ALL THE LATEST ECONOMIC, POLITICAL & SECURITY UPDATES

24 - 31 March 2017
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RHULA WEEKLY
M OZAMBIQUE M EDIA R EVIEW

w w w. rhula. net

Sasol Petroleum receives

award for Best Corporate
Taxpayer for 2016. Page 25.

Plane crash kills three

senior managers of
Cornelder . Page 33.

Ematum workers demand

the payment of salary
arrears. Page 41.

Economist João Mosca paints Centro de Integridade Pública

grim picture of Mozambique’s criticises lack of transparency
economy surrounding ENI tax payment
 POINTERS FROM THE EDITOR
POLITICS
Key challenges facing President Filipe Nyusi:
• Consolidation of his leadership. See Pointers,
Rhula Weekly 172 (17-24 March 2017).
• Progress in the peace negotiations (linked to
above).
• The economy: resolving the ‘toxic debt’ crisis,
formal re-engagement with the IMF, World Bank and
G14 donors, stabilising the macro-economic and
fiscal environment.
• ‘The race against time’: UNDP data shows that the
standard of living for the majority of the population
has declined since Nyusi assumed office (even
before the discovery of the illegal loans). Obviously,
the situation became dramatically worse after the
secret loans were exposed last April. Rapid
devaluation of the metical, inflation, rising prices,
cuts in subsidies, allied to widespread
unemployment, threaten possible political and social
upheaval. Municipal elections are due October
2018; and presidential, national and region
assembly elections in November 2019. Renamo has
already declared its intention to challenge, at the
ballot box, Frelimo’s unbroken political dominance
since independence in 1975.
• With all the above to challenges, Nyusi faces a vote
for re-election as Party President at the Party
Congress in September, and selection as the Party
candidate for the presidential elections at the
Central Committee meeting in March 2018.
Peace negotiations – progress
Very little is emerging on the detailed progress of
negotiations, but both sides are presenting a positive
public stance on agreement being reached. The current
truce was extended 3 March to 4 May 2017. If a peace
agreement is not concluded by then, will the cease-fire
be extended? The answer is “yes, it is likely”. Renamo
leader Alfonso Dhlakama has said that, for Renamo,
“the war is over”, adding that: ‘there may be violations
(of the truce), there are provocations, so there must be
guarantees of security”. Isolated violations and
provocations continue (Page 47).
Renamo is encouraging people displaced by hostilities
in the central provinces to return to their communities
and get on with their lives. Renamo has also confirmed
that it will be contesting both the municipal elections
mid-October 2018 and presidential, national and
provincial elections in November 2019.
More important than the two teams working on the
formal agreement are the direct talks being conducted
by phone between Dhlakama and President Filipe Nyusi
(e.g. Page 41), and the moves by Nyusi to consolidate
his leadership of Frelimo.
Dhlakama and former president Armando Guebuza
never trusted each other, and achieving peace was
unlikely as long as Guebuza loyalists maintained key
positions in the upper-echelons of the government’s
military, police and intelligence apparatus. Nyusi has
rung significant key changes, the most important being
the dismissal (30 January) of Gregório Leão José, and
replacement by fellow-Maconde tribesman General
Henriques Lidimo.
Dhlakama talks easily with Nyusi, who comes from a
completely different generation, unconnected to the
bitter 16-year civil war conducted between Renamo and
Frelimo. Dhlakama also knows that Nyusi enjoys the
quiet support of the ‘father of the Party’, former
president Joaquim Chissano. Dhlakama and Chissano
negotiated together for two years to achieve the 1992
Rome Peace Accord and to this day maintain a
relationship of friendly mutual respect.
Behind-the-scenes both Dhlakama and Nyusi are
influenced by international pressure to reach a
settlement that will stabilise the politico-economic
environment for resumption of IMF and G14 donor
support and enhanced foreign direct investment.
The odds are that a peace agreement will be reached.
The key indicator will be face-to-face private talks
between the two party leaders. Dhlakama says he will
come out of hiding as soon as his security is
guaranteed.
ECONOMY
Economist João Mosca paints grim picture (Pages
13-15)
Some of the factors he mentions:
• Government debt expected to exceed 140% of
Mozambican GDP. Estimated at $15-billion, already
exceeds the 130% predicted by international credit
agencies to date.
• Public accounts “continue to be negative”
• External dependence: 93% of investment comes
from abroad. 30% State Budget depends on IMF
and co-operation of G14 donors (suspended since
April 2016).
• “Weak and inefficient state with strong centralised
decision-making in the central bodies”. “Corruption
at every level”. Inadequate public services.
• Negative credibility and trust: Revelation of illegal
‘Hidden debt’ (April 2016) leading to sovereign
default. Downturn in international investment
(outside gas sector). Depreciation of currency. Rise
in interest rates. Lack of access to affordable
finance for local businesses.
• The possibility of political and social conflict
UNDP data shows that living situation continue
decline (Page 40)
According to the Human Development Index (HDI),
during the first year of President Nyusi’s government
(and even before the discovery of the illegal loans) the
living situation in Mozambique worsened.
Mozambique features as one of the 10 worse countries
in the world, falling from 180th in 2004 to 181st in 2015 –
out of the 188 countries monitored, overtaken by Sierra
Leone.
What fell most sharply was the per capita income, which
went from $1,123 to $1,098.
The number of citizens living on the new global poverty
line (adjusted from $1 to $1.9) has increased from
60.7% to 68.7%.
 POINTERS FROM THE EDITOR
3
Increase in fuel prices makes life in Mozambique
more difficult (Page 17)
The effects of the government’s recent fuel prices are
already being felt. For example, in Quelimane
(Zambézia Province) some food items are no longer
available because transport is more expensive and
producers are refusing to send their produce to the city.
(For background to fuel price rises see Rhula Weekly
‘Pointers’ and Pages 26-30.)
Add to this the recent announcement by government
that it is withdrawing flour subsidies and liberalising of
bread prices.
There were riots in 2008 and 2010 sparked by fuel and
food price increases.
Kroll Audit deadline extended for second time (Page
13)
The extension to 28 April is probably due to a
combination of three factors: 1) it was always an
unreasonable delivery schedule – initially three months
then four (now five); 2) There is likely to have been
obstruction by those (some in very senior positions in
the security apparatus) who don’t want the facts to
come out (President Nyusi has removed several of
them); 3) the complexity of collecting, collating and
analysing the data required from banks, suppliers and
other relevant sources - across multiple jurisdictions. As
the Attorney-General’s Office points out, it has required
them to adopt “legal procedures in line with the
specificities of each of the various jurisdictions
involved”.
The last point is easy to comprehend. The London
offices of Credit Suisse and VTB Capital arranged the
loans to Ematum, Proindicus and MAM. The Ematum
‘fishing boats’ were built by a shipyard in Brest (France),
owned by a company in the Middle East, where it is
alleged a considerable amount of the funds ended-up.
Proindicus allegedly placed orders for military
equipment in a number of jurisdictions. It is all very
complicated and opaque, as presumably it was
designed to be.
According to the Attorney-General’s Office, the Swedish
Embassy (who are paying Kroll) and the IMF, the ‘full
report’ will be ‘be published 90 days after its completion
(i.e. end of July if there are no further delays). It is likely,
however, that the ‘full report’ will ‘economize’ when it
comes to some of the more politically embarrassing
truths.
The diplomatic expression that might be used in a
circumstance like this is: “we must consider this matter
in context….and keep our eye on the desired outcome”.
The ‘context’ in this case is that too much revelation
could blow the ruling Frelimo elite apart in the run-up to
its important Party Congress in September. The desired
‘outcome’ is a report that makes a ‘positive contribution’
to the goal of creating a framework for restructuring the
‘toxic debt’, resumption of IMF and G14 donor support
for the State Budget.
The $350-million capital gains tax (CGT) agreed
between the Tax Authority and ENI (sale of 25%
Rovuma Area 4 to ExxonMobil) is going to help
temporary to partially fill $500-million hole in the State
Budget left by the donor freeze. There will also be a (yet
agreed CGT) sum payable on the $733-million in assets
Vale has just agreed to sell to Mitsui.
CONT.
World Bank hopes to resume budget support (Pages
15-17)
Resident director, Mark Lundell, says that the World
Bank expects to resume direct support to the State
Budget by the end of year. This is a positive signal that
Mozambique’s relationship with the Bank and its fellow
Bretton Woods institution, the IMF, could return to
normal later this year (following debt-restructure).
Lundell says that over the next five years the Bank
intends to support 25 projects in 17 strategic areas; “an
investment of approximately $2-billion, and each project
could have a budget of between $80-million and $100-
million”.
The Centre for Public Integrity (CIP) calls for any
resumption of World Bank support to be linked to
government transparency and greater control of the
funds on both sides. Previously, due to mismanagement
of resources, Bank funding has failed to achieve their
main objective: poverty reduction. Mozambique also
needs to stop believing it will always have help; greater
self-sufficiency is the only way to sustainable economic
development. What is holding Mozambique back is
corruption and lack of transparency, which both deters
investment and aggravates poverty. (Pages 16-17)
Germany maintains freeze on State Budget support
(Page 18)
The German government has reiterated its position: it
will continue its three-year freeze on State Budget
support and continue only to support specific projects.
The decision was taken by the German parliament.
Ahead of a German business delegation 9 April,
Ambassador Detler Walter says that: “We see great
opportunities in Africa and Mozambique in particular, so
we are convinced that trade between the two countries
will increase.” (More on co-operation agreements
signed between Mozambique and Germany pages 42-
43).
Japan assures continuity of support (Page 18)
Outgoing Ambassador Akiri Mizutani says that Japan
will continue to support investment projects, particularly
in the construction of bridges, power and gas plants, as
well as training human resources. (See Mitsui
investment below).
Singapore wants to invest in logistics and tourism
(Page 19)
Brexit as an opportunity for Africa? (Pages 19-20)
As the UK triggers two years of talks to leave the EU,
there are both challenges and opportunities for Africa. It
will be leap into the unknown, as trade agreements
have to be renegotiated. As Ghana’s Foreign Minister
has pointed out: “We don’t know where we are going to
end”. On the other hand, trade with the UK has been
very important for African Commonwealth countries,
and the UK will be seeking to boost its trade with these
countries (currently worth over $100-billion). There is an
opportunity to strike deals that favour African
businesses seeking to export to the UK market, leading
to more trade, more investment and more jobs. It makes
sense for African Commonwealth countries to negotiate
as one bloc, because that is likely to extract a better
deal out of the UK. “When you are united, you are
stronger”.
 POINTERS FROM THE EDITOR
3
BUSINESS
Financial Services:
Banco de Moçambique (Pages 20-21)
Swearing in Felisberto Navalha (a veteran of 21 years)
as the new administrator of the Bank, Prime Minister
Carlos Agostino do Rosário declared that the main
mission of the Bank is to preserve the value of the
metical, seeking innovative solutions for consolidating
the stability of the currency, and the level of prices.
The metical depreciated sharply in the first nine months
of 2016, to MT80 to the US Dollar. Since October it has
staged a considerable recovery to a current rate of circa
MT67 to the dollar. This recovery, at least in part, is
considered a consequence of the vigorous measures
taken by the Bank, including a dramatic increase in
benchmark interest rates.
The Prime Minister also called for the promotion of
“financial inclusion”. This entails the spread of retail
banking throughout the economy, “encouraging the
commercial banks to set up branches in the districts”.
Currently only half of the country’s 154 districts have
bank branches.
Millennium-BIM $75-million profit for 2016 (Page 21)
Mozambique’s largest bank announced net profits of
MT5-billion ($75-million at current exchange rates) for
the 2016 financial year. It increased its deposits by
9.7% and credit portfolio by 19.7%. Finance extended to
companies increased 25.6% and the bank paid about
MT3.7-billion in tax. The bank’s solvency ratio, at
18.5%, is considerably higher than the 8% ratio
demanded by the Banco de Moçambique.
Measuring the blow to asset growth in the banking
sector (Pages 21-22)
BMI Research says that, due to the country’s economic
difficulties, the banking sector asset growth rate is
expected to fall to 4.8% this year, and is projected to be
7.9% in 2018. Total asset growth in the banking sector
was about 23% per annum between 2010 and 2015,
before falling dramatically to 7.9% in 2016.
Oil & Gas:
CIP condemns ‘lack of transparency’ in ENI tax
settlement (Pages 22-23)
According to the CIP, the Tax Authority (AT) has not
been transparent in explaining how it came to the $350-
million CGT figure for ENI’s sale to ExxonMobil of a
25%.
Economist João Mosca calls for renegotiation of some
of the oil and gas contracts drawn up between the state
and private companies, where it is obvious those
companies have been granted very high tax benefits,
and hence the volume of taxes is very low,
disadvantaging social development in the country.
Sasol best corporate taxpayer for second time
(Pages 23-24)
Sasol Petroleum Temane (SPT) has received the Best
Taxpayer award for 2016. It received the same award in
2015.
CONT.
Its pipeline joint venture, ROMCO, also received
recognition, as did CTRG - its power plant joint venture
with EdM, located at Rossano Garcia.
To date Sasol’s ventures in Mozambique have delivered
more than $1-billion in the form of corporate taxes,
royalties and social investments, as well as profit share
and dividends paid out to state entities.
Mining:
Vale announces part-sale of Mozambique assets to
Mitsui (Pages 24-25)
Vale has received $733-million from Mitsui and expects
a further $37-million later in the year. Mitsui is
purchasing 15% of Vale’s Moatize open-caste coal mine
in Tete Province (owned 95% by Vale and 5% by the
state).
Mitsui is also purchasing 50% of Vale’s share of the
Nacala Logistics Corridor (CLN). This consists of the
newly constructed coal terminal at Nacala-a-Velha, and
the railway line between Moatize and Nacala that
passes through southern Malawi. CLN is 50% owned
by Vale and 50% CFM
The government tax authority will have its eye on the
CGT due from this transaction. It is impossible to
estimate the amount at this stage, given the lack of
transparency that surrounded the ENI $350-million CGT
settlement.
Penspen wins Mozambique JV pipeline deal (Page
25)
Petrozim has awarded Penspen (www.penspen.com)
the project to expand the capacity of the Feruka-Harare
multi-product pipeline. The existing network, jointly
developed by Mozambique and Zimbabwe, includes the
CPMZ pipeline that runs from Beira into tanks at Feruka
in Zimbabwe. The product is then pumped from Feruka,
via the Petrozim pipeline, to the Msasa Terminal in
Harare. This pipeline was designed and installed by
Penspen in the early 1990’s. The new project is
designed to expand the capacity of the Feruka-Harare
pipeline to meet increasing demand.
Savannah Resources defines its resource estimate at
Ravene deposit, Inhambane (Pages 25-26).
Finland grants $1,4-million to train National Assembly
deputies in matters related to the extractive industries,
in order to help them better monitor, supervise and
legislate in the field (Page 26).
Gangland chaos in Montepuiz (Pages 26-27)
The rush for rubies has turned Montepuiz (Capo
Delgado), centre of operations for Gemfields’ subsidiary
Montepuiz Ruby Mining (MRM), into the ‘Wild West’.
Thousands of artisanal miners and cabals of gem
traffickers have created an environment riddled with
organized crime, gang violence and all kinds of drugs.
The area produced nearly 40% of rubies sold on the
world market last year. Gemfields says it is proud to be
supplying rubies mined “responsibly” and “ethically” and
to share profits with locals.
 POINTERS FROM THE EDITOR
3
Some locals, however, say they have enjoyed no
benefits, claiming instead that they have been robbed of
their livelihoods and violently removed from mining
territory allocated to large operators.
It is fast becoming a public relations disaster for
London-listed Gemfields and a potential embarrassment
to government.
Energy:
EdM struggles (Pages 27-28)
At a time that EdM, like all government parastatals, is
struggling to stay solvent, it is trying to negotiate with
the Zimbabwe government over its approximate US$8-
million unpaid electricity bill. Some of this bill relates to
15 years of electricity generated by the Mavuzi power
station in Manica province, recently rehabilitated at a
cost of $120-million.
EdM reveals that it also lost more than MT20-million
since the beginning of 2016 due to vandalism of its
infrastructures, which contributed to the stoppage of
some projects.
Ncondezi and Shanghai Electric Power (Page 29)
Aim-listed Ncondezi Energy is progressing with it JV
with Shanghai Electric Power (SEP) for a 300MW power
plant in Tete province. SEP will inject $25.5-million for a
60% shareholding in Ncondezi Power Holding-2, the
Ncondezi subsidiary which will own and operate the
project.
Southern Africa records first electricity surplus in 10
years (Pages 29-30)
Transport & Construction:
Trouble at Maputo Public Transport Company
(EMTPM) (Pages 30-31)
Tension between workers and management over wage
demands continue after recent strike called off. The key
problem for EMTPM is that the fares it charges do not
cover its costs. According to the company, passengers
should pay MT2.5 per Km, but the current fare is
MT0.25 per Km. “Unless EMTPM is allowed to raise its
fares, or a much larger subsidy is paid to the company,
future labour disputes look inevitable”.
Beira minibuses strike (Page 31). Unofficial and with
no prior warning, minibus operators, demanding tariff
increases, went on strike, leaving many commuters to
walk many kilometres to and from work.
Cornelder de Moçambique plane crash (Page 32)
The woes of LAM (and its passengers) (Pages 33-
34). Flight cancellations “due to technical problems” …
“Constraints in the name of safety". Three of LAM’s
aircraft out of operation.
CONT.
Agriculture & Fishing:
Government intends to issue five million land titles
(Pages 35-36)
Mozambique on track to surpass grain production target
(Page 36)
Water shortage leads to sharp drop in banana
production (Pages 36-37)
Call for Mozambique to become a major food
producer (Pages 37-38). President Nyusi argues that
the country enjoys all the necessary conditions to cease
being a mere consumer of agricultural products and
become a major producer. He admits that marketing is a
major bottleneck in the production chain and that the
poor state of the roads is one of the main hindrances to
effective marketing. Priority should be given to building
a national food reserve for periods of crisis.
Government wants to attract Indian investment in
Mozambican agriculture in the hope of increasing
production (Page 38)
SECURITY
Truce continues, but blemished by isolated attacks
on Renamo officials (Page 47)
CRIME
Portuguese keep up diplomatic pressure on
Mozambique authorities over disappearance of
Portuguese businessman (Page 50)
Organised criminal gang targeting fuel at Vale’s Moatize
mine (Page 54)
Motorists warned again by authorities that some filling
stations in Maputo are providing less fuel than they pay
for (Page 24).
Car owners are encouraged not to leave their keys with
car washers because vehicle thefts from car wash
companies are becoming increasingly frequent in
Maputo (Page 52)
HUMAN RIGHTS
The Mozambique Bar Association (OAM) says summary
executions are a reality in Mozambique and deplores
the human rights situation in the country (Page 54-56)
Food security update: crisis affects 2.3-million (Page 56)
HEALTH
Mozambique bans Brazilian meat imports (Pages 58-
59)
Nigel Morgan
Managing Editor
 CONTENTS

ECONOMY & BUSINESS .....................................................................................................................13

Macro-economy: ............................................................................................................................................. 13
More on audit deadline extended by a further month ........................................................................................ 13
Mozambique government debt expected to exceed 140% of GDP ................................................................... 13
Economist João Mosca paints grim picture of Mozambique’s economy ............................................................ 14
World Bank hopes to resume budget support ................................................................................................... 15
Researcher calls for transparency in management of Mozambique World Bank resources .............................. 16
World Bank announces record US$57-billion for sub-Saharan Africa, Mozambique included ........................... 17
Increase in fuel prices makes life in Mozambique more difficult ........................................................................ 17
Germany maintains cut of direct support to the Mozambique State Budget ...................................................... 18
Japan assures continuity of support.................................................................................................................. 18
Chinese companies invest over US$50-billion in Portuguese-speaking countries ............................................. 18
Entrepreneurs from CPLP and China meet in Cabo Verde in June ................................................................... 19
Singapore wants to invest in Mozambique in logistics and tourism ................................................................... 19
Brexit as an opportunity for Africa? ................................................................................................................... 19

Financial Services: ......................................................................................................................................... 20

Main mission of central bank is to preserve the currency .................................................................................. 20
Felisberto Navalha: The new administrator at Banco de Moçambique .............................................................. 21
US$75-million-dollar profit for Mozambique’s largest bank ............................................................................... 21
Mozambique banking likely to grow less than 5% this year – BMI research ...................................................... 21
American Express cards can now be used in BCI POS and ATM ..................................................................... 22

Oil & Gas: ........................................................................................................................................................ 22

Lack of transparency surrounds ENI tax payment – NGO................................................................................. 22
Economist says new Mozambique gas contracts should be renegotiated ......................................................... 23
Sasol receives Best Corporate Taxpayer Award in Mozambique for second time ............................................. 23
Inspectors check filling stations ........................................................................................................................ 24

Mining: ............................................................................................................................................................ 24
Brazil’s Vale sells stake in Moatize coal mine to Mitsui ..................................................................................... 24
Penspen seals Mozambique JV pipeline deal ................................................................................................... 25
Savannah Resources defines resource estimate at Ravene deposit in Mozambique ........................................ 25
Finland disburses MT100-million to train deputies on extractive industry matters in Mozambique .................... 26
Ruby rush brings gangland turf war to Mozambique ......................................................................................... 26

Energy: ............................................................................................................................................................ 27
EdM to tackle Zimbabwe over US$8-million electricity bill ................................................................................. 27
EdM lost more than MT20-million in 2016 due to vandalism ............................................................................. 27
President Nyusi re-inaugurates Mavuzi power station ...................................................................................... 28
Ncondezi progresses JDA with Shanghai Electric Power on 300MW Mozambique power plant project ............ 29
Southern Africa records first electricity surplus in 10 years ............................................................................... 29

Transport, Construction & Development Projects: ...................................................................................... 30

Rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse more than 100 strikers at Maputo Public Transport Company ............ 30
Beira minibuses strike without prior notice ........................................................................................................ 31
Cornelder de Moçambique plane crashes in Manica Province .......................................................................... 32
3

Airlink increases frequency between Nelspruit and Vilanculos .......................................................................... 32

LAM cancels flights to Nampula and Lichinga due to technical problems ......................................................... 33
“LAM constraints are in the name of safety” – says IACM................................................................................ 33
Three of LAM’S aircraft out of operation ........................................................................................................... 34
Frelimo builds new congress hall in Matola....................................................................................................... 34
Financial deficits hamper the restoration of roads and bridges in Zambézia ..................................................... 35

Agriculture & Fishing: .................................................................................................................................... 35

Government intends to issue five-million land titles........................................................................................... 35
Obtala group prepares to expand forestry business in Mozambique ................................................................. 36
Obtala raises £4-million from Hong Kong investor share for Mozambican project ............................................. 36
Mozambique on track to surpass grain production target .................................................................................. 36
Water shortage leads to sharp drop in banana production ................................................................................ 36
President Nyusi calls for Mozambique to become major food producer ............................................................ 37
Government wants to attract Indian investment in Mozambican agriculture ...................................................... 38
UN’s FAO promotes conservation agriculture workshop in Chimoio ................................................................. 38
Gaza faces MT15-million deficit from lost production ........................................................................................ 38

Tourism: .......................................................................................................................................................... 39
Hotel inspection campaign looms ..................................................................................................................... 39

Other: .............................................................................................................................................................. 39
Minister Diogo launches revision of Labour Law and Mechanisms for Contracting Foreign Citizens ................. 39
Ematum workers demand payment of wage arrears ......................................................................................... 39

POLITICS..............................................................................................................................................40
According to UNDP data, the living situation in Mozambique became worse during President Nyusi’s first year
in office ............................................................................................................................................................. 40
President Nyusi in further phone contact with Dhlakama .................................................................................. 41
Renamo guarantees that it will be ready for the next elections ......................................................................... 41
EU wants to support 2018 and 2019 elections in Mozambique ......................................................................... 41
Peace and financial crisis dominate Zambézia Provincial Assembly ................................................................. 41
MDM proposes elimination of districts which coincide with municipalities ......................................................... 42
More on the co-operation agreements signed by Mozambique and Germany .................................................. 42
President Nyusi marks centenary of Barue revolt ............................................................................................. 43
President Nyusi travels to Manica for working visit ........................................................................................... 43
President Nyusi travels to Niassa on working visit ............................................................................................ 43
President Nyusi travels to Inhambane on working visit ..................................................................................... 43
Joaquim Chissano to be appointed High Reresentative of the AU for Western Sahara .................................... 44
Zambian deputies in Mozambique to gain experience and knowledge on the topic of public-private partnerships
......................................................................................................................................................................... 44

SECURITY ............................................................................................................................................45
Police give truce positive assessment .............................................................................................................. 47
Unknown individuals kill Renamo official in Tsangano ...................................................................................... 47
Renamo accuses the FADM of kidnapping three of its members from Nampula Province ................................ 47
Vietnam and Mozambique foster defence co-operation .................................................................................... 47
3

Mozambique and Zambia agree to prioritise the fight against drugs and illegal immigration ............................. 48
Swaziland claims parts of Mozambique and South Africa territory .................................................................... 48
Malawi and Mozambique police bring peace to Lizulu after violent protests against Burundians ...................... 49

CRIME ..................................................................................................................................................50
Mozambican police extend investigation into disappearance of Portuguese businessman nationwide ............. 50
Fake Mozambican doctor arrested trying to cross into Zimbabwe with “unauthorised medical equipment” ....... 50

Inhambane: ..................................................................................................................................................... 51
Corruption in Inhambane: more than MT20-million diverted from state coffers in 2016 ..................................... 51
Man arrested for murdering his father in Inhambane ........................................................................................ 51

Maputo: ........................................................................................................................................................... 51
Counterfeiters use children in Maputo .............................................................................................................. 51
Police foil robbery in Matola .............................................................................................................................. 51
Two kidnapping suspects shot dead by police in Matola ................................................................................... 52
Fake FADM officer arrested in Maputo ............................................................................................................. 52
Three arrested in connection with theft at Zimpeto National Stadium................................................................ 52
Adolescent car wash attendant arrested for car theft ........................................................................................ 52

Nampula: ......................................................................................................................................................... 52
Would-be kidnappers arrested in Nampula ....................................................................................................... 52
Mozambican police seize three tons of precious stones in Nampula province .................................................. 53
New criminal tactic worries Nampula residents ................................................................................................. 53

Niassa: ............................................................................................................................................................ 54
Government officials detained for corruption..................................................................................................... 54

Sofala: ............................................................................................................................................................. 54
Six people arrested for fishing out of season .................................................................................................... 54

Tete:................................................................................................................................................................. 54
Man shot while trying to steal fuel from Vale facility .......................................................................................... 54

HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND NGO’S .................................................................54

OAM says summary executions are a reality in Mozambique ........................................................................... 54
OAM human rights report sparks polemic ......................................................................................................... 55
Mozambique key message update, March 2017 ............................................................................................... 56
Canadian support for victims of cyclone Dineo ................................................................................................. 56
Ireland supports UNICEF’s response to Dineo ................................................................................................. 57
Three dead in torrential rain .............................................................................................................................. 57
Another 505 water sources planned for five districts ......................................................................................... 57
President Nyusi inaugurates distance learning centre ...................................................................................... 58

HEALTH ...............................................................................................................................................58
Mozambique bans Brazilian meat imports ........................................................................................................ 58
Mozambique registers 154,000 new cases of tuberculosis every year .............................................................. 59
INAE closes establishments selling goods gnawed by rats ............................................................................... 60
 3

WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ............................................................................60

Chinese-Mozambican enterprise found guilty of illegally logging in Malawi ....................................................... 60
Zimbabwe ruled off-side, Mozambique citizen wins vehicles case .................................................................... 61
Good news for Africa’s elephants: China is losing its taste for ivory .................................................................. 61
Student writing project exposes NYC's illegal ivory trade .................................................................................. 62

GRAPHS
GRAPH 1 – MOZAMBIQUE CURRENCY EVALUATION ...................................................................... 12
GRAPH 2 – TIME PERIOD BY DAY OF WEEK ..................................................................................... 46
GRAPH 3 – RECORDED INCIDENT INITIATOR BY PROVINCE ......................................................... 46
GRAPH 4 – INCIDENTS WITH FATALITIES PER REGION .................................................................. 46

DISCLAIMER
The information contained in this report is intended to provide general information on a particular subject or subjects. While all reasonable steps
CD
are taken to ensure the accuracy and the integrity of information andISCLAIMER
date transmitted electronically and to preserve the confidentiality thereof, no
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CONTENTSD
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appropriately tailored to your individual needs. Your use of this
document and the information it contains is at your own risk.
 BUSINESS INDEX
3

AdeM................................................................................ 29 Indústria de Farinação de Milho ...................................... 46

AfDB................................................................................. 32
Bananalandia .............................................................38, 39
Banco de Moçambique ........................................14, 21, 22
Banco Único .................................................................... 23
Barclays ........................................................................... 23
BCI ................................................................................... 23
BRF .................................................................................. 41
Cabo Verde TradeInvest .................................................. 20
Cedelec ............................................................................ 29
CFM ................................................................................. 26
Companhia Do Pipeline Mozambique-Zimbabwe Limitada
......................................................................................... 26
Companhia Mocambiçana de Gasoduto S.A .................. 25
Companhia Moçambicana de Hidrocarbonetos .............. 25
Cornelder de Moçambique ........................................13, 33
Credit Suisse .............................................................14, 16
D.D Farming..................................................................... 46
Econometrix ..................................................................... 21
EdM ................................................................25, 28, 29, 30
Ematum................................................................14, 16, 41
EMTPM ............................................................................ 32
ENH ................................................................................. 47
ENI .......................................................................15, 24, 26
Eskom .............................................................................. 31
ETA .................................................................................. 33
ExxonMobil ..........................................................15, 24, 26
Fitch ................................................................................. 23
Fly Africa .......................................................................... 36
Galp ................................................................................. 25
Gemfields ......................................................................... 28
Hydrokarst Rain Power .................................................... 29
IMF .............................................................................14, 16
International Finance Corporation ............................. 18, 25
Kroll ..................................................................... 13, 14, 17
LAM ............................................................... 34, 35, 36, 60
MAM .......................................................................... 14, 16
Millennium-BIM ................................................................ 22
Mitsui ............................................................................... 26
Montepuez Ruby Mining .................................................. 28
Movitel ............................................................................. 51
Moza ................................................................................ 23
Ncondezi .................................................................... 30, 31
Niassa Industria Alimentar .............................................. 46
Obtala ........................................................................ 37, 38
Penspen .......................................................................... 26
Petrozim Line................................................................... 26
Proindicus .................................................................. 14, 16
Rio Tinto .......................................................................... 27
ROMPCO ........................................................................ 25
SA Airlink ......................................................................... 34
Safaris de Mozambique ................................................... 63
Sasol ................................................................................ 25
Savannah Resources ...................................................... 26
Seara International .......................................................... 41
Shanghai Electric Power ................................................. 30
South African Gas Development Company (SOC) Limited
(iGas) ............................................................................... 25
Standard Bank ................................................................. 23
Vale ........................................................................... 26, 57
Viettel ............................................................................... 51
VTB ............................................................................ 14, 16
Wealth Rank Limited ....................................................... 38
World Bank .................................................... 16, 17, 18, 61

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 GENERAL INFORMATION

MAPUTO SEVEN-DAY FORECAST

Source: yr.no

OTHER PROVINCES SEVEN-DAY FORECAST

Gaza
Xai-Xai

Inhambane
Inhambane

Sofala
Beira

Manica
Chimoio

Tete
Tete

Zambézia
Quelimane

Nampula
Nampula

Niassa
Lichinga

Cabo Delgado
Pemba

Source: yr.no
 GENERAL INFORMATION CONT.

APRIL - IMPORTANT DATES PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN 2017

7 April Woman’s Day
28 April Kroll audit report due for publication 1 May Workers’ Day
25 July Independence Day
7 September Victory Day
25 September Revolution Day
4 October Day of Peace and Reconciliation
25 December Family Day

ECONOMY

METICAL (MZN) EXCHANGE RATE MOZAMBIQUE FUEL PRICES

Currency Buy Sell Fuel Type Price Per Litre
Euro (EUR) 73.16 73.23 Petrol 56.06MT
U.S. Dollar (USD) 67.97 68.04 Diesel 51.89MT
S.A. Rand (ZAR) 5.25 5.25

GRAPH 1 – MOZAMBIQUE CURRENCY EVALUATION

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

ALERTS / SITUATION UPDATES / INFO NOTES DISTRIBUTED THIS WEEK

SitUp 170323-ASN001 Details and analysis on the assassination of a Renamo official in Tete
Info Note 170327-INF001 Details pertaining to the Cornelder de Moçambique plane crash in Manica
Alert 170330-ABD001 Renamo accuses the FADM of kidnapping 3 of its members from Nampula

ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Macro-economy:
More on audit deadline extended by a further
month
On Friday 24 March, the Mozambican Attorney-
General’s Office announced a further extension
of the deadline for the audit into the three
security-related companies, Ematum,
Proindicus and Mozambique Asset
Management (MAM).
The Attorney-General’s Office previously hired
the London office of the US company Kroll
(reputedly the foremost forensic audit company
in the world), to carry out the audit, which is
being financed by the Swedish Embassy.
At first Kroll was given until the end of February
to deliver the audit report. When that proved
impossible, the deadline was extended to the
end of March. The Attorney-General’s Office
Friday statement announced a second
extension, to 28 April.
The Attorney-General’s Office repeated the
arguments given for the first extension – namely
that collecting the data required, from banks,
suppliers and “other relevant institutions” in
Mozambique and abroad, and then processing it
all, was a complex task which involved
“mechanisms of international co-operation”.
This complexity, the Attorney-General’s Office
added, “implied adopting certain legal
procedures in line with the specificities of each
of the various jurisdictions involved. This meant
delays in making available additional relevant
information”.
Kroll presented a report to the Attorney-
General’s Office on the progress made so far,
and the prospects for concluding its analysis of
the data, and drawing up the final report. On this
basis it requested the second extension.
After consultation with the Swedish Embassy,
and with the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
the Attorney-General’s Office agreed to extend
the deadline to 28 April.
In 2013 and 2014, Ematum, Proindicus and
MAM obtained loans in excess of US$2-billion
from European banks (mainly Credit Suisse and
VTB of Russia). The previous Mozambican
government, under president Armando
Guebuza, illicitly guaranteed these loans, in
violation of the 2013 and 2014 budgetary laws,
and of the Constitutional requirement that such
debts must be authorised by the country’s
parliament, the National Assembly.
13
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Of the three loans, only the US$850-million for
Ematum – which took the form of a European
bond issue – was publicly known. The loans to
Proindicus (US$622-million) and to MAM
(US$535-million) were kept secret, even from
the Banco de Moçambique. When, thanks to
press reports, the veil of secrecy was lifted in
April 2016, the IMF reacted by suspending its
programme with Mozambique. Other major
western partners followed suit – and all 14
donors and funding agencies that provided
direct support to the Mozambican State Budget
suspended all further disbursements.
The IMF made it clear that an international,
independent audit of the three companies was
an indispensable requirement for the
resumption of normal business.
The Kroll audit should make clear exactly what
assets or services were published with the
US$2-billion, whether all the assets arrived,
whether they were properly priced, and whether
any of the money cannot be accounted for.
According to a report published in Savana on
Friday 31 March, the publication of the audit
(when completed) will omit the names of those
involved, as well as sensitive security
information.
According to the Swedish Ambassador, the
Attorney-General will only publish the full audit
report 90 days after its completion (scheduled
for 28 April).
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique/Savana/Zitamar News
Mozambique government debt expected to
exceed 140% of GDP
Mozambique’s public debt is expected to
exceeded 140% of the country’s gross domestic
product (GDP), said Mozambican economist
João Mosca, during a conference organised by
the Africa Intelligence Monitor and AIP
Foundation (Portuguese Industrial Association).
The economist cited calculations that the public
debt level has already surpassed the 130%
estimated by international credit rating
agencies, having approached (if not exceeded)
140% of GDP, “which is an extremely high
level”.
Mosca pointed out that the last two coupon
payments on loans contracted by public
companies were not paid – the first for
US$59.8-million and the second for US$119.2-
million – and therefore “the Mozambican credit
rating sank further into the category of junk”.

Saying it was difficult to make an optimistic
speech on the economic reality of Mozambique,
the professor said the country has inefficient
public services and lack of access to credit,
noting “corruption at every level” as a key issue
for companies along with a “weak and inefficient
state with strong centralised decision-making in
the central bodies”.
Mosca also said that the concentration of the
state’s attention on major investments has the
effect of increasing the external dependence of
Mozambique, embodied in the fact that 93% of
the investment made in the country comes from
abroad and the State Budget has a 30%
dependence on co-operation.
Source: MacauHub
Economist João Mosca paints grim picture
of Mozambique’s economy
Mozambique does not have the financial
resources to pay off its public debt, currently
estimated at US$15-billion, on its own. The
‘hidden debts’, contracted from 2010 onwards in
an unsupervised manner during the last term of
former president Armando Guebuza, represent
about 10% of that amount.
According to researcher João Mosca, the
problem is the inability of the Mozambican
economy to generate sufficient resources, and
the fact that the public accounts “continue to be
negative”.
Professor Mosca spoke to Deutsche Welle
Africa on the side-lines of a ‘Lusophone Africa,
a Prospective Vision’ conference entitled
‘Mozambique, Between the Crisis and A New
Economy’ in Lisbon on the morning of 28
March.
Negative impact on credibility and trust:
The consequences of Mozambique’s default
have a negative impact, in particular on
credibility and confidence in governance and the
economy, contributing to a downturn in
investment and the rise in interest rates with
consequent effects on debt volume and
services. This forces more resources to be paid
servicing debt, reducing the capacity of the
Mozambican state to provide services. This is
how economist João Mosca assesses the
consequences of Mozambique’s inability to fully
meet its international financial commitments.
“Internally also the confidence of citizens –
especially of the entrepreneurs who invest –
falls”, Mosca said, adding that “international
credit and investment change completely,
although in some areas – for example in the gas
issue – this element is not as determinant. But it
is important in any case to know that it is a
14
Return to Contents Page
country that has difficulties or cannot, at least in
the first two tranches (instalments), honour its
commitments, so the situation is negative”.
“It is difficult for me to make a very optimistic
speech because conditions do not allow it. I am
a serious person – I do not do optimism
management. But I am reasonably hopeful –
there are good things to come and the future
could be very good, because Mozambique has
potential. The current government is very
receptive to investment and Mozambican
society is very plural in political, religious, ethnic
and social terms”, he said.
But Mosca continued to list the main risks for
foreign investors, from poor public services to
the difficulties in accessing credit, “corruption at
all levels” and a “fragile and inefficient state,
with a strong centralisation of decisions in the
central organs”.
“There is macro-economic instability, public
policies are often inconsistent and public
services are not efficient”, he said.
“There is the possibility of political and social
conflicts, and citizens’ lives are subsidised to
the tune of 40%. There is fictitious management
at the central bank, which supports the metical
to avoid inflation and protect imports”, Mosca,
maintains.
And civil society is becoming stronger. Mosca
cites the ProSAVANA project, an agricultural
mega-programme financed by Brazil and Japan
in the provinces of northern and central
Mozambique.
The objective of this project is to convert
subsistence agriculture into market production.
“The ProSAVANA project was paralysed
because of criticism and by social networks,
which do not exist in Angola and are becoming
increasingly active and influential”, he
concluded.
Operation without significant economic effects:
Mosca considers the sale of ENI’s Rovuma
Basin shares to ExxonMobil to be
“extraordinary” or “unique” and says that the
operation will not change the perception of
international investors regarding the default, as
it will have no significant economic effect.
“It will certainly serve well to pay off debt without
any effect on the economy, on the capacity of
the state, the capacity of investment by the
businesspeople, internal changes in the
economy, this is not going to reflect in any way.
Therefore, it is money that enters on one side
and goes out on the other. Of course, this may

have some effect due to debt reduction in terms
of interest”.
However, documents are beginning to appear
that question the evaluation of capital gains on
the sale. It is suspected that they have been
undervalued, and that, according to Mosca,
there have been technical problems or lack of
transparency.
Legitimacy of company debt:
Mosca also spoke about the legitimacy of
Proindicus, Ematum and MAM debts contracted
without parliamentary scrutiny.
“These hidden debts were illegal, un-
transparent, and very few people – even in
government – knew about them”. They were
fraudulent to the extent that the volume and
values and interest rates agreed were
absolutely out of line with the market. They
were, even technically, badly made
investments. The fishing boats did not meet
cold-storage conditions, seaworthiness,
navigational instruments, or fishing capacity for
the purpose that was envisaged. “There is also
the problem of the legal status of the company
itself, in order for it to be able to fish in
international waters and even in conditions
governed by international shipping, so almost
everything is wrong in this process”, the
economist said.
State Budget remains negative:
In view of the facts, Mosca maintains that
Mozambique does not have the financial
capacity to repay its debt because “the State
Budget remains negative. The balance of
payments continues to be negative and if only
because of this, there is there no way to change
this negative trend in the medium-term: four,
five, six years or more. The only capacity that
can be obtained is through inflows of financing
to pay unpaid financing. And hence it will
necessarily have to come from the International
Monetary Fund and other financial
organisations. It’s not worth thinking about”, the
economist warns.
Mozambique's Debt (as a
percentage of GDP)
140% 130%
120%
100% 86%
80% 62%
60%
40%
53%
40%
38%
20%
0%
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
15
Return to Contents Page
In addition to the support of the IMF, Mosca
suggests “eventually a reduction in lenders’
interest rates” and “some penalisation of banks
that acted in bad faith”, because, he adds,
“there was a lack of seriousness of all the
parties – government, companies and creditors,
including mediators – around the financial
network [which was put in place] for such
investments”.
Source: Deutsche Welle/Club of Mozambique
World Bank hopes to resume budget
support
The World Bank expects to resume direct
support for the Mozambican State Budget by
the end of this year, according to the Bank’s
resident director in Mozambique, Mark Lundell.
Lundell, speaking on Tuesday 28 March at a
lecture at the Higher Institute of International
relations (ISRI) in Maputo, said “World Bank
policy stresses budget support”. He wanted a
high proportion of the Bank’s funding for
Mozambique to take this form, and expected
such support to resume by the end of this year,
if not before.
The World Bank is one of the 14 donors and
funding agencies who used to provide general
budget support. But all 14 suspended
disbursements of budget support when the
scandal of government-guaranteed secret debts
came to light in April 2016.
The previous government, headed by president
Armando Guebuza, had issued illegal
guarantees for loans of over US$2-billion by
European banks (mainly Credit Suisse and VTB
of Russia) to three quasi-public, security related
companies – US$850-million for Ematum,
US$622-million for Proindicus and US$535-
million for MAM.
Of these loans, only that for Ematum was in the
public domain, since it took the form of a bond
offer on the European market in 2013.
The over US$1.1-billion lent to Proindicus and
MAM in 2013 and 2014 was kept in deepest
secrecy, thus misleading the Mozambican
public and the country’s foreign partners as to
the true state of the Mozambican foreign debt.
The Ematum, Proindicus and MAM loans added
20% to the fordebt, and pushed it to
unsustainable levels. The government is unable
to meet its commitments under these loans, and
has defaulted on them three times.
A condition for the resumption of normal
relations between Mozambique and its foreign
partners is an independent, international audit of
Ematum, Proindicus and MAM. That audit is in
the hands of the London branch of the US

company Kroll, and its audit report should be
delivered by 28 April.
Lundell seemed optimistic that relations would
return to normal. He told his ISRI audience that
over the next five years the World Bank intends
to support 25 projects in Mozambique in 17
strategic areas.
Notícias cites Lundell as claiming this would be
“an investment of approximately US$2-billion,
and each project could have a budget of
between US$80-million and US$100-million”.
He said that previous World Bank funding had
led to robust economic growth, but admitted this
had not produced the expected impact in raising
living standards of the Mozambican population.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique/Jornal Notícias
Researcher calls for transparency in
management of Mozambique World Bank
resources
The World Bank will resume financial support to
Mozambique by the end of this year, investing
approximately €1.9-billion in the country over
the next five years. But will this be the light at
the end of the tunnel in the country’s current
crisis?
Mozambique’s Centre of Public Integrity (Centro
de Integridade Pública, CIP) finance researcher,
Celeste Banze, says the resumption of foreign
investment may have positive effects on the
economy, provided there is government
transparency and greater control of the funds on
both sides.
According to Banze, the Mozambican state
already has a poor record with World Bank
resources. Due to mismanagement of
resources, investments have failed to achieve
their main objective: poverty reduction, Banze
says.
DW Africa: Do you think the resumption of
World Bank financial support, valued at US$2-
billion (approximately €1.9-billion), will boost the
Mozambican economy and help generate
resources for the repayment of public debt?
Celeste Banze (CB): Yes, I believe so. This
help is always welcome as far as the country’s
anti-poverty activities are concerned. The big
problem that we have to overcome is these
funds having the same fate as the other funds
that were previously channelled by the World
Bank in Mozambique.
However, there is a greater commitment on the
part of the government to supervise these
funds, in order to make them transparent. It is
16
Return to Contents Page
important to say what actions will be taken when
receiving these funds – how will they be spent.
It is important that there is a greater
participation of the actual beneficiaries of this
funding, because it is no good receiving the
funds and saying, “We are going to implement
activities aimed at boosting production”; it is
important to know exactly where these funds will
be allocated. It is important that there is
transparency in this process, because we
already have experience of funds channelled by
the World Bank, and we still have not reached
the goal, which is poverty reduction.
DW Africa: The World Bank has acknowledged
that past investments did not improve the living
conditions of the Mozambican population. With
the resumption of investments, the main focus
will be on reducing poverty. How do you
evaluate this new focus?
CB: The World Bank’s main vision is precisely
to reduce poverty. All funds have always been
for the purpose of combating poverty. So at this
point, it is important to note that in addition to
receiving the funds, the government has to
adopt a [different] attitude. It has already been
shown that in recent years there have been
major failures in terms of transparency, in terms
of accountability. It is important that the
government is more transparent now; that it
supervises, and that the World Bank itself
monitors how these funds are spent better. We
have to learn from the mistakes of the past. The
big problem in the past is that there was a lack
of supervision, a lack of commitment on the part
of the government to really fight poverty.
DW Africa: The Mozambican Debt Group says
that the country should not pay the hidden
debts, and that the banks that brokered the
transactions should be responsible for the
payment, since the loan was contracted without
the approval of the National Assembly
[parliament]. Do you think this is a sustainable
argument?
CB: I think the country is in default, mainly
because of these commercial debts. For now,
the audit being conducted by Kroll, and the
result being reported this month is what will
show what actually happened to these funds,
which will dictate the reactions that the country
will have, especially regarding the accountability
of the main beneficiaries of this debt.
DW Africa: What would a sustainable way out
of Mozambique’s economic crisis look like?
CB: Production. To stop believing that we will
always have help. The big problem is that the
country is has lost confidence, and now that the
usual budget support has stopped, nod we are
now feeling the harmful effects. So, producing,

the country becoming self-sufficient … This is
the sustainable way to get out of this crisis.
DW Africa: Apart from the lack of foreign
investment, what stops Mozambique producing?
CB: I think it’s the lack of transparency. It’s
corruption, lack of accountability. It is important
that, first, the [budget] execution of public
expenditure be conducted in a transparent way.
That’s the best way for us to have a sustainable
production.
Source: Deutsche Welle/Club of Mozambique
World Bank announces record US$57-billion
for sub-Saharan Africa, Mozambique
included
On Sunday 26 March, the World Bank
announced US$57-billion in financing for sub-
Saharan Africa over the next three fiscal years.
Of that total, US$45-billion will come from the
International Development Association, the
World Bank fund that provides grants and
interest-free loans for the world’s poorest
countries.
The package will also feature an estimated
US$8-billion in private sector investments from
the International Finance Corporation, a private-
sector branch of World Bank, and US$4-billion
will come from the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, the bank’s
unit for middle-income nations, World Bank
President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement.
Germany, which hosted a meeting of the G20
countries on 24 and 25 March, said that a
partnership called ‘Compact with Africa’ would
be a priority of its presidency this year of that
club of powerful nations. Of all the countries in
Africa, only South Africa is a G20 member.
“This represents an unprecedented opportunity
to change the development trajectory of the
countries in the region”, Kim said. “With this
commitment, we will work with our clients to
substantially expand programmes in education,
basic health services, clean water and
sanitation, agriculture, business climate,
infrastructure and institutional reform”, he
added.
Kim left for Rwanda and Tanzania on Sunday in
a show of World Bank support for the entire
region. The new financing from the International
Development Association will target 448
projects that are already underway in sub-
Saharan Africa. The region accounts for more
than half of the countries eligible for this kind of
financing from the IDA, the bank said.
Source: AFP Africa News/Kenya NTV/Club of
Mozambique
17
Return to Contents Page
Increase in fuel prices makes life in
Mozambique more difficult
The effects of the government’s recent fuel price
hike are already being felt.
Some food items are no longer on sale in
Quelimane (Zambézia Province) because
transport is more expensive and producers are
refusing to send their produce to the city.
“The rise in the price of fuel is stopping people
bringing produce to Quelimane”, said trader
Alberto Soares.
Other foods price have also risen. A kilogram of
flour now costs almost MT80, when previously it
cost MT50. The reno potato is now MT50 a
kilogram, as opposed to MT40.
Things could get worse:
Bonde Carlos is another trader who is worried
about falling profits. “We traders will never
develop with this rise in prices. We’ll always be
going backwards”, he says.
Economist Horácio Mucuveia says the situation
could lead to worse living standards for the
population.
“With a rise in the price of fuel, motorists are
going to value transport more, so it will be
difficult for the population to access food. The
impact on Zambézia’s population is negative”,
Mucuveia says.
Appeals to the government:
The price of fuel in Mozambique has risen twice
in less than six months. In some places, a litre
of gasoline already costs MT60, more than the
cost stipulated by the government.
Motorist Francisco Morais says the government
“must reduce expenses, so that the populations
can feed their families”.
However, Mucuveia is not optimistic about a
drop in the price of fuel. “Because of the
economic crisis, the government is always going
to raise prices in order to prop up the economy”,
he says. “Fuel in Mozambique will not go down
in price”.
But back in the market, trader Alberto expects
better days and puts his hopes in the
government.
“We want the government to resolve this. There
is no war, cars are moving normally on the
roads; we want people’s lives to improve”.
Source: Deutsche Welle/Club of Mozambique

Germany maintains cut of direct support to
the Mozambique State Budget
Three years after taking the decision to cut
direct support to the Mozambican State Budget,
the German government has reiterated its
position and says that the focus remains on
financing concrete projects. The information
was advanced on Thursday 30 March, by the
German Ambassador to Mozambique, Detler
Wolter, after a meeting with the Confederation
of Economic Associations (Confederação das
Associações Económicas de Moçambique,
CTA).
Ambassador Wolter held a meeting with the
CTA’s board of directors, during which he
reiterated Germany’s position on cutting direct
support to the Mozambican State Budget,
saying they will continue to invest only in
specific projects. “Since 2014, our government
has decided to cut off the direct support we
provided to the Mozambican State Budget to
make room for the funding of specific projects”,
Ambassador Wolter said. The official also said
that the decision was taken by the German
parliament, looking at international demands.
Prakash Prehlad, the vice president of the CTA,
spoke about the importance of this meeting,
since it contributes to the improvement of the
business environment in the country. For
example, a German business delegation is
expected in Mozambique from 9 April to
exchange experiences with local entrepreneurs.
“We see great opportunities in Africa and
Mozambique in particular, so we are convinced
that trade between the two countries will
increase”, Ambassador Wolter said. The
business environment is very favourable,
Germany is a focus for private sector support,
Prehlad said. Without advancing specific data,
the vice president of the CTA said that projects
in the provinces of Sofala, Manica and
Inhambane have been in force for more than
five years, financed by Germany.
Source: O País
Japan assures continuity of support
Japan will continue to support Mozambique in
various investment projects, particularly in the
construction of bridges, power and gas plants,
as well as in the training of human resources.
The guarantee was made by Akira Mizutani,
outgoing ambassador of Japan in Mozambique,
after leaving a meeting with Prime Minister
Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, where he went to
say goodbye as his three-year diplomatic
mission in the country comes to a close. In fact,
at the end of the meeting, Mizutani said that it
was a lively conversation and that he takes with
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him a positive image of Mozambique. “The
image I get from Mozambique is positive. I leave
Mozambique with all the memoranda and
commitments made and in progress. Currently,
there are 50 young Japanese volunteers who
work in the most diverse areas, transmitting
knowledge and experiences to improve the life
of the communities”, he said.
The visit of President Filipe Nyusi to Japan is
described by him as being one of the milestones
of his mission in the country. The consolidation
of relations between the two countries was yet
another achievement made since his
accreditation in 2014 as the ambassador of
Japan.
Source: Jornal Notícias
Chinese companies invest over US$50-
billion in Portuguese-speaking countries
The investment of Chinese companies in
Portuguese-speaking countries totals US$50-
billion and the value of contracts in these
countries exceeds US$90-billion, said the
Deputy Secretary-General of Forum Macau
appointed by China. Ding Tian, who was
speaking at a session on business opportunities
in Portuguese-speaking countries organised by
the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion
Institute said trade between China and the
“eight” amounted to nearly US$100-billion in
2016, with China continuing to be “one of the
most important partners” in these countries.
The Deputy Secretary-General of Forum Macau
nominated by China said Macau has become
“an indispensable bridge between the parties –
China and the Portuguese-speaking countries”,
due to its unique advantages.
During the session, which attracted
representatives of the sectors of trade and
logistics, Gloria Batalha Ung, an executive
member of IPIM, reiterated that Macau is
“working towards building a service platform”,
between China and the Portuguese-speaking
countries, to enable small and medium
enterprises as well as young local
entrepreneurs, to be better informed.
Ung recalled that every year IPIM sends
delegations from Macau and mainland China on
visits to study Portuguese-speaking countries
and confirmed that, in mid-June this year, there
will be a visit to Cabo Verde for the “Meeting of
Entrepreneurs for Economic and Trade Co-
operation between China and Portuguese-
speaking countries 2017”. This session’s
speakers were representatives of companies
that have already invested or done business
with Angola, Brazil, Portugal and Timor-Leste.
Source: MacauHub

Entrepreneurs from CPLP and China meet in
Cabo Verde in June
From 16 to 18 June, Cabo Verde will host a
meeting between businesspeople of the
Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries
(CPLP) and China under the theme ‘Promoting
Opportunities for Economic Co-operation
Between China and the Community of
Portuguese Speaking Countries’, Cape Verdean
investment agency Cabo Verde TradeInvest
said on Thursday 30 March. Ana Lima Barber
also told reporters that the meeting is part of the
framework to strengthen economic and
business co-operation between China and the
CPLP and aims to promote business
opportunities in each country. “The idea is to
increase trade, facilitate meetings, especially for
small and medium-sized enterprises, in order to
identify new markets and exploit synergies,
taking advantage of Cabo Verde’s platform,
which is stable, democratic and well situated”,
she said.
The meeting will take place in the capital, Praia,
with the participation of about 300
entrepreneurs from China, Angola, Cabo Verde,
Mozambique, Brazil, Portugal, Guinea-Bissau,
São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste. A
Macau delegation organised by the Macau
Institute for Trade and Investment Promotion
(IPIM) will attend the gathering with
representatives of Forum Macau and the Pan-
Pearl River Delta.
Source: MacauHub
Singapore wants to invest in Mozambique in
logistics and tourism
Following a meeting with Prime Minister Carlos
Agostinho do Rosário on Tuesday 21 March,
the State Minister in the Office of the Prime
Minister of Singapore, Josephine Teo, said that
her country was interested in investing in
Mozambique in the fields of logistics and
tourism. According to Minister Teo, it is also in
Singapore’s interest to exchange synergies with
Mozambique in the development of human
resources.
“We are harmonising our co-operation for the
development of human resources. We are also
aware of the need to extend co-operation in
improving the business environment between
the two states”, the senior Minister said. On
Tuesday, the first day of her visit to
Mozambique, Minister Teo held meetings with
Minister of Transport and Communications,
Carlos Mesquita, and also with Minister of
Industry and Commerce, Ernesto Tonela.
During the day, she signed an agreement on
investment promotion and protection.
Source: Rádio Moçambique
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Brexit as an opportunity for Africa?
As British Prime Minister Theresa May triggers
formal Brexit talks, African nations are gearing
up for negotiations of their own. But it’s not all
doom and gloom since Brexit could work in
Africa’s favour. It will be a big leap into the
unknown once the United Kingdom triggers
formal talks to leave the European Union (EU).
The EU’s existing trade agreements will then no
longer apply to Britain and have to be
renegotiated. “We don’t know where we are
going to end”, Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister
Shirley Ayorko Botchwey told Deutsce Welle.
“Are we going to have to sign new agreements?
And if so which agreements are we going to
sign? All these things are very fluid at the
moment, so you can’t say much”.
Traditionally, trade with the UK has been very
important for African Commonwealth countries
like Ghana. At its peak in 2012, UK-
Commonwealth Trade accounted for US$120-
billion, according to the Commonwealth. Some
are hopeful the UK might be eyeing to boost
trade with its former colonies.
Better deals for Africa?
“With UK going solo, it may strengthen our
course to face them one-on-one”, said financial
analyst Courage Martey. Rather than dealing
with the EU as a whole, “there is an opportunity
for us to balance the scale, to ensure that we
strike trade deals that especially favour our local
business”. South Africa has similar hopes to
resurrect its relationship with the UK.
“Initially there were fears that Brexit would be
harmful to the South African economy because
of the threat of a decline in European economic
growth as a result of Brexit. But those fears
have been allayed more recently as we have
seen increased interest by the British in South
Africa”, said Azar Jammine, chief economist at
the Johannesburg-based consultancy
Econometrix.
“The latter could indeed result in more trade,
more investment, which would lead to more
jobs”.
According to Jammine, it’s all down to how
Brexit will affect European economic growth.
“If you believe that Brexit is going to have a
negative impact on European economic growth,
bear in mind the fact that Europe is a very
important trading partner for South Africa
accounting for nearly a third of all its exports,
then clearly Brexit would have a negative
impact”.
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But since the UK might try to look at new

markets once its links to Europe are diminished,
African countries could actually stand to benefit.

“The most obvious thing to do – which many

leaders of the UK have already suggested – is
to look to their traditional markets, one of them
obviously being South Africa. And already there
are signs that there is increased interest by
British companies in investing in South Africa
and increasing trade relations with South Africa
in order to make up for the loss of trading
opportunities in Europe”.

British Trade Minister Liam Fox said he wanted

to strengthen trade with the Commonwealth, the
52-member bloc that should “lead the defence
of free trade”.

Don’t go it alone:

The African Commonwealth nations certainly

had more leverage if they negotiated as larger
blocs such as the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) or the East
African Community (EAC), says Brian
Wanyama, an economics professor at Kibabii
University in Kenya.
“It all boils down to the quality of the negotiating
teams that the Commonwealth countries have.
It would actually be a very good deal if the
Commonwealth countries came together to
negotiate as one bloc, because in that way they
are likely to get a better deal out of the UK. But
if they go it separately, definitely they are bound
to lose out”.
That’s something Lagos-based financial expert
Kasuma Garba Karfi agrees with. “When you
are united, you are stronger”, he said, adding
negotiations with the UK were going to pose a
great challenge.
Financial Services:
Main mission of central bank is to preserve
the currency
On Monday 27 March, Prime Minister Carlos
Agostinho do Rosário declared that the main
mission of the Banco de Moçambique is to
preserve the value of the country’s currency, the
metical.
He was speaking at the ceremony where he
swore into office a new member of the Bank’s
Board of Directors, Felisberto Navalha.
Navalha, who has worked at the central bank for
the past 21 years. Navalha replaces Joana
Matsombe (who has retired after 40 years of
service) on the Board.

According to Wanyama, the East African
countries are rather optimistic about a new trade
agreement, pointing to the long-established
relationship between the UK and the EAC
dating back to the 40s and 50s.
“There is actually hope that they will not only
pick up where Brexit left them, but that the UK
as a long-time friend will give East African
countries preferable treatment”. However, it’s
not yet clear what the UK’s intentions are, says
Accra-based financial expert Martey.
“One of the things that got them out of the EU
appears to be more of an inward-looking
direction. And so the priority will be the things
that favour the people of the UK rather than the
Commonwealth relationship”.
Source: Deutsce Welle/Club of Mozambique
20
In pursuing its main mission, the Prime Minister
added, the central bank must formulate and
manage monetary policy and guarantee
supervision of the national financial system”.
The challenges facing the bank “demand the
modernisation of monetary and exchange
policy, and the continual improvement of
mechanisms of communication so as to impact
positively on the behaviour of economic agents”.
Prime Minister Rosário hoped that Navalha “will
participate actively in seeking innovative
solutions for consolidating the stability of the
metical, and of the level of prices. These are
fundamental conditions for attracting investment
and improving the living conditions of the
population”.
The metical depreciated sharply in the first nine
months of 2016, slumping to the rate of MT80 to
the US dollar. Since October it has staged a

considerable recovery and the exchange rate
quoted on Monday by the main commercial
bank, the Millennium-BIM, was MT67 to the
dollar. This recovery has been attributed, at
least in part, to vigorous measures taken by the
Banco de Moçambique, including a dramatic
increase in its benchmark interest rates.
Prime Minister Rosário also called for
implementation of the government’s Strategy for
the Development of the Financial Sector 2013-
22 “by improving access to financial services,
particularly in the rural areas”.
He urged Navalha to play his role in “promoting
financial inclusion”, and the spread of banking
throughout the economy. This would involve
“encouraging the commercial banks to set up
branches in the districts”. Currently only around
half of the country’s 154 districts have bank
branches.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Felisberto Navalha: The new administrator at
Banco de Moçambique
On Monday 27 March, Felisberto Navalha was
sworn in as the new administrator of the Banco
de Moçambique, joining the seven-member
board of directors headed by Governor Rogério
Zandamela and Deputy Governor Gertrudes
Macueve, the sole female director.
Navalha has a Master’s degree in development
economics from the Eduardo Mondlane
University, and has worked at the central bank
for 21 years. He has held positions in economic
studies and statistics and was an advisor to the
Monetary Policy Committee.
At the inauguration, Prime Minister Carlos
Agostinho do Rosário explained that Navalha
was being sworn in because he was competent
and had extensive experience of the institution,
challenging him to contribute to the country’s
macro-economic stabilisation.
Navalha said that he was well aware of the
challenges of being a member of the institution
and promised to work hard. Former
administrator Joana Matsombe said she had left
the post proud of having made a contribution in
the financial area, where she stayed for a longer
period during her 42 years with the institution.
Apart from participating in the bank’s major
decisions, Matsombe’s main contribution was in
the training of staff. In addition to several
courses taken during her career, Matsombe
holds a BA in economics from UEM and a
Master’s degree in financial economics from
England.
Source: O País/Club of Mozambique
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US$75-million-dollar profit for Mozambique’s
largest bank
Mozambique’s largest commercial bank, the
International Bank of Mozambique (Millennium-
BIM) has announced net profits of about MT5-
billion (US$75-million, at current exchange
rates) in the 2016 financial year.
A general meeting of the bank’s shareholders,
held in Maputo on Wednesday 29 March,
approved the annual report and accounts, which
showed that Millennium-BIM increased its
deposits in 2016 by 9.7%, reaching a total of
MT97.8-billion.
The bank’s credit portfolio grew by 19.7%, and
reached MT84.4-billion. Financing of companies
during the year was MT68.4-billion, an increase
of 25.6% on the 2015 figure. During the year,
the bank paid the Mozambican state about
MT3.7-billion in tax.
A statement issued by Millennium-BIM on
Thursday declared that the bank’s solvency
ratio remains 18.8% – much higher than the 8%
demanded by the Banco de Moçambique.
The bank declared that it now has about 1.6-
million clients, served by around 2,500 bank
workers. It remains the largest bank in
Mozambique and occupies the 56th position in
the ranking of the 100 largest banks in Africa.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Mozambique banking likely to grow less
than 5% this year – BMI research
On Thursday 23 March, BMI Research
consultancy said that, due to the country’s
economic difficulties, the banking sector asset
growth rate in Mozambique is expected to fall to
less than 5% this year, and still be below 8% in
2018.
“The commercial banking industry faces two
challenging years, as the economy weakens
despite the demand for credit and lower asset
quality”, wrote the Fitch group analysts.
In the analysis of Mozambique’s financial
sector, the analysts write that: “total asset
growth was around 23% per year between 2010
and 2015, before falling dramatically in 2016 to
only 7.9%”. The analysis anticipates that “the
growth of the sector will be slow in the short-
term, reaching only 4.8% and 7.9% in this and
next year, respectively”.
This negative view of developments in the
Mozambican banking sector in 2017 and 2018
“is mainly the result of the debt crisis that
culminated in the financial default” of January,
when the government failed almost US$60-

million on sovereign bonds maturing in 2023.
Public debt, which BMI Research estimates to
be at 109% of GDP this year, will hamper
economic recovery, as will the austerity
measures required.
“Any future negotiations with the International
Monetary Fund and creditors should stipulate
severe cuts in public spending to try to stabilise
the debt burden, which will slow down the
demand for credit in the domestic banking
sector”, BMI Research says.
The domestic private sector will not make a
major contribution to the appreciation of assets,
since it is also penalised by the poor
performance of the sectors most affected by the
public debt crisis, especially construction.
“Beyond commodity territory, we believe that the
development of major infrastructure projects will
be a rarity for the construction industry in the
next two years because of budget constraints
and weak investor sentiment”, analysts say. The
report also notes that the default environment
increases risk for the financial sector, with the
budget deficit improving to 6.3% of GDP from
an estimated 8.8% last year.
“However, the increasing cost of debt service
may undermine the government’s ability to
assist any struggling banks”, says BMI
Research, stressing that the ratio of government
debt to GDP was 42.2% in 2014 and is
expected to rise to almost 110% of GDP this
year.
On a positive note, analysts point out that the
largest Mozambican banks are owned by
external entities. “Millennium-BIM, BCI,
Standard Bank, Barclays, Moza and Banco
Único represent 90% of the sector’s assets,
which we see as positive in a prospective of
financial stability”, the analysts conclude.
Source: Lusa/Club of Mozambique
American Express cards can now be used in
BCI POS and ATM
American Express credit cards can now be used
in Mozambique at BCI point-of-sale systems
and ATMs, but the bank and the company
issuing the credit cards only formalised the
agreement on Tuesday 28 March. The
agreement will make life easier for tourists and
foreign businesspeople, BCI Executive
Committee President, Paulo Sousa, said.
“Anybody visiting Mozambique, for work or
leisure, can use American Express cards at all
our terminals and pay for services or purchases,
or use them at ATMs, which before now was not
possible”, he explained.
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Sousa also said that the move would help the
country to attract more foreign currency and
improve the balance of payments, because of
the foreigners who visit Mozambique and make
purchases in the country.
“All the companies that visit us, whether for
investment – many companies related to oil and
natural gas will surely be users of American
Express cards and will from now on make
normal use of their cards as they have in other
countries of the region like South Africa, where
American Express cards have been accepted
for many years. This was not the case in
Mozambique, but now it is”, Sousa says.
Sousa explained that the bank’s plan was to
allow the approximately 9,600 merchants who
have BCI’s electronic POS (point of sale)
payment systems to add American Express in
the near future.
Under the agreement, BCI is responsible for
managing the relationships with merchants as
well as expanding the American Express
network in the country. Since 1997, American
Express has been partnering with banks and
financial institutions around the world, issuing
American-branded American Express products
and accepting payment on its network.
On Tuesday, the agreement between the
parties was signed by Sousa and American
Express vice-president for the development of
banking partnerships for Europe, Middle East
and Africa, Catherine Malec.
Source: O País/Club of Mozambique
Oil & Gas:
Lack of transparency surrounds ENI tax
payment – NGO
The CIP condemned the lack of transparency in
the method used by the Mozambican tax
authorities to calculate the tax that Italy’s ENI is
to pay on its recent share transaction with
ExxonMobil.
“In the public presentation of the value of the
capital gains tax that will be applied on ENI East
Africa, the Tax Authority (Autoridade Tributária,
AT) did not explain why it chose a formula
different from that used in previous transactions,
that is, there are no details on how the Tax
Authority came to the decision that this was the
best formula to use”, the CIP economists write.
In a note on the calculation of the tax that ENI is
expected to pay for the sale of 25% of its stake
in Area-4 of the Rovuma Basin to the American
multinational ExxonMobil entitled There Is No
Transparency In The Calculation Of The Value
Of Capital Gains, the CIP notes that in its

statement, the AT says that: “in order to reach
the value [of US$350-million in taxes] [it]
resorted to the information made available and
provided by ENI, without specifying which
[information]”.
“Government dependence on company
information is problematic, since there may be
an intentional or unintentional omission in the
declaration, affecting the process of tax
assessment”, the CIP remarks.
Economists use an opinion from the
Administrative Court on the accounts for 2014
and 2015 to argue that the judges draw
attention to “the fact that companies are not
playing their role as they should, which could
allow multinationals to claim recovery of costs
that are not recoverable under the terms of the
country’s tax law”.
“All things considered, it should be noted that
the key to calculating the capital gains to be
imposed on ENI is the costs that are not
disclosed and there are concerns about their
reliability, since, as the Tax Authority states in
its opinion on the state’s General Account of
2015, they are not adequately monitored by the
competent entities, in this case, the National
Petroleum Institute and the AT”, the CIP points
out.
Good governance, the monitoring group
concludes, “begins with transparent and
unequivocal laws, making it impossible for them
to be applied in different ways and at the
pleasure of those who apply them”.
Last week, the AT announced that the
government would receive about US$350-
million in taxes for the acquisition of 25% of ENI
East Africa by US energy company ExxonMobil.
According to Aníbal Balango, the payment will
only be made when the financial transaction is
completed, probably in about six months.
Source: Lusa/@Verdade/Club of Mozambique
Economist says new Mozambique gas
contracts should be renegotiated
On Wednesday 29 March, Mozambican
economist João Mosca said that contracts
between the state and private operators with
regard to Mozambique’s natural gas reserves
should be renegotiated to increase revenues
and benefit a larger proportion of the population.
“The effect of the exploitation of natural
resources on society will take a long time,
unless the state has a strong tax system
capable of absorbing capital gains and other
taxes and income and then moves to benefit a
larger group of people. But those companies
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have very high tax benefits, and [hence] the
volume of taxes is very low”, Mosca said.
In a speech as part of the ‘Lusophone Africa, a
Prospective View’ conference promoted by
Portugal’s AIP Foundation, he said that: “if the
new contracts are not changed, society will not
benefit much from this sector because the
products are fully exported and there are few
royalties [taxes from companies to the state]
contractualised”.
Mosca, who painted a very pessimistic view on
the state of the economy of the country, is of the
opinion that “we must revise contracts because
the tax benefits [to companies] are very high
and Mozambique has a fiscal policy much
lighter than Angola’s, for example, and although
we have to remain competitive, there is room for
change”.
The actions of the tax authorities in collecting
taxes on the large multinationals investing in the
country have been one of the economic issues
in debate in recent days in Mozambique. On
Monday, the CIP said that the calculation
method the Mozambican tax authorities used to
calculate the tax that ENI had to pay for the
transaction with ExxonMobil lacked
transparency.
Source: Lusa
Sasol receives Best Corporate Taxpayer
Award in Mozambique for second time
Sasol Petroleum Temane (SPT) received the
award for Best Corporate Taxpayer for 2016 at
the Mozambican Tax Authority’s annual event
held on 22 March 2017.
The event acknowledged various corporate
companies who received certificates of
recognition from the Tax Authority Chairperson,
Amelia Nakhare. This is the second year that
SPT has been presented with the award, having
received the same award in 2015.
At the event, the Republic of Mozambique
Pipeline Company (ROMPCO) received first
place in the IRPC (corporate income tax)
payable on profit category, ROMPCO is a joint
venture between Sasol, Companhia
Mocambiçana de Gasoduto S.A (CMG), and
South African Gas Development Company
(SOC) Limited (iGas).
Additionally, Central Térmica de Ressano
Garcia (CTRG) was awarded first prize in the
overall best tax payer in the medium tax payers’
group. The CTRG power plant is a partnership
between the Mozambican state power utility,
Electridade de Mozambique (EdM) with 51%
and Sasol with 49%. CTRG is currently

producing 175 megawatts (MW) which benefits
two-million Mozambicans.
“We are honoured to have received this
acknowledgement from the Mozambican Tax
Authority and are proud to have played a
pioneering role in the development of the
country’s gas industry”, said Peter Manoogian,
acting senior vice president of Exploration and
Production International at Sasol.
“Mozambique lies at the centre of our growth
strategy for southern Africa, we remain resolute
in nurturing our investments in the country and
partnering with the Mozambican government
and other stakeholders to help stimulate growth
to improve the quality of life of Mozambicans”,
he concluded.
Sasol’s commitment to Mozambique began well
over a decade ago when, together with its
partners, Companhia Moçambicana de
Hidrocarbonetos (CMH) and the International
Finance Corporation (IFC) developed the
Pande/Temane natural gas project. This project
pioneered the monetisation of the Pande and
Temane gas fields which had been effectively
‘stranded’ for over 30 years.
To date, more than US$1-billion was delivered
to the government of Mozambique. This
includes corporate taxes, royalties and social
investments, as well as profit share and
dividends paid out to state-owned entities by the
upstream gas processing and midstream gas
transportation projects.
Source: PR Newswire
Inspectors check filling stations
The National Institute for Standardisation and
Quality (Instituto Nacional de Normalização e
Qualidade, INNOQ) has again confirmed that
petrol pumps in some Maputo filling stations are
providing less fuel than motorists have paid for.
An INNOQ team carried out an extraordinary
inspection on the morning of Tuesday 28 March,
of a filling station near Maputo airport owned by
the Portuguese company Galp.
Bernardo Mussagy, head of the INNOQ Legal
Measurement Department, told reporters that
the pumps at this station bear labels showing
that they were inspected last year. Yet they still
have the same problem of providing less fuel
than the pump meter declared, and which the
client has paid for.
He admitted that all measurements are subject
to mistake. In the case of fuel, the acceptable
margin of error is 100 millilitres in every 20
litres. “What we do not want are any
premeditated mistakes, which always give the
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client less than he paid for”, said Mussagy.
“INNOQ’s goal is to eliminate the trend to
always give less to the consumer”.
When a pump systematically provides less fuel
than it should, INNOQ bans it from serving any
more motorists until the anomaly has been
corrected. At this Galp service station, there
were a total of 16 pumps providing petrol and
diesel. The inspectors put a ban on two of them
which, although they had been inspected
before, were still pumping amounts that were
less than the acceptable margin of error.
If inaccurate petrol pumps are not corrected, but
continue to swindle motorists, INNOQ can
impose fines of up to MT600,000 (approximately
US$9,000). The management of the petrol
station claimed that all equipment in Galp filling
stations is maintained regularly, and anomalies
are corrected.
INNOQ also checked containers of cooking gas,
and found that several did not contain the
regulation amount. However, this is unlikely to
be a deliberate fraud, since the inspectors found
some containers with too much gas, as well as
those that held too little.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Mining:
Brazil’s Vale sells stake in Moatize coal mine
to Mitsui
The Brazilian mining giant Vale has announced
the conclusion of the sale of part of its assets in
Mozambique to the Japanese company Mitsui
According to a Vale press release, Vale has
received US$733-million from Mitsui, and
expects to receive a further US$37-million later
in the year.
Under an agreement which took three years to
negotiate, Mitsui is purchasing 15% of Vale’s
holding in its open cast coal mine at Moatize, in
the western Mozambican province of Tete. Vale
owns 95% of the mine, while the other 5%
belongs to the Mozambican state.
Mitsui is also purchasing half of Vale’s
participation in the Nacala Logistics Corridor
(CLN). This consists of the new coal terminal at
the northern port of Nacala-a-Velha, and the
railway from Moatize to Nacala, which crosses
southern Malawi. The CLN is 50% owned by
Vale and the remaining 50% by the publicly
owned Mozambican ports and rail company,
Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Mocambique
(CFM).
From the Mozambican government’s point of
view, perhaps the most significant aspect of this
transaction is that Vale is liable to pay a large

sum in capital gains tax. The sum has not yet
been calculated: but when, earlier this month,
the American oil company ExxonMobil agreed
to pay the Italian energy company ENI US$2.8-
billion for a 25% stake in offshore Area-4 of the
Rovuma Basin, off the coast of the northern
province of Cabo Delgado, the AT calculated
the amount of capital gains tax owing at
US$350-million.
With the recent recovery in coal prices on the
world market, Vale’s investment in Mozambique
now looks like a profitable concern. In 2016,
Vale extracted 5.5-million tons of coal from the
Moatize mine.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Penspen seals Mozambique JV pipeline deal
Penspen, a leading global provider of
engineering and project management services,
has been awarded a contract by Petrozim Line
to provide engineering, procurement services,
construction and commissioning supervision for
the latest phase of capacity expansion of the
Feruka-Harare multiproduct pipeline project
being jointly developed by Mozambique and
Zimbabwe.
After successfully completing a study on the
project over the last six years, Penspen will
provide its services at three separate sites,
Feruka, Wilton and Harare. The existing
network includes the Companhia Do Pipeline
Mozambique-Zimbabwe Limitada (CPMZ)
pipeline which runs from Beira (Sofala Province)
in Mozambique into tanks at Feruka in
Zimbabwe.
Products are then pumped from Feruka via the
Petrozim 295 kilometres Feruka-Harare
multiproduct pipeline to the Msasa Terminal in
Harare. This pipeline was designed and
installed by Penspen in the early 1990s. The
company also constructed a 61,000 cu m
storage depot and automated road and rail
loading facility.
In order to expand the capacity of the Feruka-
Harare pipeline and meet increasing product
demand, Penspen will establish a series
pumping operation at Feruka, said its top
official.
The existing CPMZ and Petrozim pipelines will
be used as a single pipeline with Feruka acting
as an in-line booster pump station.
In addition to this project, Penspen was
awarded a contract in December 2016 by CMPZ
to work on series pumping on the Mozambique
side of the pipeline system to enable the same
process to proceed for Petrozim on the Feruka
to Harare side. The two projects are interrelated
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as Petrozim is dependent on CPMZ to increase
the flow.
Penspen’s executive VP (Europe & Africa),
Neale Carter, said: “We are pleased to continue
our involvement with Petrozim Line (Pvt) Ltd.
We have a 25-year relationship with the
company dating back to the early 90s and are
delighted to work again on the pipeline we
originally installed”.
“We started with a scoping study for the project
in 2011 followed by front end engineering and
design for series pumping and capacity
expansion studies. We are looking forward to
continuing our strong relationship with Petrozim
and CPMZ in the future”, he added.
Source: Trade Arabia
Savannah Resources defines resource
estimate at Ravene deposit in Mozambique
Savannah Resources Plc has raised its
resource estimate for the Mutamba minerals
sands project in Mozambique after evaluating
drilling results from the Ravene deposit.
The inferred mineral resource estimate at
Ravene stands at 900-million tons (mt) at 4.1%
total heavy minerals (THM).
It brings the total global mineral resource
estimate for the Mutamba project to 4.4-billion
tons at THM, representing a 26% increase.
The Mutamba project also includes the
Jangamo and Dangane deposits and is being
developed by Savannah and Rio Tinto.
Savannah defined the resource at Ravene using
samples from initial drilling of 119 holes
completed between 2002 and 2004, and from
the recent drilling of 107 holes.
The company has discovered the Ravene
resource contains a high-grade portion of 92mt
at 6.2% THM, which will be a primary focus
within the scoping study that is being carried
out.
The scoping study is nearing completion and
once received will be reviewed by Savannah
and Rio Tinto.
“The increased mineral resource for the
Mutamba Project highlights its potential to be a
significant producer of titanium feedstocks”, said
Savannah’s Chief Executive, David Archer.
“In addition, this year we are seeing increasing
prices for titanium feedstocks such as ilmenite
and rutile, which means that it is an ideal time to
be taking this project forward”.
Source: Proactive Investors

Finland disburses MT100-million to train
deputies on extractive industry matters in
Mozambique
Finland has offered to spend more than MT100-
million (approximately US$1.4-million) to train
National Assembly and Provincial Assembly
deputies in matters related to the extractive
industries in Mozambique, in order to help them
better monitor, supervise and legislate in the
field.
António Amélia, first deputy speaker of the
National Assembly, said that MPs would benefit
from the project in addressing a certain lack of
information on the extractive sector.
“We believe that this project is an opportunity for
Members of the Assembly of the Republic and
Provincial Assemblies to take ownership of the
knowledge and experiences of other countries,
especially Finland”, Amélia said.
The Ambassador of Finland in Mozambique,
Laura Torvinem, said that better-trained MPs
will help the country avoid many of the evils that
result from poor management of natural
resources and will be able to ensure better
outcomes for the communities in the areas
where the activity takes place.
The programme lasts for three years and
includes members of the First and Fifth
Commissions of parliament, as well as
members of assemblies in provinces where
extractive industry projects are underway.
Source: O País
Ruby rush brings gangland turf war to
Mozambique
The stakes are high in Montepuez where the
discovery of rubies has led to violence among
miners that has turned the northern town into
what some describe as Mozambique's own
version of the Wild West.
Discovery of the red gemstone in 2009 sparked
a “ruby rush”, with thousands of miners arriving
to seek their fortune, but often finding only grim
conditions, conflict and danger.
“We have a lot of foreigners who come from a
lot of countries to look for rubies”, Tania
Mabota, chief medical officer of Montepuez
Hospital, told AFP.
“There’s conflict for territory because it’s a
means of subsistence for the artisanal miners”,
she added. “One stone is enough for a person
to be attacked”.
The rubies attract informal – also referred to as
artisanal – miners from Mozambique, Tanzania,
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Nigeria and other nations, whose work is illegal,
unlike legitimate companies. A cohort of gem
traffickers has also arrived to trade in the
stones.
Treating a dozen cases of injuries a month and
the occasional death, the hospital finds itself on
the front line of a turf war between gangs of
illegal miners.
“Miners are killing one another for the gems”,
said Montepuez district administrator Etelvina
Fevereiro.
“We have organised crime, armed attacks and
trafficking of all kinds of drugs from cocaine to
hashish”, Fevereiro said.
Police in February rounded up 3,672 illegal
miners, more than two-thirds of them
clandestine migrants.
“The operation is very important because of the
levels of disorder and anarchy”, said journalist
and commentator Fernando Lima.
“The situation there is just like in a Wild West
movie”. The rush that has engulfed the remote
region, 1,650 kilometres north of the capital,
started six years ago.
Discovery of the century:
Rubies were discovered when a local
woodcutter picked up a stone, which was
passed on for expert analysis.
“Mozambique didn’t realise it was sitting on
such an amazing resource”, said Pia Tonna,
marketing and sales director with British firm
Gemfields, the biggest of several mining
companies operating in the area.
Producing nearly 40% of rubies sold on the
world market last year, Mozambique has
become one of the world’s leading sources.
The African ruby is now seen as an alternative
to the highly prized Myanmar ruby.
Gemfields says it is proud to be supplying
rubies mined “responsibly” and “ethically” and to
share its profits with locals.
“Bringing those rubies to the market on an
international platform, realising the true value of
that product, is only going to help the country”,
said Tonna.
“It’s going to help the country as a whole, that
means you get more schools, more
infrastructure”.
But some locals say they have enjoyed no
benefits, believing instead that they were
robbed of their livelihoods and claim they were

violently removed from mining territory allocated
to large operators.
Celestino dos Santos Jesus, a farmer, alleges
that police killed his son three years ago when
he was found digging for rubies in an area
intended for official mining.
“He was 25 years old, he went to look for
rubies”, he told AFP. “He was killed by the
(police) rapid intervention force”.
He added he had been too afraid to report the
death to authorities. Contacted by AFP, the
local prosecutor did not respond.
Between 2014 and 2015, the local prosecution
service opened investigations into at least 10
cases of alleged killings or violence, according
to Mozambican media.
One policeman was convicted of involuntary
homicide, Gemfields said.
“Zero tolerance’:
Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM), the subsidiary
of Gemfields, says that whenever illegal miners
stray on to its concession, the police are called.
“They take hold of those guys and that is a
process actually in law”, said Gopal Kumar, the
mine’s general manager.
“MRM absolutely never, never indulges in
violence activities. We have zero tolerance
policy towards violence”.
An agreement signed with the police includes
provision “to treat artisanal miners with dignity
and respect”, Gemfields said, adding that the
firm understood the authorities had given illegal
miners advance notice of the last crackdown.
Other accusations of police brutality have
recently surfaced. One illegal miner, Zito
Armando, told AFP: “They take people in cars
and leave them far away, in the middle of the
road, 100 kilometres away”.
Police dismiss the accusations, saying illegal
immigrants are deported, while Mozambicans
are sent back to their native provinces.
“If there were violations, they would have been
brought to the attention of the prosecutor. But
we did not see that”, said police spokesperson
Malva Brito.
For the district administration, police action is a
necessary move against illegal mining.
“Unlicensed mining is illegal everywhere in the
world”, Fevereiro said. “We are bringing back
order”.
Source: AFP/News24
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Energy:
EdM to tackle Zimbabwe over US$8-million
electricity bill
EdM has created a commission to negotiate
with the Zimbabwean government over its
approximately US$8-million unpaid electricity
bill.
Mateus Magala, chairman of the Board of
Directors of EdM, says the debt relates to 15
years of electricity generated by the Mavuzi
power station in the district of Sussundenga, in
the province of Manica.
Magala explained that the commission had
already held meetings with the Zimbabwean
authorities that had resulted in the reduction of
the debt due to the supply of electricity that
Mozambique also extends to other countries in
the region.
“The supply of energy to Zimbabwe comes
within a long-standing agreement which we
continue to honour. However, as we increase
power generation, two things happen. One is
more availability for neighbouring countries that
do not have the resources we have, and the
other is that we can increase national revenue,
as well as regional. Therefore, Zimbabwe,
Zambia and other neighbouring countries are
our other partners. We are maturing in the
market and learning how to be a mature
business. The conversation with Zimbabwe’s
colleagues is to see if we can settle the debts
that they have with us. We are now at around
US$5-million to US$7-million”, Magala said.
The Mavuzi hydroelectric plant, inaugurated by
President Filipe Nyusi, supplies electricity to the
cities of Manica and Mutare in neighbouring
Zimbabwe.
Source: Rádio Moçambique/Club of Mozambique
EdM lost more than MT20-million in 2016 due
to vandalism
EdM revealed that it lost more than MT20-
million since the beginning of 2016 due to the
vandalism of its infrastructures, which
contributed to the stoppage of some projects.
This announcement was made in response to
questions on the performance of the public
company, issued by the Mozambican
Democratic Movement (MDM) bench in the
Municipal Assembly of Maputo City.
The municipal plenary met on the morning of
Thursday 30 March discuss the water supply
and distribution of energy in the country’s
capital.

The MDM bench outlined as main negative
aspects the performance of EdM, the electricity
restrictions and the cut in the power supply in
the neighbourhoods, as well as the billing
without meter readings.
In response to questions raised by the MDM,
EdM pointed to the financial constraints caused
by the destruction of its power supply line as the
reason behind the restrictions.
The MDM subsequently turned its attention to
the Águas da Região de Maputo (AdeM),
demanding clarification with regard to the
current water situation in the capital.
The AdeM suggested the creation of a new dam
which will allow for the greater retention of
water.
Source: O País
President Nyusi re-inaugurates Mavuzi
power station
On Monday 27 March, President Filipe Nyusi re-
inaugurated the Mavuzi hydro-electric station,
on the Revue River at Sussundenga (Manica
Province).
After total rehabilitation, which began in
November 2013, the generating capacity of the
Mavuzi station has risen from 25MW to about
42MW.
The work, the tender for which was launched in
2010 and work was launched in November 2013
by a Franco-Norwegian consortium made up of
Cedelec and Hydrokarst Rain Power, included
the modernisation of the Chicamba
hydroelectric facility, also in Manica.
The rehabilitation of the power station cost
roughly US$120-million. It consisted of
overhauling the turbines and alternators,
installing new transformers, and a new auxiliary
low voltage system, and rehabilitating the high
voltage equipment in the main sub-station.
Professional training of staff from the publicly
owned electricity company, EdM, was also part
of the project.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Nyusi said
that the challenges resulting from new projects,
together with the demand generated by the
emerging extractive sector, are among the
factors that obliged the government to
rehabilitate the Mavuzi station.
“Our concern with regional and local economic
development, and the imminent reduction in the
useful life of this power station, led to the
rehabilitation, intended to ensure that Mavuzi
can continue to generate electricity for another
30 years”, he said.
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The Chairman of the Board of Directors of EdM,
Mateus Magala, told Notícias that the
completion of the two power plants would
increase the number of the company’s clients by
26,000, who will join the 84,000 Manica
customers already connected.
In Sofala, 44,000 new consumers will be
connected to the power grid, bringing the
number of consumers in the province to
187,000.
Rehabilitation of a second power station on the
Revue, at Chicamba, is now in its final phase.
Between them Mavuzi and Chicamba will
provide an extra 80MW of generating capacity
which will supply Manica and the neighbouring
province of Sofala. Some of the power from
these two dams will also be sold to Zimbabwe.
Despite this advance, President Nyusi said the
country still faces a major challenge in
expanding the national grid, since in 2016 it only
reached 26% of the population. “The
infrastructure of the national electricity grid is
still limited and remains incapable of meeting
the growing demand for reliable, good quality
electricity”, the President added.
The limited reach of the electricity grid meant
that the majority of the Mozambican population
still relies on wood fuel (charcoal and firewood)
as sources of energy, with all the damaging
environmental consequences that flow from this.
President Nyusi encouraged the population of
Manica to produce more food, by exploiting the
abundance of arable land in the province, and to
take advantage of the available electricity for
agro-processing and food conservation.
“With electricity, we can guarantee local agro-
processing and the availability of the cold chain
to conserve food and distribute it to the national,
regional and global markets with the necessary
quality”, he said. “Manica, with its high
agricultural potential, should feel challenged to
become a leader in agricultural production and
productivity”.
The Mavuzi power station was built 60 years
ago, and is the oldest power station owed by
EdM. Originally it could generate 52MW, but as
the equipment became obsolete this dropped to
25MW.
The rehabilitation of Mavuzi and Chicamba has
been financed by Sweden with a grant of about
€36-million (US$39-million), by the French
Development Agency (AFD) with a soft loan of
€50-million, and by Germany with a commercial
loan of €18-million.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique/Jornal Notícias/MacauHub

Ncondezi progresses JDA with Shanghai
Electric Power on 300MW Mozambique
power plant project
Aim-listed Ncondezi Energy is steadily
progressing the joint development agreement
(JDA) with Shanghai Electric Power for its
300MW power plant project, located near Tete
Province.
The agreement, once effective, will see
Shanghai Electric Power inject US$25.5-million
to fund the balance of the power project
development costs to financial close in return for
a 60% shareholding in the subsidiary, Ncondezi
Power Holding-2, which will own and operate
the project.
The JDA will become effective upon completion
or waiver of all the Shanghai Electric Power
investment conditions and the issue of a
Ministerial Decree from the Mozambique
government approving the award of the power
concession agreement (PCA), both of which are
targeted for completion in the first quarter of
2018.
Shanghai Electric Power, EdM and Ncondezi
are making good progress on both the power
purchase agreement and PCA, which are
expected to be completed by the fourth quarter
of this year.
“Ncondezi is currently in advanced negotiations
with Shanghai Electric Power to finalise a
development funding agreement pursuant to
which Shanghai Electric Power will provide up
to US$3-million to fund a development
programme and budget to obtain the decree
and finalise the investment agreements over the
next 12 months”, the company said in a
statement on Thursday 30 March.
The funding is intended as a pre-investment to
funding under the JDA and will form part of the
total investment under the JDA.
Notably, the London-listed company said it
plans to exercise a share pledge agreement
pledging up to 17.6% of the shares in UAE Co
to Shanghai Electric to secure and guarantee
Ncondezi’s obligations under the joint
development agreement. It is expected that
would be repaid to Ncondezi should the decree
be secured within the 12-month timeframe.
Ncondezi further noted that the conclusion of
the JDA would be followed by the last
development phase of the power project
development programme to finalise funding
from lenders and achieve financial close in the
third quarter of 2018.
Meanwhile, Ncondezi assured shareholders that
it had adequate cash resources to fund its
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activities until 10 May– the date on which the
shareholder loan becomes repayable – owing to
careful working capital management.
The company has an existing US$2.32-million
shareholder loan that is repayable at a 1.5 times
return rate if paid before 10 May, after which the
loan becomes repayable at two times the return.
“The company is engaging with the lenders
under the shareholder loan and evaluating all
options with respect to its repayment or
refinancing and a further update will be provided
before 10 May 2017”, said Ncondezi.
“Once it is signed and becomes effective, the
development agreement will cover the bulk of
Ncondezi’s development costs over the next 12
months as well as some of Shanghai Electric’s
costs. As a consequence, once the
development funding is available, the
company’s working capital requirement for costs
not covered by the development agreement is
expected to be reduced to approximately
US$300,000 per annum, to cover mainly
corporate costs”, Ncondezi added.
Ncondezi is now talking to potential funding
partners, but said there is no certainty funding
can be secured.
Source: Alliance News Limited/London South
East/Creamer Media Engineering News
Southern Africa records first electricity
surplus in 10 years
Southern Africa is experiencing surplus
electricity generation capacity for the first time in
a decade, thanks to the success of regional co-
operation in energy planning during the past few
years.
Figures released by the Southern African Power
Pool (SAPP) show that the 12-member pool is
sitting on surplus peak period generation
capacity of 919MW.
“The excess is much higher if we look at off-
peak periods”, acting SAPP Co-ordination
Centre Manager, Alison Chikova, told the SADC
Energy Thematic Group (ETG) during its
biannual meeting in Gaborone on Monday 27
March.
Chikova said the excess was partly because of
the slowdown in the South African economy but
also due to the impact of a co-ordinated
approach in implementation of the SADC
energy programme.
Chikova said South Africa has excess capacity
of 5,797MW, largely due to the economic
slowdown and the commissioning of 2,550MW

of additional generation capacity from six new
projects in 2016.
The six projects include the 999MW Ingula
power station owned by state enterprise Eskom
as well as five others involving power
generation through wind, gas and solar
photovoltaic technologies that were
commissioned by Independent Power
Producers.
Angola had largest number of projects
commissioned in 2016, contributing 780MW or
about one fifth of the 4,180MW new capacity
commissioned last year.
Other significant contributions were from
Zambia and Zimbabwe where new Independent
Power Projects added 300MW and 200MW
respectively.
Chikova revealed that SAPP member countries
plan to commission more than 30,000MW of
new generation capacity between 2017 and
2022, about half of which would come from
South Africa.
However, the increased generation capacity in
Angola, Malawi and Tanzania is only available
domestically as the three countries are yet to be
interconnected to the rest of the SAPP grid.
New generation capacity installed in any of the
three non-participating countries is not
accessible to the nine other members of SAPP
– Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland,
South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
There are plans to tap into the installed capacity
of these three SAPP members through the
implementation of several interconnector
projects.
These include the Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya
interconnector project that is expected to
connect the SAPP grid to the one operated by
the Eastern Africa Power Pool – in addition to
linking the Tanzanian power network to other
SAPP member countries.
The Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya interconnector is
expected to be ready by the end of 2019,
according to Chikova.
Other interconnector projects are expected
between Mozambique and Malawi as well as
between Namibian and Angola. The target
dates for commissioning these are in 2020.
Gas is increasingly becoming a major source of
electricity in the region, accounting for 995MW
or almost 24% of all power generated in 2016 –
from two projects in Mozambique and one each
in South Africa and Tanzania.
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Unlike in the past where coal-fired plants
contributed the largest share of new generation
capacity, 2016 saw only one new coal project in
Zambia coming on board with a capacity of
300MW.
The move towards renewable energy follows a
resolution made in 2012 by southern African
countries to increase the uptake of cleaner and
alternative energy sources. The long-term target
set by SADC is to achieve a renewable energy
mix in the regional grid of at least 32% by 2020
and 35% by 2030.
According to the African Development Bank
(AfDB), southern African alone has the potential
to become a “gold mine” for renewable energy
due to the abundant solar and wind resources
that are now hugely sought after by international
investors in their quest for clean energy.
Source: Namibia Economist/Joseph Ngwawi
Transport, Construction & Development
Projects:
Rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse
more than 100 strikers at Maputo Public
Transport Company
On Friday 24 March, tension broke out between
striking employees and company managers at
the headquarters of the Municipal Public
Transport Company of Maputo (Empresa
Municipal de Transportes Públicos de Maputo,
EMTPM).
After a few hours of negotiation attempts, the
company directorate requested a police force to
disperse the workers who had halted activities
since Monday 20 March.
Using tear gas and rubber bullets, the Rapid
Intervention Unit (FIR) forced the workers out of
the company.
Saudósio Júlio has been a driver for the public
transportation company for 20 years. During the
confusion, he was hit in the leg by a rubber
bullet, and one of the striking drivers was taken
to the police station by the Criminal
Investigation Police (Polícia de Investigação
Criminal, PIC).
Some of the workers turned to the Human
Rights League for legal assistance, but the
person in charge was not there at the time.
Workers, mostly drivers, said that they were fed
up with the treatment they have been subjected
to and called for government intervention.
The group also said that, ever since the
management of the company was transferred to
the municipal council, their rights are
systematically violated.

Following Friday’s incident, employees
demanded that government intervene in order to
solve the problem. The Mayor of Maputo, David
Simango, assured workers that solutions were
being sought in order to solve the problem.
Striking workers return to work:
On Tuesday 28 March, EMTPM workers
returned to work, eight days after initiating the
strike.
According to a driver who spoke anonymously
to Folha de Maputo, the employees returned to
work because the company’s management
conceded their main wage demands.
According to a report in O País, the strike came
to an end thanks to the intervention of Maputo
City Council, which sent the Councillor for
Transport and Traffic, João Matlombe, to
negotiate between the company and the
strikers.
The strikers demanded payment of their New
Year Bonus (known as “the thirteenth month”,
since it is equivalent to an extra month’s
wages), and the restoration of a series of
allowances (such as shift allowance and holiday
allowance) that had been inexplicably removed
from their wage packets.
Contacts with the Ministry of Economy and
Finance had led to the release of the money to
pay the thirteenth month. In theory, this bonus is
discretionary, but workers in both the public and
private sectors have come to regard it as a right.
EMTPM spokesperson Lourenco Albino
confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the
money necessary to meet the strikers’ demands
will be sent by the Finance Ministry.
“Work resumed at around 4:00hrs today”, Albino
said, “after a discussion with the workers in
which it was announced that we shall receive
money for wages this week. We held
discussions with the Transport Ministry and the
Finance Ministry. The latter was willing to
support us”.
However, Albino only guaranteed, in addition to
the thirteenth month, payment of the delayed
March wages, and “probably” of the April
wages. He made no promises about restoring
the allowances, claiming this was “not an
essential issue”.
Albino added that the strike had cost the
company around MT1.7-million (about
US$25,500) in lost fares, and 187,000
passengers had been unable to travel.
EMTPM had made unsuccessful efforts to break
the strike, recruiting new drivers, who put a
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handful of buses on the roads. The workers
angrily pointed out that the strike-breakers were
not properly qualified to drive buses.
The key problem for EMTPM is that the fares it
charges come nowhere near meeting its costs.
According to the company, passengers should
pay MT2.5 per kilometre – but the current fares
are equivalent to MT0.25 per kilometre.
Unless EMTPM is allowed to raise its fares, or a
much larger subsidy is paid to the company,
future labour disputes look inevitable.
Source: O País/RFI/Folha de Maputo/Agencia de
Informacao de Moçambique/Club of Mozambique
Beira minibuses strike without prior notice
Hundreds of commuters that make use of the
Baixa-Munhava and Inhamízua-Passagem de
Nível via Rua 33 routes in Beira (Sofala
Province) were caught unawares on the
morning of Monday 27 March by an
unannounced stoppage of “chapas” transport
providers.
The striking workers intended it to pressure the
authorities to increase tariffs from MT7 to MT10
and from MT9 to MT15, but the stoppage forced
commuters to walk several kilometres from their
homes to workplaces and other points in central
Beira.
Beira was not the only place in the province
affected on Monday, passengers travelling on
the Beira-Nhamatanda, Búzi and Gorongosa
routes, via Inchope, were stranded at terminals
for the same reasons. The demand there is a
tariff rise from MT90 to MT150, MT150 to
MT180 and MT250 to MT280.
However, the operators of the Baixa-Macúti
route via Matacuane and Ponta-Gêa, Estoril via
Chipangara, Passagem de Nivel via Mutarara,
and Beira-Dondo continued to work normally.
The strike was unofficial and commuters were
caught by surprise, many of whom were forced
to walk many kilometres.
Those with no transport alternatives (as in the
case of the Beira-Nhamatanda, Búzi and
Gorongosa via Inchope routes), did not travel
during the day at all.
In the afternoon, some “chapas” did travel the
Baixa-Inhamízua and Passagem-de-Nível via
rua 33 Munhava section, but the stops had long
queues of passengers, most of whom were
unsuccessful in boarding the minibuses for their
journey home.
Source: Diário de Moçambique/Club of Mozambique

Cornelder de Moçambique plane crashes in
Manica Province
On the morning of Monday 27 March, a light
aircraft belonging to the Mozambican company
Air Transport Company (ETA) crashed in
Zimbabwe, in mountainous territory bordering
Manica Province.
The deaths of at least five of the six people who
were on board at the time of the crash have
been confirmed.
The chairperson of the regulatory body, the
National Civil Aviation Institute (Instituto de
Aviação Civil de Moçambique, IACM), João de
Abreu, said that the plane, which was flying
from Beira (Sofala Province) to Harare
(Zimbabwe), came down in mountainous
territory near the administrative post of
Machipanda-Chiujo.
The cause of the crash is not yet known, but it
was raining heavily in Manica and Sofala
provinces.
The plane was in the service of Cornelder de
Moçambique, which holds the lease on the port
of Beira. All four passengers died. They were
the Chief Executive Officer of Cornelder-
Mozambique, Adelino Mesquita (brother of the
current Transport Minister); prominent lawyer
Antonio Jorge Ucucho, who worked for the
Cornelder legal department, and was a former
member of the Executive of the Mozambique
Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados de
Moçambique, OAM); Cornelder Financial
Director Isac Noor; and another senior
Cornelder official, Banele Chibande.
De Abreu, speaking at a Monday press
conference, said that preliminary data indicated
that one of the two crew members, pilot Luis
Lopes dos Santos and co-pilot Rui Fonseca
Pereira dos Santos, had survived – but
according to the police in Manica, all six
occupants of the plane died.
According to de Abreu, “both the plane and the
pilots were in good condition”.
“We have the aircraft’s airworthiness certificate,
which certifies the validity of the aircraft. So the
aircraft was certified and in good operational
condition. As I mentioned, the pilots had
extensive experience: the Captain was a man of
experience and had been flying in Mozambique
for many years in the charter sector. So, both
the pilots and the aircraft were in perfect
condition”, he said.
ETA Air Charter Lda. had a good safety record,
commander de Abreu said. Its register reported
it has having four aircraft, but more recent
information shows that it has only two, the one
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that crashed being the larger of the two, with
nine seats.
“The company has transported many people
here in the country”, de Abreu said.
“Preliminary indications indicate that due to the
bad visibility at the time, the aircraft collided with
Vumba, in an incident classified as CFIT
[controlled flight into terrain]”, de Abreu said.
The managers of ETA, interviewed by
Mozambican Television in Beira, said the
aircraft were maintained regularly, but preferred
to leave clarification to the team with the
mandate to study the matter and shed light on
what happened on the fatal Monday flight.
The aircraft took off from Beira at 7:15hrs on
Monday and was expected to arrive in Mutare at
8:25hrs, according to Cornelder.
“Given the difficult access conditions, it was only
possible to reach the victims at around
17:40hrs, after which they were transferred to
Mutare central hospital mortuary”, Manica police
spokesperson Leonardo Colher said.
The remains of the victims arrived in Beira on
Wednesday 29 March and their funerals took
place the following day.
De Abreu said that the Commission of Inquiry
set up by Mozambique was already working in
co-ordination with the Zimbabwean authorities
on the ground and further information would
become available in due course.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique/Lusa/Rádio Moçambique
Airlink increases frequency between
Nelspruit and Vilanculos
Whether you’re planning on going on vacation in
Vilanculos or visiting family in Mozambique, SA
Airlink’s increased flight frequency will make
planning a lot easier.
Currently Airlink offers flights on Thursdays and
Sundays. On 26 March Airlink added additional
flights operating on Tuesdays and Fridays. On 4
July, additional flight days will be added on
Mondays and Saturdays and on 7 August, there
will be additional flights on Wednesday’s – this
service will be daily.
The flights will depart from Nelspruit at 11:45hrs
and will arrive in Vilanculos at 12:55hrs.
According to Airlink, the Nelspruit KMIA to
Vilanculos route will provide tour operators and
African safari specialists the opportunity to
promote bush and beach packages.
Source: Traveller24

LAM cancels flights to Nampula and
Lichinga due to technical problems
More than 100 Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique,
Ltd. (LAM) passengers bound for Nampula and
Lichinga (Niassa Province), were unable to
depart from Maputo International Airport on
Sunday 26 March, due to technical problems.
Some passengers travelling to Nampula had
been delayed since Saturday afternoon
because of the same problem and spent the
night in a hotel, but the bulk of the passengers
were those booked on the 18:30hrs flight on
Sunday.
Some passengers told Folha de Maputo that the
flight was rescheduled more than five times,
during which time the passengers boarded
twice, at 10:00hrs and again at 16:00hrs, but
whenever the aircraft was about to leave, the
pilot announced technical problems and ordered
the passengers to disembark.
Passengers complained of the lack of
communication and poor service.
One passenger reported that those who had
been at the airport since 5:30hrs were only
provided a meal at 12:00hrs.
According to LAM technicians, the malfunction
was due to the delay in the maintenance of the
Poelela flight, one of the company’s largest
aircraft.
As a result, the flight to Lichinga was cancelled
and moved to Tuesday 28 March, while the
Nampula flight was still awaiting resolution, with
passengers given the option of waiting to board
at 20:45hrs on Monday, or deferring their flight
to a later date.
At approximately 18:00hrs, LAM announced the
cancellation of the flight to Quelimane
(Zambézia Province).
In addition to passengers in Maputo, others at
Nampula, Lichinga and Quelimane airports
travelling to Maputo and elsewhere suffered
similar scenarios.
Additional information indicated that the
Maputo-Beira (Sofala) flight, which was due to
depart at 19:30hrs, was also cancelled,
compromising not only general passengers, but
also Mozambique’s national soccer team, the
‘Mambas’, who had a friendly game against
Ethiopia scheduled for Tuesday at the
Ferroviário da Beira sports ground.
Source: Folha de Maputo
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“LAM constraints are in the name of safety”
– says IACM
LAM reportedly frightens passengers with its
frequent technical and operational problems, but
the IACM has denied that there are safety
problems.
Just this week, technical problems with two LAM
aircraft were reported by passengers, with
videos circulating on social networks. One video
is related to three alleged failed take-offs at
Maputo Airport, resulting in some of the
passengers declining to travel in the aircraft and
demanding refunds.
Deutsche Welle Africa contacted national airline
official, António Abreu, to learn more. “I’m just
arriving at the airport now, and I don’t even have
charge on my phone. Please call me in an
hour”, he politely answered.
But an hour later, the LAM official was not
answering Deutsche Welle Africa’s calls.
Instead, journalists spoke to the IACM, the body
responsible for ensuring compliance with flight
safety regulations.
Safety is the source of the constraints:
IACM official João de Abreu contradicted the
passengers’ testimony. “The story of three
attempted take-offs does not correspond to the
truth”, he said.
“The first attempt was made to start, the second
was made but there was need to fetch support
equipment, as far as our investigation found.
While the equipment was being fetched, the
crew disembarked the passengers, which is
normal and happens all over the world, but
there have not been three aborted take-offs,
that is not true”.
Recent reports that the cargo door of one LAM
aircraft allegedly opened in mid-flight were also
denied by de Abreu, who says it was a false
alarm. But these technical issues are frightening
passengers, who are beginning to believe that
the Mozambican air carrier is unsafe.
De Abreu holds the opposite view. “What is
happening at the moment is due to the rigour
with which the civil aviation authority has been
applying standards, because our motto is safety
first. We demand [respect] for safety standards.
We do not allow aircraft to fly with unreliable
equipment, especially from Maputo”.
Credibility and responsibility of LAM:
No less challenging are the long delays and
cancelled flights, most without warning and
without proper assistance for the passengers.

Passenger Sonia Chambe’s latest experience
with LAM is a case in point.
“I had a trip to Quelimane scheduled the day
before yesterday. First the flight was scheduled
for 17:45hrs and then there was a
postponement to 19:40hrs. I arrived at the
airport at that time and the flight was postponed
again at 21:50hrs, except that by midnight we
had not yet caught the flight and LAM had not
given any information. We only arrived in
Quelimane at 2:00hrs the following day”.
As to the return flight, scheduled for Thursday,
the passenger has already received notice of
two postponements. Passenger Jorge Vaz
experienced a similar situation in February on
the Maputo-Nampula route. His story calls into
question the professionalism and responsibility
of the national airline.
“A few minutes before the plane was due to land
we had to divert to Beira, where we were told
that we could only return to Maputo to catch a
plane to Nampula the next day. We practically
occupied the plane, so the pilot came out and
told us neither he nor we were able to travel, so
the flight was cancelled until the next day”.
He went on to say: “The justification was weird.
They said that there were no landing lights. The
joke was that they even asked us if we knew
anyone who was responsible for the runway,
and could we ask them to go turn on the lights.
A serious airline cannot do such a thing”, he
concluded.
Source: Deutsche Welle/Club of Mozambique
Three of LAM’S aircraft out of operation
Only four of LAM’s seven passenger aircraft are
currently operational, LAM officials told Deputy
Transport Minister Manuela Rebelo when she
visited the company’s headquarters on
Wednesday 29 March.
The other three planes are grounded for various
technical problems, but the LAM Technical
Director, Pascoal Bernardo, assured reporters
that the necessary spare parts have been
ordered from the manufacturers.
Once the parts arrive, he said, the repairs will
be made and the planes will be in the air again.
There was nothing abnormal about this. “The
budget for the parts in question is within the
contract we have with the supplier”, Bernardo
added, “and within two days we shall receive
the parts”.
Rui Macaringue, the head of LAM maintenance,
said that after the parts had arrived, it would
take two or three days to repair the planes, and
then they could take to the skies again.
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Using four planes rather than seven to serve its
domestic and regional routes, LAM has been
unable to honour its timetable, and in recent
days several of its domestic flights have been
cancelled, much to the annoyance of
passengers.
After discussions with the LAM management,
Deputy Minister Rebelo told reporters it was
positive that the company grounded planes with
technical problems. “If the equipment, even in
the smallest detail, is not airworthy, then it is
important that the plane should stay on the
ground”, she said. “It is first important to solve
the problem to guarantee that the passengers
travel in safety. Safety must come first”.
Critics of LAM have frequently accused the
government of protecting LAM by refusing to
allow competition on the domestic routes.
Deputy Minister Rebelo denied this, and
claimed that Mozambican airspace is open to
other companies. But none of LAM’s would-be
competitors has yet met the conditions for
operating flights in Mozambican airspace.
“It is important that the companies interested in
operating in Mozambique should come here,
register and meet the requirements”, she said.
João de Abreu, the chairperson of the IACM
said companies interested in flying Mozambican
routes want the government to grant them
facilities, but refused to obey Mozambican
norms.
Thus, the Nigerian company Fly Africa had
applied for authorisation to fly Mozambican
routes, but the application ground to a halt
“because they couldn’t show us where their
office is, what hangers they are going to use,
the people who will maintain the planes, their
pilots, among other matters”. “You can’t just
come here and have no offices, and nowhere to
maintain your equipment”, exclaimed de Abreu.
“Aviation is not a hobby. Aviation is treated
professionally and by professionals”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Frelimo builds new congress hall in Matola
On Wednesday 29 March, President Filipe
Nyusi, in his capacity as leader of the ruling
Frelimo Party, laid the first stone for the building
of a new pavilion which will host the Party’s 11th
Congress, scheduled for September.
The pavilion is being built at the premises of the
Frelimo Central School, in the southern city of
Matola. The previous meeting hall was
damaged in a storm earlier this year. Rather
than repair the damage, Frelimo opted to
demolish it, and build a new, larger meeting
space.

The new pavilion covers 3,066 square metres,
666 square metres more than the previous one.
In addition to the congress hall itself, which can
hold 3,000 people, it will contain a room for the
party president (President Nyusi), rooms for the
honorary party chairperson, for the party
secretariat and for the press. There will be two
smaller meeting rooms.
President Nyusi said that the new pavilion must
withstand extreme weather events. “The scale
of the 11th congress required something
additional because many people will participate,
and we want the congress to be successful in
content and in quality”, he added. Frelimo has
appealed to its members to raise funds for
building the new pavilion, and the President was
sure that this fundraising effort, under way
throughout the country, would be successful.
Frelimo General Secretary Eliseu Machava
thanked members for their contribution. “This is
a very important landmark in the history of our
Party”, he said. “I want to thank all our militants
who have accepted our appeal, and all
members who are contributing to the grandeur
of Frelimo”.
Neither President Nyusi nor Machava gave the
cost of the building, which should be completed
within the next four months, in good time for the
Congress. “We know what we want and where
we are going”, declared the President. “This will
be the Congress of tranquillity and of taking
decisions in line with the problems of the
Mozambican nation”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Financial deficits hamper the restoration of
roads and bridges in Zambézia
The budget deficit of MT450-million is
undermining the reconstruction, rehabilitation
and maintenance of most of the roads and
bridges destroyed by the natural disasters that
hit Zambézia Province in 2015.
On Wednesday 29 March, the Provincial
Director of Public Works, Housing and Water
Resources, Graciano Artur, said that
reconstruction costs were estimated at over
MT600-million, but the funds allocated to the
various projects only totalled MT156-million,
which made it difficult to initiate the post-flood
reconstruction plan.
According to Artur, the international financial
situation is one of the reasons as to why
resources cannot be mobilised for the
rehabilitation or reconstruction of the road
infrastructure. However, he acknowledged the
impassability of access routes as being
responsible for the poor circulation of people,
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goods and provision of social services, such as
education and health, to communities.
Artur’s statements were in response to the
questions posed by the members of the
Provincial Assembly, who criticised the fact that
the government had not complied with the post-
flood reconstruction plan. The members of this
body complained that there has been little effort
on the part of the government to restore road
traffic, which is rendering the mobilisation of
people and the trading of goods unfeasible,
especially at the time of the launch of the
national agricultural marketing campaign.
The parliamentarians highlighted problem
sections such as Ile/Namarrói, Namarrói/Guruè,
Mulevala/Gilé, Gilé/Pebane, Gilé/Alto Molócuè,
among others, which at the moment constitute
“an embarrassment for the transit of people and
goods”. The parliamentarians advised on the
creation of mechanisms for mobilising financial
and material resources to enable the necessary
rehabilitation in order to resume road travel and
re-launch the rural economy.
Artur said that the priority for this year is the
construction of metal bridges. He explained that
most of the 5,000 kilometres of Zambézia’s road
network consists of untarred roads, and
whenever it rains, the roads become
impassable due to the sandy soils.
Members of the Assembly also questioned the
poor water supply in the district of Mocuba. On
this issue, Artur said that Mocuba has the
highest coverage in terms of water supply,
currently standing at 86%. He said that last year
21 sources were built, and another 10 will be
built this year.
Source: Jornal Notícias
Agriculture & Fishing:
Government intends to issue five-million
land titles
The Mozambican government intends to grant,
by 2019, about five-million land titles (known as
DUATs – Direito do Uso e Aproveitamento da
Terra) to peasant farmers under the “Secure
Land” project. So far 540,000 DUATs have been
distributed since the project was launched a
year ago by the Ministry of Land, Environment
and Rural Development.
The latest 15,000 DUATS were handed over to
farmers on Friday 24 March, in Mocuba
(Zambézia Province), at a symbolic ceremony
chaired by President Filipe Nyusi who
personally delivered the first 10 of these land
titles.

Speaking at a rally which also marked the
launch of the 2017 agricultural marketing
campaign, President Nyusi said that the mass
issuing of land titles to agricultural producers is
proof that agriculture, agro-processing and
agricultural marketing are at the heart of the
government’s actions.
By issuing the titles, the government intends to
ensure that land occupied by farmers is not
usurped by other individuals, thus generating
land disputes. The government believes that
delivering the land to peasant farmers is an
indispensable condition for sustainable
agriculture. Those who hold DUATS have
secure tenure over their farms, allowing them to
produce more and better to guarantee their food
and nutritional security, and to increase their
income through the sale of surplus crops.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Obtala group prepares to expand forestry
business in Mozambique
The Obtala Limited group plans to make use of
the closed forestry season in Mozambique to lay
the foundations to expand its business and
increase productivity of the ongoing operations
in the country, the group said in a statement
issued on Monday 27 March.
The closed season on forest resource
exploration imposed by the government of
Mozambique from 1 January to 31 March of
each year is also being used by the group to
carry out maintenance and repair of equipment
as well as to plan activities to the end of 2017.
As a result of repairing some equipment, the
Mozambican subsidiary of the group made use
of the wood that was cut in the fourth quarter of
2016 to produce 1,500 sleepers, which were
delivered to customers in February, and
increased the capacity of its sawmill located in
Uape to process an average of nine cubic
metres of wood per day. The group intends to
increase the two concessions that were in
operation at the end of 2016 to five operating
concessions, and is currently in the process of
hiring foremen as well as other staff and
equipment, which should reach the site in the
second quarter of this year.
The statement also said that a location has
been identified for a new sawmill to be built in
Nampula, and that construction of buildings and
installation of equipment should be completed
by the end of 2017, which will add a capacity of
about 100 cubic metres per day. The Obtala
group, based in Guernsey, has 10 forest
concessions in Mozambique covering an area of
120,000 hectares.
Source: MacauHub
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Obtala raises £4-million from Hong Kong
investor share for Mozambican project
African forestry and agriculture group Obtala
Ltd. has raised £4-million through a share issue
to a Hong Kong-based high net worth investor.
Wealth Rank Limited will subscribe for 20-
million new shares at 20p, a 13% premium to
the closing price on Tuesday 28 March.
Warrants at the same price exercisable over the
next 18 months may raise an additional £4-
million. Miles Pelham, Obtala’s chairman, said
he was delighted by the investment from WRL,
which underlines the attractiveness assigned to
Obtala’s substantial assets he said.
Source: Proactive Investors
Mozambique on track to surpass grain
production target
Mozambique is on track to surpass grain
production targets for the current agricultural
campaign, with production in the order of 2.8-
million tons. If the figure is reached, it will
represent an excess of 100,000 tons over initial
predictions of 2.7-million tons. According to
Rádio Moçambique, Mahomed Valá, national
director of Agriculture and Forestry, expressed
his optimism on the matter in Quelimane
(Zambézia Province).
Tuber production is predicted to rise from 10-
million tons to over 11-million and vegetables
from 700,000 to 800,000 tons. The cause of the
increase is the rainfall in areas considered to be
the country’s ‘food baskets’ – Tsangano and
Angónia (in Tete Province) and Chimbonila (in
Niassa Province). Valá said that one of his
sector’s main concerns regarding the current
growing season was low rainfall in Cabo
Delgado Province.
Source: Rádio Moçambique/Club of Mozambique
Water shortage leads to sharp drop in
banana production
The company Bananalandia, which produces
bananas in Boane district (about 30 kilometres
west of Maputo), has suffered a sharp fall in
production, thanks to the severe restrictions in
water consumption imposed by the government.
For much of 2016 Maputo Province suffered
from a severe drought linked to the El Niño
weather phenomenon. But even after the
drought ended, there was insufficient rainfall in
the basin of the Umbeluzi River to provide
enough water for both human consumption and
for irrigation.
The Pequenos Libombos Dam on the Umbeluzi
was in danger of drying up. By early January it
was only 13% full. The government stepped in

to determine that this water must be used, as
top priority, by the Umbeluzi treatment and
pumping station that provides drinking water for
Maputo and Matola cities, and Boane district.
The use of water for irrigation was banned,
affecting all agricultural concerns along the
banks of the Umbeluzi, including Bananalandia.
The level of the Pequenos Libombos reservoir
has recovered somewhat, and it is now about
27% full. But this is not enough to guarantee
supplies during the coming dry months before
the next rainy season, which begins in October.
The restrictions on the use of Umbeluzi water
thus remain in force.
The director of production at Bananalandia,
Manuel Maluana, told Agencia de Informacao
de Moçambique that before the drought and the
restrictions on water consumption,
Bananalandia was producing between 55 and
60 tons of bananas per hectare. That figure has
now fallen to between 40 and 45 tons a hectare.
Up until the end of October 2016, the banana
plantation was irrigated for between one and
two hours every day. But when the restrictions
on water use were imposed, irrigation stopped
and Bananalandia became entirely dependent
on rainfall.
“The lack of irrigation is severely affecting
production”, he said. “Previously banana
production varied between 65 and 70 kilograms
per bunch. But now it is between 14 and 45
kilograms”. The lack of irrigation affects the
quality of the bananas, said Maluana, and the
only reason production is possible at all is that
bananas need most water at the start,
immediately after they have been planted, and
at that time water was available.
Before the current water crisis Bananalandia
was exporting 800 tons of bananas a month to
the regional market (South Africa, Botswana
and Namibia). But exports have now fallen to
450 tons a month. The domestic market is also
supplied, but domestic sales have fallen from 50
to 20 tons a week.
The decline in production has forced
Bananalandia to lay off workers, said Maluana,
cutting its number of staff from 1,500 to 1,250.
“Nobody can work if they don’t know whether
they’ll be paid at the end of the month”, he said.
“In the 18 years this company has existed, it
never owed its workers any wages. In order to
avoid the worst, the viable option was to lay off
staff”. Bananalandia had intended to expand,
and set up units in Moamba and Namaacha
districts, said Maluana, but the water shortages
in Maputo Province have forced the company to
postpone these projects.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
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President Nyusi calls for Mozambique to
become major food producer
On Friday 24 March, President Filipe Nyusi
argued that Mozambique enjoys all the
necessary conditions to cease being a mere
consumer of agricultural produce and to
become a major producer.
Speaking at the first National Forum on
Agricultural Marketing, held in Mocuba
(Zambézia Province), President Nyusi called for
changes in the way crops are marketed. He said
the current marketing model is essentially
reactive, without the capacity to respond pro-
actively to the expectations of the Mozambican
population. It did not contribute towards an
agriculture that rose to meet the country’s agro-
ecological potential
He went further, admitting that marketing has
become a bottleneck in the national productive
chain.
To reverse this scenario, the President said, it
was a national imperative to involve all
stakeholders in removing the obstacles that are
hindering the normal flow of agricultural
marketing. All barriers had to be removed, so
that Mozambican agriculture contributes to the
country’s self-sufficiency, and reduces the need
for food imports.
“We want to transmit the message that when we
improve the marketing chain, we are also
building the fundamental pillars to raise the
levels of national agricultural production and
productivity”, he added.
He said that the poor state of rural roads was
one of the main hindrances to effective
marketing, and pledged that the government will
continue to invest in transport and
communication infrastructures to ensure that the
crops produced by farmers reach market in
good condition.
President Nyusi said the results of the forum
should begin to be reflected as from the
2017/18 marketing campaign. “Our debates
must look for concrete solutions, and not simply
revolve around the already known problems and
rhetoric. Let us put aside justifications and
explanations for failures”, he declared.
It was a priority, President Nyusi said, to build a
national food reserve, and ensure that it could
be available for consumers whenever
necessary. He recommended that the Ministry
of Industry and Trade should be to the forefront
in regulating agricultural marketing, and
guaranteeing the State’s food reserve for
periods of crisis.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique

Government wants to attract Indian
investment in Mozambican agriculture
On the morning of Monday 27 March, the
Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce,
Ragendra de Sousa, invited Indian
businesspeople to invest in Mozambique,
especially in the area of agriculture, in the hope
of increasing agricultural production and fighting
hunger and poverty. The 20-company
delegation of entrepreneurs from India were in
Mozambique this week with the aim of exploring
investment opportunities in the country as part
of an initiative of the Engineering Export
Promotion Council of India in partnership with its
High Commissioner.
Deputy Minister de Sousa, who was speaking at
the Mozambique-India Business Forum
organised by the CTA in Maputo, said that the
challenge was to find partnerships with Indian
entrepreneurs to develop projects aligned with
the government’s priorities in agriculture, a
sector with enormous potential and in which
India has considerable expertise.
“We will pay special attention to agriculture. It is
a priority area for the Mozambican government
led by President Filipe Nyusi. By investing in
agriculture we will be fighting hunger, in addition
to generating more jobs and fighting absolute
poverty”, he said, adding that tourism and
energy also warranted attention from India.
Between 2005 and 2015, India invested about
US$1.6-billion in Mozambique. Most of this
investment was channelled to coal and mineral
resources, but the intention is to further increase
the value of agricultural exports through
investments in agri-processing.
“We draw inspiration from the Indian experience
– once an exporter of raw materials and today
an exporter of manufactured goods”, the Deputy
Minister concluded. The Mozambique-India
Business Forum aims to mobilise partnerships
for investment in various areas and skills
transfer in Mozambique’s favour.
Source: Diário de Moçambique/Jornal Notícias/Club
of Mozambique
UN’s FAO promotes conservation
agriculture workshop in Chimoio
On Thursday 30 March, Chimoio (capital of
Manica Province), hosted a workshop that,
among other topics, focused on conservation
agriculture in Mozambique. A press release
from the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) said the event aims to
collect data and raise awareness of the
importance of conservation agriculture for food
security, to promote greater practice of this type
of agriculture, taking into account its importance
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in improving soil fertility, conserving water and
reducing the adverse effects of climate change.
It also aims to promote greater sharing of
knowledge and experience in the country and
the region, to help streamline partners’ efforts to
expand, strengthen efforts to create a national
conservation agriculture platform, and
consolidate other ongoing initiatives in the
region.
The event was organised by FAO in partnership
with the Austrian Development Co-operation,
Mozambican Agricultural Research Institute,
National Conservation Agriculture Platform and
the Norwegian Embassy. The event brought
together players and stakeholders including
producer associations, agricultural research
institutions, representatives of the public and
private sectors involved in promoting
conservation agriculture, co-operation partners
and the United Nations agency.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Gaza faces MT15-million deficit from lost
production
Drought, followed by flooding along the lower
reaches of the Limpopo River, has left Gaza
Province with a deficit of more than MT15-
million for the purchase of seeds for the second
agricultural growing season. Three weeks ago,
after the Limpopo River reached flow levels
estimated at five meters – 2.3 meters above the
alert level – its waters flooded and destroyed
nearly 2,500 hectares of agricultural crops,
including huge areas of corn.
The flood wreaked havoc in the districts of
Chokwé, with 1,366 hectares flooded and about
600 hectares lost; Guijá, which lost 906
hectares of crops; and Chibuto, with more than
300 hectares lost. Of the total of MT29-million
needed to recover lost agricultural production,
the provincial government has only MT13.6-
million, which will be used to purchase close to
72 tons of corn, common beans, tomatoes,
cabbage and onion seeds.
According to Manuel Machaieie, provincial
representative of the National Institute of
Disaster Management (Instituto Nacional de
Gestão de Calamidades, INGC), there are now
no families living in high risk areas, and some
access roads are again passable.
In Inhambane Province, devastated on 15
February by cyclone Dineo, more than 670 tons
of seeds are needed to recover from the
destruction. The figure comprises 200 tons of
maize seed, 288 tons of tubers, 102 tons of
legumes and 260 kilograms of vegetable seeds.
The cyclone devastated more than 30,000
hectares of crops and 140,000 fruit trees in
Inhambane, leaving 112,513 families – 550,691

people – vulnerable and killing seven people
and injuring 101. Some of the victims In
Inhambane still depend on the food aid provided
by the INGC.
As of Wednesday 29 March, the Limpopo River
flow was about three meters, once more below
the alert level. According to the National
Directorate for Water Resources, the level of the
Macarretane reservoir, one of the Limpopo
measurement benchmarks in Gaza Province,
has declined. In Pafuri and Shingwedzi, the flow
is still above three meters, but also below the
alert level.
Source: O País
Tourism:
Hotel inspection campaign looms
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, through
the National Institute of Tourism in partnership
with the Mozambican Federation of Tourism and
Hospitality, is launching a campaign to
reclassify tourism enterprises.
According to a press release sent to Folha De
Maputo, the campaign will run for 20 days and
is aimed at encouraging hotel managers to offer
quality services that guarantee attractive
competition in the sector.
“The campaign, which in this first phase focuses
on the city and province of Maputo, is carried
out door-to-door, in an attempt to raise
awareness of compliance with the requirements
established by law, within the scope of a hotel
classification exercise”, the statement reads.
Source: Folha de Maputo
Other:
Minister Diogo launches revision of Labour
Law and Mechanisms for Contracting
Foreign Citizens
On Tuesday 28 March, the Minister of Labour,
Employment and Social Security, Vitória Diogo,
arrived in Niassa Province where she chaired
the first meeting of the Labour Law revision
process.
During the course of her four-day working visit
to the Province, the Minister also acquainted
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herself with the degree of compliance with the
government’s Economic and Social Plan and
Five-Year Programme in her sector.
She also attended meetings with local
government authorities, social partners, officials
from the sector and stakeholders in the
province’s labour market, including workers and
employers.
In addition to workers and unions, Tuesday’s
meeting in Lichinga was attended by provincial,
municipal and district government leaders. The
instruments that regulate the labour market in
Mozambique, in addition to the Labour Law,
were presented. These include the Regulation
of Mechanisms for Contracting Foreign Citizens,
the Decree on Private Employment Agencies,
as well as the Decree on the Port Regulations
and the Law on Contracts.
Source: Rádio Moçambique
Ematum workers demand payment of wage
arrears
On the morning of Thursday 30 March, Ematum
workers demonstrated in front of one of the
entrances to Maputo Port and demanded the
payment of their January and February salaries,
as well as the payment of the thirteenth month
bonus.
The workers also revealed to journalists that the
salary deductions made by the company for
social security contributions have not been
channelled to the INSS.
Due to lack of payment, many workers in a
difficult financial situation and are unable to pay
rent or afford to provide for their children.
The workers also say that they have had no
contact with the company’s management and
that the employer is never available to talk to
them.
Reporters went to the Ematum headquarters in
Maputo on Thursday, but it was not possible to
obtain a reaction from the company’s
management due to the fact that no employees
were in the office.
Source: O País

POLITICS
According to UNDP data, the living situation
in Mozambique became worse during
President Nyusi’s first year in office
In an article published this week by @Verdade,
the author claimed that, according to data
presented in the Human Development Index
(HDI) – announced last week by the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) –
during the first year of President Filipe Nyusi’s
governance (and even before the discovery of
the illegal loans), the living situation in
Mozambique worsened. When the President,
who claims that the people of Mozambique are
his boss, said in the balance sheet of his first
year as head of state that the “state of the
nation was not satisfactory but not bad” few
Mozambicans believed the evaluation.
The HDI (prepared using data from 2015)
shows that the situation in Mozambican
worsened that year. Not only does Mozambique
continue to hold the position of one of the 10
worst countries in the world (out of the 188
evaluated by the UNDP), it also fell from 180th
place in 2014 to 181st place in 2015: the “Pearl
of the Indian Ocean” was overtaken by Sierra
Leone. Worse than Mozambique is the Central
African Republic, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso,
Burundi, Guinea and South Sudan. Overall
human development in Mozambique has
stagnated, life expectancy continues to be 55.5
years old and the average age at which children
leave school remains at 9.1 years. But what fell
sharply was the per capita income of
Mozambicans, which went from US$1,123 to
only US$1,098. The UNDP Index reveals that
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while the number of Mozambicans living on the
national poverty line has remained at 54.7%, the
number of citizens living on the new global
poverty line (adjusted from US$1 to US$1.9)
has increased from 60.7% to 68.7%. In addition,
the 2015 HDI was corroborated by official
statistics which indicate that the number of poor
people in Mozambique (even before the
discovery of illegal loans that precipitated the
economic crisis) had increased. In addition,
according to the Human Development Index,
gender inequality in Mozambique continues to
increase, with advantage for men. Nearly 1.5-
billion people in developing countries live in
what the UNDP calls multidimensional poverty,
an index that takes into account factors such as
access to clean water, fuel and health services,
as well as household and other items.
Evidence of Mozambique’s poor development in
multidimensional poverty concerns diarrheal
diseases (especially cholera, which plagues
thousands of Mozambicans every year). If all
Mozambicans had access to piped drinking
water (and not only 17%, as is currently the
case) and conventional bathrooms, these
diseases would no longer be a cyclical health
problem. It is said that the President is
proposing to increase access to piped water to
22% by the end of his term, but the sanitation
situation will likely remain largely the same –
only 3% of the population has a conventional
bathroom and 14% have toilets connected to
septic tanks.
Source: @Verdade

President Nyusi in further phone contact
with Dhlakama
On Friday 24 March, President Filipe Nyusi told
reporters that he has once again been in
telephone contact with the leader of the
Renamo rebels, Afonso Dhlakama, this time in
order to clarify an incident which had
supposedly taken place in Murrupula district, in
the northern province of Nampula. Last week
some of the Mozambican media had reported
the kidnapping of a teacher in Morrupula by
Renamo gunmen, and claimed that this was a
violation of the truce that Dhlakama had
declared in late December, and subsequently
extended (twice) until May.
As such, President Nyusi decided to look into
the matter on Tuesday by asking Dhlakama for
his version of events. Speaking to reporters who
were attending the National Forum on
Agricultural Marketing, held on Friday in
Mocuba (Zambézia Province), President Nyusi
said he had ascertained that the teacher had
simply removed tree trunks on a path that led to
a Renamo military base.
The teacher was merely seeking to ensure
normal freedom of movement in that part of
Murrupula. But he had not informed the local
Renamo commander, and so members of the
Renamo militia assumed that he was working
for the Defence and Security Forces. The
teacher, who is a local village headman, was
released after the Renamo gunmen concluded
that his motive was indeed to ensure freedom of
movement. “He has now left captivity, and the
people who had fled from their homes have
returned to their normal lives”, said President
Nyusi. By and large the truce, arranged in the
earlier phone contacts between the President
and Dhlakama, is holding. Since it took effect,
on 27 December, no further Renamo ambushes
of vehicles on the country’s roads have been
reported, and there have been no clashes
between Renamo and The Defence and
Security Forces.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Renamo guarantees that it will be ready for
the next elections
During a two-day meeting in the city of Beira
(Sofala Province), the Renamo Party discussed
strategies and trained members of the
province’s Electoral Affairs Office. The members
of Afonso Dhlakama’s party say that this time,
the will of the people will be materialised, which
is to see Renamo in power. During the course of
2015 and 2016, the party did not fully partake in
political activity, being involved in military
confrontations with the government. The
Renamo Secretary General, Manuel Bissopo,
acknowledges that, politically, the party lost
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time, but is now focused on preparing the
bases. Renamo says that the preparation of the
cadres will be the party’s priority for the next few
months.
Source: O País
EU wants to support 2018 and 2019 elections
in Mozambique
The EU has expressed its readiness to support
the upcoming local and legislative elections in
Mozambique, even though the National
Elections Commission (Comissão Nacional de
Eleições, CNE) has not yet requested budget
support for the MT900-million needed.The EU
ambassador to Mozambique, Sven Kühn von
Burgsdorff, says the bloc will continue to
support Mozambique, even in the context of the
United Kingdom leaving.
Ambassador von Burgsdorff was speaking on
Friday 24 March, at celebrations in Maputo of
the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the
European Union’s founding document.
Ambassadors present at the event, representing
the 28 members of the European Union, said
that the bloc should focus on social aspects in
the support they provide to Mozambique. The
European Union is based on the principles of
peace, democracy, social justice, and was
created after the two world wars.
Source: O País
Peace and financial crisis dominate
Zambézia Provincial Assembly
The need to achieve effective peace in the
country, the negative impact of the financial
crisis on household budgets and the country’s
so-called ‘hidden debts’ were themes that
dominated Wednesday’s Fifth Ordinary Session
of the Zambézia Provincial Assembly, with
members seeking solutions to the current
situation. The members of this representative
body in Zambézia had as one of the main points
the debate and approval of the Economic and
Social Plan (Plano Económico e Social, PES)
for this year – a fundamental instrument for the
functioning of the government and the
materialisation of the programmes of
development.
The Frelimo and Renamo representatives of the
provincial government both highlighted the
understanding reached between President
Filipe Nyusi and Afonso Dhlakama in the search
for solutions to the conflict, by creating
specialised commissions to deal with political-
administrative decentralisation and military
issues.
The president of the Zambézia Provincial
Assembly, Betinho Jaime, said in his speech

that the two parties should take advantage of
the second extension of the truce to reach
consensus as quickly as possible, with a view of
restoring an effective peace that allows for the
movement of people and goods and promote
political development, social and economic of
the country. He emphasised the role of the
President and the Renamo leader in their efforts
to bring peace, and called for the highest level
of understanding to serve as the foundation
which should characterise the debates of the
session in which the government will present its
Economic and Social plan this year.
He admitted that the financial crisis is affecting
the lives of families, public and private
institutions and, consequently, the economy of
the province of Zambézia, where the purchasing
power of citizens has drastically reduced. Hw
subsequently warned that the crisis can only be
overcome with everyone’s involvement.
Frelimo’s head, Hilário da Costa, highlighted
President Nyusi’s commitment and the way in
which he has been facilitating open initiatives
that could result in effective peace. Da Costa
commended the President’s commitment to
finding solutions to the financial crisis
responsible for the high cost of living.
“In this session we should have the opportunity
to discuss concrete ideas aimed at solving the
people’s problems in the most varied areas of
socio-economic, political and cultural life, as
well as initiatives that encourage development”,
he said. Renamo's chief of staff, Noé Mavereca,
argued that the ongoing political dialogue
should bring concrete responses, including
political-administrative decentralisation and
military issues. Mavereca deplored the fact that
this session took place before the members of
the assembly maintained contact with the
citizens to listen to their main problems and
expectations. This year's Executive Economic
and Social Plan highlights the increase in
agricultural production to seven-million tons,
construction of sanitary units, increased
coverage of water supply and other
interventions aimed at improving human capital.
Source: Jornal Notícias
MDM proposes elimination of districts which
coincide with municipalities
The MDM wants the law of creating districts by
province to be reviewed. In 2016, the MDM
parliamentary bench submitted to the National
Assembly a request to review the law by which
provinces can create districts, and on
Wednesday, the Parliamentary Commission on
Public Administration, Local Government and
Social Communication convened to establish
the essence of the proposal. After all, the MDM
intends to do away with districts whose
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territories coincide with municipalities, MDM’s
Luther Simango saying it is a waste of human
and financial resources to have two authorities
in the same place. The MDM suggestion raised
heated debate in the fourth parliamentary
commission. Lucas Chomera, president of the
Commission, told the head of the MDM bench
that the problem of competencies in districts
and municipalities should be resolved not by the
disbandment of districts, but rather by the
reinforcement of supervision. The Commission’s
rapporteur, António Muchanga, supported
Chomera, saying that it does not make sense to
abolish districts, because within them there are
district courts which would be set adrift. The
MDM proposal will now go to the plenary
assembly session for debate by all MPs.
Source: O País
More on the co-operation agreements signed
by Mozambique and Germany
On Friday 24 March, Mozambique and
Germany signed technical and financial accords
establishing support for the sectors of
education, sustainable economic development,
and public finances. The accords were signed
by Mozambican Foreign Minister Oldemiro Balói
and the German ambassador Detlev Wolter.
This follows negotiations last year between the
two governments, which resulted in pledges
from the German side to grant €118.6-million for
the three sectors.
Germany will also provide an additional €39-
million to finance a power transmission line
between Mozambique and neighbouring
Malawi, as well as supporting short-term
electricity projects in Mozambique. Speaking at
the signing ceremony, Minister Balói said that
the German financial support would spur on the
government to redouble its efforts to implement
the projects. He noted, “our sincere appreciation
for the friendship, solidarity, and support that the
German government has shown since our
independence, particularly during the most
difficult times”.
Ambassador Wolter explained that Germany
wishes to expand and improve basic and
technical education through the Mozambican
Education Sector Support Fund (FASE). This
will involve collaboration with government
institutions as well as certain educational
establishments. He added, “we also aim to
improve conditions for the creation of a
financially competitive private sector, improve
the state management of the mining sector, and
improve access to energy through the
modernisation and amplification of the electricity
grid”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique

President Nyusi marks centenary of Barue
revolt
On Tuesday 28 March, President Filipe Nyusi
urged Mozambicans to honour the heroes of the
Barue Revolt, which broke out exactly a century
ago, in March 1917, for the courage, unity,
determination and daring they had shown.
The revolt, sparked off by the Portuguese
colonial regime’s demand for forced labour,
erupted on 27 March 1917. Centred on what is
now Barue district (Manica Province), the
rebellion attacked Portuguese positions
throughout the Zambezi Valley, and united
several ethnic groups against the colonial
occupying force.
It took the Portuguese until 1920 to extinguish
the flames of revolt. President Nyusi
inaugurated a monument in the Barue district
capital, Catandica, to the Makombe, the most
prominent of the traditional ruling families that
led the revolt.
“Just like the people of Barue, we should revolt
against everything that brings us disunity,
against everything which prevents us from
progressing economically and socially, and we
should take control of the reins of our history”,
declared President Nyusi.
“Let us be the masters of our own destiny”.
Paying tribute to the heroes of past resistance,
he added, meant “solidarity, reconciliation and
peaceful coexistence among Mozambicans”.
He praised the heroes of the Barue Revolt for
daring to fight against a much better equipped
army, and never vacillating in their struggle. “We
are here to do justice to our own history”, he
declared.
“The dream of our ancestors was to see us all
free. 25 June 1975 (the date of Mozambican
independence) was the result of our wanting to
be free and independent, an ideal that began
right from the early days of the attempts to
implant the Portuguese colonial system in
Mozambique”.
Thus the date of Mozambican independence
was also “the day of the victory of the Barue
Revolt”.
“This is the reading of continuity that we should
make of our past”, added the President, “where
we look on the facts that led to a more
structured form of nationalism in Mozambique.
These are the corner stones of the
strengthening of our peace, our sovereignty and
our national unity”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
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President Nyusi travels to Manica for
working visit
On Monday 27 March, President Filipe Nyusi
arrived in Manica Province on a working visit.
Shortly after arriving in the province, the
President presided over the inauguration
ceremony of the Mavuzi Hydroelectric Power
Station in Nhaurombe, Sussundenga district. In
Chimoio’s Tembwe district, the President
inaugurated a distance learning centre before
joining celebrations of the Báruè Revolt in the
Sanhathuze neighbourhood, Catandica village,
Báruè district. On Tuesday 28 March, the
President inaugurated the Makombe Monument.
The President was accompanied by the
Ministers of Culture and Tourism, Silva
Dunduru, and Mineral Resources and Energy,
Leticia da Silva Deusina Klemens; Deputy
Ministers of Education and Human
Development, Armindo Ngunga, and of Culture
and Tourism, Ana Comoana, and staff from
other state institutions.
Source: Rádio Moçambique
President Nyusi travels to Niassa on working
visit
On Thursday 30 March, President Filipe Nyusi
arrived in Niassa Province on a working visit,
during which he learned about the activities
under way under the government’s Economic
and Social Plan. The head of state inaugurated
the new Provincial Directorate of Labour,
Employment and Social Security building, and
visited various economic enterprises including
D.D Farming, a company which runs a
macadamia plantation, the Indústria de
Farinação de Milho and the Niassa Industria
Alimentar.
The President was expected to meet with the
local population extensively over the course of
his working visit. President Nyusi was
accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Oldemiro Balói; the Minister of Agriculture and
Food Security, José Pacheco; the Minister of
Labour, Employment and Social Security,
Vitória Diogo; and members of staff of the
presidency and other state institutions.
Source: Folha de Maputo
President Nyusi travels to Inhambane on
working visit
On Friday 31 March, President Filipe Nyusi
arrived in Inhambane for a two-day working
visit. During his visit, the President inaugurated
the new Sentidos Beach Resort tourist complex
in Praia da Barra and visited various Inhambane
neighbourhoods effected by cyclone Dineo.
Tropical cyclone Dineo totally destroyed 33,712

houses and damaged another 71,526. It also
destroyed nearly 2,000 classrooms, and killed at
least seven people, injuring a further 96, 15
seriously.
Approximately 62,382 hectares of crops
(including maize, beans, rice, peanuts, manioc,
sweet potatoes, manioc and various horticultural
crops) were destroyed in 30 districts of Manica,
Sofala, Inhambane, Gaza and Maputo. During
the trip, President Nyusi was accompanied by
the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Silva
Dunduru; Deputy Minister of State
Administration and Public Service, Roque Silva;
Director General of the INGC, Osvaldo
Machatine and staff of the presidency and other
state institutions.
Source: Folha de Maputo
Joaquim Chissano to be appointed High
Reresentative of the AU for Western Sahara
The African Union (AU) Peace and Security
Council (PSC) called for the immediate
engagement of direct and serious talks without
pre-conditions and in accordance with Article 4
of the Constitutive Act of the AU to overcome
the current impasse in the Western Sahara
conflict, affirming that it remains actively aware
of the issue.
The PSC announced in its communiqué after its
668th meeting in Addis-Ababa on Monday 20
March, on the situation in Western Sahara, the
first of its kind since Morocco joined the AU, the
reactivation of ad hoc Committee of Heads of
State and Government on the Western Sahara
Conflict, established pursuant to the resolution
adopted at the 15th Ordinary Session of the
Conference of Heads of State and Government
of OAU (Organisation of the African Union), held
in Khartoum (Sudan) from 18 to 22 July 1978,
while recalling the relevant provisions of Article
4 of the Constitutive Act of the AU which
evokes, among other things, the peaceful
settlement of disputes between the member
states of the Union, stressing that it is
imperative to engage immediately in direct and
serious talks, without preconditions, and in
accordance with Article 4 of the Constitutive Act.
The Council regretted the absence of Morocco
during this meeting, a first test “failed” by Rabat,
according to the chief of the Saharawi
diplomacy. The PSC also decided, according to
the statement, to reinforce the mandate of the
former Mozambican president, Joaquim
Chissano, to be appointed High Representative
of the AU for Western Sahara, “to facilitate
direct talks between the two member states and
to mobilise the efforts of Africa and the United
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Nations to this end”. In this regard, the Council
calls on the Chairperson of the AU Commission,
Moussa Faki Mahamat, to take the necessary
steps to enable the AU High Representative to
assume his mandate immediately.
The African body calls upon all AU member
states, in the spirit of pan-Africanism and in
accordance with the provisions of the
Constitutive Act, to mobilise and provide other
forms of political and diplomatic support to
Joaquim Chissano, to facilitate direct talks,
furthermore calling on the AU Commission to
take immediate steps to reopen the AU Office in
El Aaiun (Western Sahara), including the
provision of human and financial resources and
the necessary logistical means.
Source: Sahara Press Service
Zambian deputies in Mozambique to gain
experience and knowledge on the topic of
public-private partnerships
On Sunday 26 March, a delegation of MPs from
the Committee on Economic, Energy and
Labour Affairs of the Zambian parliament
arrived in Mozambique on a working visit aimed
at carrying out an in-depth study on public-
private partnerships. “We have come to
exchange experiences with our Mozambican
friends about how they have carried out
economic development projects involving public
and private funds”, said Situmbeko
Musokotwane, head of delegation, moments
after the courtesy meeting with the president of
the Committee on Agriculture, Economy and the
Environment, Francisco Mucanheia.
Musokotwane congratulated the Mozambican
people “for the visible signs of economic
progress, especially with regard to the creation
of economic infrastructure, such as the new
facilities at Maputo International Airport”. For his
part, Mucanheia said that Mozambique has
experiences to share in the field of public-
private partnerships, thanks to several projects
in the country, focusing on the exploitation of
natural resources (natural gas) in the Rovuma
Basin, which, despite being carried out by
private companies, relies on the participation of
Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH).
MPs from Zambia also met with the Committee
on Social Affairs, Gender, Technology and
Social Communication and with various
government entities, in particular the Ministers
of Economy and Finance, Industry and
Commerce, Mineral Resources and Energy, as
well as with the Deputy Minister of Labour,
Employment and Social Security.
Source: O País
 Return to Contents Page

SECURITY

HEAT MAP OF POLITICAL AND SECURITY INCIDENTS

(01/01/2016 – 31/03/2017)

High Risk

Low Risk

45
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The following graphs relate to the political and security incidents in Mozambique recorded
from 01/01/2016 to 31/03/2017.

GRAPH 2 – TIME PERIOD BY DAY OF WEEK

GRAPH 3 – RECORDED INCIDENT INITIATOR BY PROVINCE

GRAPH 4 – INCIDENTS WITH FATALITIES PER REGION

46

Police give truce positive assessment
The PRM is taking a generally positive view of
the three-month truce between the Mozambican
government and Renamo, but notes that “the
Defence and Security Forces’ mission did not
stop” with the declaration of peace.
In an interview with Lusa, the spokesperson for
the General Command of the PRM, Inácio Dina,
said that the Defence and Security Forces have
an “ongoing mission to ensure public order and
tranquillity”, and a mandate covering the whole
national territory.
“In places where there is a certain risk with
regard to the movement of people, people
deserve to feel safe”, he said, noting that since
December, when the truce was announced, the
Mozambican authorities had not registered any
incidents, although Renamo has made claims
alluding to several attacks allegedly carried out
by the Defence and Security Forces.
“Since the cessation (of hostilities) was
declared, citizens are moving about normally
and there is no threat”, Dina said, adding that
peace benefited all Mozambicans and is thus
important to preserve.
Dina also said that the Mozambican police
would continue to work to reduce possible
threats to the security and stability of the
population in the region, calling for the co-
operation of all parties in the maintenance of
peace in the country.
“We continue to work normally, as authorities
who have been given the power to guarantee
public order, security and tranquillity”, the he
said.
Source: Lusa
Unknown individuals kill Renamo official in
Tsangano
On Thursday 23 March, unknown individuals
killed Renamo’s head of organisation in the
Tsangano district (Tete Province), João Abrão.
According to Renamo spokesperson, António
Muchanga, the head of the Renamo
organisation in Tete was abducted at night in
the locality of Mapanje, by people who were
transported in a white vehicle.
Abrão’s body was found riddled with bullets in
the Nhodola mountain, a few meters from the
village of Tsangano.
As of Friday 24 March, the Mozambican police
had not yet commented on the incident.
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Although Abrão’s murderers are not known,
political assassinations were one of the
hallmarks during the confrontations between the
Mozambican Defence Forces and Renamo in
the wake of political violence that followed the
general elections of 2014 until the truce came
into force in December.
Source: Lusa
Renamo accuses the FADM of kidnapping
three of its members from Nampula Province
On Friday 31 March, Renamo accused the
Defence and Security Forces of abducting three
of its members from the Mogovolas district
(Nampula Province).
According to Renamo spokesperson, António
Muchanga, the alleged abduction took place on
Thursday 30 March, and since then only one of
the victims has been released.
Muchanga told reporters that Defence and
Security Force personnel had travelled to the
party's headquarters in Macusse where they
kidnapped the local head of mobilisation, Inês
Manuel, and his two companions.
The three Renamo members were allegedly
taken to the nearby forest where Manuel was
released after giving his abductors MT10,000
(approximately €140, at current exchange
rates).
“They demanded that each of the three pay
MT10,000. As only Inês Manuel paid, he was
released, and the other two members of the
party are still missing”, said Muchanga.
The case has since been reported to the local
police.
Source: Observador
Vietnam and Mozambique foster defence co-
operation
Vietnam attaches importance to the traditional
relationship with Mozambique and wishes to
promote multi-faceted co-operation between the
nations, particularly in national defence, said a
senior officer.
Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Sen. Lt.
Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, made this statement
during his meeting with Mozambique Defence
Minister Atanásio Ntumuke as part of his two-
day visit to the country on 27 and 28 March.
Deputy Minister Vinh, who led a senior
delegation of the Vietnam Defence Ministry on a
visit to Mozambique, briefed the Minister on the
outcomes of his talks with his host counterpart.

Echoing the Vietnamese officer’s opinion,
Minister Ntumuke said Mozambique has
continuously valued the relationship between
the two nations. He hailed the outcomes of the
talks between the two sides and expected that
defence relations will continue developing in a
more practical and effective manner.
Meanwhile, the Chief of the General Staff of the
Mozambique Army, General Graca Tomas
Chonggo, said Mozambique considers Vietnam
a comrade and a friend.
The army and the people of Mozambique have
treasured and wished to promote the friendship
between the two sides, he said. Deputy Minister
Vinh said that Vietnam has continuously kept in
mind the support that Mozambique provided for
the nation during the struggle for liberation and
reunification.
The party, state, people and army of Vietnam
will make increasing efforts to nurture and boost
the traditional friendship with Mozambique, he
said.
Earlier, the Vietnamese Deputy Minister
engaged in talks with his counterpart, Patricio
José. The two sides agreed that the bilateral
defence co-operation has gained fruitful
achievements in recent time.
Deputy Minister Vinh suggested that the two
sides continue implementing the Memoranda of
Understanding (MoU) on defence co-operation
signed in 2011 and develop a five-year plan to
concretise the co-operation fields in an effective
manner.
They also agreed on exchanges of high-level
delegations, promoting co-operation in military
medicine, information and communication,
training, and defence industry.
During their stay, the delegation visited Movitel,
a joint venture between the military-run group of
Viettel and its partner in Mozambique.
Source: Vietnamnet
Mozambique and Zambia agree to prioritise
the fight against drugs and illegal
immigration
During the course of the week 17 to 24 March,
Mozambique and Zambia signed two
Memoranda of Understanding with a view to
improve aspects of migration and drug control.
The agreements were ratified at the IX Session
of the Permanent Joint Commission on Defence
and Security held in Livingstone (Zambia). The
agreements were signed by Mozambique’s
Interior Minister, Jaime Monteiro, and by
Zambia’s Defence and Home Affairs Ministers
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Davies Chama and Stephen Kapyongo,
respectively.
With regard to the fight against drugs, the MoU
includes combating and curbing the production,
distribution, marketing and illegal use of
narcotics and other psychotropic substances. It
will also encourage and facilitate the
development of a framework for institutional
capacity-building in a number of areas, including
drug testing, sharing of drug trafficking
information, use of sniffer dogs, and counselling
and rehabilitation programmes for dependent
persons.
With regard to the area of migration, the parties
agree to co-operate in the areas of institutional
capacity building, infrastructure construction,
Migration Officer training, and experience
exchange on any immigration issues that may
impact the stability of either state. The two
countries also agreed to harmonise border
management practices in the areas of
information technology and to harmonise the
formalities of deportation procedures, in
accordance with the laws of the two countries.
In addition, the agreement facilitates the transit
of prohibited immigrants in each country, when
they are removed or deported, as well as the
facilitation of the movement of people between
the two countries.
Mozambique and Zambia will also co-operate in
combating the criminal activities of border
violators, such as irregular migration, smuggling
and trafficking in human beings and terrorism,
and other related matters of mutual concern.
Source: Jornal Notícias
Swaziland claims parts of Mozambique and
South Africa territory
The Border Determination Special Committee
(BDSC) appointed by the Swaziland King, says
his country has the right to claim parts of the
territory of Mozambique and South Africa,
including the capital of the latter, Pretoria.
“The country’s original borders show that it was
demarcated by the Limpopo River in the north
and by the Mkhuze River in the south, so the
city now known as Pretoria belongs to
Swaziland and the city then known as
Sophiatown was inhabited by the Swazis. Our
history is complete and we can show that King
Ngwane III was the first to cross the Lubombo
Mountains, which gives us the right to reclaim
some land from modern Mozambique”, the
Swazi Observer quotes committee member
Prince Sicelo as saying.
The article does not explain which portion of
territory the King of Swaziland claims but details

that the committee’s first meeting on Monday 27
March “put the cards on the table and revealed
that its mandate, as instructed by King Mswati
II, was to recover for the Swazis all the land lost
during the colonial era, to the east, west, north
and south, extending as far as Pretoria and the
Limpopo Province”.
“The shrinking of Swaziland was the result of
the arrival of white settlers, various
concessions, treaties and conventions, and the
country becoming a state under British
protectorate”, Swaziland’s Attorney-General,
‘Loyal Eagle’ Thabiso Masina, argues.
Masina said that “the basis of the country for
this claim are the concessions” and added that
“the Swazis were never defeated in war, to have
a land to be claimed by the winner”.
Outlining the geographical history of the country
since the mid-eighteenth century, Sicelo
stressed that: “it is imperative for the Swazis to
know where they came from and [about] the
legacy they have lost over the years”.
Swaziland is bordered by Mozambique in the
south, and is the only remaining absolute
monarchy in Africa. It has been repeatedly
criticised for violation of human rights and the
squandering of wealth by the royal family
against a background of the extreme poverty
which affects the majority of the population.
Source: Lusa/Club of Mozambique
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Malawi and Mozambique police bring peace
to Lizulu after violent protests against
Burundians
The Mozambican and Malawian police
managed to restore peace at an agricultural
trading centre after a violent protest recently
broke out against Burundians who allegedly
killed a woman in the area.
The Ntcheu police spokesperson said that one
person was shot at by the Mozambican police
and is currently receiving treatment at Dedza
District Hospital.
He said the violence was mainly on the
Mozambique side at the trading centre, which
cuts through Malawi and Mozambique.
“Rioters broke into shops belonging to
Burundians and looted items. The riots started
on the Mozambican side and spread to the
Malawi side but we have managed to stop it.
Our colleagues from Mozambique also came to
bring calm”, he said.
He said the police were yet to arrest the rioters,
saying investigations were under way to bring to
book the perpetrators.
Traffic on the M1 Road at Lizulu was affected in
the morning as the rioters became violent.
Source: Nyasa Times

CRIME
Mozambican police extend investigation into
disappearance of Portuguese businessman
nationwide
On Friday 24 March, the Mozambican police
announced that it has extended investigations
into the disappearance of the Portuguese
businessman (who was kidnapped eight months
ago) throughout the entire country and now has
the support of authorities from neighbouring
countries.
In an interview with Lusa, Mozambican police
spokesperson, Inácio Dina, said that the case
previously confined to the centre of the country,
where the man went missing, is now a national
priority.
“We have extended investigations nationwide
and we also have help from neighbouring
countries”, Dina said, noting that Mozambique is
part of the Southern African Police Organisation
and Interpol, entities that have “contributed a
lot” to the clarification of complex crimes in the
past.
The Portuguese businessman has been missing
for eight months after being abducted by
unknown individuals somewhere in the
Gorongosa district (Sofala Province), a region
for a long time marked by confrontations
between the Defence and Security Forces and
the armed wing of Renamo.
In an interview with the weekly newspaper
Canal de Moçambique, Renamo leader Afonso
Dhlakama accused members of the Defence
and Security Forces of kidnapping the
Portuguese businessman, adding that
attributing the disappearance to Renamo was
“cheap propaganda”.
“According to reports, the man went to the petrol
station to fill up his car, and the FADM forces
arrived and they picked him up, as if it was a
joke. Everyone saw it”, Dhlakama said.
Asked about the Renamo statements, Dina said
that the police’s main concern at the moment is
to ensure that the Portuguese man gets back to
his family, and that there are “specialised teams
on the ground and they are the ones that must
speak”.
“Any citizen, national or foreign, who has any
information relevant to the clarification of a
particular crime, should come forward and
present it to the competent authorities”, Dina
said. In an investigation like this, the authorities
“did not rule out any possibility”, he added.
“It is the state’s wish to see this case solved”,
Dina concluded, calling for calm and for
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avoiding statements that might “disrupt
investigations”.
Speaking to Lusa earlier this month, Portuguese
Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said that
the Portuguese authorities were “very
concerned” about the lack of information on the
Portuguese citizen’s location.
“The Portuguese authorities – the president and
the government – are very concerned, as is
their duty, about the disappearance of a fellow
citizens in Mozambique, especially since,
several months later, we have no concrete
information as to the fate or whereabouts of this
man”, Augusto Santos Silva said on the side-
lines of the inauguration of the Monaco
principality office.
Previously, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs said that the Mozambican Interior
Minister told President Marcelo Rebelo de
Sousa and Prime Minister António Costa, “that
the Mozambican authorities were continuing to
investigate the matter of the missing Portuguese
citizen”.
Source: Lusa/Club of Mozambique
Fake Mozambican doctor arrested trying to
cross into Zimbabwe with “unauthorised
medical equipment”
A Mozambican man who pretended to be a
medical practitioner was recently fined US$300
after he was found in possession of medical
equipment at an illegal crossing point near the
Marymount Teachers’ College (Zimbabwe).
Franciso Sozinetto Melo was apprehended
while trying to illegally cross into Zimbabwe with
unauthorised medical equipment which he
claimed was for professional use as he was a
health assistant in Chimoio (Manica Province).
He pleaded guilty to the charges.
Mutare magistrate, Innocent Bepura, heard the
matter.
Public prosecutor, Fletcher Karombe, told the
court that on 15 March at approximately
8.30hrs, Constable Lungube Evance was in the
company of Private Ndou of the Zimbabwe
National Army on general patrol duties along the
Zimbabwe-Mozambique border when they
caught the accused person on the Zimbabwean
side.
They stopped him and escorted him to
Marymount Base where they searched his
satchel. The law enforcement agents found him
in possession of medical equipment that he was

trying to smuggle into Zimbabwe. Bepura asked
Melo about the equipment and he said he was a
medical assistant who wanted to help cholera
and HIV patients in Chimoio.
“Your Worship, I am health assistant in
Mozambique and all this equipment and
medicine is to help my grandmother who is HIV
positive”, he said.
He failed to produce proof to bolster his claims
and was subsequently charged with violating
Section 29(1) (a) of the Medical Allied
Substances Control Act.
Source: Bulawayo 24
Inhambane:
Corruption in Inhambane: more
than MT20-million diverted from
state coffers in 2016
In Inhambane Province, some
MT21-million was diverted from
state coffers in 2016 by civil
servants.
The withdrawal of funds from the public purse
took place mainly from within the district
governments, municipal councils and the
sectors of education and health.
The Anti-Corruption Office in Inhambane has
initiated criminal cases against those involved.
In the scope of the investigations carried out by
the institution, 12 people were implicated in the
act of corruption and arrested, resulting in the
recovery of just over MT230,000.
Simai Lundzo, a spokesperson for the Provincial
Office of Anti-Corruption in Inhambane, said that
in recent years there are many officials who
“navigate” the state’s coffers, a situation that
worries the institution.
Source: Rádio Moçambique
Man arrested for murdering his father in
Inhambane
On Tuesday 21 March, a 31-year-old man
(identified as E. Mechisso) was arrested on
charges of murder.
According to reports, Mechisso beat his father
to death with a stick and hung his body from a
cashew tree in an attempt to disguise the
murder as a suicide.
Neighbours immediately called the police, who
arrested Mechisso as he attempted to escape.
Source: @Verdade
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IURD pastor accused of human trafficking
A pastor of the Universal Church of the
Kingdom of God (Universal do Reino de Deus,
IURD), based in the Maxixe district (Inhambane
Province), was recently arrested on charges of
attempted human trafficking in the Massinga
district. According to reports, the pastors’ four
would-be victims included people with albinism,
a dwarf and a “blue-eyed woman”.
A church employee and two members of the
church were also arrested in connection with the
case. The police told reporters that the arrests
were possible thanks to the denunciation on the
part of the population.
Source: Folha de Maputo/Rádio Moçambique/Jornal
Notícias
Maputo:
Counterfeiters use children in
Maputo
A judge of the Maputo City
Juvenile Court, Maria Oliveira,
recently said that some currency
counterfeiters use children to
bring false bills on to the market.
According to Oliveira, most children do so
“innocently” and at the behest of criminals. She
urged parents and the community to avoid
involving minors in criminal acts.
According to Oliveira, in Maputo, the Juvenile
Court has been meeting with the police, Maputo
municipal council and international partners in
order to find mechanisms to penalise these
children without violating their rights.
A statistical study, conducted by the Juvenile
Court, indicates that in Maputo, the
neighbourhoods of Maxaquene, Polana Caniço
and Chamanculo have the highest number of
children in conflict with the law.
Source: Rádio Moçambique
Police foil robbery in Matola
Two suspects were arrested during the course
of the week 17 to 24 March on charges of
attempting to rob an unnamed Matola company
of MT3-million.
According to the detainees, they planned the
robbery with the help of a security guard hired to
protect the company in question.
The robbery was subsequently foiled by the
police and the men were arrested.
Source: @Verdade

Two kidnapping suspects shot dead by
police in Matola
On Friday 31 March, the PRM shot dead two
men in the municipality of Matola. The two men
(identified as F. Jose Huo and C. José
Nhalungo) were suspects in kidnapping cases
which took place in the cities of Maputo and
Matola. According to Notícias, Nhalungo was
also known as ‘Tiano’, and is believed to be the
ringleader of the kidnap gang.
According to the PRM spokesperson for
Maputo, Fernando Manhiça, the third member,
whose identity is not yet known, managed to
escape during the shootout.
The two suspects died during an exchange of
fire between the police and the three individuals,
following a police chase that had started in
Maputo city, where the suspects lived.
According to the authorities, the group is
responsible for a number of kidnappings that
took place at the end of last year (2016).
The suspects were in a Toyota Corolla with a
South African number plate. The vehicle has
since been seized by the police who are
working to identify and apprehend other
elements of the gang. According to Notícias, the
bodies were removed to the morgue of the
Provincial Hospital of Matola.
Source: O País/Folha de Maputo/Jornal
Notícias/Club of Mozambique
Fake FADM officer arrested in Maputo
The PRM of Maputo Province recently arrested
26-year-old Passuel Paulo on charges of
robbery and of impersonating a FADM officer.
Paulo, who lives in the Mahotas neighbourhood,
was arrested in possession of a pair of
handcuffs, a military uniform and a machete.
The detainee denied being a member of the
famous “homem-catana”, and maintained that at
no time did he wear the military uniform to
commit robberies or assaults. He claimed to
merely like having the uniform in his house
because he appreciates the look of it.
The arrest took place after Paulo’s father
reported him to the police for allegedly stealing
the uniforms from a neighbour.
Paulo confessed to the police that he smokes
marijuana and has committed at least two
robberies in the past, one of which targeted his
own brother.
Source: @Verdade
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Three arrested in connection with theft at
Zimpeto National Stadium
The Maputo PRM recently arrested three youths
in connection with the theft of office supplies
from the Zimpeto National Stadium (Estádio
Nacional do Zimpeto). The theft in question
occurred during the course of last week. Two of
the detainees were employed by a security
company. The three men stole three monitors,
two computers, two keyboards and a tablet.
One of the detainees has already confessed to
his involvement in the robbery.
Source: Magazine Independente
Adolescent car wash attendant arrested for
car theft
On Monday 27 March, a 17-year-old employee
of a car wash facility in Maputo Province was
arrested for stealing a Toyota Corolla from one
of his customers. According to reports, the
detainee (identified as A. Júnior) was entrusted
with the vehicle and its keys after the car was
brought in for a wash. At approximately
10:00hrs, Júnior disappeared with the vehicle
and was later arrested by the PRM. The car was
recovered and returned to its owner.
According to Paulo Nazaré, a police
spokesperson assigned to the Maputo City
Command, this is the second case in less than
a week whereby a car has been stolen using the
same modus operandi. Car owners are
encouraged not to leave their keys with car
washers because vehicle thefts from car wash
companies are becoming increasingly frequent
in Maputo.
Júnior told the police that he did not steal the
car, insisting that the vehicle belonged to his
employer of six years, who had asked him to
wash the car. On realising that the vehicle was
too dirty for the company’s facilities, Júnior took
the car to a specialised car cleaning company.
Júnior maintains his innocents and says he was
surprised by his arrest.
Source: Jornal Notícias
Nampula:
Would-be kidnappers arrested
in Nampula
Three suspects have been
arrested in the city of Nampula
on charges of armed robbery and
attempted abduction. According
to reports, the three men
attempted to kidnap a
Mozambican national of Indian descent.

During the arrest, the PRM seized two firearms,
ammunition and two vehicles. One of the
detainees told reporters that he was arrested
after the police found two guns in the car that he
was being transported in, claiming not to know
where the guns came from or what they were
used for.
“The weapons are not mine, I was only ordered
to take the person [the kidnap victim] because
he was armed”, he said. According to Zacarias
Nacute, a spokesperson for the Nampula PRM,
the suspects travelled from Maputo to Nampula
with the sole purpose of kidnapping the victim.
The gang leader is said to still be in Maputo.
Source: @Verdade
Mozambican police seize three tons of
precious stones in Nampula province
The PRM announced the seizure of three tons
of precious stones from illegal mining activities
in the northern province of Nampula. Speaking
at a weekly police press conference, PRM
General Command spokesperson, Inácio Dina,
said that the precious stones were seized in the
possession of illegal miners, during a campaign
conducted by the authorities against the illegal
extraction of ores.
“In areas where there is a mining activity with a
high incidence of illegal mining by unlicensed
individuals, day after day we have been working
to discourage this type of practice, making
arrests and seizing the product of illegal
extraction”, said Dina, without specifying the
type of gems or the number of people arrested
in relation to the case.
In addition to Nampula, Dina pointed to the
provinces of Cabo Delgado, and Zambézia and
Manica as the ones with the highest occurrence
rate of illegal extraction of minerals. Illegal
mining in Mozambique, carried out by nationals
and expatriates who are usually in the country
illegally, is aimed at gold, rubies and emeralds.
Source: Lusa/Club of Mozambique
New criminal tactic worries Nampula
residents
A new crime tactic has been sweeping the
capital of Nampula Province in recent months,
whereby thieves pass themselves off as motor
taxi drivers, and subsequently assault and rob
citizens. Inhabitants are terrified and accuse the
police of inactivity, but the authorities insist that
they are fighting the criminals.
Vendor Sara Orlando lives in the Muataunha
neighbourhood and was recently robbed by a
man driving a motorcycle.
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“One day he came to my house and said he
wanted to buy cooking oil. When I went inside to
get a bottle to give him, he stole the container
with all my merchandise and ran away”, she
lamented.
Most dangerous neighbourhoods:
In the city of Nampula, residents say the
Namicopo, Namutequeliua and Mutauanha
neighbourhoods are worst affected areas with
regard to robberies and attacks, both residential
and on the streets. Sara said that: “motorcycle
taxi drivers here in Nampula are getting more
and more involved in crime”. The boldness of
the criminals is so great that, according to the
saleswoman, they “abduct people from their
homes and at night return to steal their
property”.
Concerned about increasing criminal activity,
Mutauanha residents are demanding that the
police take action. “If they [police officers] are
actually working, we haven’t seen them, so we
are asking for them to be on the alert with these
motor taxis, otherwise the crimes will just go
on”, she said.
Alert:
Motor taxi driver Victor Ernesto, who works in
Nampula, reports that there are people posing
as motor taxi drivers and admits that some
colleagues have engaged in criminal activities
rather than earn an honest living. “As far as
money goes, everybody’s got their own ideas,
but there are also people of bad faith who lead
us on, unaware that there are [criminal]
networks, and we are worried. Be especially
alert at night, because even the taxi drivers
themselves have been forcibly taken from their
motorcycles by these miscreants”.
Local police spokesperson, Zacarias Nacute,
admitted to Deutsche Welle Africa that this new
modus operandi was on the rise but says the
police had redoubled efforts to stop robberies
and assaults on citizens. “The Mozambique
police, together with the Municipal Council of
the City of Nampula, is continually conducting
operations to check on the legality of motorised
vehicles”, Nacute said.
During the operations, the police check driving
licenses and the type of service provided by the
motorcyclist. Police in Nampula have seized
more than 150 motorbikes for lack of
documents. Many of them were stolen and
found in the possession of people claiming to be
motor taxi drivers. “We always query these
motorised vehicles. They can only be recovered
through regularisation of documents and
presentation of a safety helmet”, he said.
Source: Deutsche Welle/Club of Mozambique

Niassa:
Government officials detained
for corruption
Officials of the Administrative
Court in Lichinga (Niassa
Province) were recently arrested
on charges of corruption and
forgery.
The detainees stand accused of demanding the
payment of MT21,000 from a technician from
the district’s education, youth and technology
department in exchange for providing him with a
visa.
The detainees include an accountant, a
probation officer, and a public administration
technician, all assigned to the Administrative
Court.
Source: O País/Folha de Maputo
Sofala:
Six people arrested for fishing
out of season
The PRM recently detained six
people on charge of fishing during
the closed season in Sofala
Province.
According to Rádio Moçambique,
about 300 fine mesh nets were seized and
destroyed in January by the Sea, Inland Waters
and Fisheries Ministry.
The representative of the Provincial Directorate
of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries, César
HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND NGO’S
OAM says summary executions are a reality
in Mozambique
The OAM deplores the human rights situation in
the country and says that summary executions
are a reality in Mozambique, a point of view
supported by the Mozambican Human Rights
League.
On Tuesday 28 March, the OAM released its
first report on human rights, which is intended to
contribute towards discussions on the topic of
human rights in Mozambique.
The document addresses a number of issues
relating to access to justice, the prison system,
arbitrary executions, democracy, the electoral
process and the economic, social and cultural
rights of citizens.
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Maposse, said that the use of the mesh nets
compromises the chain of fish production, as
well as the extinction of different types of fish.
Source: Folha de Maputo/Rádio Moçambique
Tete:
Man shot while trying to steal
fuel from Vale facility
According to reports, an
unnamed man was recently shot
by private security guards
assigned to mining company
Vale Moçambique, in Moatize
district (Tete Province), after he
was allegedly caught trying to steal fuel from the
company. The perpetrator has since been
admitted to the Tete Provincial Hospital for
medical treatment. The theft of fuel in Tete is a
recurring problem, which the PRM are
struggling to bring under control.
According to the police, the man is part of a
gang comprising of nine people dedicated to the
theft of the of fuel. The perpetrator, who was
injured in the right thigh and left leg during the
shooting, was initially taken to the Moatize
Health Centre before being transferred to the
Tete Provincial Hospital.
According to the police, the perpetrator was
shot while attempting to steal 300 litres of fuel
from Vale. Efforts have been initiated in order to
locate and apprehend the remaining eight gang
members.
Source: @Verdade
Vulnerable groups and minorities, freedom of
the press, access to information and foreign
investment in Mozambique are other matters
highlighted in the report.
The president of the Human Rights Commission
of the Mozambican Bar Association, Ivete
Espada, said that looking at the issue of access
to justice, “it is true that the Constitution of the
Republic speaks of access to the courts, but we
do not want to merely just come and go in court,
but we want to have effective justice”.
Espada also spoke of summary executions,
which in his opinion “are a reality in the country,
the crimes that occur along Estrada Cirdular de
Maputo and the whole country are not clarified
and the Public Prosecutor ends up filing” the
respective lawsuits.

“We have to have effective justice, because the
dissatisfaction of the population will bring
negative consequences, we have to work
effectively so that we avoid certain issues”,
reiterated Espada.
For the president of the Mozambican Human
Rights League, Alice Mabota, “The situation in
Mozambique is bad because, in terms of
executions … people are being killed daily”.
The Human Rights League and OAM have
called for the strengthening of dialogue between
different entities working to preserve human
rights in order to ensure greater synergy in the
advocacy process.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice,
Constitutional and Religious Affairs, Isaque
Chande, said that the government has been
working with other organs of the administration
of justice “and we have established, above all at
the level of the provinces, what we call legality
committees that are will oversee the issues that
afflict the justice sector”.
Source: VOA Portuguese
OAM human rights report sparks polemic
On Tuesday 28 March, the OAM launched its
first report on human rights – and immediately
came under fire for an allegedly one-sided
approach.
In a section covering abuses in the country’s
prisons, the report, which covers events in
2015, claimed that summary executions had
taken place, but gave no source for this
allegation, and cited no specific examples.
Speaking to the independent television station
STV, the director of the National Prison Service
(Serviço Nacional Penitenciário, SERNAP),
Eduardo Mussanhane, demanded evidence.
“They speak about executions of which we have
no knowledge, but, as lawyers, they know they
should present proof”, he said. “When, where
and how did these executions take place?”
The report also stressed the problems arising
from the overcrowding in Mozambican prisons,
including lack of hygiene, juvenile prisoners
placed in the same cells as adults, sick inmates
placed alongside healthy ones, and poor diet
and medical care.
Mussanhane admitted that overcrowding does
have a negative impact on the services provided
to prisoners – but he claimed that a great deal
of progress has been made since 2015. “They
speak of lack of hygiene, but I challenge them to
visit a prison, and we shall see that it is clean”,
he declared.
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“There is a water shortage in Maputo city, but
we have water in the prisons, because the
human condition of the people under our
responsibility concerns us”, said Mussanhane.
Evidence of the improved hygiene, he
continued, was that this year no cases of
cholera have been reported from any of the
prisons, including those located in cities where
there have been cholera outbreaks.
The researchers who compiled the report said
they had found it difficult to obtain information
from some public institutions. Ivete Mafundza,
the chairperson of the OAM Human Rights
Commission, remarked “all reports on human
rights are questioned. People don’t like to hear
what is really happening”.
“We asked for information from the institutions,
but the information doesn’t reach us, particularly
from the police and from SERNAP”, Mafundza
said. However, the OAM Commission itself had
visited various institutions and this first-hand
evidence was drawn upon for the report.
Mussanhane said he had not received any
request for information from the authors of the
report. The OAM, he insisted, could not provide
any document showing they had requested
information from SERNAP.
But OAM chairperson Flavio Menete agreed
with Mafundza that it could be difficult to extract
information from public institutions – even
though their officials are obliged to make data
public under Mozambique’s Freedom of
Information Law.
If I go to a prison and ask for statistical
information about the inmates, I don’t see what
difficulty the officials have in giving it to me. But
they say they need authorisation from their
superiors”, protested Menete. “There is some
fear of making available information to which
citizens, by law, have a right. We must do more
to publicise the law on freedom of information”.
Justice Minister Isaque Chande, who is a lawyer
by profession, welcomed the report, which
showed that the OAM was serious about
contributing to the rule of law in Mozambique.
“This also means that the OAM must contribute
to the question of human rights”, he stressed.
Although he admitted that there were some
cases in which the report “lacks precision”, he
broadly welcomed its criticisms, reiterating that
it is the function of the state to protect its
citizens. Future reports could always be
improved.
What was most important, said Minister
Chande, “is that reports on human rights in

Mozambique should be produced by
Mozambicans and by responsible institutions”.
The report did not merely criticise government
institutions. It also blamed the rebel movement
Renamo for “belligerent acts such as murders,
kidnappings, and theft of material from
government units”.
But Renamo only likes to hear about human
rights when the government is being criticised,
and so Ivone Soares, head of the Renamo
parliamentary group, demanded the right of
reply, and claimed, flying in the face of all
evidence, that Renamo only launched attacks
“in legitimate self-defence”.
Soares had one complaint in common with
Mussanhane – she claimed that the OAM
researchers had not approached Renamo to
ask for information.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Mozambique key message update, March
2017
Key messages:
As the lean season extends through March,
FEWS NET still estimates the number of people
facing crisis (IPC Phase 3) acute food insecurity
or worse is likely to reach 2.3-million, including
potential flood and cyclone-affected people. In
February, food assistance covered
approximately one-million people, accounting
for about 50% of needs based on
Mozambique’s Technical Secretariat for Food
Security and Nutrition’s (SETSAN) two-million
needs estimate.
Even with the harvests from April to May, food
assistance is likely to be needed past March as
food security outcomes are only expected to
gradually improve. From June to September,
Minimal (IPC Phase 1) outcomes are expected
countrywide.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and
Food Security, the combination of shocks
(floods and cyclone Dineo) since January 2017
have affected a total of 30 districts in five
provinces (Manica, Sofala, Inhambane, Gaza,
and Maputo).
A total of 62,382 hectares, nearly 1% of the total
planted area was impacted, and more than
45,000 farmers were affected and will need
seeds, particularly for horticulture crops, to help
them recover during the second season. Due to
these flooding impacts, poor households in
these areas are experiencing Crisis (IPC Phase
3) outcomes, as the majority already faced food
gaps due to the drought.
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FEWS NET/USGS remote sensing products
indicate that national crop production prospects
remain good to very good, except in coastal
areas of Cabo Delgado and Nampula and north-
eastern areas of Zambézia, due to erratic and
below-average rainfall since the beginning of
the season.
The main season harvest has started in Maputo
and is expected to extend gradually northward.
There are reports of some pests in Tete,
Manica, Sofala, and Gaza, but no significant
damages have occurred due to prompt
intervention by the Mozambique agriculture
authorities.
Maize grain prices have started to decrease in
every monitored market, except in Chokwé in
the south, where the decrease is only expected
to start in April with the harvest. From January
to February, maize grain prices decreased by
about 7% on average, but they still remain
significantly above the five-year average and
are expected to through at least September.
Prices of maize meal and rice are currently
stable or slowly decreasing, except in Chokwé
where both prices have increased due to
tightening supplies.
Source: Relief Web
Canadian support for victims of cyclone
Dineo
The Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund
(CHAF) has donated C$200,000 to support the
victims of cyclone Dineo, which hit the southern
province of Inhambane in mid-February.
The cyclone killed at least seven people and left
dozens injured. According to Canada’s
Humanitarian Coalition, in total close to 700,000
people were affected. The destruction of
people’s property and the social infrastructure
was also devastating. Winds of up to 160
kilometres an hour damaged 60,000 homes, 70
health units, and close to 2,000 classrooms.
In its emergency response, CHAF gave funds to
the humanitarian organisation CARE Canada to
provide survivors with hygiene materials and
help rehabilitate health facilities in the affected
communities within days of the disaster.
The Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund
focusses on the rapid and effective response to
smaller, localised disasters that have not
received global attention. It is financed by
Global Affairs Canada (75%), the Humanitarian
Coalition (10%), and the Humanitarian
Coalition’s member agencies (15%).
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique

Ireland supports UNICEF’s response to
Dineo
The Irish government is donating €200,000 to
UNICEF to support the emergency response to
cyclone Dineo, which hit Inhambane Province in
mid-February. Cyclone Dineo hit land on 15
February with winds of up to 160 kilometres an
hour. According to the provincial government,
the cyclone affected over half a million people,
damaged 70 health units, and severely
damaged 2,200 classrooms. The worst-hit
towns were Inhambane, Maxixe, Massinga and
Morrumbene.
The Irish donation will support the emergency
rehabilitation of key services including health,
education, and water and sanitation. The
support will last for six months. It aims to restore
access to learning for 2,000 children through the
repair of 20 classrooms, to restore drinking
water to 25,000 residents in the suburbs of
Maxixe and Inhambane through the emergency
repair to two water systems, and to restore
basic health services in the most affected
districts.
Irish ambassador William Carlos commented,
“cyclone Dineo has demonstrated how
vulnerable Mozambique is to natural disasters.
However, we must now help people rebuild their
lives and develop resilience to future events”.
This intervention is part of the Flash Appeal
recently issued by the United Nations in
response to cyclone Dineo, aimed at mobilising
US$10.2-million and targeting 150,000 people
over the next six months.
So far, the Mozambican government and
humanitarian teams have provided tents and
supplies for maternity services in affected health
centres; fuel for emergency water pumping;
food and shelter kits for the most vulnerable
people; school tents and educational
equipment; and have initiated food for work
schemes to clear the roads of debris.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Three dead in torrential rain
Torrential rains in parts of Mozambique last
week resulted in the deaths of at least three
people, according to the government
spokesperson, Deputy Health Minister
Mouzinho Saíde.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday 28 March,
after the weekly meeting of the Council of
Ministers (Cabinet), Deputy Minister Saíde said
that the deaths occurred in Morrumbala district,
in the central province of Zambézia, when a
house collapsed taking the lives of three
members of the same family.
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In Alto Molocue and Gurue districts, also in
Zambézia, heavy rains on Sunday caused soil
erosion that rendered several roads impassable.
Deputy Minister Saíde said that in Marracuene
district, about 30 kilometres north of Maputo, a
major storm destroyed 175 houses on Friday 24
March. The rains also destroyed three
classrooms in Marracuene, seven shops, and
one health unit. Two electricity pylons were
swept away.
This storm is why LAM cancelled its scheduled
flight from Beira to Maputo on Friday night. LAM
staff in Beira told disgruntled passengers that
the weather in Maputo was so bad that the pilot
was refusing to take off.
Although many passengers were scornful and
claimed (without evidence) that there must be
something wrong with the plane, Deputy
Minister Saíde’s Monday remarks indicate that
the pilot had very good reason not to attempt
flying through the storm to Maputo airport.
Currently, the Deputy Minister added, mobile
platforms are being mobilised that will allow
traffic to resume on damaged roads.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Another 505 water sources planned for five
districts
During the course of this year, the government
of Zambézia will invest more than MT350-million
for the construction of 505 new sources of water
supply in five districts, namely Namacurra,
Mulevala, Ile, Namarrói and Gilé. The new
infrastructure will directly benefit 1.7-million
people.
This is according to an announcement made on
Wednesday 22 March by the Zambezi
Provincial Director of Housing and Water
Resources, Graciano Artur, during a World
Water Day ceremony.
This investment is primarily aimed at raising the
current water access coverage (49%) to over
60% in order to provide quality water to improve
quality of life.
However, Artur reiterated that Zambézia
Province faces enormous challenges with
regard to delivering water to communities due to
several factors, namely the population increase,
dispersion of human settlements, poor
management sources and resource scarcity.
Currently 2.4-million people living in the
provinces rural areas have access to water,
which corresponds to 70% of the more than
five-million inhabitants of Zambézia. In addition
to the five districts that will receive the new

systems, the locality of Macuse in Namacurra
will have a small water supply system.
The Namacurra district government provided
MT470,000 for the rehabilitation of the small
water supply system that was paralysed 40
years ago. The system, which was inaugurated
on the occasion of World Water Day, will
provide water to 30,000 people and public and
private institutions.
Source: Jornal Notícias
President Nyusi inaugurates distance
learning centre
On Monday 27 March, President Filipe Nyusi
inaugurated the Manica Provincial Distance
Learning Centre (CPEDM), in the provincial
capital, Chimoio.
This is the third such centre in the country – the
others are in Maputo, and in the northernmost
province of Niassa.
Financed by the World Bank, the investment in
the CPEDM amounts to MT112.3-million (about
US$1.7-million). It consists of an academic
centre, an administrative sector, laboratories, a
lecture theatre and a car park. The courses it
will provide include both basic and higher
education.
HEALTH
Mozambique bans Brazilian meat imports
On Thursday 30 March, the government
announced a ban on the import of Brazilian
meat and of imported chickens from anywhere
in the world. The decision follows the Brazilian
federal police operation codenamed ‘Carne
Fraca’ (‘Rotten Meat’) aimed at fighting
corruption and crimes against public health in
the Brazilian meat trade.
The Brazilian police uncovered a scandal
whereby certain meat companies used food
additives (such as ascorbic acid or sodium
nitrate) to disguise the fact that their meat was
going rotten, or had passed its expiry date.
These food additives are authorised for use in
many countries, including Mozambique, and,
when used correctly, present no threat to the
health of consumers. But in Brazil the additives
were being used to disguise the true state of the
meat, and make it appear fresh and thus fit for
human consumption.
At a Maputo press conference on Thursday, the
National Director of Trade, Zulmira Macamo,
said a team from the Ministries of Industry and
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The purpose of such a centre, President Nyusi
said, is to facilitate access of the largest
possible number of Mozambicans to formal
education.
“It is necessary to publicise the importance of
this centre, and its advantages in comparison
with other forms of learning, so that new
students will join”, the President added. “The
participation of students in the various distance
learning programmes must be maintained. The
effectiveness of the tutors must be guaranteed,
which implies identifying and training tutors with
wide-ranging experience in teaching
methodologies and who have mastered
educational planning and supervision”.
“Aware of the importance of this type of
education in social inclusion, the government
intends to set up more provincial distance
learning centres throughout the country”,
pledged President Nyusi.
The Manica provincial governor, Alberto
Mondlane, said that the recommendations left
by the President imply greater responsibility for
all users of the centre. This responsibility should
be reflected in the final result, with the trainees
acquiring skills that can make a difference in the
country’s development.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
Trade, Agriculture, and Health, and from the AT
had checked across the country to see what
Brazilian imports were being sold on the
Mozambican market. They found no meat
imports from Brazil. But between October and
February 360 tons of Brazilian chickens (whole
chickens and chicken pieces) had been
imported. Most of these imports came from the
companies BRF and Seara International, which
had been cited in the ‘Carne Fraca’
investigations.
The government has decided to temporarily
suspend the import of all meat from Brazil, and
all chickens from anywhere. Macamo explained
that this is because Brazilian chickens are sent
all over the world, and are often re-packaged
and re-exported. Thus, chickens labelled as
from South Africa or from European countries
could, in reality, be Brazilian chickens.
Mozambican poultry producers have
complained for years at what they regard as
unfair competition from cheap Brazilian
chickens. Now they have an unexpected
opportunity to rise to the challenge and supply
the market without any Brazilian competition.

Macamo believed this is possible, with the major
domestic poultry producers (in Maputo, Manica
and Nampula provinces) able to provide around
1,000 tons of chicken a month.
As for the imported chickens already on sale,
the head of the National Inspectorate of
Economic Activities (Instituto de Actividades
Económicas, INAE), Maria Rita Freitas, said
that 603 brigades had fanned out across the
country, finding Brazilian chickens on sale in
every province except Niassa in the far north.
The inspectors seized a total of 526 tons of
imported chicken, valued at MT76.8-million
(about US$1.15-million). These chickens have
been placed in sealed bags inside freezers, in
the care of the shops or other companies that
own them, while laboratory inspections are
undertaken. Samples have been sent for
microbiological analysis in laboratories abroad,
and the results are expected within a week.
If the samples find no health problems, the
chickens can be unsealed and put back on sale.
But anything that is unfit for human consumption
will be destroyed. A spokesperson for the AT,
Ariano Chauque, assured the press conference
that the customs service, at all the border posts,
has been alerted to the situation, and that no
chickens and no Brazilian meat will be allowed
to enter the country until the ban has been lifted.
The Brazilian Ambassador to Mozambique,
Rodrigo Baena Soares, has since requested a
meeting with the Minister of Industry and
Commerce of Mozambique, Ernesto Tonela,
with the intention of providing the necessary
clarifications with regard to the production of
meat in that country.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique/O
País
Mozambique registers 154,000 new cases of
tuberculosis every year
Mozambique has made significant progress in
the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis
(TB), although it continues to register high rates
of transmission of the disease with around
154,000 new infections per year. The figures
were made public on Sunday 26 March in
Maputo by the Deputy Minister of Health,
Mouzinho Saíde, speaking in the context of the
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celebrations of World Tuberculosis Day, held
under the banner, ‘United to End Tuberculosis’.
Deputy Minister Saíde said 2016 was a year of
great impact in the fight against TB in the
country, characterised by an increase of about
18% in the notification of diagnosed cases,
which resulted in the growth of the reporting rate
from 239 to 278 per 100,000 cases. “As a result
of the efforts undertaken, in 2016 we were able
to diagnose, notify and initiate the treatment of
9,283 children infected with childhood
tuberculosis. Approximately 12% of the total
cases reported at national level were children.
This number is within the standards acceptable
to the World Health Organization (WHO), which
recommends between 10% and 15%”, he said.
The Deputy Minister explained that the gains
made are the result of a combination of efforts,
including the training of more “coughing
officers”, who help identify signs and symptoms
of the disease in waiting rooms of the health
units, as well as co-ordination with the various
community actors, including practitioners of
traditional medicine. There is also an increase in
the demand for hospitals and the simplification
of the criteria for the use of the ‘Genexpert’
rapid TB test, which is the first option in all
places where the device exists.
“We are aware that we need to improve
collaboration with the community in order to
increase the search for undiagnosed cases, but
also to improve and expand the action of
“coughing officers” in order to increase the rate
of diagnosis and decrease the waiting time for
treatment”, Deputy Minister Saíde
acknowledged. Despite these gains, TB
continues to be a threat to public health in the
country, especially drug resistant cases. Last
year alone, 911 of drug-resistant TB were
reported.
According to Ivan Manhiça, director of the
National Tuberculosis Programme, the country
annually uses about US$8-million to US$9-
million worth of drugs to treat the approximately
2,500 drug-resistant and 73,000 drug-sensitive
TB patients. “A patient with tuberculosis
sensitive to the drug component costs about
US$100 and with resistant tuberculosis (under
the current regime) costs about US$2,000”, he
noted.
Source: Jornal Notícias/Club of Mozambique

INAE closes establishments selling goods
gnawed by rats
The Mozambican government’s INAE has
ordered the closure of establishments in Maputo
that continued to sell products which had been
gnawed by rats. Speaking at a Monday 27
March, press conference in Maputo, the INAE
General Inspector, Maria Rita Freitas, said that
the owners of these establishments tried to hide
the activities of the rats, by taping over the holes
made by the rodents’ teeth.
“After a rat had penetrated the packaging of the
biscuits, the bread, the pasta or whatever, the
owners just put some sellotape over the hole
and continued to sell the goods to the public”,
she accused.
Freitas said this was a serious threat to public
health. “If we eat something where a rat has
been, that’s a danger to our health, and we
cannot tolerate such situations”, she declared.
During the inspection of the shops, the INAE
inspectors had found rat droppings, and also
cats wandering around the shop corridors. She
WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chinese-Mozambican enterprise found guilty
of illegally logging in Malawi
A Malawian court has found 23 Mozambicans
guilty of illegally entering Malawi and cutting
down trees in a protected area.
The group was arrested in November 2016 by
game rangers of the Department of National
Parks and Wildlife in Malawi’s Lengwe National
Park, approximately five kilometres from the
border with Mozambique.
However, Mozambique’s state news agency
claims that Malawian authorities arrested the
group inside Mozambique. The rangers also
seized six 4x4 tractors, a road grader, a forklift
truck, a bulldozer, a 30-ton flatbed lorry, several
cars, motorbikes and chainsaws.
On 27 March, the Blantyre Chief Resident
Magistrate convicted 35 people – the 23
Mozambicans, 10 Malawians and two Chinese –
on six counts related to illegal logging inside a
Malawian national park.
The Mozambican and Chinese defendants were
found guilty of entering into Malawi illegally, as
well as removing trees valued at a total of
US$8.9-million.
In his verdict on Monday, Chief Resident
Magistrate Thomson Ligowe said he convicted
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urged shopkeepers not to use cats in their
attempts to control rodents.
Since 1 January, INAE has ordered the closure
of 38 restaurants, bakeries and shops, mainly
because of dangerous lack of hygiene. They are
allowed to reopen, once the INAE inspectors
are satisfied that they have implemented the
inspectors’ recommendations.
“We cannot tolerate these establishments
continuing to operate without the minimum of
hygiene conditions”, declared Freitas.
Freitas was also concerned that legislation of
2011, which obliges importers to put labels in
the official language, Portuguese, on imported
goods, is not being respected.
“Any consumer wants to know what he is
buying”, said Freitas. “But in the north of the
country many goods are sold with labels in
Arabic or Chinese, and we don’t know what they
are made of. Citizens must know what they are
purchasing”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
all the non-Malawians of illegal entry into the
Malawi contrary to section 21 (1) and 37 of the
Immigration Act.
“I also found all of the 35 accused persons guilty
of entering into a protected area without
authority contrary to section 32 (1) as read with
section 110 (1) of the National Parks and
Wildlife Act for entering into Lengwe National
Park without authority”, he said.
On 25 March, two days before the verdict was
due, Mozambique’s state news agency, Agencia
de Informacao de Moçambique, claimed that the
Mozambicans had been arrested by the
Malawian authorities while logging within
Mozambique, near Doa in Tete Province.
It said the accused’s relatives were
campaigning for their release, and claimed they
were being mistreated by the Malawian
authorities.
After giving the verdict on Monday, the
magistrate adjourned the court sitting to 6 April
when prosecutors will make submissions on
how the convicts should be punished, and
defence lawyers will make further
representations. Sentencing will happen at a
later date.
Source: Zitamar News

Zimbabwe ruled off-side, Mozambique
citizen wins vehicles case
Zimbabwean Home Affairs Minister, Ignatius
Chombo, the police and the Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority (ZIMRA) have been ordered to release
the vehicles of a Mozambican businessman
impounded after his arrest for alleged
possession of army regalia early this year.
Mozambican safari manager Stephen Boshoff
and his companions Karl James Landrey,
Lovemore Damiano and Kefasi Tetellelle were
arrested in Plumtree for alleged smuggling
military clothing when they entered Zimbabwe
through the Mphoengs border post, travelling in
two South African registered vehicles.
Their vehicles were loaded with, among other
items, 22 camouflage uniforms and 22
camouflage belts and 26 cases of bottled water.
Following their arrests, their vehicles and
military fatigue were confiscated.
Even after charges were withdrawn against
them, the police and ZIMRA refused to release
their vehicles, prompting Boshoff to file an
urgent chamber application seeking the release
of the vehicles and goods, citing the act as
unlawful.
Boshoff, in his application, cited officer-in-
charge CID Law and Order Plumtree, the
National Prosecution Authority, a public
prosecutor identified as S Chinyanganya, senior
public prosecutor Matabeleland, Martha Cheda,
Chombo, a Kanjoma, Zimra’s station manager
at Plumtree, as respondents.
On 16 March, Bulawayo High Court judge
Justice Nicholas Mathonsi ruled in Boshoff’s
favour, ordering the parties concerned to
release the confiscated goods and vehicles to
the owner.
“The provisional order be and is hereby
confirmed. It is declared that in terms of section
59(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Procedure and
Evidence Act Chapter 9:07 and following the
withdrawal of charges against the applicant and
other accused persons on 9 January 2017 in
CRB MPH 91-94/16 the respondents’ decision
to refuse to return to applicant the motor
vehicles being two Nissan Hard body pickup
trucks …. is unlawful”, Justice Mathonsi ruled.
“First and second respondents be and are
hereby ordered to pay costs jointly and severally
the one paying the other to be absolved”.
In his founding affidavit, Boshoff said he was
employed as an administrator in Mozambique
by a private company known as Safaris de
Mozambique.
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Boshoff submitted that the items at the centre of
the row were declared at the port of entry.
“My purpose in entering Zimbabwe with the said
items was to travel to Mozambique, where the
22 camouflage uniforms and belts were to be
used for anti-poaching activities”, he said.
“Despite having declared the items, ZIMRA
officials alerted the police, who searched the
vehicles, seized the camouflage uniforms and
camouflage belts, arrested my companions and
charged them with unlawful possession or
wearing of camouflage uniforms”.
He said the police seized letters authorising
them to drive the said vehicles, temporary
import permits for the vehicles, receipt for items
held in respect of the vehicles, their contents
and other documents pertaining to the import of
vehicles into Zimbabwe.
Boshoff added that along with his compatriots,
they were placed on remand, but were later
released on bail.
During their detention, police ordered them to
surrender their vehicles and contents to ZIMRA
in Plumtree, which his lawyer has said was
illegal, as the police were the only custodians of
the property seized as evidence.
Boshoff said an opinion on the charges was
sought by the prosecution in Plumtree, from the
Harare NPA, which said the charges must be
withdrawn.
Charges were subsequently withdrawn on 9
January this year and bail money refunded.
Ordinary citizens are barred from wearing any
camouflage used by the army or any clothing
related to it in Zimbabwe.
Source: News Day Zimbabwe
Good news for Africa’s elephants: China is
losing its taste for ivory
China closed 67 ivory carving factories and
retail shops on Friday, roughly one-third of the
total, as it moves to implement a pledge to end
all domestic ivory sales by the end of the year.
The news is likely to foster hopes for an
eventual end to the elephant poaching crisis in
Africa, especially since a new study shows that
prices of ivory in China are continuing to
plummet.
Reducing demand from China, the world’s
biggest ivory market, is probably the single most
important factor that could help end the
widespread poaching of elephants in Africa.

In a report issued on Wednesday 29 March,
Save The Elephants said the average wholesale
price of tusks in China was US$2,100 per
kilogram in early 2014, but had fallen to
US$1,100 by late 2015, before reaching
US$730 in February 2017.
The conservation group credits a combination of
an economic slowdown, an official anti-
corruption campaign, a government
commitment to ending the trade and growing
public awareness.
Conservationists heralded the Chinese
government’s pledge to close its domestic ivory
industry as a “game-changer” and welcomed
evidence it was being implemented.
“These closures prove that China means
business in closing down the ivory trade and
helping the African elephant”, said Peter
Knights, chief executive of WildAid, a San-
Francisco-based group that has played a
leading role in raising public awareness in China
about the link between ivory and poaching.
Knights said the latest price decline shows that
ivory “is now a very bad investment”.
He said he expects a further decline in prices by
the end of the year.
Lucy Vigne, one of the authors of the Save The
Elephants report, said the legal ivory trade in
China was “severely diminished”, with licensed
outlets gradually reducing the quantity of items
on display and cutting prices.
The legal trade in ivory in China, using a
stockpile amassed before a global ban, was the
cover for a much larger illegal trade that fueled
poaching, conservationists say.
“Law enforcement is key to success”, Vigne said
in a news release. “This is already improving in
China – we have seen a decline in the number
of illegal ivory items on display for sale since
2013”.
China’s State Forestry Administration
announced the closure of the ivory carving
workshops and retail outlets on its website on
24 March, as part of an “orderly process” to end
the trade. WildAid said 12 out of 34 ivory
carving factories in China were being closed,
and 45 out of 130 retail shops.
Although poaching may have peaked a few
years ago, some 20,000 African elephants
continue to be killed for their tusks every year,
experts say, largely to meet ivory demand from
Asia, particularly China.
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Africa’s elephant population has dwindled from
about 1.2-million 35 years ago to between
400,000 and 500,000 now.
Central African forest elephants could be extinct
within the next decade if current trends
continue, while Tanzania’s elephant population
fell by 60% between 2009 and 2014, census
data showed.
Knights said the ban was already helping;
seizures of ivory coming into China dropped by
80% in 2016, and poaching has declined in
Kenya.
But Hong Kong and Britain have yet to pass
proposed bans on the ivory trade, while Japan’s
market “remains wide open”, according to
WildAid.
Source: Washington Post
Student writing project exposes NYC's
illegal ivory trade
In spring 2016, student Wendy Hapgood walked
around midtown Manhattan (New York, USA),
visiting antique stores advertising mammoth
ivory for sale that she found on Google maps.
“Mammoth tusk is so interesting”, she
explained, “A piece of ancient past, a long
extinct mammal, dug up in the tundra in Russia,
sent to China for carving, then finding its way
here”.
With her outgoing personality and interest in
both art and conservation, she found it easy to
engage shopkeepers in conversation as a
potential buyer. What could they tell her about
the carved “netsuke” pieces? What kind of
buyers purchase these large tusks? Where will
the gallery ship to?
It wasn’t until she got to Metropolitan Fine Arts
& Antiques that she suspected anything was
amiss. A shopkeeper, wary of her motives,
prevented her from entering the back room,
which she could see was filled wall-to-wall with
what looked like elephant ivory.
“That’s when I knew I had a story”, she said. “I
knew I needed to go back”.
Hapgood, a student in the Master of Science in
Sustainability Management programme, was
looking for a term project for her Writing about
Science for International Media class. Designed
to help scientists communicate their work more
effectively to the public, students enrolled in the
course are encouraged to select a journalism
project on a topic that they care about.
Knowing that Hapgood had recently co-founded
an anti-poaching organisation, the Wild

Tomorrow Fund, professor Claudia Dreifus
encouraged her to investigate the possible sale
of illegal elephant ivory in Manhattan.
Dreifus, who writes an interview column for the
New York Times, suspected that the elephant
tusks and rhinoceros horns lining shop windows
were just plastic replicas that they were selling
to tourists, especially since New York’s ivory
laws had recently been strengthened. At the
time, Hapgood agreed.
“When I started the project, I was super worried
that I wouldn’t have a story to write”, she said,
“because I didn’t really think there would be
ivory just openly for sale in Manhattan”.
New York has one of the largest markets for
ivory in the United States, leading legislators to
enact one of the strictest bans in the country in
2014. The New York ban further restricted the
trade of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn, with
limited exceptions, and increased the criminal
and civil penalties for violations.
It also restricted the trade of mammoth fossil
ivory, which had not been included in earlier
versions of the ban. (An international treaty,
CITES, bans most trade in ivory harvested after
1976.)
Since it is difficult to distinguish between
mammoth and elephant ivory, some vendors
were attempting to sell recently poached
elephant ivory by passing it off as mammoth.
To curb this practice, mammoth was included in
the updated legislation, and vendors were given
a two-year grace period to revise their
inventories; as Hapgood discovered, some took
advantage of the window to continue trafficking
in elephant ivory as well.
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Hapgood returned to Metropolitan Fine Arts &
Antiques a month later with her boyfriend, who
was also shocked to see how much ivory they
seemed to have. This time, the shopkeeper
escorted them to the back room, where he
attempted to sell them a “starter piece” of what
they suspected was elephant ivory.
“They gave these stores a grace period, a bit of
time to adjust to the law”, Hapgood explained.
“But they were lying to me and saying, ‘Oh, this
is mammoth’. It's too hard for the consumer to
tell the difference”.
Considering the potential value of the ivory, she
was concerned about putting herself at risk by
reporting the store and publishing her project.
But she decided to call the Department of
Environmental Conservation hotline anyway,
later meeting with investigators in person.
Together, they discussed what she’d found
while reviewing the laws and how to distinguish
between different types of tusks.
As it turns out, Metropolitan Fine Arts &
Antiques was already on the department’s
radar. Two undercover investigators posing as
buyers had purchased a statuette allegedly of
mammoth tusk; upon testing the piece at the
American Museum of Natural History, it was
discovered to be made of African elephant ivory.
Following up with a search warrant, the
investigators found US$4.5-million in illegal
ivory at the shop, making it the largest bust in
New York State history.
The salesperson and owners of the shop, Victor
Zilberman and brothers Irving and Samuel
Morano, were indicted in September 2016, and
the case is pending as of this writing.

This month, the DEC announced a conviction in
another ivory bust at a Manhattan antique shop,
the Landmark Gallery, where environmental
conservation officers recovered US$250,000 in
elephant ivory.
As part of the plea, the shop agreed to make a
US$50,000 donation to the Wild Tomorrow
Fund.
“What Wendy did is what I hope all the people in
the course do, which is go out and find how the
world applies to their science, and observe it
and investigate it and learn about it and write
about it, and she did that. And she did uncover
real violations”, Dreifus said.
“That they’ll be able to use some of this money
that the merchants have been fined to prevent
more poaching and more wildlife deaths, that’s
wonderful”.
Co-ordinating with rangers on the ground in
South Africa, Hapgood and her co-founders
started the Wild Tomorrow Fund by raising
money for needed items, including updated
uniforms, new tires for field vehicles, and
supplies for anti-poaching dogs.
They’ve since been able to expand into habitat
conservation and education, purchasing land to
close the gap between existing reserves and
creating a poaching crime scene training
programme for rangers working along the
border between South Africa and Mozambique,
starting in May 2017. “It's great for international
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co-operation, for the rangers who share a
border to work together”, said Hapgood.
With this donation, they hope to expand further,
helping to finance an anti-poaching rapid
response vehicle to allow rangers to quickly
address incursions, and dehorning 18 critically
endangered black rhinos. With only 5,000 black
rhinos left in the wild and horns fetching as
much as US$100,000 per kilogram on the black
market, dis-incentivising poachers on the supply
side can be an effective short-term solution.
However, in the longer term, she says, demand
reduction is vital. Despite a crack-down on
poaching on the ground, a recent study co-
authored by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
geochemist Kevin Uno found that the vast
majority of ivory coming out of Africa has been
recently harvested. Hapgood believes that New
York’s system, by combining tough laws with
the resources needed to investigate violations
and hold offenders accountable, while benefiting
organisations working on the front lines of anti-
poaching, will help shut down the market for
ivory here and have a real impact on anti-
poaching efforts in Africa.
“I love connecting New York with anti-poachers
on the ground”, she says. “We started this
organisation because it's so easy for New
Yorkers to help”.
Source: Earth Institute, Columbia
University/Phys.org