through loans contracted
the government’s efforts to guarantee by the government of Mozambique with
assess to electricity to all, in partnership the Exports and Imports Bank of China
with EdM. This project is currently being (Exim).
expanded to the surrounding
neighbourhoods. Source: Notícias
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members of the Order. The Order will also fund has an investment portfolio of over
set up an Ethics Council which will protect 200 projects in 44 countries around the
professional ethics, and handle world, with a total of US$9-billion in
disciplinary proceedings. The ethical invested capital.
principles which architects must follow
include “public interest, impartiality, Louis Deppe, a partner of Actis East
competence, good relations with Africa Real Estate, said the fund would
colleagues and legality”. announce “new investments in
Mozambique very soon” and added that
Architects must “refrain from any the “Baia Mall is an international project
illegitimate pressure on public authorities that aims to respond to the needs of the
with the purpose of obtaining benefits for Mozambican market”.
their work”. The bill was uncontroversial
and the Assembly passed it by Source: MacauHub
consensus.
Real estate industry receives shake-up
Source: Agencia de Informacao de in Nacala-Porto
Moçambique
The real estate market in the port city of
International investment fund builds Nacala (Nampula Province) experienced
shopping centre in Mozambique a significant surge between 2011 and
2015, with the construction of buildings
The Actis investment fund will invest and rental of apartments stimulated by
US$96-million in a building with a major projects such as the construction of
shopping centre and hotel in the city of the local international airport and the
Maputo called Baia Mall, already under Nacala-a-Velha coal terminal.
construction on Avenida Marginal.
At the time, the demand for real estate
The Baia Mall is a project promoted by the was great, with supply insufficient to
Automobile & Touring Club of accommodate the workers of the
Mozambique, real estate development companies providing services to the two
company RPP Developments and the international projects, many of them from
Actis fund, and the shopping centre will all over the country – and the world.
include benchmark retail brands, such as Property in suburban neighbourhoods
Super Spar, Game and Woolworths. appreciated as people invested heavily in
real estate. Allied to this, the construction
The shopping centre will have a total area of the airport heralded a promising future
of 30,000 square metres, more than 100 for hotels and tourism.
shops, restaurants, a service area and
more than 1,000 parking spaces. The However, with the completion of the two
project that will create more than 2,500 projects and the deceleration of the
jobs. country’s and world economies, the real
estate business with its new residential
The new Mozambican shopping centre is and commercial property, hotels and
scheduled to open in late 2017. rental sector, began to face problems.
Although this is the first investment by
Actis in Mozambique, the international
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The rent on a ‘type three’ house in a good financial resources was greater than the
neighbourhood, around MT120,000 a local supply. “Because these projects
month in 2011, has fallen to less than brought with them a qualified workforce
MT30,000. A ‘type two’ apartment in the demanding decent accommodation, when
same area rented for about MT40,000 per they signed contracts with the companies,
month; today, it is MT9,000. Many they requested accommodation”,
buildings, some completed and others explained António. Owners were obliged
unfinished, stand empty. The exit of many to refurbish properties, with some
investors from the Special Economic Zone borrowing from banks to finance work
has transformed into “white elephants” the they have yet to see any return on.
apartment blocks that were built when
business was promising. “Currently, prices tend to conform to our
reality. There are individuals who have
Paralysed works: become indebted to the bank to acquire
land in Nacala-a-Velha and today do not
The crisis in the sector has brought many know what to do with this land. So too
projects to a halt, with owners waiting for some hotels have been built there and
better days to resume work. They are have not so far even been opened”, he
visible across the city, their workers idle. concludes. António says better times will
Many of the projects were started by return to the Nacala-Porto real estate
Mozambicans of Lebanese origin who did sector. Other investment opportunities are
not want to speak to Notícias. These lurking there, especially when gas
citizens came to Nacala-Porto at the extraction in the Rovuma Basin in Cabo
height of the boom to sell real estate to Delgado starts.
national and foreign companies settling in
the city for the business opportunities Source: Jornal Notícias/Luis Norberto
associated with the projects then
underway. One reporter also learned that
the current economic and financial crisis
has forced some construction companies
to suspend work, particularly in the
tourism and hotel industry.
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“Usually people eat just one meal a day to food”, said Tito Zuze, whose hope of
save on the little food they buy from seeing a crop this season is fading as
shopkeepers”, said Rogério Jimo, a local there is no insecticide to fight the locusts
government official, adding that social and no rain to rejuvenate the crops.
support is being provided to 40 elderly
and other vulnerable groups. Data from the Tete provincial government
indicates that the districts most affected
According to Jimo, these single meals are by the drought are located in the south of
usually interspersed with cucumber and the province and include Changara,
watermelons, the production of which is Cahora Bassa, Marara and Mágoè.
also “very scarce” this year, in contrast to
the past when they served as a basis of The drought is also being felt in the
support for thousands of people in the southern part of Moatize and Chiúta
region. districts, along with the Dôa district in
eastern Tete, which together have
For emergency supplies, some village reported 108,000 farming families having
women are harvesting pumpkin leaves, lost their crops.
beans and okra for drying before they are
devoured and totally destroyed by the Tete is the hottest province in
locusts. Mozambique, and the drought affecting
these nine districts has only contributed to
“We dry and then store them in bags to the considerable losses of production,
make curries or stews when we have making it the province with the most
nothing else to eat”, said Albano, as she hunger clusters in the country.
spreads green herbs on a raffia bag
stretched under the intense sun. Source: Lusa
The drought and famine in the south of Cattle breeders to get improved
Tete contrasts with the abundance of embryos from Brazil
production in the north of the province,
which has generated business During the course of this year, cattle
opportunities for small traders, who supply breeders in Zambézia, Sofala, Tete and
the hungry villagers with cereals and Manica provinces will receive embryos
vegetables. from improved cattle varieties from Brazil.
The ongoing project in the Zambezi Valley
Several peasants have try to swap consists of the in vitro production and
farming for cash work in mining or transfer of embryos for the genetic
charcoal production, but their initiative has improvement of beef cattle and milk.
proved insufficient to curb the
unprecedented hunger plaguing hundreds The governor of Zambézia, Abdul Razak,
of villages in the region. said on Wednesday 8 March in
Quelimane that about US$900,000 was
“The money we use to buy corn to make available for the project, which would
our daily meal comes from gold mining benefit about 1,500 family farmers and
and charcoal production, but we still boost the supply of meat and milk to the
cannot fight hunger, because we are domestic market.
already weak at work because of a lack of
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Mozambican waters, and were each fined Sustainable and Equitable Growth of the
US$5,000. Indian Ocean Rim’.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture In his intervention, President Nyusi said
Organisation (FAO) regards illegal, the event was an appropriate forum for
unreported and unregulated fishing as a exchanging experiences, and sharing
threat to conservation and to the efficient good practices and challenges, as well as
management of fishery resources. to draw up common perspectives for
capitalising on tourist activity.
FAO representative Castro Camarada told
the seminar that, although the impact of “We are tourist countries par excellence”,
illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing he said, “endowed with great natural
is not well documented, there is a general beauty. We are united in the richness of
sense that its costs and impacts are the cultural diversity resulting from the
serious both for coastal states and for integration of four continents, all of them
legal fishermen, whose livelihoods bathed by the waters of the Indian
depend on these resources. Ocean”.
He said that technologies are being Despite the beautiful beaches, islands
developed that will allow better tracking of and marine biodiversity, which enchant
illegal, unreported and unregulated tourists and scientists alike, these
fishing, and that there is a growing characteristics, President Nyusi said, are
political will to implement policies that not yet contributing to the welfare of the
tackle this problem. people in many of the IORA member
states – hence the need to transform
Source: Agencia de Informacao de tourism into a profitable and sustainable
Moçambique industry.
Tourism: The main constraint, he continued, lies in
the absence or inadequacy of
President Nyusi urges profitable and infrastructures which can facilitate the
sustainable tourism industry development of tourism. Tourism “has to
do with access and flexibility”, President
On Monday 6 March, President Filipe
Nyusi said. “Nautical sports, ecotourism,
Nyusi urged the countries bathed by the
beach tourism, cultural tourism and
Indian Ocean to work together to
business tourism are all influenced by the
transform tourism into a profitable,
question of access”.
sustainable and inclusive industry.
This meant, he stressed, that massive
In this way, he argued, a dynamic would
investment is required, particularly in air
emerge from tourism products and
and sea transport. “The development of
services which could be a driving force in
tourism has always been accompanied by
the growth of the economies of those
the modernisation of the connected
countries.
infrastructures. It generates revenue for
President Nyusi was speaking in Jakarta countries, and creates more jobs for their
during the third session of the IORA, held citizens”.
under the theme ‘Towards the
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POLITICS
Effective peace in sight: Dhlakama Agreement with then president Joaquim
confident in signing a definitive Chissano and the Agreement on
agreement Cessation of Military Hostilities in 2014
with Armando Guebuza, but the country
The ceasefire in Mozambique that was to was unable to live in harmony. “We are
end on Saturday 4 March has been going to see the agreement that I am
extended for another 60 days. Renamo going to sign with President [Filipe] Nyusi,
leader Afonso Dhlakama believes that this if it will end all the confusion in the
agreement will last. “I believe that this country, in order to have effective peace,
time [we will have a lasting agreement], democratic elections, free and
the way I talk to the President of the transparent, for the development of
Republic, he also says that he is prepared Mozambique”, said Dhlakama.
to end all pending issues”, said Dhlakama,
speaking by phone to a group of The Renamo leader added that the
journalists gathered at Renamo working groups on administrative
headquarters in Maputo from the district of decentralisation and military affairs,
Gorongosa (Sofala Province). formed with the government in the context
of the peace negotiations, will work hard
Insisting that the “confusions in the over the next 60 days to present
country will cease”, Dhlakama recalled proposals in their respective areas.
that he signed the 1992 General Peace
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“What I can say is that serious work will military matters. The session marked the
happen, because we will have to finish resumption of the dialogue between
this work, and then finally sign the final delegations of the two parties that had
agreement of hostilities so that there will been interrupted since the end of last year
be effective peace”, he said. The working (2016).
group on decentralisation, Dhlakama
continued, will have to submit a draft law These negotiations take place without
to the Assembly of the Republic, providing international mediation, but are supported
for the direct election of provincial by national and foreign experts appointed
governors and the financial autonomy of by both parties.
the provinces.
The discussions were supported by the
“The military issue is simpler, it is the Contact Group, which consists of six
framework of Renamo cadres in positions ambassadors and the representative of
of leadership of the Defence and Security the European Union.
Forces, the [discussion on the detachment
from political parties] of the police and the Monday’s discussions took place behind
SISE [Information and State Security closed doors in a Maputo hotel, and no
Services] will come later”, he added. At statements were given to the press at the
the press conference on Friday, the conclusion of the day’s session.
Renamo leader announced the extension
of the truce in the confrontations with the However, recent statements by the
FADM for another 60 days, expressing government and Renamo express
confidence in a definitive agreement. optimism with regard to talks.
On Monday 6 March, the new phase of However, analysts say they do not
the dialogue between the government and understand what lies behind President
Renamo in the presence of the Nyusi’s decision to call for the involvement
international Contact Group resumed in of foreign ambassadors in the political
Maputo. dialogue only a month after dismissing
international mediators.
The subjects under discussion on Monday
included issue of decentralisation and The President said at the time that the
Contact Group would join the government
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DW Africa: So it is more likely that this Some of these countries have been at the
package will be finalised before next forefront of the discussion of a set of
year’s municipal elections? reforms, from public sector reform,
decentralisation, etc. They have
SB: Next year we have local elections, knowledge and experiences that can be
and there is a package of reforms that is useful in forming a decentralisation
being demanded by municipalities, package that better responds to the
namely greater autonomy, greater wishes of the people and Renamo. So this
independence, greater room for political may be one of the smartest steps the
manoeuvring, etc., and it would make president has ever taken in his
sense that for this new municipal relationship with the co-operation
mandate, which starts after the 2018 partners.
elections, a new package should come
out. So I think there is an important Source: Deutsche Welle
opportunity to put this decentralisation
package into effect with the municipal MDM wants a place at the dialogue
bodies elected at the 2018 elections. table
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“I think it diminishes the head of state to planned to bring the leadership of the
say he will report everything that is government and Renamo, as well as that
happening in the dialogue to the MDM of the people, together in a “national
president. I think that the President should conference on peace, reconciliation and
use his constitutional powers and reserve development”, with the aim of trying to
a place for the MDM in the political persuade the government and Renamo to
dialogue”, he said. sign a final agreement and to ensure
forgiveness among Mozambicans.
Bismarque also said it was necessary to
“lay the foundations for a true national At the time, Salomão Muchanga,
reconciliation, because one cannot speak president of the Youth Parliament, who
of peace without reconciliation”. Some in hosted the above panel, said that the
Frelimo, however, consider the MDM country “needs a sincere, urgent and
position on the current political dialogue to sustainable peace” and “enough
be too pessimistic. excludable dialogue” promoted by the
executive and by the opposition party.
The MDM currently governs in four
important municipalities: Beira (Sofala However, on Friday 3 March, Dhlakama
Province), Nampula (Nampula Province), said that: “it is not necessary for civil
Quelimane and Guruè (both in Zambézia society to pull up a chair to be at the
Province). negotiating table”.
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role players. In addition, the women’s continue to work for a society of equality
league demanded the return of their between men and women.
party’s base in Nampula, which was taken
on 8 March 2012. “The Women’s Detachment was the
prelude to a broad front for the
“The 8th of March reminds us of 8 March emancipation of Mozambican women”,
2012, when our colleagues in Nampula said President Nyusi. “These women
could not celebrate International Women’s dedicated their lives to ensuring that
Day, because our headquarters were Mozambique would be free of the colonial
stormed. We therefore appeal to the yoke. That is why, 50 years later, we pay
government and to President Filipe Nyusi homage to the women of the DF, for
– who says he wants peace – to return to bearing privations during the liberation
us our headquarters in Nampula”, said struggle, and, above all, for overcoming
Maria Ines Martins, president of the those privations”.
Renamo Women’s League.
All Mozambicans, he added, are called
Source: O País upon to make the dreams of those women
their own dreams.
President Nyusi praises courage of the
Frelimo women’s detachment The ideals that inspired the women of the
DF, said the President, continue to inspire
On Saturday 4 March, President Filipe the women of today. “We are profoundly
Nyusi praised the courage and grateful to you for your determination, for
determination of the 25 women who your honesty, and for the example of
founded the Women’s Detachment of the heroism which you set for the
Frelimo guerrilla army exactly 50 years Mozambican people, and particularly for
ago, on 4 March 1967. the youths of today and tomorrow”, he
declared.
Addressing a ceremony in Maputo
celebrating the anniversary, President President Nyusi pledged that his
Nyusi described the Women’s government will continue to prioritise
Detachment (DF) as an expression of the gender equality, and reaffirmed his
unequivocal determination of women to undertaking to continue working for the
take part in the construction of the consolidation of peace, national unity and
country. social well-being.
The women of the DF, he said, cleared He reiterated his invitation to all
the path for the affirmation of a society Mozambicans to advance together in the
free of discrimination based on gender, search for lasting peace and tranquillity,
where there would be equal opportunities for sustainable development, and for a
for all before the law. social and political environment in which
everyone can make Mozambique their
The founders of the DF, he continued, had own house, where they can live, work and
faced and defeated those voices who prosper.
opposed the inclusion of women in the
national liberation struggle. The best way Source: Agencia de Informacao de
of honouring their sacrifices was to Moçambique
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National Assembly ratifies African constitutional rule and to see that those
Charter on Democracy who sought to overthrow a legitimate
government are brought to justice.
On Thursday 9 March, the National
Assembly unanimously passed a motion Any unconstitutional change of
to ratify the African Charter on government will also lead to the
Democracy, Elections and Governance. suspension of the country concerned from
the AU, and “punitive economic
The Charter was adopted at the 2007 measures” may be taken against those
African Union (AU) heads of state summit involved in overthrowing democratic
and Mozambique signed the document in legitimacy.
2010.
This was entirely uncontroversial, and the
The Charter’s declared intentions are “to only change sought by deputies was to
promote adherence to the universal improve the Portuguese translation of the
values and principles of democracy and Charter.
respect for human rights”, and “the
principle of the rule of law premised upon Source: Agencia de Informacao de
respect for and the supremacy of the Moçambique
Constitution and constitutional order”.
Labour law to be revised this year
This entails “the holding of regular free
and fair elections to institutionalise Mozambique’s labour law will be changed
legitimate authority of representative this year, a decade after it came into
government as well as the democratic force, the Ministry of Labour, Employment
change of governments”. and Social Security announced on
Tuesday 7 March in a press release.
The Charter also commits AU members to
political pluralism, the separation of The revision is intended to adapt
powers, promotion of gender equality, and regulations to the growing demands of the
the effective participation of citizens in labour market, including the start of
governance. several new projects and a fall in
economic activity.
Signatories to this Charter are obliged “to
strengthen and institutionalise civilian The Ministry statement does not specify
control over the armed and security the points that will be changed, but it is
forces”, and “to take legislative and anticipated that these will be identified by
regulatory measures to ensure that those the Consultative Committee on Labour, a
who attempt to remove an elected body made up of employers, workers and
government through unconstitutional the government.
means are dealt with in accordance with
the law”. The process will take place in two parts,
comprising of a survey of the points that
In the event of a coup, or other should be revised based on the country’s
unconstitutional transfer of power, the experience since the implementation of
signatories of this charter are committed the current legislation, followed by the
to working together to restore revision process itself. The Ministry of
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Labour intends to extend the discussion to The President was accompanied on his
other stakeholders, such as academics. visit by the Minister of Public Works,
Housing and Water Resources, Carlos
The law will not be replaced, Minister Martinho, along with staff of the
Vitória Diogo explains. The goal is to Presidency and other state institutions.
catch up, as the country has grown very
quickly in the last 10 years while labour On Monday 13 March, President Nyusi
legislation has remained unchanged. will travel to Japan for a four-day visit at
the invitation of the Japanese Prime
“The country has made very significant Minister, Shinzo Abe.
progress in these last 10 years, which has
left some of these issues out of balance, Source: Folha de Maputo/Zitamar News
not only in the social, economic, labour
and legal fields”, the press release reads. Why opposition parties in southern
Africa struggle to win power
Minister Diogo stressed “the importance of
this revision, considering that this may Over the last three decades there’s been
mean creating the conditions for more some progress towards institutionalising
investment, and with that the creation of multiparty democracy in sub-Saharan
more jobs in the country, because all Africa. Despite this, elections in the region
reform, whether legal or otherwise, should rarely result in changes of government.
have as its goal the creation of a good
business environment and flexibility in the Arecent survey by Afrobarometer – a non-
market”. Source: O País partisan African research network – sheds
some light on why this is the case.
President Nyusi in Sofala on working
visit The survey, which involved 9,500
interviews conducted in 2014-15 in
On Friday 10 March, President Filipe Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South
Nyusi travelled to the city of Beira to Africa and Zimbabwe, found widespread
commence a two-day working visit to support for multiparty politics.
Sofala Province.
But the results also show that opposition
The head of the state visited areas parties face major obstacles to winning
affected by the floods in Beira to learn majority support. These include the fact
about residents’ current situation and that they aren’t trusted as much as
ongoing mitigation measures. governing parties and that very often they
aren’t seen as a viable alternative to the
While in Beira, the President inaugurated dominant ruling party.
the Inhamízua Water Distributor Centre,
financed by the Mozambican government All five countries are governed by parties
and the World Bank as part of the Water that emerged from liberation movements
Supply and Institutional Support Project and have been in power for decades since
(WASIS) as part of a programme of independence. Although some of these
investments for the improvement and incumbents have lost some electoral
expansion of the city water supply system. support in recent years, opposition
support has not been high enough to
unseat them.
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This is particularly so in South Africa and This suggests that opposition parties
Zimbabwe. While eight in 10 citizens in might put off potential voters if they are
the two countries report poor government seen to be constantly criticising the ruling
performance on their top policy priority, party rather than contributing to the
unemployment, only 37% say that another country’s development.
political party could solve the problem.
Opposition parties might do better if they
highlight their policy platforms and gain
citizen confidence in their plans and
capabilities.
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SECURITY
US sees “low- intensity civil war” in arbitrary and extra-judicial executions, and
Mozambique the lack of respect for civil liberties”.
The annual report on human rights The document underlines that the
prepared by the US State Department government has taken some steps to
uses the term “low-intensity civil war”, investigate these violations but that
coined by the Mozambican Human Rights “impunity has continued to be a problem
League, to describe the situation in the at all levels” and gives the example of
country. alleged government-sponsored “death
squads” targeting Renamo members.
“Clashes between the government and “The government has promised to
Renamo, which the Mozambican Human investigate these activities, but so far no
Rights League regards as a ‘low-intensity charges have been laid,” the report
civil war’, have increased in the rural observes.
areas of central and north-western
Mozambique and have contributed to over Source: Lusa
10,000 people fleeing to Malawi”, the
document, released on 3 March, says. Government forces accused being
behind various abuses in central
The US notes that observers of the 2014 Mozambique
election, which brought Frelimo’s Filipe
Nyusi to power, found a “lack of During the first two months of the truce
transparency” in the counting of votes and (January and February), the FADM
other irregularities. The report says that stationed in the provinces of Manica and
“the country has experienced significant Sofala were accused of carrying out at
upheaval due to the continuing armed least two attacks targeting Renamo
conflict between the Defence and Security guerrillas, and were linked to various
Forces and the militarised members of the forms of abuse and ill-treatment against
opposition Renamo party”. the local population. According to Renamo
leader, Afonso Dhlakama, in Gorongosa
The State Department also recalls the (Sofala Province) the FADM “behaved
discovery of mass graves, and says that: badly”, burning tents and looting goods.
“although the government blocked access
to the site, journalists found about a dozen In the locality of Nhassacara, in the
bodies scattered in the surrounding bush”. administrative post of Nhapassa, Báruè
district (Manica Province), government
“Although a parliamentary inquiry has not forces allegedly carried out an attack
reached any definitive conclusion [on against the Renamo guerrillas stationed in
these mass graves], it was the first time the area. According to Dhlakama, his men
such a research commission was formed”, did not respond to this provocation
the authors of the report add. because they were not ordered to.
The US understands, therefore, that “the Another attack was allegedly carried out
most significant human rights problems [in on Sunday 26 February, when forces from
the country] are internal conflict, the the independent Chimoio battalion carried
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out an incursion to the Renamo base in Dhlakama accuses the FADM of violating
the town of Chua, Manica district. Once the agreement by ignoring the patrol
again, the Renamo guerrillas allegedly boundary. “Last week they [the FADM]
refrained from responding because they took two women and forced them to
were not given permission to react. spend the night at a FADM position in
According to Dhlakama, the FADM Tazaronda.
apologised for their action two days later
and the government was informed of the Source: @Verdade
alleged incident.
Renamo members kidnapped in Manica
Dhlakama insists that the situation in
Mozambique is calm and that attacks On Monday 6 March, unidentified men
targeting Renamo bases have stopped. beat and kidnapped two members of
However, he laments the constant Renamo, when they tried to re-open a
incidents that violate human rights. Renamo office at Honde, in Barue district
(Manica Province). The Honde office was
“I do not wish to elaborate on this”, closed during the renewal of the Renamo
Dhlakama said on Friday 3 March via a insurgency in 2016. Honde is near the site
telephone conference held with journalists of major Renamo ambushes against
to announce the extension of the truce for vehicles on the road between Manica and
a further two months. Tete provinces.
According to the Renamo leader, the most With the truce declared by Renamo leader
frequent violations occur in places where Afonso Dhlakama in late December, and
populations engage in trade, whereby now extended until May, Renamo
government forces allegedly seize the members have set about resuming normal
assets of the sellers and threaten them. political activities and reopening offices
that had been temporarily closed. But in
“The FADM themselves are agents of the Honde, when Renamo members went to
Traffic Police, and they intimidate what had been their office, they found that
motorists on the public highway … they the building was flying the flag of the
stop the cars, ask for between MT15,000 ruling Frelimo Party. When they asked
and MT30,000 and if you have no money what was going on, they came under
your car stays with them”, alleges attack.
Dhlakama.
According to the witnesses who spoke to
According to Dhlakama, this behaviour is O País, about a dozen people, armed with
common and cautioned that, if his men sharp instruments, attacked the Renamo
were not as disciplined as they are, they group. One of those who escaped the
would have violated the truce in attack, Maria Joaquim, said “a group of
retaliation, “because the FADM ambush to men appeared carrying stakes and
capture men”. bamboo. They told us to run away, so we
did start to run”.
According to the guidelines of the truce,
the FADM may (for security reasons) She said they kidnapped two Renamo
patrol within a three to four kilometre members, whom she named as Bengala
radius of the Renamo bases; however, and Lucas Zacarias. So far the two are
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still missing, and the case is in the hands the Frelimo flag over it, so when they saw
of the police. the Renamo brigade coming to take the
place back, that was it, there was
“This is our office”, declared the Renamo confusion”, Matequenha said. Police have
Barue district delegate, Celestino yet to comment on the incident but have
Daimone. “During the conflict we promised clarification.
abandoned it, and our offices were
occupied by other people. This is one Meanwhile, in Quelimane (Zambézia
case. When we arrived, we approached Province), Renamo is facing no such
Frelimo to ask them what was going on, difficulties. According to O País, Renamo
and to convince them to remove their flag is resuming its political work in the
and give back our office. Then the province, and boasts that it will win the
confusion began”. 2018 municipal elections throughout
Zambézia. Speaking to Renamo members
According to unconfirmed information, an in Quelimane on Tuesday, Renamo
eyewitness told reporters that the group of official Latifo Ismael declared that the
attackers allegedly accused Bengala of truce is a reality and nobody should be
“spoiling the area by bringing armed men afraid of being threatened.
into the region”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
On the afternoon of Thursday 9 March, Moçambique/O País/Lusa/Moçambique Media
Sofrimento Matequenha, a Renamo Online/VOA Portuguese
provincial political delegate in Manica, told
reporters that investigations into the two Sofala residents return home following
missing Renamo members had not the extension of the truce
produced any new leads.
Hundreds of residents of Vunduzi (Sofala
“We went to the graveyard where they Province), who fled their homes and
said the bodies were, but they were not agricultural fields because of the political
there, and it would be useless to continue tension, have begun to return to their
to search a whole bush in vain, without homes. The return of the population is due
concrete clues”, Matequenha said, to the truce between the government and
condemning the provocation that Renamo, initially decreed in December
culminated in the disappearance of the last year and recently extended for a
party members. second time.
Matequenha has no doubt that the Following the truce, small business and
abduction was linked to the “political semi-collective passenger transport were
ignorance” of the members of Frelimo, resumed between the town of Gorongosa
whom he accused of being the instigators and casa banana, passing through
of the incident that ended in the beating Vunduzi and Satunjira. Despite the
and disappearance of the two Renamo presence of the Defence and Security
members. Forces, the local population is said to be
living without fear of a possible exchange
“They usurped and destroyed our of shots between government forces and
headquarters in the time of confusion, and Renamo men.
built their own house there and hoisted
Source: O País
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CRIME
The following graphs and map relate to the political and security incidents in Mozambique
from 01/01/2016 to 23/02/2017.
Should you wish to view the full report and additional statistics on
Mozambique incidents please email alerts@rhula.net
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as “not having the desired effect for either Renamo denies any link to
party”. disappearance of Portuguese citizen
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“More than eight months have gone by, drawn the infringement to the driver’s
and relatives of the man who disappeared attention. “I just told him that he was
have come to Mozambique several times committing an infringement. I did not
to speak with official entities, and never charge him any money”, he explained.
has the government offered this version. It
is an attempt to ‘cover the sun with the However, the Maputo police
sieve’ which can only tarnish the good spokesperson, Paulo Nazaré, said that
name of our country”, Muchanga added. the accused, whose name has not been
revealed, had been practicing this activity
Source: Lusa for some time using a letter of
identification from the traffic police. “The
Thieves on the prowl in Maputo and young man is a criminal and used a letter
Matola of identification, which he swallowed at
the time of his arrest”, Nazaré said.
Police in the cities of Maputo and Matola
have recently noticed a new tactic used by Source: @Verdade/O País
car and accessory thieves. These
criminals throw rocks at windshields in the INAE inspector detained for corruption
dead of night and spring into action when in Maputo
drivers stop to investigate and assess the
damage. Folha de Maputo says it has On Monday 6 March, Mozambique’s
information that police in Malanga and Central Office for the Fight against
Maquinag and the Mounted Brigade have Corruption (Gabinete Central do Combate
received reports from motorists who have à Corrupção, GCCC) announced the
fallen victim to this new criminal syndicate. detention of an inspector from the
National Inspectorate of Economic
Worst affected are Avenida OAU (after the Activities (Instituto de Actividades
roundabout in the Avenida 25 de Económicas INAE), who was caught red-
Setembro direction), the EN4 before the handed taking a bribe.
toll gate (especially at the pedestrian
bridges), and the Estrada-Velha in the city The inspector, who was not named, was
of Matola. caught taking MT8,000 (about US$117)
out of a total of MT30,000 demanded from
Source: Folha de Maputo the manager of a commercial
establishment (also not named) in
Fake traffic cop accused of soliciting Maputo.
bribe, swallowing vital piece of
evidence A press release from the GCCC said the
man detained was one of three inspectors
A 26-year-old man caught impersonating who inspected the establishment and then
traffic police has been in police custody demanded a bribe of MT30,000 to avoid
since Friday 3 March. The accused payment of a fine for the various
attempted to extort MT30,000 from a irregularities detected.
Portuguese driver who he claimed had
committed a traffic infringement. “This practice is a criminal offence”, said
the release, “since the INAE inspectors
The accused, however, denies the took advantage of the work they were
allegation and claims simply to have
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doing for corrupt purposes”. It urged all again. Cited in Thursday’s issue of the
business people not to pay bribes to independent newssheet Mediafax,
public servants, but instead to denounce INATTER spokesperson Vasco Tovela
to the authorities anyone seeking bribes said the frauds took place during the
or making illicit charges. multi-media written exams on driving
theory. The most common form of
The GCCC also announced the arrest of a cheating was simply to ask somebody
police officer from the health department else to sit the test. The candidate did not
of the General Command of the even enter the examination room, but just
Mozambican police force, who had sent in a surrogate, presumably an
charged candidates MT60,000 for experienced driver.
admission to an initial course at the basic
police training school at Matalane, just Given the scale of the fraud, this looks like
outside Maputo. an organised criminal enterprise, in which
significant sums of money no doubt
Candidates must be in good health before passed hands.
they can join the police and attend
courses, and this requirement opened the Most of the frauds took place over a year
path for corrupt behaviour by this ago, and so the candidates have been
individual. This arrest confirms what has called in to sit the test again. Tovela said
long been suspected – namely that that many of them already had driving
candidates for the police force are now licences: this was because the fraud was
obliged to bribe unscrupulous officers in not detected immediately, and so they had
order to join. time to sit the second, practical, part of the
test, and pick up their licences.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique But once the theoretical tests were
annulled, the driving licences of those
Large scale driving test fraud candidates became null and void, and the
uncovered in Maputo traffic police, working with INATTER, have
been confiscating them. The candidates
Over 1,100 driving tests in Maputo city will have to re-sit both the theoretical and
and province have been annulled because the practical tests.
of fraud by the candidates. The National
Institute of Land Transport (Instituto Asked about the current situation, Tovela
Nacional de Transportes Terrestres, said that, although he could not be certain
INATTER), which is responsible for that all the fraudulent schemes have been
issuing driving licences, issued a dismantled, “the situation has greatly
statement identifying the candidates improved”. So far only the INATTER
concerned, not by their names, but by bar driving centres in Maputo and the
codes, filling an entire page of the Maputo neighbouring city of Matola have been
daily paper Notícias. investigated, but Tovela said the
investigations are now being extended to
Under the driving test regulations, none of the northern city of Nampula.
these candidates should be able to obtain
a driving licence, and they must wait at Source: Mediafax/Notícias/Club of
least 12 months before sitting the test Mozambique
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Police officer in Inhambane arrested wheat from the wagons to waiting pick-up
for selling drugs trucks. The police seized four of these
vehicles.
On Friday 3 March, the PRM neutralised a
gang dedicated to the sale of drugs. The Manica provincial police spokesperson
gang was found to be in possession of an Elcídia Filipe said it was thanks to a tip-off
unspecified quantity of cocaine, heroin from the local population that the theft was
and marijuana. According to reports, a interrupted and the criminals arrested.
police officer was among those arrested. This was by no means the first such theft:
Filipe said local people had seen trains
The local police command condemned the stopping in the Messica area, and
corrupt officers behaviour and warned that unloading goods on several occasions,
a criminal case has been opened against both in broad daylight and at night.
the gang, which could result in the
expulsion of the officer from the police The train was operated by Mozambique’s
force. port and rail company CFM, which worked
with the police to identify the thieves. A
Authorities said the group was wanted for representative of the CFM central division,
their involvement in other crimes not only Luis Jone, told reporters that whenever
in the provincial capital, but also in anything of the sort happens the train
Maxixe. crew and the security accompanying the
train are asked to investigate.
Source: O País
The police at Messica had already told
Crew of train involved in wheat theft CFM that on 25 February they had
arrested recovered wheat looted from the train.
Jone said the CFM investigators then
The police arrested nine railway workers
went to the rail station at Machipanda, on
for involvement in the theft of 20 tons of
the border with Zimbabwe, “and we
wheat last month.
confirmed that grain had indeed been
The nine were members of the crew of the taken from some of the wagons”.
train that was robbed, and they helped
This flatly contradicted the version of the
organise the theft. The police arrested six
crew and the security escort who denied
of them at Messica, in the central province
there had been any theft at all, and
of Manica, and the other three in the
claimed that the wheat arrived at
neighbouring province of Sofala.
Machipanda in good condition.
The theft occurred on 25 February, when
This is not the first case of theft from
the train was carrying a cargo of wheat
trains on the Beira-Zimbabwe line in
from the port of Beira to Zimbabwe. When
recent months. “There was an incident in
the train stopped in Messica, a gang of
the village of Revue in December, when
thieves started looting the wagons. The
unspecified amounts of maize and wheat
police believe they intended to sell the
were taken”, said Jone. “Another theft
wheat on the informal market.
occurred on 2 January at Zimpinga, in
Five members of the gang were caught Gondola district, when 210 sacks of rice,
red-handed as they moved the sacks of each weighing 50 kilograms, were stolen.
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Legal proceedings in these cases have and preliminary investigations show that
been started. Assessment of the losses she was indeed raped and asphyxiated.
has not yet been concluded”.
Bila allegedly remained with the body until
As for the four pick-up trucks into which 1 March, when he buried his sister in the
the stolen wheat was being loaded when family cemetery. Residents spotted Bila in
the police struck, they have now been the process of burying his sister and
returned to their owners – even though called the police, who immediately
these men tried to bribe the head of the arrested Bila and began the process of
Messica police post, Antonio Massaite, exhuming the body.
with MT60,000 (about US$880). Massaite
refused the bribe, and the owners of the Source: @Verdade
vehicles will face charges of bribery as
well as of theft. Inharrime woman accused of
abducting a baby
Johoane Rupia, owner of the two of the
trucks, told reporters he did not know On Friday 3 March, 28-year-old Selma
where the wheat had come from. He said Américo Zavale was detained in Inhrime
he had been contacted “by the owners of district (Inhambane Province) on charges
the merchandise” to carry it into Messica of abducting a one-week-old baby from
town, a distance of about 10 kilometres, the local maternity hospital.
for which he would be paid MT2,000.
Zavale admitted that she pretended to be
(See PRM recovers 20 tons of stolen a hospital employee to gain access to the
wheat on a train in Manica - page 70, baby. The detainee told the police that
Rhula Weekly No.169). she had recently suffered a miscarriage
as a result of drug use. Zavale said that
Source: Agencia de Informacao de her husband returned to South Africa for
Moçambique/Diario de Moçambique work after learning of her pregnancy, and
so she intended to kidnap the child in
Man rapes and kills his sister in Gaza order to pass it off as her own and save
Province her marriage.
A 31-year-old man (identified as Rafael She later told the police that she does not
Paulo Bila) was recently arrested by the know what came over her, claiming to
Gaza PRM on charges rape and murder. have been taken over by the devil. The
According to reports, Bila is accused of baby was later recovered thanks to the
raping and murdering his 29-year-old collaboration of the population.
sister. Bila is believed to have killed his
sister in an attempt to spare here from Once the baby was returned to its family,
suffering from an unnamed illness. The police officials in Inharrime held sessions
crime occurred during the course of the in order to raise awareness with regard to
week 24 February to 3 March in the this type of crime, which has increased in
village of 3 de Fevereiro, Limpopo district. several areas in Mozambique over recent
Bila has allegedly confessed to the crime. months.
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Maputo man kills mother after she city, with penalties considered severe for
refuses to give him food offenders. The other expected penalty is a
fine for occupying reserved spaces
A 27-year-old man from Gondola district reserved with a higher number of vehicles
(Manica Province) was recently arrested than the corresponding legally authorised
on charges of murder. According to the area.
detainee, who admitted to the crime, on
the day of the murder he went out to In the new posture a fine equivalent to
bathe in the nearby brook, and when he MT20,000 (about US$284) will be applied
returned home he found his mother for each extra vehicle parked in any
preparing a meal. The perpetrator legally reserved space. The applicants for
demanded that his mother give him some the reservation of spaces for the parking
of the food and when she refused an of vehicles have reportedly resorted
argument broke out. several tricks to get to park extra vehicles
in such spaces.
The detainee subsequently reached for a
nearby machete and struck his mother in Source: Agencia de Informacao de
the neck, killing her. The perpetrator Moçambique/Domingo
immediately fled to Chimoio were he was
apprehended by the police. Speaking to Lack of water leads to vandalism
the PRM, the detainee said that his sister
has sent evil spirits to kill him. While the government fails to keep its
promise to supply water on alternate days,
Source: @Verdade residents in affected neighbourhoods
have diverted water pipes, while others
Maputo city mulls MT240,000 fine for are reduced to washing clothes in
illegal parking drainage ditches. Yet these residents still
receive regular bills regardless of the fact
Illegal parking in Maputo City may soon that they are not receiving any water.
get a fine of MT240,000 (around Despair has overcome Madalena
US$3,494 at current exchange rates), Matusse, a resident of Malanga
reports Agencia de Informacao de neighbourhood, west of Maputo. Water,
Moçambique. The measure, according to which she should be getting on alternate
the Domingo, “is being analysed by the days, has not run from her taps for more
Municipal Assembly” as part of a set of than two weeks.
changes in the Traffic Post that the
Municipal Council intends to implement, So Madalena goes to the drainage ditch to
due to the growing wave of illegal parking wash clothes. The government is failing to
in the country’s capital. The Municipal fulfil its promise to supply water every
Council of Maputo City believes that the other day. “I do not stay at home, I work,
illegal occupation of spaces for car but I’m here. I did not go to work because
parking must be severely punished. of this [searching for water]”. In Matola’s
Trevo neighbourhood, Marta Matlombe
The reserve of space at the level of the organises residents to divert a water pipe
Traffic Post will have a new section with a that supplies other neighbourhoods:
total of 11 articles, which will regulate “There’s no water in our backyards, so
various situations related to daily life in the today we decided to break into the
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According to the United Nations (UN), The German government has announced
about 2.1-million Mozambicans face the that it is making a further €1.18-million
prospect of hunger, an increase of (about US$1.25-million) available for food
700,000 compared to November, “in the aid and the acquisition of seeds in the
face of declining stocks and while waiting southern province of Inhambane.
for the next harvest” in April.
This aid follows €550,000 donated last
“Harvesting starts at the end of March and year, via the NGO Welthungerhilfe
in April, and as the months to the next (German Agrarian Action), for food aid
harvest pass by, last harvest stocks are and combating the effects of the El Niño
declining and the market is also more weather phenomenon in Inhambane.
difficult for buyers. Hence the increase in
the number of people affected”, World According to a Tuesday 7 March press
Food Programme (WFP) representative in release from German Co-operation, last
Mozambique, Karin Manente, told year’s project reached over 10,000 people
reporters. in the drought stricken districts of Mabote
and Govuro.
Last year, Mozambique was one of the
countries worst affected by the drought The new aid will allow German Agrarian
caused by the El Niño phenomenon, and Action to extend its support to Massinga
by mid-2016 international organisations district, and to cover about 25,000 people.
were already predicting a food crisis
between November of last year and April The food aid provided through this project
2017. will be supplemented by the provision of
seeds to small farmers.
According to Manente, in November the
number of people at risk of hunger The aim, the release says, “is to meet the
amounted to 1.4-million, but after a need for basic foodstuffs, and to promote
reassessment carried out by the production”.
government and partners including the
WFP, “the estimate increased to 2.1- Massinga was one of the districts worst hit
million”. by cyclone Dineo, which struck
Inhambane on the night of 15 February.
She said that the majority of people facing
acute food insecurity are in the south of The release adds that Germany has also
the country, in Gaza, Inhambane and recently provided €500,000 to the NGO
Maputo – and in the centre, especially in CARE-Mozambique, and €13-million to
Tete, Sofala and Manica provinces. the WFP, to improve the food situation of
people affected by last year’s drought,
Source: Lusa and, over the medium-term, to make them
more resilient to future dry periods.
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German Agrarian Action has been “We are having problems acquiring seeds
operating in Mozambique since the late as part of our response, and we need
1980s, providing emergency aid, and partners quickly”, said João, adding that
supporting rural development, and the the district had hoped to harvest more
provision of water and sanitation services. than 121,000 hectares of miscellaneous
crops by the end of the first phase of the
Source: Agencia de Informacao de current agricultural campaign.
Moçambique/Observador/Lusa
The districts of Chókwè, Chibuto and Xai-
About 900 hectares of crops lost in Xai are similarly affected by the Limpopo
southern Mozambique exceeding alert levels, with the National
Disaster Management Institute (Instituto
Some 900 hectares of miscellaneous Nacional de Gestão de Calamides, INGC)
agricultural crops have been lost in the estimating that about 34,000 families have
Guijá district (Gaza Province) to the rising been affected. Heavy rainfall in South
waters of the Limpopo River, and Africa and Zimbabwe, through which the
authorities have issued an alert. Limpopo flows before reaching
Mozambique and the Indian Ocean, is to
“The situation is complex and requires our
blame.
attention”, said Guijá district administrator
Arlindo Maluleque, adding that there are The INGC maintains that after the floods
points at which the rise of the river have receded somewhat, the population
destroyed bridges, constraining travel must take advantage of the fertile period
between localities. to relaunch agricultural production.
According to Maluleque, about 650 small Source: Lusa/O País
farmers have been affected by the floods,
affecting mainly the maize and tomato “I went to sleep hungry in this land
crops, which are normally exported to almost all of my childhood, but I
other districts, including the capital. cannot watch my children suffer: It kills
me”
“At this point, according to what we’ve
been told, we will be hit by another wave In Guijá district (Gaza Province), “things
and this worries us”, Maluleque says. He are still complicated”, and after months of
says that the long-term solution to the severe drought, flooding is now the
problem is the construction of proper problem, with the rising Limpopo River
water control infrastructure. affecting hundreds of farmers and
menacing the approaching growing
The Director of Economic Activities in season. A little over four kilometres from
Guijá, Acácio João, told reporters that the Caniçada, Rosita Muchanga, a 43-year-
situation is complex and that the district old small farmer, assesses the impact of
government has little option but to urge the floods in her machamba, a plot of
people to carry on planting and take about 50 square meters on one of the
advantage of what little rain has fallen in banks of the Nkolawane River, a tributary
the region after almost a year of severe of the Limpopo.
drought.
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Rosita explained to Lusa that she has lost in the river plain. “It is a paradox and a
almost everything with the rise of the river cyclical problem. We thought times would
and today, threatened by what she calls improve with the rain, but that did not
the “constant enemy” of the more than happen”, says director of economic
92,000 people of this small forgotten activities in Guijá, Acácio João. More than
district in Gaza, she fears for her six 900 hectares have been declared as lost
children’s future, because, since “Papa in this first phase alone, he says, and,
Marcos [her late husband] died”, the field according to information from the INGC,
had been the mainstay of her family’s “things will get worse”.
survival.
Although the Limpopo problem is “not
The pools of water in the sprawling fields new”, having beset the administrative post
on the banks of the Nkolawane are of Caniçada in 2013 and neighbouring
testament to the frustration of those who, Chókwè, so far nothing has not been done
like Rosita, believed the new year would to avoid the recurrence of the situation,
usher in “better days”, and now, between which requires “serious and intentional
the mud and wet sand, reaps what little is intervention”. For the director of the
left to avoid an “old and well-known district’s economic activities, building
enemy” in the lands of Gaza: hunger. water management infrastructure in the
Mapai region, 400 kilometres from the
“I have no problem; I went to sleep hungry Caniçada administrative post, would
in this land almost all of my childhood. But facilitate water control and ensure that
I cannot watch my children suffer. It kills farmers were able to use the resource
me”, she confesses as she cleans her well.
muddy hoe. “It’s like a curse: when the
nightmare is not the drought, it’s the that But the dream seems distant, judging by
water takes everything”. the basic challenges that the district still
faces, such as the construction of roads
By the end of last year, Guijá, bordered on and a bridge over the Nkolawane River
the southwest by the second largest river and the improvement of the health and
in southern Africa, was struggling with a education systems. “It would be a divine
severe drought that left some 13,000 blessing to have infrastructure like that.
families in food insecurity after ruining two We know it is not easy, but it would be a
agricultural campaigns, to the horror of a relief for our population”, says Reginaldo
population dependent on subsistence Matavel, head of the Chivoguene
agriculture. administrative post, one of the worst
affected with more than 87 hectares of
With the little rain that fell in late February various crops lost.
after almost two years of hopelessness,
farmers in arid Guijá planted crops such Matavel says the alternative has been to
as corn and tomatoes, whose production, encourage people to sell their livestock to
in addition to domestic consumption, use ensure that there is food, a process he
to supply neighbouring districts as well as says is complicated in that most of the
the Mozambican capital. But with heavy people had already lost their livestock to
rains in South Africa and Zimbabwe, the the drought.
Limpopo rose and flooded a significant
part of the agricultural land, mostly located
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“Things are not easy”, said the head of the Friday, João Machatine, the general
village of Chivoguene, adding that only director of the Mozambican relief agency,
the help of partners and the INGC had, in the INGC urged local communities to
many cases, ensured that the district accept the advice from the authorities and
government was able to assist farmers in stay away from the river. His key message
times of disaster. “Only a miracle will was that people should move,
finally solve this situation. It’s not possible immediately they receive the alert, rather
for people to live like this anymore”, than risk being isolated by the rising
Matavel says. waters.
But, pending the miracle, Rosita, like the Further north, the Save River has, for the
more than 600 farmers who have lost their second time this year, inundated the town
crops, are tired of “all this poverty” and, of Machanga, in the central province of
once again assailed by the “curse” of Sofala. The sharp rise in the level of the
Guijá, thinks of leaving everything and Save has been attributed to torrential
going to the capital. “I am tired of looking rains in Zimbabwe. The administrator of
at my children with nothing, and the Machanga district, Tome José, cited by
question that never leave me is: what Rádio Moçambique, said that the flooding
have we done to deserve this hunger?” has affected 5,100 households in 20
she asks. villages.
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overturned, and the two children drowned. Chicualacuala road (the road which links
All the adults were rescued. Guijá to the northern districts of Gaza).
The driver escaped through a window in
The river has inundated parts of Chókwè, the vehicle and told the police he had not
Guijá and Chibuto districts, although at noticed that the road was cut.
the weekend it did not reach the predicted
height of 8.3 metres. This would have Source: Agencia de Informacao de
been 3.3 metres above flood alert level, Moçambique
and enough for the river to have swept
over the top of the dyke built to protect Two hundred people forcibly removed
Chókwè town. The maximum reported from Limpopo flooding risk areas
height of the Limpopo at Chókwè was 7.5
metres. A week ago, the Limpopo was on the
verge of registering depths of more than
In Chókwè, 1,366 hectares of crops were eight meters, enough to overflow its
inundated, and 600 of these are regarded protective dam and cause severe flooding
as lost. In Guijá, 906 hectares are flooded, in the lower parts of the Chókwè, Chibuto
and in Chibuto more than 300 hectares and Guijá districts.
are said to be lost.
After causing two deaths, flooding crops
Visiting the Limpopo Valley at the and cutting roads, water levels in the
weekend, João Machatine, the general basin have started to fall, but some areas
director of the INGC, said that, when the remain flooded and the residents there
waters retreat, it is crucial to take have refused to leave voluntarily. As such,
advantage of the humidity and replant. more than 200 people have been forcibly
removed from the area for their own
“We shall work with our partners to reduce safety.
food aid, and bank on acquiring seeds”,
said Machatine. Chókwè needs 22 tons of A reduction of water flow has also been
seeds, Guijá 40 tons and Chibuto 10 tons. seen in the Save Basin, where floods
Two thirds of these requirements are for destroyed 47 houses and necessitated the
maize seeds and the rest for beans. opening of three accommodation centres
in Sofala province’s Machanga district.
Machatine praised the local authorities for
their prompt response to the flooding, but Source: O País
noted there are still people who ignore
Save floods affect 6,000 people in Nova
warnings. This was particularly the case
Mambone
with warning signs placed on roads that
have been cut by flooding. At least 6,000 people have been affected
by the flooding of the Save River in Nova
Some motorists are still trying to drive
Mambone, Govuro district (Inhambane
through flooded roads. According to the
Province). Water levels are falling, but, at
police in Guijá, one vehicle owned by the
more than 5.5 meters, are still
National Roads Administration
considerably above alert levels.
(Administração Nacional de Estradas,
ANE) was swept away by the waters Source: TVM
which had cut the Canicado-
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World Bank provides US$80-million for resolve the issue. That is why we have
education in Mozambique come to the governor, to see if he can”,
bursary student Elbi de Jesus says. The
The World Bank is committed to financing situation is even more embarrassing for
education in Mozambique over the course fellow students coming from other districts
of the next 10 years, making US$80- and provinces, who say that they live in
million available annually. The aid rented houses and use the money to pay
accounts for 20% of the approximately rent and buy food and study materials. As
US$400-million that the World Bank a result, some of them are now without a
allocates to the country. The funds are place to live, since the owners of the
intended to increase the number of houses they rent have locked the doors
Mozambicans with a high school diploma until the arrears are paid.
to 70% of the total population.
Such is the case of Carlitos Deixa. “The
The information was released on owners of the house where I live locked
Wednesday 8 March in Maputo by the the door with my studying material inside,
regional director of the World Bank and so I cannot get it to go to college”, he
representative of that financial institution says. Talking to the governor was not
in Mozambique, Mark Lundell, during a possible, apparently due to scheduling
visit to the Pedagogical University. Mark conflicts, but an official met three students
Lundell said that increasing human to discuss the problem and told them that
resource training will enable the country to everything possible would be done to
meet other levels of development. resolve the issue.
Source: Folha de Maputo Following that, O País contacted the
Provincial Director of Economy and
Student grants unpaid for five months: Finance in Zambézia, Graciano Francisco,
570 affected at Pedagogical University who acknowledged that the payments
Zambézia were late, but said that measures were
being taken to alleviate the situation.
A total of 570 students from the
Pedagogical University in Quelimane Graciano said that he had arranged with
(Zambézia Province) have not received university management for them to use
their grants since September 2016. their own revenue fund to pay just one
Amounts of MT2,500 per month should month’s grant, and as soon as the
have been transferred into the students’ government transferred funds, it would
accounts for five months now, but so far subtract the university contribution and
nothing has been paid. Unable to obtain deposit the rest into the students’
any explanation at university level, the accounts. However, David
students demonstrated in front of the Mudzenguerere, head of the university’s
provincial governor’s office. social services department, said that while
the university had every desire to mollify
“We are worried about the money of the
the students, it unfortunately did not have
scholarship students that, since
the money to do so.
September last year, has not been paid.
We went to the Social Affairs department Source: O País
of our college and they said they could not
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HEALTH
Maputo prisoners unable to receive ensure that essential medicines and
food from relatives due to cholera vaccines are available regularly and on
outbreak time, in the necessary amounts, in
adequate pharmaceutical form and
For the past two weeks, prisoners in dosages, and at prices that citizens can
Maputo city and province have been pay.
unable to receive food from relatives
owing to the cholera outbreak in Maputo The bill also seeks to guarantee the
and Nampula. quality of medicines and vaccines so that
“only legally recognised, safe and
On 16 February, the Ministry of Health effective products circulate in the country”.
revealed that the cities of Maputo, Matola
and Nampula were experiencing a cholera Medicines that are not registered may not
outbreak. be sold or distributed.
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Families in Gaza refuse to have houses demanding money. “We do not have any
sprayed for mosquitoes information on this subject”, Chivurre
says, added that the public should,
Gaza residents accuse teams of asking however, “report any such cases, because
for money to spray insecticide. The spraying is free”.
spraying campaign ends this week, with a
13,000 of an expected 44,000 houses Fears of the population:
sprayed. Many families are refusing to
open the door to teams spraying houses Chivurre explains that there has been a
against the malaria mosquito in Xai-Xai change of insecticide and that people are
city (Gaza Province). Henriques Cumbe, refusing to have their homes sprayed
47, is one of them. He accuses because they believe the new product is
technicians of applying insecticides that not effective.
do not kill mosquitoes, unless residents
pay. “We used to use another insecticide,
which was selective for the Anopheles
“There are certain collaborators who are mosquito, but today we are using a more
not serious, and in other families they will comprehensive insecticide that kills
only dirty the walls and dirty the clothes. practically all insects present in the house.
Sometimes they act in bad faith, but when I think that if people are aware of the
they negotiate with the owner of the effect of this insecticide they would be
house, they spray with the medicine that more receptive”.
kills the mosquito. It is this situation we
have in Mozambique: corruption”, he Chivurre says that the sector and
claims. Cumbe says payments vary community leaders are trying to persuade
between MT100 and MR200 (between people of the benefits of the process,
€1.5 and €2.70). especially when set beside the cost of
being treated for malaria.
No complaints:
The spraying campaign has been ongoing
The people are claiming that state for two months and came to an end on
operatives are becoming like private ones. Friday 10 March.
Spraying teams have been denied access
primarily in Xai-Xai’s Marien Ngoabi and Source: Deutsche Welle
Patrice Lumumba neighbourhoods. As
INAE incinerates rotten fish meant for
Deutsche Welle Africa learned in late
hospital patients in Pemba
December, hundreds of people have
refused to have their houses sprayed, The INAE in Cabo Delgado Province
although more than 36,000 cases of incinerated 500 kilograms of rotten horse
malaria were diagnosed in Gaza Province mackerel.
in January alone, up 57% compared from
the same period last year. The mackerel had been sold to the
Provincial Hospital of Pemba to be served
According to Victor Chivurre, head of the to the patients during mealtime.
Department of Public Health at the
Provincial Health Directorate of Gaza, no Source: TVM
one has so far accused the sprayers of
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INAE warns bakers to follow was that they should clean the place up”,
recommendations Freitas told the meeting. Two weeks later,
the inspectors went back “and everything
On Thursday 9 March, the General was the same”, she continued. “When our
Inspector of the INAE, Maria Freitas, staff returned to one of the bakeries, the
warned bakers to co-operate with her owner said: are you back again? So we
inspectors, and to comply with all the ordered that bakery to be closed”.
recommendations made during
inspections. She was speaking in Maputo The manager of one bakery, Lindo
during a meeting with owners and Mondlane, called for training of bakers, so
managers of bakeries in the capital, that they would be able to obey the
following a series of inspections during standards. “There is no school that trains
which INAE ordered the temporary bakers”, he lamented. But the images of
closure of several restaurants and filthy kitchens shown on Mozambican
bakeries because the filthy conditions television channels are matters of basic
found there posed a clear threat to public hygiene, not of some complicated training
health. routine.
These coercive inspections, Freitas said, Ntiaze Amugy, the owner of another
were taking place because INAE had Maputo bakery, attacked the media. He
found that without them commercial did not want potential clients to see the
establishments simply ignored the real state of his premises. “Those pictures
recommendations left by inspectors. damage all our work”, he said. “In a few
“There are bakeries represented here minutes the image of our institution is very
which were visited last year”, she said. badly painted. INAE should not bring the
“They were visited again this year, and press on its inspection visits”.
nothing had changed. This means that
such a bakery is not interested in Freitas said she took no pleasure in
cooperating”. seeing film of filthy kitchens either. But
when that was the reality, it had to be
She insisted that the closures had nothing shown.
to do with how old an establishment was.
No bakery was shut down merely because Meanwhile INAE has allowed the Cristal
it was operating out of an old building. restaurant, in central Maputo to reopen,
Freitas stressed that INAE was taking an after its filthy conditions had led to a
aggressive attitude on public health issues closure order last week. But the restaurant
at the request of the Association of management has decided to close the
Mozambican Bakers (Associação Cristal down definitively, because it
Moçambicana de Panificadores, regards problems with the sewage system
AMOPAO) itself. as a responsibility, not of the restaurant
but of Maputo City Council. The
The order to close an establishment was management had approached the Council
not automatic, she explained, but was to deal with the problem, but to no avail.
only given when the threat to public health
was clear. “We visited some bakeries, Source: Agencia de Informacao de
which I shall not name, and found they Moçambique
were full of spiders’ webs. What we said
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The government will continue to shut The vendors confirmed receipt of the
down irregular business premises and will notification and say they are willing to
not give in to blackmail, the Minister of comply with all recommendations.
Industry and Commerce Ernesto Tonela
says. The City Council is reviewing its position
in order to develop a legal mechanism
The INAE will continue to shut down regulating the sale of food from vehicles.
restaurants that do not observe hygiene
measures. Source: O País
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were journalists in Beira and officials of and Mutarara was simply appointed by an
the provincial governor’s office. office employee.
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Police seize 16 guns from poachers in The rhino population is also under heavy
Matutuíne pressure, and currently almost non-
existent in Mozambique.
Police have seized 16 weapons used by
poachers in the Matutuíne district (Maputo The illegal trade extends to Asia, where
Province), spokesperson Inácio Dina elephant tusks and rhinoceros horn are
revealed at the weekly police press used in traditional medicine and the
conference. manufacture of ornaments.
Dina did not specify the number of arrests The project was launched in Maputo on
made during the operation, but said that Thursday at a ceremony chaired by the
all those who were illegally in possession Minister of Land, Environment and Rural
of weapons were in police custody. Development, Celso Correia.
Poverty and the growth of the international Poaching has devastated Mozambique’s
market for ivory are cited as the main elephant herds.
causes of poaching, and Mozambique’s
location near countries considered the The last elephant census, in 2014,
centre of the activity has contributed to its showed that over the previous five years
spread here. the elephant population had fallen by
48%, from just over 20,000 in 2009 to
The south of the country is home to many around 10,300 in 2014.
poachers who also cross the border to
poach elephants in South Africa’s Half of the French grant, €3-million, will be
neighbouring Kruger Park. spent on strengthening surveillance and
combating poaching in the Niassa
Official figures indicate that Mozambique Reserve (in the far north), and in the
has lost 48% of its elephant population in Limpopo National Park (bordering on
the past five years and may be banned South Africa’s Kruger Park).
from international trade as a result of lack
of clarity in animal management.
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These are the two conservation areas Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected
worst hit by the slaughter of elephants and rhino horns
rhinos. Indeed, it is now feared that both
African species of rhinoceros may now be On Wednesday 8 March, Hong Kong
extinct in Mozambique. Customs seized about seven kilograms of
suspected rhino horns at Hong Kong
A further €1-million will go towards the International Airport. The horns have an
institutional strengthening of ANAC’s estimated market value of US$1.4-million.
protection and monitoring sector.
Customs officers intercepted a 21-year-
The final €2-million will be channelled to old male passenger at the airport on
the Foundation for the Conservation of Wednesday. The man arrived in Hong
Biodiversity (Biofund) to finance the Kong from Maputo via Addis Ababa
conservation areas and increase their (Ethiopia). During Customs clearance,
capacity for administrative and financial about seven kilograms of suspected rhino
management. horns wrapped in aluminium sheets and
adhesive tape were found inside his
Launched in June 2015 by President check-in luggage.
Filipe Nyusi, Biofund seeks to mobilise
finance to cover the operational costs of The man was subsequently arrested and
Mozambique’s 19 conservation areas and the case was handed over to the
zones of special protection. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation
Department for follow-up investigation.
The project will last for four years. The
activities to be undertaken over that Under the Protection of Endangered
period include a new national census of Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance,
elephants, monitoring of elephants, any person found guilty of importing or
notably through aerial surveillance, legal exporting an endangered species without
assistance for prosecuting environmental a licence is liable to a maximum fine of
crimes, creating a data base on poaching, US$5-million and imprisonment for two
and opening new posts for game years.
wardens.
Source: 7th Space Interactive
In the fight against poaching and ivory
smuggling, ANAC also hopes to improve Tanzania jails notorious elephant
its co-operation with the recently created poacher
police unit to protect the environment and
natural resources, with the customs Tanzania’s most notorious elephant
service, with the institutions of the poacher, nicknamed “The Devil”, has
administration of justice and with been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
community leaders.
Boniface Matthew Maliango is believed to
With this grant, French support for have been responsible for killing
Mozambique’s conservation since 2005 thousands of elephants.
has risen to €31.5-million.
He was arrested in Dar es Salaam in
Source: Agencia de Informacao de September 2015 after a year-long
Moçambique manhunt.
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His crimes were the focus of a Netflix The WWF-SA further stated last Monday,
documentary film, The Ivory Game, after the statistics were released by the
produced by actor Leonardo DiCaprio. department, that it was concerning the
poaching figures showed an equivalent of
Maliango’s nickname, ‘Shetani’, means three rhinos a day were lost to poaching
devil in Swahili. and smuggling syndicates.
He was sentenced alongside his brothers, In a statement, the WWF-SA said: “The
Lucas Mathayo Maliango and Abdallah reported reduction of nearly 20% in the
Ally Chaoga. number of rhino carcasses found in
Kruger National Park to 662 is to be
The three were arrested in October 2015 applauded in the face of the increased
while attempting to smuggle tusks worth number of illegal incursions into the
more than US$850,000. Kruger National Park. However, the
apparent decline in numbers of white
Maliango was accused of supplying ivory rhinos within the park must be a cause for
to Chinese citizen Yang Fenglan, known concern.
as the “Ivory Queen”, who is on trial in
Tanzania for trafficking more than 700 “Furthermore, we note that criminal
elephant tusks worth US$2.5-million. syndicates have shifted their focus in
response to these law enforcement
The 47-year-old Tanzanian citizen was actions, and the impacts of poaching have
found guilty of commanding 15 networks swept across South Africa. Key
of illegal hunters and ivory traffickers populations in KwaZulu-Natal, in
operating in Tanzania, Burundi, Zambia, particular, faced this impact in 2016, with
Kenya and Mozambique. 161 rhinos killed in that province, an
Source: BBC News
increase of 38% from the previous year”.
South Africa still losing three rhinos a While the WWF-SA was positive about the
day – WWF-SA “focused efforts” of the South African
Police Service, which showed an increase
WWF called on all countries implicated in in arrests, and the Directorate for Priority
the illicit trade in rhino horn to collaborate Crime Investigation, which disrupted and
and address wildlife trafficking as a combated wildlife trackers last year, the
transnational syndicated criminal activity. independent conservation organisation
said, “the rate of successful prosecutions
It would be premature to regard South still remains to be seen”.
Africa’s statistics for 2016 that show a
continued decline in the number of rhinos “We call on all countries implicated in the
illegally killed in the country over the past illicit trade in rhino horn to collaborate and
two years, as released by the Department address wildlife trafficking as a
of Environmental Affairs last Monday, “as transnational syndicated criminal activity.
a reversal in the fortunes for SA’s rhino In addition to on-going anti-poaching
population”, the World Wide Fund for efforts at country level, we need to see
Nature in South Africa (WWF-SA) warns. tougher law enforcement and
prosecutions of syndicates implicated in
the transnational trafficking and use of
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rhino horn, including high level syndicate “In terms of the draft regulations for
members located in source, transit and domestic trade in rhino horn, we are
market countries, such as Mozambique seriously concerned about the challenges
and Vietnam”, said WWF-SA. that law enforcement and permitting
officers would face in trying to manage
Dr Jo Shaw, rhino programme manager parallel legal and illegal trade and exports
for WWF-SA, commented: “A decade has – especially around linkages to
now passed since the initial upsurge in international wildlife trafficking networks
poaching in South Africa and huge effort and will be submitting detailed comments
has been invested in rhino protection yet to the department in this regard”, said
the situation is still out of control and the Shaw, adding that corruption hampered
toll on those working to address the efforts at all levels.
challenge in the region is also
unsustainably high”. “This year must see greater collaborative
partnerships between conservation and
Shaw said a more holistic approach in anti-corruption communities to deepen
addressing the drivers of wildlife crime understanding of corruption risks and
was needed, rather than “military-style mitigation strategies”.
interventions” that provided short-term
wins but came with “longer-term financial Source: The Citizen
and socio-economic costs”.
END
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