Mozambique News Agency
AIM Reports
President Filipe Nyusi has called for peaceful coexistence and solidarity between nations in order to boost international cooperation for mutual development. According to President Nyusi, who was speaking on 15 September in Havana at the Group 77 + China extraordinary summit, “this is the only way we believe that we can develop the humanity in which we have all participated”.
As a member state of the Group of 77 + China, he said, Mozambique sees its participation in this high-level meeting as an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to the ideals of cooperation and solidarity between developing nations. According to the President, “We reiterate our hope that the summit declaration will be realised so that science, technology, and innovation are at the service of the sustainable and harmonious development of our countries”.
The President argued that “the objectives defined by the Summit should be pursued, namely to encourage debates on the main challenges facing the South in achieving sustainable development, above all the application of science, technology and innovation to guarantee food security, health, new production processes, improving the healthy environment, government management and the private sector with a view to human well-being, in order to continue and achieve the decisions taken at the first and second Group77 + China Summits”.
President Nyusi saw this as a way of “laying the foundations for positions of interest to the Group77 + China, in the context of the many multilateral negotiating processes underway, including the global digital compact”.
He added, “We have noted with great concern the spread of terrorism on the African continent, which has exacerbated conflicts and hostilities, and our country has been no exception”.
According to the President, other challenging phenomena for the African continent have to do with armed conflicts and the security of states and the problem of unconstitutional changes of government, most notably in West and Central Africa.
With regard to climate change, President Nyusi explained that “we believe that, with the use of technology, we can better forecast and map areas likely to be hit by extreme phenomena”.
He added that food insecurity and poverty are other phenomena that can be overcome through the application of science.
In this context, President Nyusi congratulated his Cuban counterpart, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez for the wise choice of the Summit's theme, which was: ‘The current challenges of development - the role of science, technology and innovation’.
President Nyusi believed that the theme “fits in perfectly with the current international situation in which we are required to promote technical-scientific progress as a fundamental tool for overcoming adversity and achieving sustainable development”.
He also expressed solidarity “with our brothers and sisters who are currently going through difficult times in Morocco and Libya”.
“We know about this kind of suffering and normally when it comes it doesn't give any warning, it is very difficult to cope with and there will be generations who will live through this suffering,” said President Nyusi.
In August, for the fifth consecutive month, the average level of prices in Mozambique fell, according to figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
Prices fell over the month by 0.12 per cent after a fall of 0.34 per cent in July.
The INE’s price calculations are based on the consumer price indices from Maputo, Beira, Nampula, Quelimane, Tete, Chimoio, Xai-Xai and Inhambane.
Inflation over the first eight months of the year stands at 2.1 per cent. The annual rate of inflation in August (1 September 2022 to 31 August 2023) was 4.93 per cent.
This is a decline from 5.67 per cent in July, 6.81 per cent in June, 8.23 per cent in May and 9.61 per cent in April.
The August deflation occurred in most, but not all of the cities where the INE collects data. The sharpest price fall, of 1.13 per cent), was in Inhambane, followed by Beira (0.7 per cent), Chimoio (0.23 per cent), and Maputo (0.22 per cent). However, in Quelimane, Nampula, and Tete, the average level of prices rose – by 0.59, 0.32 and 0.3 per cent, respectively.
President Filipe Nyusi on 7 September stressed that the sacrifices made by the combatants of Mozambique's liberation struggle are priceless. President Nyusi was speaking in the town of Maxixe, in the southern province of Inhambane, during the ceremony to commemorate Victory Day, the anniversary of the independence agreement signed in Lusaka on 7 September 1974 between the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and the Portuguese government.
According to the President, “the inalienable conquests are our national unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty, democracy, and peace”. He stressed that “this is why we say that there is no salary sufficient or capable of paying for the sacrifice of the veterans of the national liberation struggle”.
President Nyusi said that the Lusaka Agreements planted the seeds of freedom and development, “so it's up to young people to water the seeds and make them flourish. They are the leaders of tomorrow, the artisans of progress, so our government trusts in the determination of youth to shape a peaceful and increasingly developed Mozambique, and not in a manipulated way”, he stressed.
He emphasised that Victory Day should be a source of inspiration for a new generation to preserve everything achieved with great sacrifice by their elders.
He also said that 49 years after the signing of the Lusaka Agreements, “the sun continues to shine on Mozambican territory, which is one and indivisible and still has the same territorial dimensions, reconquered in the light of those agreements”.
The President also decorated 30 individuals with the “Veteran of the Mozambique Liberation Struggle” medal, stressing that it “means a beacon of recognition from all compatriots for the combatants who, with devotion to the cause of national liberation, showed a willingness to sacrifice their own lives”.
Through a presidential decree on 6 September, the President honoured 1,190 citizens with the “Veteran of the Mozambique Liberation Struggle” medal.
President Nyusi also confirmed that the commander of the islamist terrorists in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, Bonomar Machude, also known as Ibn Omar, has indeed been killed by the Mozambican armed forces (FADM). He acknowledged that there are those who refuse to believe that the terrorist leader is dead. “But they will have to believe!”, President Nyusi said, “because they will never again see Bonomar Machude”.
The death of Machude was a blow to the terrorists, he added, but it did not mean the end of terrorism. “Winning a battle does not mean winning the war”, said President Nyusi. He called for a redoubling of vigilance by the public. That vigilance was not just for Cabo Delgado, but for the whole country, said President Nyusi, since the terrorists, reeling from the death of their commander, might flee to other parts of Mozambique. The jihadists are operating in small groups, he said. Some had given up and were surrendering, but others were afraid to hand themselves over.
“I am aware that many want to leave the bush, but are afraid”, he continued. He guaranteed that those who surrendered would be well treated. “There is room for forgiveness and unity so that all Mozambicans can join together in reconstruction and development”, he said.
The General Commander of the Mozambican police force (PRM), Bernardino Rafael, has rejected accusations that police agents have been involved in attempts to assassinate opposition mayoral candidates in the run-up to the municipal elections scheduled for 11 October.
On 11 September, Manuel de Araujo, the mayor of the central city of Quelimane, and a prominent member of the main opposition party Renamo, claimed that members of the police were involved in an abortive attempt to assassinate him. This claim follows a similar one presented two weeks previously by the Mayor of Nampula, Paulo Vahanle, also a member of Renamo. Both are standing for a further term of office in the October elections.
According to Bernardino Rafael, who was speaking on 15 September at the Maputo provincial command, during a parade that served as a presentation of new traffic police personnel who will join the police ranks throughout the country, “these accusations are unfounded and reveal a lack of electoral manifesto on the part of the parties in question”.
“Ignore those politicians who want to turn the police into their opposition”, he declared. “They don't have the right manifesto, they turn themselves into victims, saying that the police want to murder them. There are politicians who, in order to be applauded, need to spend their entire dictionary badmouthing the police”.
The police, he said, will always exist, “even when you are president. There's no way to extinguish the police because Mozambicans need it”.
“We don’t want to murder anyone”, Rafael insisted, adding that the political parties are only harming themselves. “Unfortunately, when a party doesn't realise that the policeman is also a voter, that politician is lost”, he said. “With so many policemen, when you offend one, how many votes have you lost? These are politicians who have no vision for themselves, that's like cutting off your own leg. We are public security officers but we are also voters”.
According to Rafael, the police force is prepared to guarantee public order and tranquillity throughout the elections, particularly during the official election campaign that will begin on 26 September.
“Colleagues, we are going to fulfil our plans, our agenda of protecting the motorcades or the candidates at rallies”, he said. “The politicians are going to have to promote their views. We want the politicians to approach us, tell us their programmes and we'll go and meet them”.
Mozambique’s main opposition party, Renamo, says that its demobilised guerrillas are facing difficulties in obtaining the documents required to apply for pensions.
Interviewed in Dondo, in the central province of Sofala, by the television station STV, Andre Majibire, one of the representatives of the Renamo side on the commission dealing with the DDR (Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration) process, claimed that Renamo knows nothing about the deadline of 23 September for handing in the documentation.
Magibire was reacting to the statements by the government spokesperson, Deputy Justice Minister Filimao Suaze, on 12 September, who said the former Renamo guerrillas have ten days to register with the district, provincial, or central offices of the Ministry of Veterans’ Affairs. Only after they are registered can they start receiving their pensions.
Magibire claimed that thousands of Renamo’s former fighters have not registered because of their poor level of education. Some of them do not know how to write and so are unable to complete forms, particularly from the banks. Nonetheless, he claimed that many of the fighters demobilised back in 2019 had opened bank accounts. “But the accounts have not been operated for more than two years because the government and its partners stopped depositing any money in them”.
Magibire claimed the bank managers had frozen the accounts, “and the attempts to open them are complicated. The demands exceed the capacity of our fighters. They can’t read or write, and in the districts or neighbourhoods where they live, they have difficulties in obtaining declarations, because they don’t have identity cards, nor any money to pay for documents”.
Furthermore, the former guerrillas faced serious logistical problems since many of them live in remote areas. “Most of the fighters live in the interior. A demobilised fighter in Marromeu (on the south bank of the Zambezi River) takes two days to reach the Provincial Directorate of Veterans’ Affairs, which is in the city of Beira”, said Magibire. “There he will need accommodation and meals. Who will pay for these expenses?”
Magibire was surprised by the deadline of 23 September for regularising documents. “I’ve been a representative of Renamo in this process since mid-2019”, he said. “At no time was this date mentioned as a deadline. With all the difficulties I have mentioned, how can one limit the time to deliver the documents to such a short period?”
Nonetheless, a deadline could be set “even this week, as long as it is guaranteed that all the fighters will receive their pensions”.
“We are asking the government to intercede with the various institutions involved to facilitate the acquisition of the documents required for the pensions”, stressed Magibire. “We are very interested in seeing this process closed successfully”.
The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has lamented that it has been forced by funding shortages to continue distributing reduced rations to an estimated 418,630 people affected by islamist terrorism in northern Mozambique.
In its Country Brief, published on 11 September, the UN organisation notes that it has given out reduced rations since April 2022, except during the peak of the lean season in December 2022 and January 2023. Worse still, in February WFP was forced to temporarily halt food assistance.
In response to the lack of funds, WFP has switched to handing out assistance based on Vulnerability-Based Targeting (VBT) in four districts in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. This prioritises food assistance to the most vulnerable internally displaced people and their host communities. The scheme will be gradually rolled out in another five districts in consultation with local government representatives and communities.
WFP has also been involved in providing self-employment courses to 1,368 people in Cabo Delgado covering construction, electricity, tailoring, and food processing. In addition, it has given vouchers to 460 people participating in a drainage system restoration project in the provincial capital, Pemba.
It warns that there is a high probability of drought in several parts of Mozambique during the coming agricultural season. In July, WFP supported the National Meteorological Institute (INAM) in analysing climate forecasts and it was found that drought triggers were hit in several districts. As a result, WFP is working with the National Disaster Management Institute (INGD) to activate and implement action plans to mitigate the impact of the forecasted drought.
Looking at the context of WFP’s operations in Mozambique, it states that “acute food insecurity has been on the rise in recent years in northern Mozambique, as conflict and recurring displacement, compounded by climatic and economic shocks, have disrupted communities’ agricultural activities, livelihoods, and purchasing power”.
It adds, “Mozambique is classified as one of the countries in the world most affected by extreme weather events. Since 2007, eleven Tropical Cyclones have hit Mozambique, and the global climate crisis is driving more frequent and intense floods, storms, and droughts”.
As a result, “significant challenges remain in achieving food and nutrition security in Mozambique. Most Mozambicans cannot afford the cost of a nutritious diet. High levels of malnutrition affect almost half the children under five years of age. Approximately 3.15 million people face crisis, or worse, levels of food insecurity, as per the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) assessment. Of those, 690,400 are in Cabo Delgado province alone. Nearly half the population remains below the poverty line”.
At least 21,000 people will benefit from access to renewable and clean electricity in the city of Cuamba, in the northern Province of Niassa, following the inauguration on 14 September of the Tetereane Solar Power Plant.
According to President Filipe Nyusi, who inaugurated the project valued at US$36.2 million, it will increase power generation to meet the growing demand for electricity in Niassa.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the President pointed out that “this plant will guarantee a direct supply of quality electricity to around 21,000 people. As part of economic decentralisation, it is planned to allocate one per cent of its revenues, which is approximately 10.5 million meticais (US$164,000) per year to support the development of the municipality of Cuamba”.
This is the country's third-largest solar power plant. It is expected to create just over 500 jobs in the municipality and supply electricity to northern Mozambique. The plant will generate 15 megawatts and has an energy storage system with batteries of six megawatts per hour.
President Nyusi called on the local population to take advantage of the electricity, especially by creating jobs for young people. “It will be up to all of us to encourage increased productive use of electricity”, he said, adding “We must boost the productive use of energy, with a focus on production and income generation”.
The new power station is the result of a partnership between the Mozambican government, Norway and the United Kingdom.
The London-based mining company Gemfields on 13 September announced that it has raised US$1.47 million from an auction of commercial and low-quality rubies held from 11 to 13 September.
In total, 174 kilogrammes of gems (869,862 carats) were sold with an average sale price of US$1.7 per carat.
The gems were mined in the northern Mozambican district of Montepuez by Montepuez Ruby Mining Limitada (MRM), which is 75 per cent owned by Gemfields and 25 per cent by the Mozambican company Mwiriti Limitada.
In a statement, Gemfields stresses that “the proceeds of this auction will be fully repatriated to MRM in Mozambique, with all royalties due to the government of the Republic of Mozambique being paid on the full sales prices achieved at the auction”.
According to Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ Managing Director of Product and Sales, “the results from today’s auction of commercial and lower quality ruby highlight again that the market remains very healthy”.
Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) holds a 25-year concession on an area of 340 square kilometres in Montepuez, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
Since 2014, US$980 million has been raised from the auction of rubies and other gems from the mine.
The Australian mining company Syrah Resources on 11 September announced that it is to receive a loan of US$150 million to fund the development of its Balama graphite project in Balama district, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
The loan is to come from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is the development agency of the US federal government. It will be made to the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Twigg Exploration and Mining Ltd.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, the company notes that, if completed, the loan will cover some of the capital costs for the Balama project and is “aligned with the Biden - Harris Administration’s commitment to support development in Africa”.
Syrah points out that this will be the first time DFC has made a loan to a graphite project “demonstrating the importance of Balama to bolstering US supply chain security for the supply of critical minerals”.
A White House statement noted, “This investment will increase production and diversify the global supply chain for graphite which is a critical mineral for a range of clean energy and advanced technology products”. It added, “DFC’s support will also lead to job creation and investment in local infrastructure while ensuring high environmental and social standards that are essential for responsible mining”.
The funds will be used for the expansion of Balama’s tailings storage facility, working and sustaining capital for Balama’s operations, and feasibility studies for the development of Balama’s vanadium resource.
According to Syrah’s chief executive, Shaun Verner, the approval of the loan “demonstrates the importance of Balama, which is the largest integrated graphite mining and processing operation globally, to the critical minerals strategy of the US”.
He adds, “Together with the US Department of Energy loan for the expansion of Syrah’s downstream business, DFC loan funding will position Syrah as a strategic partner in bolstering supply chain security for critical minerals required for the electric vehicle and energy transition in the US”.
The loan of up to US$150 million has a term of up to 13 years with interest fixed at the applicable long-dated US Treasury rates plus a margin. The loan can only take place after the completion of due diligence, negotiation of detailed terms and legal documentation, DFC approval, and Syrah and Twigg Board approvals.
The Balama graphite mine is reported to hold the largest graphite reserves ever discovered. It is an open-cast mine with an estimated lifespan of more than fifty years. It was inaugurated by President Filipe Nyusi in April 2018.
Graphite is a highly valued form of carbon due to its properties as a conductor of electricity. It is used in batteries and fuel cells and is the basis for the “miracle material” graphene, the strongest material ever measured.
The air company Mocambique Expresso (Mex), which is a subsidiary of Mozambique Airlines (LAM), has resumed activities involving domestic and regional flights following a stoppage of five days.
During the stoppage, the company recorded a loss in the order of 45 million meticais (US$704,000).
According to the general manager of Mex, Faustino Massitela, the resumption of flights comes after reaching an agreement with the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer to pay off a debt of over US$1.1 million in instalments up until January 2025.
With the implementation of this agreement, Massitela explained, the company's technical and operational areas regained access to the FlyEmbraer platform on 12 September, which enabled access to fleet management with “the causes that led to the decision to suspend operations” on 31 August resolved.
The Mex management has acknowledged that, without resolving this debt, the company would be unable “to receive or request any service or technical support from Embraer”.
Mex operates three Embraer 145 aircraft to various destinations in the country and the region, on behalf of LAM.
As well as providing LAM with medium-sized aircraft to fulfil its schedule, Mex also provides ground handling and various services, receiving the equivalent of US$200,000 a month.
In a document, Mex warns that since 1 June, LAM has seen “a substantial reduction in the use of the Mex fleet, which compromises the company's ability to generate revenue to support its costs, as well as under-utilisation of available financial resources”. In addition, the company “has been accumulating debts with suppliers, whose participation in Mex's operations is vital for the continuity” of the company.
Mozambican Police (PRM) on 12 September in Laulane neighbourhood, on the outskirts of Maputo city, arrested an individual in possession of fake South African rand banknotes with a face value of 1,400 rands (US$74).
PRM spokesperson, Marta Pereira, warned of the need to pay attention during the buying or selling of any currency in Maputo because anyone found in possession of such fake notes is liable to arrest.
“This individual has been involved in this type of case for three years. Right now, work is being carried out to seize the person responsible for printing the notes and ascertain if the machine used is in Mozambique or South Africa”, she said.
When questioned about the origin of the notes, the suspect said that “they belong to an uncle of my neighbour, who gave it to me to exchange in various marketplaces. I accepted the job because I needed money urgently”.
The Ministry of Health on 13 September launched the ninth campaign of vaccination against polio, which aims to vaccinate all children under the age of 15.
In June this year, 19,978,803 children and adolescents were vaccinated against polio. In this campaign, the same people will be vaccinated again along with any who were missed in June. The campaign will cost US$11 million.
Interviewed by the television station STV, Deputy Health Minister Ilesh Jani argued that repeated vaccination campaigns are the only way to eradicate the disease from the country.
“We need to guarantee the level of immunity of our children, so as not to allow the circulation of the virus and the only way of doing this is through repeated vaccination campaigns”, Jani said. “Just one dose of the vaccine is not enough to reach the levels of immunity that we want”.
“We have to carry out several rounds of vaccination”, he added, “and so the same people have to be vaccinated several times, to reach a level of anti-bodies that protects them against the virus. The polio virus causes paralysis, it can lead to death, and it is extremely transmissible. So, we have the duty to protect our population against this extremely dangerous virus”.
The vaccination campaign will take place in schools, creches, churches, centres for displaced people, and anywhere else where large groups of people gather. The vaccination brigades will also go from door to door in residential areas.
Mozambique was once considered free of polio, but in 2022 there were 33 suspected cases recorded.
The Italian energy company ENI has announced it is looking for a partner to conduct offshore drilling operations in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
According to the announcement on 13 September by ENI, the rig to be contracted is expected to carry out drilling, completion, and testing of four wells with start-up scheduled for the third quarter of next year.
According to the Maputo daily “Noticias”, ENI does not specify the objectives of the new drilling, but recently the Italian company has been preparing a second floating platform which will be a copy of the current platform. The second platform is seen by ENI as the most efficient way of maximising the profitability of the gas resources discovered in the Coral reserve.
The planned investment in the second platform is budgeted at US$7 billion and is subject to approval by the Mozambican government.
The second floating platform could begin production in the second half of 2027 which means it could start up before the onshore gas liquefaction projects which depend on security conditions in the face of the threats from Islamic terrorism in Cabo Delgado.
About 57 per cent of the Mozambican population now has access to safe drinking water, compared to just five per cent in 1975, when the country became independent from Portuguese colonial rule.
President Filipe Nyusi announced this figure on 13 September during the inauguration of a water supply system at the Malehice administrative post, Chibuto district, in the southern province of Gaza.
“Efforts to ensure that Mozambicans have access to drinking water began soon after our independence. At the time, 95 per cent of the Mozambican population did not have access to safe drinking water but today, because of the efforts made, the percentage of those who don't have access to safe water throughout the country is 43 per cent”, said the President, adding that he intends to bring drinking water to the entire country.
According to President Nyusi, the government has made a great effort to bring water to rural areas where the population with access to safe water has risen from 38.9 per cent in 2015 to 57 per cent today.
Regarding the water supply system inaugurated in Malehice, which will benefit 10,000 people, President Nyusi urged the rational use of water and the conservation of the infrastructure.
“This water supply system has benefited from an intervention that involves rehabilitating and expanding all the components, increasing the water collection capacity from 15 cubic metres to 40 cubic metres, treatment, transport, and storage of up to 250,000 cubic metres”, he said.
President Nyusi added that in Chibuto district, the water coverage rate stands at 76 per cent, benefiting around 144,000 people. In all of Gaza province, the figure stands at 67 per cent with 970,000 beneficiaries. The construction of a further 74 new sources in the province is envisaged.
“Our challenge in this province is to guarantee the supply of the remaining 33 per cent of the population”, he said. “We must build 74 new sources and intervene in 18 water supply systems, 13 of which will be completed this year. With the conclusion of this water supply infrastructure, it is expected that around 60,000 new users will benefit from safe drinking water in this province”, he said.
The inauguration of the water system is part of the implementation of the government's Five-Year Programme to provide Mozambicans with safe water, in line with the United Nations' 2030 Agenda.
The new system will extend the water supply period in Malehice from five to 16 hours a day.
“With this water supply system, residents will not only have access to quality water but will also have more time to devote to other useful activities in their lives”, President Nyusi concluded.
Zinave National Park (PNZ), in the southern province of Inhambane, which is part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park, is now successfully breeding rhinoceros. In recent years, four rhino calves have been born in the PNZ, confirming that the ecological conditions in the park are favourable for breeding this endangered species.
Rhinos were recently reintroduced into the PNZ, and the first calf was born in the local sanctuary in 2021. President Filipe Nyusi baptised the animal with the name “Princess Innocent”. The other three calves were all born within the past 18 months.
The PNZ is managed by the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) in partnership with the South African Peace Parks Foundation (PPF).
The rhinos were reintroduced into the PNZ from South Africa. In total, 37 rhinos have been transported to the PNZ, with the final ten arriving recently.
Bernard Van Lente, the manager of operations for the PPF in the park told AIM that Zinave meets all the ecological conditions required for the successful breeding of rhinos. “With its fantastic vegetation, Mozambique is a real paradise for the animals”, he said.
Both African species of rhino, the black and the white, have been reintroduced. Van Lente believes that rhinos are essential for the balance of the ecosystem. He said the abundant vegetation would play a key role in the success of the drive to increase the rhino population in Mozambique and in the southern African region.
The PNZ administrator in ANAC, Pedro Pereira, agrees. The recent births of the rhino calves, he said, confirmed ecological studies which indicated that there are favourable conditions for breeding rhinos in Zinave.
A breeding population of rhinos in Zinave will make it possible to transfer rhinos to other Mozambican conservation areas, and possibly to neighbouring countries, said Pereira. He imagined a time when, instead of Mozambique bringing in rhinos from South Africa, “other conservation areas can come to Zinave for their rhinos”.
Restocking the Zinave park has attracted the attention of poachers, so Zinave has boosted its anti-poaching capacity, including the use of aircraft (one light plane and a helicopter), as well as technological vigilance and control systems. Due to these resources, four poachers were recently detained and are awaiting trial.
“From 2021 to the present, we have increased the number of rangers from 30 to 80”, said Pereira. “They are being constantly trained in the technological techniques to accompany the movement of animals”.
He added that there are now daily land and air patrols of the 400,000 hectares of the park. ANAC believes that there are currently about 5,000 large animals in Zinave, a number that may be confirmed by an aerial census to be held later this year.
Pereira said the park is also building tourist infrastructures, to make it more attractive for the development of ecotourism.
President Filipe Nyusi on 6 September laid the first stone for paving the 96-kilometre highway in the northern province of Nampula between the coastal city of Angoche and the town of Nametil. This is part of the road that will eventually link the provincial capital, Nampula City, to Angoche. Nyusi regarded this road (N104) as key for regional and African integration.
The project is an extension of Lot I of the “Promote Transport” project, funded by the European Union, which includes the rehabilitation and maintenance of rural roads in Nampula and Zambezia provinces.
Works on the Angoche-Nametil road are budgeted at €48 million and will last 26 months. It includes elements of social responsibility such as the construction of schools and water supply sources in locations that have already been identified along the route.
The contract includes two years of maintenance of around 395 kilometres of dirt roads that will be served by two camps in Mucuali and Chalaua, both in the coastal district of Moma.
“This is a broader vision which expresses our commitment to linking the country from the Rovuma to the Maputo (the rivers marking the northern and southern boundaries of the country) and also to regional and continental integration”, the President said.
President Nyusi said that paving this section of the N104 will allow agricultural production to be transported, as well as enhancing and boosting the area's great tourist potential, which includes other coastal districts such as Moma, Larde and Liupo.
“The paving of this road marks the attainment of a dream of several generations, not just in Angoche, but in the entire southern region of Nampula province, and completes the realisation of the government's broader vision. We're going to make a safe and faster connection between the provincial capital, Nametil and Angoche, even in small cars”, said President Nyusi.
In front of hundreds of people who filled the municipal football pitch, President Nyusi pointed out that Angoche is an important centre of development but is being held back because of the poor state of the communication routes.
Duarte Graca, the European Union business delegate, said that he shared Mozambique's view that road infrastructures were fundamental to promoting connectivity and safe mobility. “Connectivity is at the centre of sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development and is the key concept of the EU's 'Global Gateway' investment package launched in 2021, which aims to create smart, sustainable and secure connections worldwide in the digital, energy and transport areas and to strengthen health and education systems around the world,” he noted.
“Promote Transport” is a rural development programme focusing on the provinces of Zambezia and Nampula, with a total budget of €358 million and covering energy, agribusiness, nutrition, biodiversity, trade and transport.
President Filipe Nyusi has called for shared responsibility between countries to protect maritime territories from climate change, arguing that these are areas that transcend borders.
The President was speaking on 5 September in Nairobi at a panel held on the occasion of the African Climate Summit 2023, which brought together African Heads of State and Government, United Nations agencies, civil society, and private business.
He stressed that “climate change in these areas transcends borders. The sea transmits what is bad elsewhere, but it can also do the opposite”.
According to President Nyusi, Mozambique has been at the forefront of protecting inland and coastal forests to better respond to climate impacts.
“We need to work together and with vision in order to provide joint responses. I invite everyone to work together to change the world (...) with few resources, but we have to start doing something. If everyone does their part, many will do theirs”, he said.
President Nyusi, at a panel titled “Unlocking the potential of the regenerative blue economy in Africa and beyond”, listed some of the actions underway in Mozambique, stressing that the country has favourable conditions in the area of the blue economy, including carbon sequestration.
“We have over 200,000 hectares of land with the potential to be reforested and generate over 21 million carbon credits” he said.
President Nyusi also said that Mozambique is not only looking at the green landscape, but also the blue landscape and this means that it is necessary to protect all species.
“We have concrete activities in terms of protecting biodiversity”, President Nyusi declared. “In the five-year period 2000/2024, we replanted over 8,000 hectares of mangrove forest, with the capacity to sequester over 160,000 tonnes of carbon, which could generate over US$15 million. We are about to start a project to replant around 140,000 hectares of mangrove forest which will generate 15 billion carbon credits over a 20-year period, starting in 2025”.
According to the President, Mozambique was the first African country to receive funds from the World Bank for carbon credits, “which means that we have some experience that we can even share”.
“The money we receive from the World Bank we give back to the communities, they are using that money on their own to be able to use in their own projects”, he said.
The first African Climate Summit comes ahead of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP28), to be held in the United Arab Emirates next December, and serves to align ideas so that the entire continent can participate with a single position.
The Norwegian government will disburse a total of 63 million Norwegian crowns (US$6 million) to support food security in northern Mozambique. This sum was announced on 11 September in Maputo during the signing of two memorandums of understanding between the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the Aga Khan Foundation.
The additional funds are intended to support food security and are a direct response to the food crisis caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which is particularly affecting developing economies such as Mozambique.
According to a statement, the amount will be split between two projects, of which 30 million crowns (US$2.8 million) will go towards “Food Production, Conservation and Preservation”, implemented by GAIN, which aims to increase the consumption of safe and nutritious food among vulnerable populations affected by conflict in northern Mozambique.
The remaining 33 million crowns (US$3.2 million) will go towards “Rapid Investment in Agriculture for Stabilisation and Empowerment”, a project implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation.
This project aims to improve food security and economic resilience in the northern province of Cabo Delgado by increasing the availability of highly trained mid-level technicians and more robust livelihoods for small-scale farmers in the southern districts of the province.
“We are pleased to follow up on this commitment with the signing today of two agreements with the Agha Khan Foundation and GAIN, and we look forward to seeing the concrete results of these interventions”, said the Norwegian Minister for International Development, Anne Tvinnereim.
The Aga Khan Foundation's national director, Agostinho Momade, thanked Norway for its long-lasting collaboration which dates back to 2004 when they joined forces to support Cabo Delgado.
“With great pride and satisfaction, I can say that from then until today we have maintained a solid partnership. This signing represents another building block in the continuous construction of this joint building”, said Momade.
The Mozal aluminium smelter, on the outskirts of Maputo, is to increase production by 40,000 tonnes during the current economic year which began in June.
The production, according to Mozal general director Gil Cumaio, cited in the Maputo daily “Noticias” on 12 September, will grow to 578,000 tonnes of aluminium against the previous 538,000 tonnes.
The aluminium produced last year, he explained, was exported to various markets, especially to Europe, taking into account that Holland was the main buyer of aluminium ingots.
Last January, the company announced plans to start using power produced by Mozambique’s publicly owned electricity company, EDM, replacing power from the South African state company Eskom.
For its operation, Mozal needs 950 Megawatts (MW) to produce over 560,000 tonnes of aluminium per year.
The multinational company Westfalia Fruit has announced an expansion of its avocado packaging facility in Chimoio in the central province of Manica.
According to a press release, Westfalia Fruit notes that this is “a significant development that underscores its steadfast commitment to propelling Mozambique’s avocado sector forward”.
It adds, “With a focus on fostering growth and innovation, the company is proud to unveil its upcoming packhouse expansion initiative”.
The company states that the upgraded facility will be completed by the second week of February 2024 to accommodate increased demand and to “reinforce Westfalia Fruit’s commitment to community development and collaboration, thereby enhancing Mozambique’s growing avocado industry”.
It concludes, “This packhouse expansion embodies not only the company’s dedication to Mozambique’s avocado sector but also signifies a significant stride towards reinforcing the local economy and promoting sustainable agricultural practices”,
Westfalia Fruto Mozambique is a Mozambican private equity company founded in 2013. The main shareholder with 75 per cent of the capital is Westfalia Fruit (Pty) Ltd, part of the Hans Merensky Holdings (Pty) Ltd group, a company specialising in the production, promotion, processing, packaging, and handling of tropical fruits. Hans Merensky Holdings is South Africa’s largest avocado producer and exporter, and Europe’s largest avocado importer.
A 2020 case study by the British social investment company AgDevCo, which holds the remaining 25 per cent stake in Westfalia Fruto Mocambique, pointed out that “in order to be sold on export markets, fruit needs to comply with international industry standards by meeting a set of phytosanitary and ethical requirements”.
It continued, to do this, “Westfalia has facilitated their Global G.A.P certification by training [farmers] how to change their practices to comply with the trademark’s standards”.
The study found that this has resulted in the first signs of what is known as “crowding in” whereby government or donor investment in services and infrastructure acts as a catalyst for wider growth. In this case, investment by donors covering the initial cost of setting up certification compliance, which involves a range of new operational practices and record keeping, has provided increased opportunities for smallholder farmers.
The Mozambican government will share its Master Plan for adapting to climate change, budgeted at US$600 million, at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), to be held next December in Dubai.
According to the Minister of Land and Environment (MTA), Ivete Maibaze, who was speaking on 11 September in Maputo, on the sidelines of Mozambique's First Preparation Meeting for its participation in COP28, the instrument under preparation has been functioning since 2017.
“With regard to adaptation, we would like to take into account the Disaster Risk Management Master Plan, which is an approved instrument and is being made operational by our government for the 2017-2030 period, with a budget of around US$600 million”, she said.
However, according to the Minister, Mozambique is not limiting itself to this instrument. “We are taking a series of projects with us to COP-28 and, with regard to mitigation, we are going to take our energy transition strategy which is a government instrument and is in the final stages of preparation”, she said.
“We had the opportunity, at the climate summit, to share this proposed strategy with all the relevant partners so that we could gather more awareness and so that by early October we would have a finalised instrument for submitting the government's position. This is one of the instruments we plan to take to COP-28 to share Mozambique's vision of clean energy”, she added.
Maibaze also explained that Mozambique also intends to share its strategic vision as a way of positioning itself in the region “not only in providing energy to the countries of the region but also in promoting green energy in our country”.
The country also intends to take to COP-28 the Miombo and Greater Zambezi Forest Conservation Action Plan, which is an initiative of President Filipe Nyusi.
The Mozambican State’s revenue from the exploitation of mineral resources by mega-projects fell by 28.7 per cent, in the first half of 2023.
The amount earned dropped from 4.8 billion meticais in the first half of 2022 to 3.4 billion meticais from January to June 2023 (US$75 million to US$53.1 million).
Much of this fall is due to the dramatic collapse in the price of coal on the world market, which has forced the Indian multinational Vulcan, which is mining coal in Moatize district, in the central province of Tete, to revise its contracts with suppliers of goods and services.
According to figures in the Balance of the Economic and Social Plan and State Budget unveiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance for the first half of 2023, the coal price fell from US$374 per tonne in the first half of 2022 to an average price of US$175 per tonne in the first half of 2023.
However, the total revenue from mega-projects grew considerably, totalling 16.5 billion meticais, compared to 11.8 billion meticais in the first half of 2022. The figure represents a growth of 40.4 per cent.
“Of the total tax revenue from mega-projects channelled to the state, the highlight goes to the contribution from the power production sector, which grew by 140 per cent in 2021. Revenue from this sub-sector grew from 3.1 billion meticais in the first half of 2022 to 7.4 billion meticais in the second half of 2023”, reads the document.
After the power sector, it says, oil exploration stands out, as contribution grew from 3.3 billion meticais in 2022 to just over 5 billion meticais in the first half of 2023.
“The contribution from other mega-projects fell by 6 per cent, from 619.9 million meticais in the first half of 2022 to 580.9 million meticais in 2023. The total revenue recorded by the state, in the first half of 2023, was 146.7 billion meticais, compared to 138.8 billion meticais in the first half of 2022. Of this total revenue, the weight of the contribution from mega-projects was 8.8 per cent in 2022 and 11.3 per cent in 2023”, says the report.
The Mozambican Minister of Defence, Cristovao Chume, and the President of the Turkish Defence Industry Agency (SSB), Haluk Gorgun, have signed a “Defence Industry Cooperation Agreement” following a series of meetings held between 3-9 September by a Mozambican delegation to Turkey.
According to Global Defence News, “the agreement covers the principles of cooperation activities between the two countries in the field of defence industry”.
During the meetings between the delegations, says the note, Chume was impressed by the level reached by the Turkish defence industry and expressed the willingness to see Turkey as a strategic partner of Mozambique.
For his part, the SSB President talked about the progress made in the Turkish Defence Industry, arguing that it plays a role in Turkish foreign policy. He stated that SSB is “ready to share its solutions and experiences in the field of defence industry with friendly and brotherly countries”.
Chume also visited the leading defence industry companies and examined the on-site products.
This agreement could strengthen the Mozambican forces fighting terrorism that has been plaguing the northern Province of Cabo Delgado since 2017.