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Politically motivated crimes continue unabated in the country (see page 70) as analyst José Jaime Macuane is kidnapped and

shot in Maputo, supposedly for publically criticising the government (see page 77).

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

BUSINESS INDEX .......................................................................................................... 7

ECONOMY & BUSINESS ............................................................................................. 11

GRAPH 1: MOZAMBIQUE CURRENCY EVALUATION ......................................... 11

Macro-Economy: ...................................................................................................... 12

Mozambique sovereign debt default looms ................................................................ 12

IMF head says Mozambique is “clearly concealing corruption” .................................. 15

Moody’s places Mozambique’s Caa1 ratings on review for downgrade – unabridged 16

Fitch downgrades Mozambique to ‘CC’ ...................................................................... 18

Mozambique heads for default after missing loan repayment deadline ..................... 19

Government reluctant to take over MAM’s debt, official says ..................................... 21

Mozambique to refit tuna fleet, compounding debt crisis ........................................... 22

Mozambique’s dollar crisis deepens as government fails to pay ................................ 23

What Mozambique owes, and to whom ..................................................................... 25

Mozambique dollar bond down one cent as government misses loan payment ........ 26

Mozambique is in denial about risk of bankruptcy – researcher ................................. 27

Mozambique’s domestic savings very limited ............................................................ 27

Mozambique’s debt woes an eye-opener – Standard Chartered ............................... 28

Government told to ‘re-establish trust’ with national institutions ................................. 29

Metical continues to fall against US dollar .................................................................. 30

NGO criticises Mozambique’s public procurement process ....................................... 30

Mozambique did not beg China for hep over debts – President Nyusi ....................... 31

Shandong Province plans to increase investment in Mozambique ............................ 32

Be wary of the easy money ........................................................................................ 32

Diversification key to sub-Saharan Africa ratings – Moody’s ...................................... 33

Rand weakens on US rate hike expectations ............................................................. 34

South Africa’s possible slide to ‘junk’ welcomed by yield-hungry investors ................ 35

Click on a title to follow the link to the related articles. To return to the Contents Page, click on the link

at the top-right hand corner of the page.

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Oil and Gas: .............................................................................................................. 35

Mozambique’s LNG dreams falling apart ................................................................... 35

Slump in LNG prices delays production at Mozambique gas field ............................. 37

Delays of at least a year in Pemba Logistical Base ................................................... 38

If Exxon-ENI deal goes through, BPCL may get a stock re-rating .............................. 39

ENI in “no rush” to sell down its Area-4 stake ............................................................ 39

Highly connected Consamoz Consulting seeks an LNG play in Rovuma .................. 39

Wentworth Resources, operator on Rovuma onshore ............................................... 40

To dispel gloom, Sasol pins more hope than ever on Maputo ................................... 40

Sasol commences drilling of Mozambique PSA licence ............................................. 40

Southern Africa Prosperity Fund to boost Mozambique oil and gas ........................... 41

Iran begins LNG exports to Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa ................................. 42

Autogas to open three more filling stations in Ressano, Marracuene and Matola ...... 43

Africa’s oil and gas industry still offers opportunities for service providers ................. 43

Mining: ...................................................................................................................... 44

Three mining companies in distress ........................................................................... 44

Disposal of Manica Gold Project for US$17.5 million ................................................. 45

Pathfinder Minerals hires Mondlane Jr to assist in dispute over the ownership of its

two Mozambique concessions ................................................................................... 46

Mozambican rubies to be auctioned in Singapore in June ......................................... 47

Energy: ...................................................................................................................... 47

Electrification of Africa essential – Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário ....... 47

Transport & Construction: ...................................................................................... 49

Vietnam and Mozambique intensify transport co-operation ....................................... 49

Botswana plans to share construction costs of port in Mozambique .......................... 49

Nacala Port gets US corn for drought-hit Malawi ....................................................... 49

Telecommunications: .............................................................................................. 50

Mozambique government considering phone companies merger .............................. 50

Agriculture: ............................................................................................................... 51

Multi-million dollar project to boost farming in Zambézia Province ............................. 51

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Mossuril and Ilha brace up to export Mozambique’s moringa to the world ................. 51

Coconut plague closes factories in Mozambique ....................................................... 52

Mpumalanga government renews trade relations with Maputo .................................. 53

Other: ........................................................................................................................ 54

1,300 foreign workers suspended in 2015 ................................................................. 54

POLITICS ...................................................................................................................... 54

National Assembly asks government to clarify hidden debts ..................................... 54

President Nyusi welcomes Dhlakama’s announcement and warns against time

wasting ....................................................................................................................... 56

Renamo/government talks commence ....................................................................... 56

Government and Renamo will meet again on Monday: Wednesday’s meeting merely

preparatory ................................................................................................................. 57

Renamo calls for end to “government attacks” ........................................................... 58

President of Botswana on state visit to Mozambique ................................................. 58

Belarus and Mozambique set to bolster dialogue at high political level ..................... 60

Minister Balói attends Nordic-African Foreign Ministers Meeting in Oslo ................... 60

China praises Mozambique, Burundi and Slovenia for support on South China Sea . 61

Mozambican ambassador presents credentials to the President of Singapore .......... 61

President Nyusi on working visit to Tete .................................................................... 62

Assembly investigating mass grave claims ................................................................ 62

SECURITY .................................................................................................................... 64

State of fear ............................................................................................................... 64

Mozambique’s hidden conflict: fear has taken hold .................................................... 64

Analysts warn of the “Angolanisation” of Mozambican conflict ................................... 65

Chronology: A year of political violence in Mozambique ............................................ 66

SADC intervention needed in Mozambique ............................................................... 68

Mozambique bus attacks continue as evidence emerges of soldiers on board .......... 69

Update: three die in Renamo attack against Correios de Moçambique bus ............... 70

PRM accuses Renamo of new ambush against a bus in central Mozambique .......... 70

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Renamo member who survived two alleged attacks is under special protection ........ 70

Threatening letter releases truck carrying Renamo food supplies ............................. 71

Al-Jazeera photographs human remains at the site of the 13 abandoned corpses .... 72

More dead bodies found in Mocuba ........................................................................... 72

Military tension condemns hoteliers to unemployment ............................................... 73

Protest organiser escapes attempted abduction in Maputo on the day before a march

which never took place ............................................................................................... 74

CRIME ........................................................................................................................... 75

MAP 1: KIDNAPPING INCIDENTS IN CENTRAL MAPUTO 2014 – 2016 ............. 75

GRAPH 2: REPORTED KIDNAPPINGS PER YEAR ............................................. 75

GRAPH 3: TIME OF KIDNAPPINGS 2014 - 2016 .................................................. 76

GRAPH 4: KIDNAPPINGS PER GENDER / AGE-GROUP 2014 - 2016 ................ 76

Political analyst José Jaime Macuane kidnapped and shot in Maputo ....................... 77

Macuane attack – Transparency International demands action ................................. 79

Armed gang targets journalist in Matola Gare ............................................................ 80

Crime wave terrifies residents of Matola .................................................................... 80

Kidnappers abduct 9-year old child in Beira ............................................................... 80

South Africa to extradite man from Mozambique for allegedly kidnapping his daughter

................................................................................................................................... 81

Couple sentenced to prison for attempted kidnapping of an albino ............................ 81

Agents of crime must be held responsible for their acts – Buchili .............................. 82

Angola attends SADC Police General Commanders meeting in Bilene ..................... 83

PRM accused of sabotaging evidence at crime scenes ............................................. 84

PRM neutralises illegal drug distributors in Manica .................................................... 84

Mayor of Lichinga found guilty of corruption ............................................................... 84

HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND NGO’S ......................................... 85

US Centre for the Prevention of Genocide concerned over Mozambique .................. 85

50 million Africans face hunger after crops fail again ................................................. 86

“Investigating the mass grave is necessary to reassure people” – Daviz Simango .... 87

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WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION .................................................... 89

Virtually all countries play a role in illicit wildlife trafficking ......................................... 89

South Africa just lifted its ban on the rhino horn trade ................................................ 91

Rhino decision ‘victory for poachers’ .......................................................................... 94

What to expect from the Johannesburg CITES meeting ............................................ 95

Kenya lobbies UN session for total ban on illegal ivory trade ..................................... 97

Zimbabwean government to revamp Save Conservancy ........................................... 98

Tip-off leads to arrest of five suspected rhino poachers in South Africa .................. 100

Government strengthens protection for endangered species ................................... 100

HEALTH ...................................................................................................................... 101

Mozambique hosts first PALOP cancer congress .................................................... 101

First Lady advocates early diagnosis of cancer ....................................................... 101

Mozambique spends US$4 million a year sending cancer patients abroad ............. 102

Mozambique: paracetamol for cancer ...................................................................... 102

BUSINESS INDEX

ABSA Group 45

Abu Dhabi Mar 21

AfDB 24, 26, 45, 46

African Rainbow Minerals 32

Agility 41

Aiteo 38

Anadarko 22, 34, 36, 37, 38, 41

Argon Asset Management 32

Auroch 43

Autogas 41

Banco de Moçambique 10, 28, 46

Barclays 45

Beacon Hill Resources 42

Boeing Commercial Airplanes 45

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Return to Contents Page

BP 11

BPCL 36, 37

CFM 36

Chatham House 22

Citibank 37

CMN 13, 20, 21

CNPC 40

Companhia de Transmissao de Mocambique 38

Companhia Electrica do Zambeze 38

Correios de Moçambique 67, 68

Cosamoz Consulting Associates 37

Credit Suisse 13

EdM 12, 38, 60

EIU 19, 24

Ematum 13, 15, 20, 21, 24, 53

ENH 34, 36, 40

ENI 18, 34, 36, 37, 38

Eskom 60

Etrago 67, 68

Explorator Limitada 43

ExxonMobil 34, 37

Fitch 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 30, 33, 34

GE Capital Aviation 45

Gemfields 45

HCB 60

ICVL 42

IHS Global Insight 20

Imopetro 12

Investec Asset Management 26, 33

Investment Solutions 33

Jindal Africa 42

Kumba Iron Ore 32

LAM 11

Linde 40

MAM 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 31, 34, 53

Maningue Nice 68

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Maurel & Prom 38

mCel 11, 48

Mediacoop 75

Midal Cable International 58

Millennium BIM 101

Minas do Moatize 42

Mineral Technologies International Limited 43

Montepuez Ruby Mining Limited 45

Moody’s 14, 15, 30, 31, 32

MoSagri 49, 50

Motichande 78

Mr Price 32

Nagi 67, 68

Nexus Capital Limited 43

NIGEC 40

NIOPDC 40

Oil India 35

Old Mutual Wealth 33

ONGC 35

Orlean Invest 36

Palomar Capital Advisers 13

Palomar Holdings Limited 13

Pathfinder 44, 45

PCD 36

Petromoc 12

Portos do Norte SA 48

Privinvest 13

Proindicus 11, 13, 16, 18, 19, 24, 53

PTTEP 38

Repsol 40

Resero Gas Limited 38

Rosneft 34

Sasol 38, 39, 41

Shell 34, 40

Siemens 45

Société de Maintenance Pétrolière 39

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Standard & Poor’s 23

Standard Bank 33

Standard Chartered 26

Statoil 34

Stone Solutions 38

Tanga Line 68

TDM 48

Total 40

United Technologies 45

Vale 43

Videocon Mauritius Energy Ltd. 35

VTB 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 31, 34

Wentworth Resources 38

World Bank 14, 24, 28, 30, 34, 46, 49, 88

Xtract 43, 44

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ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Mozambique Exchange Rate and Fuel Prices: 27 May 2016

GRAPH 1: MOZAMBIQUE CURRENCY EVALUATION

Mozambique Fuel Prices

Fuel Type Price Per Litre

Petrol 47,52MT

Diesel 36,81MT

Prices only valid for Maputo, Beira and Nacala

Mozambique Metical (MZN) Exchange Rate

Currency Buy Sell

Euro (EUR) 60,43 61,65

U.S. Dollar (USD) 54,00 55,10

S.A. Rand (ZAR) 3,47 3,54

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Macro-Economy:

Mozambique sovereign debt default looms

The debt time-bomb has all but exploded. A desperate government flails around looking for repayment solutions while public finances flounder.

After Finance Minister Adriano Maleiane confessed in the National Assembly last week that the government could not cover a major loan repayment due on 23 May, a sovereign default looks likely. A mysterious local company, Mozambique Asset Management (MAM), which obtained a US$535 million state-guaranteed loan in 2014, cannot, he said, pay the Russian bank VTB the US$178 million in principal and interest as scheduled.

A short grace period is customary, which could give the debtors a little longer to decide what to do. Yet the government moved to engage an expert lawyer to help to negotiate repayment only at the eleventh hour, we hear. VTB is taking a very hard line, banking sources said, and fears are growing that VTB investors will sue. Its majority shareholder is the Russian State.

To declare a default may be Maputo’s only viable course of action. Public finances are already in a mess and prioritising the debts over the supply of basic goods and services is not politically sustainable. Experts believe it needs to slash its already severe austerity budget by a further 50%. Its only current option for making the repayments is to burn through more of its critically-low foreign currency reserves.

There is widespread suspicion among those familiar with the numbers that the estimate of the reserves, although now officially below US$1.7 billion, may still be optimistically high, especially given the track record of the central bank, the Banco de Moçambique, in providing misleading information about reserve levels. Bank Governor, Ernesto Gove, has attracted growing criticism over a plethora of highly questionable schemes designed to conceal or circumvent liquidity problems.

Since finding the Treasury virtually empty when it took office in January 2015, the government has taken out huge domestic loans so as to meet the public sector wages bill, sources close to several ministries have told Africa Confidential. However, now “there is no money” for salaries or basic programmes, said a senior source in the governing Frelimo Party.

To cover the shortfall, the government went on issuing large amounts of domestic debt, skewing its fiscal adjustment programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Domestic banks have been forced to lend the government more than triple the usual annual sum, deepening the economic crisis because the private sector has been starved of economic inputs.

Combined with its high domestic indebtedness, the government’s insistence on putting loan repayments at the head of the queue for scarce foreign exchange has led to rocketing inflation, which stands at over 17% nationally and over 20% in some regions. The local currency, the metical, shows no sign of halting its plunge. Unspoken but looming in the background is the threat of a

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widespread popular backlash against the heavy sacrifices the population is making.

In an increasingly illiberal public sphere, only the fear of being branded ‘enemies of the state’ is preventing local economists from publicly stating how drastic the current economic situation is. Concern remains that government data is incomplete. Domestic debt is apparently far larger than the deficit that the government needed to cover, which implies that the government has been spending secretly on credit. It is currently struggling to explain this to an increasingly suspicious IMF.

Can’t pay…

Minister Maleiane’s comments on 18 May, about the MAM repayments disturbed the markets further, resulting in another crash in the value of Mozambican debt. He first indicated that the State would not honour its guarantee and then changed his mind overnight. His handling of the crisis overall has drained what little confidence donors still had in him, senior diplomatic sources in Maputo told Africa Confidential. His protests that inflation and the depreciation of the metical should not be linked to the secret loans and were not Frelimo’s fault provoked outrage among the Mozambican intelligentsia.

Frelimo’s old-guard hardliners fear the repercussions of a sovereign default and its political consequences but still do not grasp the full implications of the crisis, say sources close to them. Yet they still exercise dominance over President Filipe Nyusi’s thinking while steadfastly refusing to allow those responsible for the crisis to be held accountable. Some in Frelimo cling to the hope of a Chinese loan to buy them more time but President Nyusi’s week-long visit to China, which ended on

22 May, has produced only pro forma grandiose declarations about solidarity and bilateral co-operation, nothing concrete. Moreover, financial experts doubt the wisdom of paying a US$25 million tranche of debt owed to the company Proindicus in March. It may have been an expensive mistake and could set a damaging precedent because on current performance, it is clearly unsustainable.

The more moderate and realistic members of Frelimo, including technocrats in President Nyusi’s cabinet, want to carry out a proper forensic audit of the deals and make a clean breast of all the irregularities, incidentally allowing the share of blame owing to the private foreign banks to become clear. Then, the groundwork for restructuring the debt could take place. Yet the hardliners, members of the party faithful and especially the secret intelligence officials in the Serviço de Informação e Segurança do Estado (SISE) – those considered most responsible for the debt debacle – are doing all they can to prevent this.

They may yet force the government to pay at least part of what is due to VTB or hastily accept a poor deal in order to buy more time.

State companies plundered:

Starved of finance and foreign currency, a raft of key state companies are inching towards collapse. State-owned mobile telephone operator mCel is typical of many in borrowing money to pay salaries. It’s far worse for the loss-making national airline, Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM), which can no longer refuel at Johannesburg (South Africa) as it already owes US$3 million to supplier BP. It was already banned from flying to European

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Union countries for failing to meet safety standards.

Electricity is in deeper trouble. The chronic, politically-inspired problems in Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM) lie behind the frequent power cuts. During Armando Guebuza’s presidency, EdM was forced to expand into remote areas to win votes for the governing Frelimo but at the expense of crucial investment to keep up with urban demand. The productive businesses are in towns, so when their profits suffered, the Treasury lost vast amounts of tax revenue. Meanwhile, the government repeatedly prevented EdM from raising its tariffs to cope. Now, it is so heavily in the red that it cannot maintain its already creaking infrastructure, let alone invest in new plant. Last year, three entire provinces were largely without power for six weeks, including one of the largest cities, Nampula.

The national fuel distributor, Petróleos de Moçambique (Petromoc), is at least US$200 million in debt, largely due to economically unnecessary but popular fuel subsidies and being used to generate cash illicitly for Frelimo. Operators are forced to import fuel through Petromoc’s subsidiary, Importadora Moçambicana de Petróleos (Imopetro), which buys fuel on the international markets and sells it locally. Before the 2014 general elections, Imopetro charged commercial fuel purchasers high prices, with the difference between those and the international price going into Frelimo coffers, industry sources tell us.

The IMF’s January report on Mozambique noted “complaints in 2014 about possible irregularities” in the fuel tendering process but publicly said only that the system was “vulnerable to manipulation”, while noting also that the amount of fuel imported was

lower than the amount invoiced for. These practices continued until the second half of last year. There is suspicion that what began as a scheme to raise funds for Frelimo ended up as a fraud designed only to enrich certain individuals.

Carrying the can of worms:

Many Maputo insiders see Minister Maleiane’s contortions over the loans crisis as one of the longest political suicides in history. Yet his very public distress is diverting attention from his predecessor, Manuel Chang, who signed all the state guarantees for the dubious loans to even more dubious companies.

This, they add, suits the beneficiaries of the loans, the high-ups in the Frelimo who received enormous sums in cash for which they did not have to account. Some argued that enriching party members with businesses could create an entrepreneurial class that would invigorate the economy. However, they enriched only themselves while conspiring to prevent blame from being apportioned correctly, our sources say. Especial efforts are being taken, we hear, to shield Chang from repercussions. Should he feel he was going down, they say, he could opt to take extremely important people down with him. Therefore, it suits them for Minister Maleiane to be the scapegoat.

Many of the details may come out anyway. Local newspaper Canal de Moçambique recently revealed that Guebuza’s son Mussumbuluku’s private company acted for the government as a broker in arms deals with Israel. The newspaper claims that money from the secret loans was involved, and that President Nyusi, then defence minister, was aware of that. Banker Andrew Pearse, who had been instrumental in

15


arranging Credit Suisse’s loans to Mozambique, then left the bank to go into business with Iskandar Safa and his holding company Privinvest, according to a report in the local Zitamar web-based news site. Safa owns French-based Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN), which contracted to provide trawlers and marine interceptors under the US$850 million Ematum deal. His companies have contracts with both Ematum and Proindicus.

Leaked documents from the Panama Papers investigation show that Pearse is a director of Palomar Holdings Limited, in which Privinvest is a shareholder, and is Chairman of Palomar Capital Advisers, which is also in Privinvest’s investment portfolio, said the French daily Le Monde. Palomar Capital Advisers was also involved in the MAM deal as an arranger, jointly with VTB, according to Africa Confidential’s own information. Since MAM is part of the same company structure as Proindicus and Ematum, Safa appears to be involved both as a beneficiary and an arranger of the loans.

Safa’s use of CMN and the support of the French government for the deal raises important legal and ethical questions, says international non-government organisation Oxfam. It points out that Criterion Eight of the European Union Code of Conduct on Arms Export states that the exporter must consider “whether the proposed export would seriously hamper the sustainable development of the recipient country”, considering the “country’s relative levels of military and social expenditure, taking into account also any EU or bilateral aid”.

Source: Africa Confidential

IMF head says Mozambique is “clearly concealing corruption”

The Director General of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, said that the suspension of funding that the institution provides to Mozambique was justified by clear evidence of corruption.

“When we put in place a programme with a country, we look at corruption. We look at what reforms could improve the corruption level. When we see a country and a programme with the IMF where international community money is committed, that is not respecting its financial disclosure engagement, which is clearly concealing corruption, we suspend the programme. We did that just recently with Mozambique”, Lagarde said last week, in an interview with the BBC radio programme Woman’s Hour. The IMF’s managing director was responding to a question on how the financial institution deals with the issue of corruption and tax evasion and money laundering.

“First of all, when we perform a programme with a country, we have to look at corruption and what could improve the levels of corruption”, said Lagarde, who, in addition to Mozambique, also gave the example of Ukraine.

Therefore, Lagarde said on the record what donors and lenders have so far only been willing to say in private: that some money from the secret loans has been used corruptly. It also makes clear that the IMF team visiting next month will no longer simply accept statements from the government, and will demand to do its own audit.

The revelation at the end of April of undisclosed government-guaranteed loans totalling US$1.4 billion led the IMF

16


to suspend payment of the second instalment of a loan to Mozambique and cancel a mission to Maputo. The G14 group of international contributors to the State Budget also suspended its payments, a move followed by the US, which announced it would review its support to the country. The disclosure of undisclosed debts incurred between 2013 and 2014 led to Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário being called to Washington to provide information to Lagarde.

Besides the Prime Minister, a technical delegation from the Ministry of Economy and Finance met the IMF to determine the full scope of the Mozambican government spending. Speaking at a press conference in Washington last week, IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice indicated that the IMF suspended mission to Maputo had been rescheduled for June, but would not comment on the possibility of a rescue.

“On its visit, the team will continue to gather facts and information, carry out investigations if necessary and assess macro-economic implications. As for conditions, all that will be discussed during the mission”, he said.

Source: Mozambique News Reports and Clippings/Lusa

Moody’s places Mozambique’s Caa1 ratings on review for downgrade – unabridged

On Friday 20 May, Moody’s Investors Service placed Mozambique’s Caa1 government bond and issuer ratings on review for downgrade. The purpose of the review is to assess the consequences for debt holders of recent revelations of previously unreported public external debt

denominated in foreign currency. In particular, the review will allow Moody’s to assess the likelihood that a restructuring of debt issued or guaranteed by the government of Mozambique will take place in order to attempt to alleviate pressures on its finances and the country’s external position or to allow the government to retain access to multilateral and bilateral facilities.

Rationale for initiating a review for downgrade of Mozambique’s Caa1 ratings:

The government of Mozambique recently disclosed US$1.4 billion in previously unreported public debt. On 28 April 2016, Mozambique’s Prime Minister announced that public sector debt had grown to US$11.6 billion at the end of 2015, or 89% of GDP (when debt stock and GDP are expressed in local-currency terms). General government debt numbers are not available but Moody’s estimates that it now exceeds 70% of GDP versus 60% previously. The newly-identified debt is comprised of US dollar-denominated loans with an estimated seven-year average maturity, granted by foreign banks to government-related bodies, with a sovereign guarantee. Since the debt appears to have not been reported in the country’s external debt, this measure will likely be revised upward as well.

As a consequence of the debt disclosure, aid disbursements to Mozambique, including from the IMF, the World Bank and the UK government, were suspended. Mozambique received US$1.5 billion (10% of GDP) in total aid support last year. Aid took the form of grants, bilateral and multilateral loans to the government and disbursements under the US$283 million IMF credit facility to the central

17


bank to bolster foreign exchange reserves.

The revelation of previously unreported debts has undermined the government of Mozambique’s creditworthiness. Government debt levels are now higher than previously assumed, and pressures on its cash-flow and on the country’s balance of payments are more severe, with foreign currency debt service costs greater than previously assumed. Any litigation initiated in relation to the April 2016 Ematum notes exchange as a consequence of these revelations would add to the uncertainties around the implications for government finances. As part of its review, Moody’s will seek a better understanding of the full extent of the government’s direct and contingent liabilities in order to assess its capacity and willingness to service them going forward.

Moody’s will also seek a better understanding of the actions the government might choose or be encouraged to take in order to address external liquidity pressures and to avoid a prolonged suspension in aid disbursements which would otherwise intensify those pressures.

In particular, Moody’s will assess the risk that the government will restructure or acquiesce in the restructuring of any government or government-guaranteed debt, either as a condition for continuing external support (for example: under an IMF programme), or as an independent policy decision. The review will also allow Moody’s to assess the veracity of recent press reports suggesting that the government of Mozambique will not honour its guarantees on recently disclosed obligations.

In the meantime, Moody’s expects the government to increasingly rely on domestic sources of funding, in local currency. This could ultimately exacerbate downward pressures on the exchange rate and the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves and be detrimental to inflation (due to import pass-through among other things).

Inflation reached 10.6% in December 2015 while the Mozambican metical depreciated against the US dollar by 26% over 2015, and about 15% since the beginning of 2016. Foreign exchange reserves fell to US$2.1 billion in February 2016 from US$3.2 billion in mid-2014, and are expected to continue falling substantially over the next two years based on the current trend.

What could result in a downgrade:

Moody’s would downgrade Mozambique’s Caa1 ratings if the review were to conclude that the risk of a debt restructuring and the likely losses to investors have risen to a level inconsistent with a Caa1 rating. In that event, the magnitude of the downgrade would reflect Moody’s updated assessment of the probability of default and loss given default.

What could stabilise the ratings at the current level:

Moody’s would likely confirm Mozambique’s current Caa1 ratings if the review for downgrade were to conclude that the government is likely to be able to obtain the necessary external financing to meet its external debt service needs without resorting to a restructuring.

Source: moodys.com

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Fitch downgrades Mozambique to ‘CC’

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Mozambique’s Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to ‘CC’ from ‘CCC’. Fitch has affirmed the Country Ceiling at ‘B-‘ and the Short-term IDR at ‘C’

Under EU credit rating agency (CRA) regulation, the publication of sovereign reviews is subject to restrictions and must take place according to a published schedule, except where it is necessary for CRAs to deviate from this in order to comply with their legal obligations. Fitch interprets this provision as allowing us to publish a rating review in situations where there is a material change in the creditworthiness of the issuer that we believe makes it inappropriate for us to wait until the next scheduled review date to update the rating or Outlook/Watch status.

The next scheduled review date for Fitch’s sovereign rating on Mozambique is 28 October 2016, but Fitch believes that developments in the country warrant such a deviation from the calendar and the rationale for this is laid out below.

Key rating drivers:

The downgrade of Mozambique’s Long-term foreign and local currency IDRs to ‘CC’, which indicates that a default of some kind appears probable, reflects the following factors and their relative weights:

High: the disclosure of hidden public debt has revealed significant short-term repayment obligations, which could precipitate a near-term credit event. Over the past month, the Mozambican government has admitted to the existence

of US$1.4 billion in undisclosed loans to the interior ministry and state-owned security companies Proindicus and MAM. The authorities have acknowledged that the debt owned by state-owned enterprises is guaranteed by the sovereign. A first payment of US$25 million related to Proindicus’ debt (from a total of US$622 million) was made in March, while the first payment of US$178 million related to MAM debt (from a total of US$525 million) was scheduled for 24 May.

Fitch now estimates annual public debt service costs to have almost doubled due to the hidden loans, to around 4.5% of GDP. Uncertainty has risen over MAM’s ability to service its debt and whether the government will step in to honour the obligations. Mozambique’s fiscal and external positions continue to deteriorate, in part due to the decision of donors and multilateral organisations to halt programmed budget support until the debt debacle is resolved. This aid amounts to around US$300 million (11% of the budget for 2016), in addition to the US$165 million in suspended funds from the IMF.

Meanwhile, foreign reserves fell to US$1.75 billion in mid-May (from US$1.85 billion in early April and US$2 billion at end 2016) as exports continue to struggle. Although the government could tap reserves to pay for the upcoming MAM amortisation, this would put severe strains on reserves and could add to external and foreign exchange pressures. An alternative is to search for other sources of external funding, primarily bilateral loans. This could help stave off short-term macro-economic imbalances but would compound risks to debt sustainability.

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The government has also announced a potential restructuring of the MAM debt, but the timing and terms of such moves remain uncertain. Even if the authorities are able to make scheduled repayments of the sovereign-guaranteed debt of state-owned companies in the near term, the potential restructuring of the MAM debt being considered by the government could precipitate a credit event as defined under Fitch’s Distressed Debt Exchange (DDE) criteria. In that event, if we judged a restructuring to constitute a DDE, we would downgrade the Mozambique sovereign rating to ‘RD’.

Rating sensitivities:

Developments that could result in a downgrade include:

Confirmation of an imminent or actual credit event, including non-payment beyond relevant grace periods, redenomination and/or distressed debt exchange of sovereign or sovereign-guaranteed debt obligations.

The following factors could lead to an upgrade:

Evidence of effective resolution of potential default risks from the newly discovered debt;

Normalisation of donor support relationships;

Fiscal consolidation that leads to a decline in government debt/GDP;

A recovery in commodity prices that reduces external pressures and helps restore foreign exchange reserve coverage; and

Increased confidence in the development of natural resource sectors leading to a stronger external position.

Key assumptions:

Fitch assumes Brent oil prices to average US$35/bl in 2016 and US$45/bl by 2017. Despite an uptick in violence in the northern regions of Mozambique, Fitch assumes that political stability will be maintained given that the ruling Frelimo party controls all government institutions.

Source: Reuters/Fitch Ratings

Mozambique heads for default after missing loan repayment deadline

Mozambique was heading toward a default on Monday 23 May, after the government failed to honour a sovereign guarantee behind a US$535 million loan taken out by a state-run company to build shipyards that have not materialised, a finance ministry source said.

The repayment crisis in what was once one of the continent’s brightest economic prospects is likely to trigger a reappraisal of the wave of commercial lending to African governments during the past decade of relatively strong regional growth.

The state firm, MAM, was unable to make the US$178 million payment and the government – which last month admitted to US$1.35 billion of secret foreign borrowing – also failed to come up with the cash, the source said.

Foreign creditors behind the loan, organised by Russia’s VTB Bank, had rejected the war-scarred Southern African country’s initial proposals to renegotiate

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payments, but were still in talks to try to reach a deal, the source added.

VTB declined to respond to questions submitted by Reuters earlier in the day. Calls and messages sent to Finance Minister Adriano Maleiane’s mobile phone went unanswered. Although a grace period built into most loans means Mozambique is not in formal default, the secret borrowing revelations – which takes its foreign debt obligations to US$9.86 billion, or 80% of GDP – made a repayment crunch almost inevitable.

Earlier on Monday, ratings agency Fitch downgraded Mozambique’s credit rating to ‘CC’ from ‘CCC’, indicating that “a default of some kind appears probable”.

On Wednesday 25 May, finance ministry spokesperson, Rogério Nkomo, confirmed that MAM missed the 23 May deadline, but remains in talks with creditors about rescheduling the debt. Nkomo told Reuters that a sovereign guarantee behind a US$535 million loan arranged by Russia’s VTB Bank for MAM would not become an issue until the talks had concluded.

“We have no control over the operation being carried out by the company with the creditors”, he said.

High on gas:

The VTB loan had been earmarked for the construction of shipyards in Maputo and the northern town of Pemba (Cabo Delgado Province) to service the former Portuguese colony’s nascent but potentially huge offshore gas industry. Proven reserves of 180 trillion cubic feet – enough to supply France, Britain, Germany and Italy for nearly two decades – are among the world’s biggest recent

finds, but extracting the gas is taking far longer than expected. Now energy experts do not expect production for another decade, undermining the immediate need for new shipyards.

In another setback for Maputo, Italy’s ENI said on Monday that it was in no hurry to sell its stake in an offshore block in the Rovuma Basin, near the border with Tanzania (click here to follow link to related article). The MAM loan is just the tip of a debt iceberg – now exposed as unsustainable – built up in the wake of the gas discoveries.

Another state firm, Proindicus, owned by the Ministries of Interior and Defence and the security services, took out loans of US$504 million from Credit Suisse Group and US$118 million from VTB, according to an IMF source. A February 2013 Credit Suisse document obtained by Reuters said the money was to be spent on high-speed naval interceptors, radar stations, offshore patrol vessels and aircrafts. Credit Suisse has declined to comment on the document.

Those were in addition to a US$850 million bond, also arranged by Credit Suisse and VTB in 2013, to build a tuna fishing fleet. The offshore patrol vessels are now sitting idle on stands on the quayside in Maputo, near the tuna boats, which are rusting at their moorings. The so-called tuna bond was restructured at the end of March.

Furious about being kept in the dark about all the borrowing, foreign donors and the IMF have suspended assistance, making the government’s already dire financial straits even worse. Compounding Maputo’s woes, the finance minister said on Monday that the French-built boats would have to be sent for a refit because

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they did not meet European Union specifications. He did not reveal costs or say why they fell short of EU standards.

“The costs involved in refitting the boats are high, hence the work is being done in phases”, Minister Maleiane was quoted as saying by the state news agency. Meanwhile, on Thursday 26 May, the yield on Mozambique’s restructured US$850 million ‘tuna bond’ hit a record high after the government confirmed that MAM had missed a loan repayment deadline, fuelling investor fears of a default. At 13:01hrs, the Eurobond was quoted at 17.156%, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Source: Reuters

Government reluctant to take over MAM’s debt, official says

Mozambique is unwilling to convert a loan extended to a state-owned company into sovereign debt to avoid a default, according to an official familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because he’s not authorised to speak on the matter.

Talks between the government and creditors to restructure the US$535 million loan to MAM were still going on, the official said from Maputo.

In April, Mozambique’s government owned up to the existence of US$1.4-billion of undisclosed loans to the Interior Ministry and state-owned security companies Proindicus and MAM. While Proindicus made a US$24 million interest payment on its US$622 million facility on 21 March, Finance Minister Adriano Maleiane said last week that MAM won’t be able to honour its US$178 million interest payment, which was due on 23

May. Mozambique’s Council of Ministers (Cabinet) didn’t discuss the repayment of MAM’s credit at a meeting on Tuesday 24 May, Deputy Health Minister, Mouzinho Saíde, told reporters in Maputo. “This was not part of the agenda”, he said.

Fitch Ratings cut Mozambique’s credit rating by one level to ‘CC’ on Monday, saying disclosure of the new debt revealed significant short-term repayment obligations.

The government is in negotiations with VTB Bank of Russia to restructure the loan, according to Charlotte King, a London-based analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

“Presumably it will have some form of grace period”, King said in e-mailed comments. “Therefore, it’s unlikely that they are in ‘official’ default. However, the metical is trading at all-time lows and the government’s ability to make the payment is far from guaranteed”. According to Bloomberg, the grace period ended on Thursday 26 May.

Investors’ concern:

The metical was down 0.5% against the US dollar by 15:17hrs in Maputo, bringing this year’s losses to 14.3%, adding to the 32% slide last year. The yields on Mozambique’s US$726 million of bonds due January 2023 rose 27 basis points to 16.61% on Tuesday. They closed at a record high of 17.12% on May 19, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Since the discovery of the undeclared loans by the IMF, European nations and multilateral lenders have withheld funding, while other rating companies have also downgraded Mozambique’s credit.

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Higher debt commitments, rising arrears in public-sector spending such as salaries, low foreign reserve holdings, delays in natural gas development and almost no foreign assistance have increased Mozambique’s debt default risk substantially, according to Thea Fourie, a senior economist at IHS Global Insight in Pretoria (South Africa).

“The current inability of the Mozambican government to handle the crisis adds to investors’ concerns and confidence”, Fourie said in e-mailed comments.

Source: Bloomberg

Mozambique to refit tuna fleet, compounding debt crisis

Not only did the state company Ematum borrow hundreds of millions of US dollars on the European bond market to purchase a brand new fleet of fishing boats, but it now turns out that the boats are not fit for purpose.

During the course of the week 13 to 20 May, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Adriano Maleiane, told deputies of the National Assembly that 10 of the 24 Ematum fishing boats are being refitted in South Africa so that they meet the technical specifications demanded by the European Union (EU) for boats that catch fisheries produce intended for the European market – essentially piling more costs onto a project at the centre of a debt crisis.

But the boats were all built at CMN, in the French port of Cherbourg, and France is a member of the European Union. Therefore, Minister Maleiane was effectively claiming that boats built recently in a European shipyard do not

meet the European Union’s own specifications for fishing boats.

Yet the boats were delivered and by late 2015 all of them had arrived in Maputo. Some tuna was caught (just 300 tons in 2015, according to government figures), most of which was exported to China. Because of the European Union demands, Ematum has decided to refit some of its boats. It cannot refit them all, because that would be too expensive.

“What Ematum explained to us is that, in order to export tuna to Europe, there are rules that must be followed. They sent inspectors to look at the boats as they are, and recommended adaptations to comply with the requirements”, said the minister.

First, an attempt was made to negotiate the refitting of the boats with CMN, but that was too expensive, and so it was decided to hire a South African company to make the necessary changes.

“The costs involved in refitting the boats are high, hence the work is being done in phases”, said Minister Maleiane. “Right now, we have part of the fleet ready, while other funds are being mobilised to pay for the rest”. The situation was criticised further on the grounds that nobody from Ematum seems to have considered checking the boats against the EU requirements while they were still in Cherbourg.

Paying for the boats to be refitted increases still further the cost of the Ematum fleet. Serious question marks already hang over the initial costs. The Ematum loan, in 2013, guaranteed by the Mozambican government, was for US$850 million.

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The French press at the time said the contract for the 30 vessels (24 fishing boats and six patrol boats) was for €200 million – about US$230 million. That left a question mark as to the other US$620 million. The government did not query the figures given by the French press. In December 2013, opposition deputies in the National Assembly, citing the figure of €200 million, asked the government what had happened to the rest of the money.

Far from disputing the figure, the then fisheries minister, Victor Borges, said that the US$620 million had been spent on such items as training, satellite communications, radars, on-shore installations, licences and the like.

But Ematum’s own accounts, cited recently by Zitamar News, show that the vast bulk of the US$850 million was speedily dispatched to the parent company of CMN, Abu Dhabi Mar, in September and October 2013. Abu Dhabi Mar received US$836.3 million from Ematum. The rest of the money (approximately US$13.7 million) went on bank fees.Nobody has yet explained this enormous discrepancy in the figures, nor has the government withdrawn or amended the statement made to parliament by Borges.

Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique/Reuters

Mozambique’s dollar crisis deepens as government fails to pay

MAM was unable to make the US$178 million payment due on Monday 23 May, and the government, which guaranteed the loan, also failed to come up with the cash. The government is still in negotiations with foreign creditors behind the loan, organised by Russia’s VTB

Bank. The loan is one part of a package of US$2.3 billion in government-guaranteed loans organised in secret in 2013 and only recently revealed.

Also on Monday, ratings agency Fitch downgraded Mozambique’s credit rating to ‘CC’ from ‘CCC’, “which indicates that a default of some kind appears probable … Fitch now estimates annual public debt service costs to have almost doubled due to the hidden loans, to around 4.5% of GDP”. Fitch notes that: “foreign reserves fell to US$1.75 billion in mid-May (from US$1.85 billion in early April and US$2 billion at end 2016) as exports continue to struggle”.

Local businesspeople report that they are now unable to obtain US dollars for imports, and some imported items such as rice are disappearing from the market. On Monday, the National Assembly announced a special session on 8 and 9 June for the government to give more details on the debt. (Click here to follow link to related article).

The IMF mission originally scheduled for April and May will now take place in June. At a Washington press conference on Thursday 19 May, IMF Communication Director, Gerry Rice, said that the mission’s task is “to gather the facts, undertake the due diligence as needed; and as I said, assesses the macro-economic implications” of the secret debt which had not been reported to the IMF. Thereafter, extensive discussions will be conducted about a new agreement and “structural conditionalities”, meaning austerity measures. Therefore, the very earliest that Mozambique could get any money from donors or the IMF would be late July – and more likely much later. That, in turn, suggests that the economic

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crisis, with continued inflation and devaluation, will linger for some months.

Chatham House, in a 16 May report on the debt crisis by Alex Vines, says that the “government faces its greatest test since the end of the civil war in 1992. Undisclosed loans and debt, worsening armed conflict with the former rebel group Renamo and bad drought in the south and centre of the country highlight the fragility of the Mozambican State”.

Vines continues: “Nobody anticipated the dramatic slump in commodity prices and, worryingly, lessons from the global financial crisis seem not to have been learned, given the predatory lending by Credit Suisse and VTB Bank. All of [the secret] loans also broke Mozambique’s own budgetary ceilings and agreements with donors. None of Mozambique’s institutions were consulted. The banks are not the only ones to blame. Oil and gas company Anadarko talked-up their prospects of gas production by 2020, but no final investment decision (FID) has been announced. The IMF also predicted that Mozambique’s economy could grow by over 24% from 2021 because of gas – adding to the anticipation. Belief that over US$100 billion was being invested into gas prompted the country’s elites to seek to carve out their share”.

How much is US$2.3 billion:

Finance Minister, Adriano Maleiane, told the National Assembly that the government debt and guarantees total US$11.64 billion, of which US$9.84 billion is foreign (hard currency) debt and US$1.8 billion is domestic debt. Therefore, total debt is 107% of GDP and the foreign debt is 80% of GDP – both considered very high. The estimate of the government-guaranteed loans taken in

secret in 2013-14 is approximately US$2.3 billion. This is a huge amount of money. It can be visualised in three ways:

It is US$80 for each man, woman and child in Mozambique. The median rural cash income is below US$25 per person per year – so for half the rural population, it would take their entire cash income for more than three years to pay their share of the debt.

US$2.3 billion is exactly Mozambique’s entire tax revenue in 2015.

US$2.3 billion is the wage bill for two years for everyone working for the government – ministers, directors, nurses, teachers, cleaners, drivers, etc.

The table below shows how these estimates were derived.

Source: Mozambique News Reports & Clippings/IMF (table)

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What Mozambique owes, and to whom

Mozambique is in a deep foreign debt crisis that analysts say could lead to social unrest if it continues to hammer the economy and currency, fuelling inflation and making it harder for the government to pay civil servants.

This week, it missed a deadline for a scheduled repayment on a US$535 million loan organised by Russia’s VTB Bank, putting the war-scarred southern African nation on course for default.

An US$850 million Eurobond launched in 2013 was rescheduled in late March after the government again struggled to make a repayment. Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s classified it as a “selective default”.

Foreign debt – including US$2 billion of commercial borrowing arranged without consulting the National Assembly, as required – has ballooned in the last four years, largely due to expectations that Mozambique was about to become a major natural gas producer.

Those expectations are now being shown to be wildly premature, leaving the country with a foreign debt burden equal to US$400 per head, only a fraction below the IMF US$435 annual per capita GDP estimate.

The debt crisis has pegged-back growth and sent the metical to a record low of MT59 against the US dollar. A year ago, it was at MT35.

In a bid to slow the currency’s decline, the central bank has been ploughing through foreign reserves, which have dropped from US$2.4 billion at the end of last year to US$1.8 billion, below the IMF’s

recommended threshold of three months import cover.

Furious at being kept in the dark over the clandestine borrowing, donors, including the IMF, have suspended aid, exacerbating the foreign currency crunch.

Speaking on BBC radio last week, IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, said the government’s action was “clearly concealing corruption”. Numerous calls to Finance Minister Adriano Maleiane’s mobile phone this week went unanswered.

The government says it has now come clean on all its outstanding debt. Donors and the IMF are waiting to see whether that is true.

Following is a summary of what is known about Mozambique’s debt:

Total debt – US$11.64 billion:

Foreign debt stood at US$9.89 billion in April, Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário was quoted as saying in state media. This is equal to 79% of GDP, based on 2016 IMF forecasts. The proportion has more than doubled in the last four years.

Mozambique has an additional US$1.75 billion of domestic debt, Prime Minister Rosário said.

Commercial debt – US$2.01 billion:

MAM: the state-owned company took out a US$535 million loan, arranged by VTB, to build shipyards in Maputo and the northern city of Pemba (Cabo Delgado Province). The shipyards have not materialised.

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VTB has not commented on the loan. Analysts say it is likely to have been syndicated out to other banks and investors.

Proindicus: the state-owned firm, owned by the defence and interior ministries and state security service, borrowed US$622 million for maritime security projects. VTB arranged US$118 million of the loan and Credit Suisse the remaining US$504 million, according to an IMF source. Neither bank has commented on the loan. Again, it is almost certain to have been farmed out to other parties.

Ematum: the state tuna company, also partially owned by the security services, issued a government-guaranteed US$850 million bond in 2013 to build a fishing fleet. The project has been a fiasco, and the boats are now rusting in Maputo harbour. The outstanding US$697 million on that bond was restructured in March after the government struggled to meet repayments. Ownership data for the restructured bond is not yet available.

Bilateral/concessional debt – US$5.96 billion:

At the end of 2014, Mozambique owed US$5.96 billion to “official creditors”, according to the EIU.

Of that, US$2.79 billion was due to bilateral creditors, most of whom will be Western donor nations. The remaining US$3.20 billion is owed to multilateral institutions such as the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB), the EIU said.

This latest figure tallies broadly with World Bank and IMF data. The World Bank says Mozambique has US$2.57 billion of outstanding concessional debt under 78 separate aid projects.

According to a table of IMF loans granted since 1987, Mozambique still owes the Fund US$257 million.

Which leaves US$1.92 billion outstanding:

Analysts say the remaining US$1.92 billion is almost certainly debt from foreign governments such as Russia and China which prefer not to publish overseas aid and investment figures but which are both active in the Mozambique economy.

Source: Reuters

Mozambique dollar bond down one cent as government misses loan payment

Mozambique’s US dollar-denominated bonds fell by as much as one cent on Tuesday 24 May, as Maputo edged towards default on a loan after missing a repayment deadline.

The 2023 bond which had been issued at US$0.80 in early April, as part of a debt swap, traded at US$0.76 cents in the US dollar, according to Thomson Reuters data.

On Monday, a source at the country’s finance ministry said that state firm MAM had been unable to make the US$178 million repayment which is part of a US$535 million arranged by Russia’s VTB Bank, and the government – which guarantees the loan – also failed to stump up the cash.

Source: Reuters

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Mozambique is in denial about risk of bankruptcy – researcher

The Mozambican government is in denial about the seriousness of the public debt situation and is on the verge of bankruptcy, António Francisco, an economist and director of research at the Institute of Social Studies of Mozambique (IESE), told Lusa.

“Faced with the gravity of the situation, the government chose denial, acting with lack of candour regarding this worrying situation, which will lead to bankruptcy, to default”, said Francisco, reacting to claims by the government that sovereign debt was “under control”.

Representatives from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) met in Luanda (Angola) recently, in a forum that discussed the management of public debts.

According to Francisco, the Mozambican authorities adopted a strategy of covering up the circumstances in which the previous government, led by Armando Guebuza, gave guarantees on borrowings that have caused public debt to swell to its current US$11.64 billion total.

“It is a matter of great unease that the government tries to legitimise hiding debts from everyone, including the Assembly of the Republic, and this attitude of insouciance is impossible to understand”, Francisco says.

According to the economist, it will not be long before President Filipe Nyusi’s government admits that the country is unable to pay what it owes.

“It seems probable that, by the end of the year, public debt will be 100% of GDP,

because of costs that will have to be financed with more debt. There is even uncertainty about the debt burdens that have to be met by the end of this month”, noted Francisco, who also teaches at the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM).

To Francisco’s mind, default and international aid for the country to renegotiate the debt looks increasingly inevitable.

“The International Monetary Fund still has to determine the extent of the problem and the destination of the money borrowed, because so far it is not yet clear if it really was for the purposes stated”, he warned. According to Francisco, the IMF’s opinion will be key to the position of international partners, including China, which “could even give us oxygen for one or two months, but will not assume a greater commitment in the face of such debt opacity”.

Source: Lusa

Mozambique’s domestic savings very limited

The IESE says that Mozambique has severely limited domestic savings which cannot cover even 10% of national investment needs. The result is that the Mozambican economy is fundamentally based elsewhere, through foreign investment, commercial credit and donations, leading to difficulties controlling debt.

IESE Director, António Francisco, say that a nascent domestic savings culture “does not even fund 10% of national investment”, so that “the Mozambican economy is structured in the savings bases of other countries, through foreign investment, trade credit and donations”.

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Francisco notes that this has implications “because the golden rule is that a country is expected to grow mainly on the basis of its domestic savings and that foreign savings are supplementary to it, but in our case, the opposite is the case”.

According to Francisco, the use of foreign savings leads to difficulties controlling debt.

The IESE director notes that in 1984 Mozambique could not pay its debt and had to renegotiate, a process that was facilitated by the IMF. In 1999, the situation repeated itself and the country benefited from debt forgiveness.

“In the most recent case, the process has accelerated with the disclosure of hidden debts”, Francisco says, adding that it is vital that Mozambique starts using foreign savings for investment rather than to fund consumption.

Source: VOA Português

Mozambique’s debt woes an eye-opener – Standard Chartered

Mozambique’s hidden debt and default threat have opened investors’ eyes to what can go wrong if they don’t ask enough questions, according to Standard Chartered head of Africa research, Razia Khan.

“The additional degree of scrutiny, the greater transparency, it’s not necessarily a bad wake-up call that you do need to do the due diligence and you do need to scrutinise greatly all of the numbers you see”, Khan said on Wednesday 25 May, in an interview at the African Development Bank’s annual meetings in the Zambian capital, Lusaka. “There isn’t necessarily

an expectation that the same situation will be replicated elsewhere in Africa”.

Investors “weren’t intrusive enough” and didn’t ask enough questions about Mozambique’s bonds, Investec Asset Management CEO, Hendrik du Toit, said earlier this month in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.

Source: Bloomberg

Restoring growth is Mozambique’s biggest challenge – African Economic Outlook

The main challenge facing Mozambique in the short term is restoring the momentum of growth and ensuring fiscal and debt sustainability, reads the latest African Economic Outlook, which estimates the economy will expand by 6.5%.

“The main short-term challenge is to regain the momentum of economic growth at the same time as ensuring fiscal and debt sustainability”, reads the report released on Tuesday 24 May, by the AfDB.

The reduction in profits from exports and public spending are the two main reasons cited for the slowdown in the growth of gross domestic product to 6.3% last year, but the three institutions point to a slight acceleration to 6.5% this year.

The report states that Mozambique needs to increase the quality of financial management and public expenditure “to counter growing inequalities”, noting that the number of Mozambicans living in cities will rise from 31% to 40% by 2040.

The country, experts say, is facing “economic and political challenges that constitute a defining moment”, bearing also in mind the “low intensity conflict”

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between the government and Renamo, the main political opposition force.

“The government of President Filipe Nyusi faces many challenges”, notes the AEO, citing the example of negotiations with foreign investors in the country’s mega projects, which “are taking longer than anticipated”, particularly in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.

Source: Lusa

Government told to ‘re-establish trust’ with national institutions

The group of 14 donors and financial agencies which suspended their support to the Mozambican State Budget due to the scandal of undisclosed government-guaranteed loans in excess of US$1.4 billion have told the government that, before there can be any resumption of aid, it must first discuss measures to re-establish trust with national institutions.

The group, known as the G14 or Programme Aid Partners (PAPs), issued a statement on Thursday 26 May, recalling that it “informed the Mozambican government of our concern at the implications of the public debt situation on the public finances and the consequent degradation of the country’s macro-economic situation”.

Financial aid was suspended and the PAPs told the government “that currently the necessary conditions are not in place to continue disbursing aid in the form of general budget support”. The group puts the budget support pledged for 2016 at US$265 million, which is about 5% of public expenditure.

The statement says the PAPs are “undertaking an overall assessment of the

impacts of the recently divulged loans and other internal developments in terms of macro-economic stability, management of the public finances and economic governance”.

Other areas, also covered in the Memorandum of Understanding between the G14 and the government, and which are now causing concern, are human rights and “the mobilisation of resources aligned with an agenda for poverty reduction and the promotion of inclusive growth”.

The group regarded the recent government statements on the public debt as “a first and important step forward in matters of transparency”. There have been two major statements – one was the press conference given on 28 April by Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, and the other was last week’s appearance of Finance Minister Adriano Maleiane before the Plan and Budget Commission of the National Assembly.

But the G14 insists that more needs to be done, and urged the government “to present and discuss first with the national institutions the measures it intends to carry out to ensure maximum transparency and accountability in order to re-establish trust in the national systems”.

The statement adds that: “the partners have also begun a process of internal reflection on this matter”. There is no indication of how long such a reflection might take, or when, if ever, general budget support might be resumed.

One move that might be considered as an attempt to re-establish trust is a two-day debate in the National Assembly on the public debt, scheduled for 8-9 June.

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The G14 consists of the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Commission, the UK, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Austria, Canada and Finland.

Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique

Metical continues to fall against US dollar

According to the Banco de Moçambique weekly bulletin on the main economic indicators, the metical continued to depreciate against the US dollar in all segments of the domestic foreign exchange market in the first half of the month.

In two weeks, the metical recorded losses against the US dollar of 2.05% in the interbank foreign exchange market (for transactions between the central bank and commercial banks), 2.27% in foreign exchange houses and 1.91% in commercial banks, while the differential between the average rate at commercial banks and the interbank foreign exchange market rate fell 14 basis points.

In the same period, the metical depreciated against the euro by 1.19% but appreciated against the South African rand by 4.79%. The depreciation of the metical is one of the factors that determines the general increase of prices of goods and services, since it makes imports more expensive as more meticais are needed to make purchases abroad in a context of weak production levels and high dependence on imports. Because of the metical’s sharp depreciation, many companies are facing high raw material import costs and recording significant declines in revenue.

For several years in the past, the US dollar traded at MT30. Until 15 May, the metical was at MT54.30 in the interbank foreign exchange market, at MT55 in commercial banks and at MT60.45 in currency exchange houses.


NGO criticises Mozambique’s public procurement process

On Monday 23 May, Mozambican non-governmental organisation the Centro de Integridade Pública (CIP) criticised the country’s public procurement process, saying that it allowed civil servants to award contracts to companies they themselves create.

“The procurement process has brought into existence a group of civil servants who are simultaneously entrepreneurs and create companies to act as intermediaries in the state procurement process, with their fees paid by the contracting entities”, the latest CIP report reads.

Giving examples from tender specifications published in the press, the CIP adds that: “the procurement process has also established the payment of commissions for the award of public contracts whose values [of the commissions] are indexed to the final invoice of the financial proposals submitted by companies”.

The CIP concludes that public procurement in Mozambique, “is dominated by such companies, which act as intermediaries, often in collusion with public officials in the contracting units”.

At stake is the lack of power and “the assent of the Procurement Supervision of

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Acquisitions Unit (UFSA), which has shown itself completely unable and incompetent to oversee public procurement tenders throughout the country”, the CIP complains.

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Adriano Maleiane, “should not proceed with remedial austerity measures, but take advantage of the deep financial crisis affecting the Mozambican State to conduct deep reforms”, the CIP argues, noting that public tenders represent more than half the turnover of small and medium enterprises in Mozambique.

Source: Lusa

Mozambique did not beg China for hep over debts – President Nyusi

On Saturday 21 May, President Filipe Nyusi told reporters that he did not travel to China to beg for help to deal with the country’s current debt crisis.

Speaking in the city of Jinan, at the end of his six-day state visit, President Nyusi pointed out that the visit had been planned before the IMF suspended its aid to Mozambique following the discovery that well over US$1 billion of government-guaranteed loans had not been disclosed.

“No, we didn’t come here to ask for assistance in paying our debts!” he exclaimed. “This is Mozambique’s problem, and we’re not asking anybody else to solve it”.

There was money available from China – aid of US$60 billion for all of Africa had been announced last year, consisting of US$5 billion in grants, US$35 billion in soft loans, and US$20 billion for private sector initiatives. If Mozambique wished to

benefit from this funding, it would have to present credible projects.

Asked whether the repeated declaration of a “global strategic partnership” between Mozambique and China might anger the United States, particularly given the current tariff war between the US and China (President Nyusi’s visit coincides with the US announcement of 550% increase in tariffs on imported Chinese steel), President Nyusi insisted that the partnership is not aimed at any other country.

“We are friends of the Americans”, he said. “We have a partnership with the Americans too”. He did not believe that tariff disputes indicated any deeper conflict between China and the US. Furthermore, there was “a good relationship” between the Presidents of the two countries, Xi Jinping and Barack Obama.

He stressed that China does not interfere in the internal affairs of its partners, including Mozambique. Instead, the Chinese government believed “the destinies of Mozambique are a matter for the Mozambicans”. President Nyusi praised the participation of Mozambican parliamentarians in his delegation. Deputies from the parliamentary groups of the ruling Frelimo Party and the opposition Mozambican Democratic Movement (MDM) participated fully in the work of the delegation. “They showed a patriotic attitude, and a sense of state”, he said.

As usual in such events, the largest opposition party, Renamo, although invited, boycotted the visit.


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Shandong Province plans to increase investment in Mozambique

The province of Shandong (China) plans to increase investment in Mozambique, estimated at over US$200 million to date, said the provincial governor, Guo Shuqing.

Upon receiving President Filipe Nyusi on Friday 20 May, in Jinan, the governor said that in 2015 Chinese companies in the province had invested over US$140 million in Mozambique, taking total investment to over US$200 million.

Governor Shuqing said that as a sign of the interest of Chinese companies, a commercial and official mission headed by the provincial deputy governor would visit Mozambique soon to deepen existing co-operation.

On Thursday 19 May, President Nyusi said in Beijing that hosting of the Mozambique-China Business Forum clearly expressed the will of both countries to strengthen bilateral economic co-operation.

The forum, organised by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Mozambican Embassy in Beijing, was the second in which the President took part on his trip to China after another held on Tuesday in the city of Nanjing, which was attended by approximately 70 Mozambican businesspeople that accompanied the official delegation.

At the Beijing forum, President Nyusi stressed that economic relations between the two countries had seen a major boost in the new millennium due to an increase in Chinese investment, and this was proven by the fact that in the last five

years Mozambique approved 92 Chinese direct investment projects worth US$823 million.

On Thursday, the President of Mozambique was also received by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who restated a previous commitment from President Xi Jinping that China intends to co-operate with Mozambique on its industrial capacity.

Source: MacauHub

Be wary of the easy money

There are at least two obvious lessons from the dire straits in which Mozambique finds itself following disclosures that the government hid at least US$1.4 billion in government-guaranteed foreign debt from its creditors. One lesson is that it is not a good idea to lie to your creditors – especially the IMF, which is the lender of last resort.

Dent “trust and confidence”, as the IMF’s mission chief to Maputo put it last month, and you are in trouble.

Mozambique’s external debt ratios were already stretched before the disclosures of extra liabilities in three state-backed entities. But those revelations prompted donors including the IMF, the World Bank and the UK government, to suspend aid disbursements.

Those disbursements were a meaningful part of Mozambique’s budget. Last year, it received $1.5 billion of aid support, equivalent to 10% of GDP, according to Moody’s. The ratings agency put Mozambique’s already deep junk rating of Caa1 on review for a downgrade. Fitch this week downgraded the country’s sovereign rating to ‘CC’.

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But the changed ratings outlook is in a sense irrelevant, given that Mozambique is going to struggle to borrow money from international investors any time soon. And since the IMF isn’t going to give it any money either, at least not until trust and confidence are restored and action taken to sort out the debt mess, Mozambique is heading for default.

The government has already failed to honour a US$535 million loan taken out by MAM, to build shipyards that did not materialise. The MAM loan was one of those in the undisclosed US$1.4 billion pot. Another was a US$850 million “tuna loan” to a company that used much of the money for naval vessels rather than tuna boats.

The loans in question were all granted by Credit Suisse and Russian bank VTB. And this is the second lesson of the Mozambican debt debacle – beware of capital markets bearing gifts. With the commodities boom and the Africa Rising story of recent years, many countries on the continent have found themselves able to access international capital markets for the first time.

And since they had to pay high rates on their debt, investors and lenders were eager to lend to them or buy their bonds so as to take advantage of the high yields.

It was easy for borrowers, and lenders, to get greedy. While Mozambique may be one of the most extreme examples, others have been getting into trouble too. The commodities boom has ended, growth has slowed, currencies have crashed and the cost of debt has spiked as investors have fled from risky emerging markets. That has put pressure on African countries that borrowed in US dollars or euros and now find they are struggling to

afford the payments. Moody’s warned this week of the challenges confronted by sub-Saharan African governments facing slowing growth and rising fiscal and external pressures.

Moody’s projects that every country in the region will post a fiscal deficit this year. Exchange rate weakness and growing finance requirements would drive sharp increases in the debt burden, it said.

In Mozambique, the debt to GDP ratio had already jumped to almost 90% of GDP as the country geared up for a gas boom that will take some time to get going. When it eventually does, the cash could come rolling in. But that’s still a long way off. So, if there is another lesson, then, it is the simple old rubric that you should not borrow on the promise of future riches – or spend it before you earn it. And since they had to pay high rates on their debt, investors and lenders were eager to lend to them or buy their bonds.

Source: Business Day

Diversification key to sub-Saharan Africa ratings – Moody’s

On Monday 23 May, financial ratings agency Moody’s said that economic diversification will be one of the most important factors in ensuring economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa and preventing further deterioration in the quality of sovereign credit.

“The slowdown in growth, despite efforts to diversify economies in the past decade, brings to light the region’s vulnerability to shocks in commodity prices, and the level of economic diversification is emerging as the most important distinguishing factor”, write the analysts at Moody’s, in a special report on sub-Saharan Africa.

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“Raw materials exporters are facing a third year of slower growth in 2016”, Moody’s reports, noting that, in the region’s largest oil producers Angola and Nigeria, “the initial decline following the oil shock has now spread to the other sectors of the economy, such as construction and services”.

The quality of sub-Saharan countries’ sovereign debt is facing a bleak short-term scenario. “The growth prospects shortened up and government budgets are under pressure, as lower prices of oil and other raw materials constrain the dominant source of revenue in the region”, analyst Rita Babihuga writes.

Falls in ratings since the beginning of the year “reflects these challenges”, Moody’s adds, noting that “the prospects of negative developments in several sovereign credits show the risk of further deterioration in credit quality in the next 12 to 18 months”.

Moody’s analyses 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Portuguese-speaking Angola and Mozambique. Of these, only Senegal has a positive outlook; all the others are either stable or negative.

Angola has negative developments prospects, having already seen the assessment of its credit quality downgraded this year, while Mozambique’s rating is under review following the disclosure of hidden loans and increase in annual debt service payments.

Both Angola and Mozambique are rated below investment level, a category traditionally known as ‘junk’.

Source: Lusa/Moody’s Investor Services

Rand weakens on US rate hike expectations

The rand weakened nearly 1% on Monday 23 May, as the US dollar gained on rising expectations of a US interest rate hike, while mining shares were hit by softer commodity prices. At 15:00hrs on Monday, the rand traded at ZAR15.7670 per US dollar, 0.84% weaker from its New York close on Friday 20 May.

The Federal Reserve will likely tighten policy a bit quicker in 2017 than this year, a top Fed official said on Monday, noting the decision whether to hike in mid-June will hinge on economic data before then.

“The rand will become volatile leading into the (Federal Reserve) meeting in June, where expectations are increasingly towards Fed hiking rates”, Argon Asset Management economist, Thabi Leoka, said. The rand gained earlier after the South Africa’s state prosecutor and police said that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is not being investigated for espionage.

In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark instrument due in 2026 added one basis point to 9.4%. On the bourse, the benchmark Top-40 index was almost unchanged at 46,537 points while the broader All-Share was flat at 52,628 points. Iron ore producer Kumba Iron Ore dipped 5.9% to ZAR86.47 while mining company African Rainbow Minerals shed 5.13% to ZAR89.24. Fashion retailer Mr Price bucked the trend, jumping 6.9% after it flagged higher full-year profit and declared an increased dividend. Trade volumes were low, with about 184 million shares changing hands compared to last year’s daily average of 280 million shares.

Source: EyeWitness News

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South Africa’s possible slide to ‘junk’ welcomed by yield-hungry investors

While South Africa’s policymakers fear a possible downgrade of the country’s debt rating next week could derail reforms, some fund managers see it as a buying opportunity. Africa’s most industrialised nation has been edging towards losing its investment-grade status due to weak growth, large deficits and political scandals surrounding President Jacob Zuma, including changing two finance ministers in December.

Standard and Poor’s and Fitch deliver their decisions on the sovereign rating next week. Policymakers fear a downgrade to ‘junk’ status could trigger a mass exodus of investments and higher borrowing costs. But higher bond yields, typical after a downgrade, will be welcomed by some investors in a year when equities have flat-lined and interest rates in developed markets hover near zero.

Fitch and Standard and Poor’s both rate South Africa debt at ‘BBB-‘, one notch above speculative grade. Seen by numerous analysts as the most likely to push South Africa to ‘junk’ status, Standard and Poor’s said earlier in May that the weak economy posed an immediate risk to the rating. Standard and Poor’s is due to publish its review on 3 June.

“I think bonds at 9% offer a very decent yield considering that inflation in the medium to long term is expected at 6-7%. It means you’d get a good 2-3% real return on bonds”, said investment specialist at Investec Asset Management, Louis Niemand. “If it were to go back to ‘Nene-gate’ levels it would be a screaming buy”, said head of market and economic

research at Investment Solutions, Lesiba Mothata. Mothata was referring to the sharp sell-off in December that followed President Zuma’s shock dismissal of Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister, when bond yields soared to 10.6%, their highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis. Mothata said 90% of South Africa’s ZAR2.2 trillion debt was in local currency and rated as investment grade. Analysts said that only a political upheaval could push the rand denominated debt into junk territory.

“Things would have to deteriorate quite a bit in terms of South Africa’s institutional make-up, central bank independence, fiscal policy and economic growth. And at this stage that seems very unlikely”, said investment analyst at Old Mutual Wealth, Izak Odendaal. South Africa’s local elections on 13 August will be the sternest political test that the ruling African National Congress has faced since coming to power in 1994, analysts say. Unemployment hit its highest level on record in the first quarter, while the economy is expected to grow by less than 1% this year, clouding efforts by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to fight off a credit downgrade.

“The downgrade to sub-investmmet will likely trip another 200,000 jobs within the formal economy”, chief economist at Standard Bank Goolam Ballim said.

Source: Reuters

Oil and Gas:

Mozambique’s LNG dreams falling apart

Mozambique is heading towards a major default on outstanding loans related to offshore natural gas infrastructure,

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symbolising the deflating hopes for a major source of new natural gas production from East Africa.

The state-owned MAM is set to default on US$535 million in loans, which it took out to construct shipyards to service natural gas drilling off of its coast. Because of the grace period included in the loan terms, Mozambique is not yet technically in default, but it could default soon if it fails to convince creditors to make a deal. Mozambique had tried to renegotiate with creditors, led by Russia’s VTB Bank, but has been unable to gain some leniency.

Mozambique’s debt problems have snowballed. The government made a surprise announcement in April that it had US$1.35 billion in outstanding debt that it could not pay. Fitch Ratings quickly downgraded the country’s sovereign credit rating to ‘CC’, a rating that denotes a very real risk of default. According to Reuters, the country’s debt pile owed to foreign creditors now stands at US$9.86 billion, or 80% of GDP. Much of the debt is related to a build-up in the country’s security services, including patrol vessels to protect its fishing fleet. But, by all accounts, financial mismanagement has put the country up against a wall. The IMF, taken aback by the secret debt, cut off assistance to the East African country in April, which will likely only make the problem worse. The World Bank also discontinued its assistance.

The ballooning debt is connected to the hype surrounding Mozambique’s large natural gas reserves that sit just offshore. Estimates vary, but there could be 100 to 180 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which puts it just behind the continent’s two largest holders of natural gas reserves, Nigeria and Algeria. Those massive reserves attracted significant attention

from some of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, including ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, ENI, Statoil, Anadarko Petroleum and Russia’s Rosneft. The idea was relatively simple. The companies would drill for gas and pipe it to the shore. Some of the gas could be used domestically, but much of it would be liquefied and exported abroad from yet-to-be constructed LNG export terminals. The IMF predicted that US$100 billion in investment could pour into Mozambique over the ensuing years. In theory, Mozambique could become the third largest LNG exporter by the end of the decade, creating a huge opportunity in one of the world’s poorest countries.

Anadarko Petroleum, for example, is weighing a FID on a US$15 billion LNG export terminal, but the US company is slashing spending because of low oil prices. Mozambique has been concerned that there is a limited window of opportunity given the very large volumes of LNG export capacity coming online elsewhere around the world. “Unless we speed the process, we could lose the opportunity”, Omar Mithá, chairman of state-owned oil company ENH, told Bloomberg in February. ENH is partnering with Anadarko.

Similarly, ENI is weighing a FID on its floating LNG export terminal, and could make a decision this year. ENI’s project is thought to be at the forefront of several on the drawing board. But ENI is also looking to sell off some of its holdings in the country to raise cash and reduce risk. The Italian oil giant is reportedly sitting on 85 Tcf of gas, which is equivalent to the entire US residential demand for natural gas over two decades. Mozambique’s northern neighbour, Tanzania, is also hoping to develop large-scale natural gas

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production in order to export LNG, but it too has hit roadblocks.

The problem is that development has taken longer than expected. And crucially, global LNG markets are no longer desperate for new sources of supply. Spot prices in East Asia, which is traditionally the most attractive market, are down by around 75% from a peak two years ago. That means that the oil majors that had been considering large-scale gas drilling off of Mozambique’s coast are no longer scrambling to move forward. Plus, many of them are cutting costs and retrenching in the face of low prices and rising debt.

Broader financial mismanagement has put Mozambique in a bind, and the problems that have mushroomed since the original natural gas discoveries several years ago, some say, are signs of a resource curse. The hundreds of millions of US dollars spent on ports in Mozambique may not see a return. Reuters says that other state-owned companies spent large sums on “high-speed naval interceptors, radar stations, offshore patrol vessels and aircraft”. Much of that equipment is sitting idle.

Source: Nick Cunningham/Oilprice.com

Slump in LNG prices delays production at Mozambique gas field

Production at the Mozambique gas field, in which Indian state firms have 30% interest, is expected to be delayed by about three years with the first output only likely in 2021, as plunging gas prices cast a shadow on investment decisions and make buyers scarce. “It’s a classic chicken and egg situation”, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

“Gas purchase agreements can’t be finalised quickly as the FID hasn’t been made, and a FID can’t be made because there is no visibility on who will buy the gas”.

At the heart of this complex situation is the massive three-fourths drop in LNG prices in two years. A supply glut has brought down spot LNG prices to about US$4.25 per unit, upending the market rules and leaving buyers and sellers with little pricing certainty with which to strike long-term deals. Many of those caught in long-term expensive deals prefer spot cargoes these days.

However, the Mozambique project is not unique in this as many other projects globally face the same stress brought on by the price crash. To be sure, the Mozambique project has entered into preliminary agreements with several buyers for its natural gas. But those agreements haven’t entered the final, binding stage since, according to a source, buyers first want to see investment commitment from the promoters of the Mozambique field.

Another source said that the investors in the project are hesitant in committing to long-term deals at current prices and are therefore delaying the project. The FID for the project is now expected only by the end of 2016, according to the source. The output would start only in 2021, he said. The first LNG from the project was expected by 2018, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) had said while announcing its first stake buy in the project in June 2013. ONGC and Oil India had jointly agreed to purchase 10% participating interest from Videocon Mauritius Energy Ltd. for US$2,475 million in Rovuma Area-1 block in Mozambique with an estimated recoverable reserves of

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35 to 65 trillion cubic feet. Just two months later, ONGC agreed to buy an additional 10% stake from Anadarko for US$2,640 million. Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) had entered the project in 2008 with a 10% stake. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, with its 26.5% interest, is the operator of the block. According to the source, US$5-6 billion has already been invested in the Mozambique project and another US$25 billion is further needed.

Source: Economic India Times

Delays of at least a year in Pemba Logistical Base

The publicly owned company Ports of Cabo Delgado (PCD) has admitted that there are long delays in building the logistical base for the hydrocarbon industry in the northern Mozambican city of Pemba (Cabo Delgado Province), but claims that this is a knock-on effect of the delays by the energy companies themselves in taking their FIDs.

PCD Managing Director, André da Silva, claimed that everything depends on decisions by Anadarko and ENI, who are the operators of offshore areas one and four of the Rovuma Basin, where huge deposits of natural gas have been found. The final decisions by these companies on investing in LNG factories have been repeatedly postponed, and so PCD has revised its construction timetable on the Pemba base, which is supposed to provide logistical support to oil and gas operations.

“If ENI and Anadarko had decided to advance with their investments, then we would also be concluding our part”, said da Silva. “But we felt it was not worthwhile running ahead with work on the logistical

base, if there would be nobody to make due use of it”.

Nonetheless, he guaranteed that the first part of the logistical base will be ready by 2017 in order to respond to needs arising from the drilling of additional wells in areas one and four. Da Silva believes that the entire base will be operational by 2018. The initial plan was for the first part of the base to be ready by 2016. He claimed that the mobilisation of the required equipment and other preliminary work is 70% complete, and approximately US$20 million has so far been invested in the logistical base. The total investment in the base could reach US$200-300 million.

PCD is owned 50% by ENH and 50% by the port and rail company CFM. The government has granted PCD a 30-year lease on the Pemba base, and on the oil and gas port to be built 400 kilometres further north at Palma. The Pemba base has been subleased to ENH Integrated Logistics Services (ENHILS), which is a partnership between ENH Logistics (a 100% owned subsidiary of ENH) and the Nigerian company Orlean Invest.

When the first stone for the Pemba base was laid by then president Armando Guebuza, in August 2014, da Silva told reporters that: “we shall have, in the same place, a commercial port, warehouses, equipment repair workshops, a spooling base, and specialised workshops dealing with the tubes used in the industry and producing subsea equipment”.

The project also envisages a residential area with its new hospital and schools, and shopping, banking, sports and entertainment facilities. But everything is now at least a year behind schedule.

Source: Jornal Notícias

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If Exxon-ENI deal goes through, BPCL may get a stock re-rating

Falling energy prices and an inordinate delay in the commissioning of its Mozambique gas field has pushed down the fair value of the overseas gas assets of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) to lower digits. However, BPCL’s overseas assets may get a shot in the arm if ExxonMobil acquires a 25% stake in the Mozambique field from ENI for an estimated US$3 billion. If this deal goes through, it will set a new valuation benchmark for the Mozambique assets in a low energy price environment.

The Mozambique field has two areas. Area-1 is the field in which BPCL holds 10%, operator for which is Anadarko, and Area-4 is operated by ENI. Analysts have been valuing the Mozambique gas asset stake for BPCL in the range of US$5-11 billion, but based on ExxonMobil’s offer for a 25% stake in Area-4, the implied value (of Areas one and four) is estimated at US$24 billion. This leaves enough room for an upward revision of the stock for the value of BPCL’s gas assets.

The BPCL’s stake was valued in the range of Rs35-65 per share by the analysts before ExxonMobil’s stake purchase plans. This is likely to go up Rs200-225 per share based on the new valuation benchmark. However, at current price the stock valuation does not appear to be at par with this stake. In addition, if crude continues to move up, it will further support BPCL’s gas asset valuation, as most of the gas contracts are linked to crude oil prices.

If ExxonMobil buys up to 25% stake in ENI, it will try to find a way to buy into the field in which BPCL holds a stake, said a note by Citibank. It may seek to synergise

across the whole resource base, and this could likely result in a simplified operating structure.

Source: Economic Times of India

ENI in “no rush” to sell down its Area-4 stake

The operations of Italian oil and gas major ENI in Egypt have suffered no impact from the killing of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni earlier this year, ENI CEO, Claudio Descalzi, said.

“I think that Egypt is starting working and collaborating with the Italian institutions”, he said, speaking on the side-lines of a hearing on security and supply at the European parliament. ENI announced the discovery of the giant Egyptian Zohr gas field, the largest ever in the Mediterranean, last year. Descalzi also said that there was no rush to sell down the group’s 50% stake in the Area-4 gas field in Mozambique.

“When you are selling something you have got to sell it at the best price”, Descalzi said, adding the sale could go through at best by year end or otherwise in 2017.

Source: Reuters

Highly connected Consamoz Consulting seeks an LNG play in Rovuma

A new consulting firm in the gas sector has been established in London with opportunities in Mozambique firmly in mind. Cosamoz Consulting Associates of Mozambique is run by Portugal’s Horacio Carvalho, British national James Napier and Nigeria’s Otobong Nkanang Jackson Udoyen. The first two already work

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together at Resero Gas Limited, founded in London in June of last year.

Resero specialises in building and developing LNG terminals and floating storage units (FSU). The company is currently trying to mount an LNG terminal in the Philippines, in partnership with the local concern Zamora that operates in energy and infrastructure.

The experience in Asia could help win over exploration or services companies currently active in Mozambique’s Rovuma Basin where huge gas discoveries were made by ENI and Anadarko. The two partners from Resero are clearly counting on the first-hand knowledge of Mozambique of their third partner, Udoyen, who has worked in the country for a number of years. In 2013 he helped establish the local arm of the Nigerian trader Aiteo in Maputo. He did so with Kenneth Irhiogbe, Aiteo’s managing director for East Africa and southern Africa. Udoyen also founded the firm Stone Solutions in Maputo in 2015, a firm that works in energy, mines and construction.

Source: Africa Intelligence

Wentworth Resources, operator on Rovuma onshore

By next month Wentworth Resources will be operator on the onshore concession in the Rovuma Basin by acquiring the stakes of its partners on the block, Anadarko, Maurel & Prom and PTTEP. Wentworth will hold 85% of the concession. On 31 March the company had cash reserves of US$4 million as opposed to US$2.75 million in December.


To dispel gloom, Sasol pins more hope than ever on Maputo

With its sales of gas and petrochemical products abroad decidedly soft since last summer, the South African giant Sasol appears to be counting on Mozambique for an uptick in business.

Sales of its natural gas produced in the country almost doubled from 7.1 billion cu.ft at the end of March 2015, to 12.4 billion at the end of March 2016, whereas most of its gas, crude and petrochemical goods are finding fewer buyers in other countries, apart from crude from Gabon.

In a clear sign that it is counting on Mozambique, Sasol recently appointed Manuel Joao Cuambe to its board. A Mozambican national, he was chairman of state-owned EdM between 2005-2012. He had previously directed Companhia Electrica do Zambeze and Companhia de Transmissao de Mocambique.


Sasol commences drilling of Mozambique PSA licence

On Thursday 26 May, Sasol’s field development plan (FDP) for the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) licence in Inhambane Province reached an important milestone with the commencement of the drilling of the first well. Adjacent to its current producing Petroleum Production Agreement licence, the PSA development is an integrated oil, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and gas project. The spud marks the beginning of the drilling campaign, which is part of the first phase of the FDP; the delineation and initial development of the Temane G8, Temane East, Inhassoro G6 and Inhassoro G10 reservoirs. 13 production

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wells will be drilled (including a water disposal well) during this initial phase, while oil and LPG production facilities will be installed close to the existing Central Processing Facility (CPF). A fifth gas processing train will be installed at the CPF to process the additional gas.

“The spud of the first well in the PSA licence area reaffirms Mozambique as the heartland of Sasol’s oil and gas strategy in sub-Saharan Africa and provides a platform from which to drive socio-economic growth”, said John Sichinga, senior vice president, Sasol Exploration and Production International.

Mozambique’s Cabinet approved the PSA FDP in January this year. Shortly thereafter, Sasol commissioned a drilling rig from French-based drilling contractor Société de Maintenance Pétrolière which arrived in Maputo port on 19 March.

The phased development plan envisages the development of further hydrocarbon resources that will help to drive the growth of both Mozambique and Southern Africa.

This first phase of the PSA Development is anticipated to cost approximately US$1.4 billion.

Phase 1 development represents the optimal development of four of the PSA geological layers in a safe and sustainable manner to the benefit of all stakeholders. The utilisation of existing infrastructure in the area enables the safe and efficient use of resources, while the development in tranches of the complex reservoirs is a prudent approach for timely de-risking of subsurface resources and maximisation of overall project value.

Source: PR Newswire

Southern Africa Prosperity Fund to boost Mozambique oil and gas

The Southern African Prosperity Fund, part of the United Kingdom’s foreign aid strategy, has called for bids to form public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects

Among these is a call for bids to participate in a Mozambique offshore gas development venture. The venture, based in the coastal city of Pemba (Cabo Delgado Province), falls under the category of Sustainable Urban Development and is aimed at helping Mozambique maximise the opportunity for rapid economic development through offshore oil and gas, particularly in urban centres.

The UK government has previously supported development of a blueprint to guide the growth of Pemba. With this latest bid, the UK government, under the auspices of the British High Commission in Pretoria (South Africa), is looking for proposals to develop Pemba into a long-term sustainable export hub with a diversified economy.

Interested bidders should present proposals that support the identification of a sustainable growth model which appeals to investors and opportunities for international companies to offer expertise, as well as the impact on social and environmental indicators.

Bids close on 31 May 2016.

Source: Oil Review Africa

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China CNPC and Mozambique ENH sign co-operation framework agreement

On Wednesday May 18, a co-operation framework agreement was signed between China’s CNPC (represented by Chairman Wang Yilin) and Mozambique’s national oil and gas company, ENH (represented by Chairman Omar Mithá). The agreement was signed during a meeting held in Beijing, in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi.

Under the agreement, the two sides will reinforce co-operation in oil and gas exploration and production, and natural gas processing and marketing. Specifically, CNPC will actively participate in Mozambique’s E&P projects, promote co-operation in gas field services, and cultivate technicians and managerial talents for Mozambique’s oil industry.

CNPC has been participating in offshore gas E&P projects in Mozambique since 2013. Block-4 is CNPC’s first ultra-deep subsea natural gas and LNG project in East Africa, and the largest individual project of Chinese enterprises in the country. Also, CNPC is actively involved in oilfield services and engineering construction projects in Mozambique, such as geophysical prospecting, pipeline construction, project contracting, and equipment supply.

The following day, President Nyusi paid a visit to CNPC headquarters, and had a meeting with Yilin to exchange opinions on deepening oil and gas co-operation.

Source: CNPC

Iran begins LNG exports to Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa

Iran has started exports of LNG to Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, an official announced. Esmaeel Hasham Firouz, the export-import director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC), said that the Islamic Republic has begun to ship excess natural gas supplies as LNG to the three African countries.

He said the shipments are done using LNG ISO tank containers. The official added that last year Iran exported over 127,000 tons of LNG and that the figure would rise this year. According to Firouz, currently Pakistan and Afghanistan are the main clients of Iranian LNG.

In recent years, Iran has been trying to have a larger share of the global LNG market. The National Iranian Gas Exports Company (NIGEC) has for some time been in negotiations with some foreign firms to help develop the country’s LNG sector.

The talks have intensified since the coming into force in January of a lasting nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that terminated nuclear-related sanctions against Iran. The German industrial group, Linde, has already offered to help Iran complete its LNG projects which include LNG Pars and LNG Persian.

The projects had been awarded to Royal Dutch Shell, Spain’s Repsol and France’s Total to produce 40 million metric tons of LNG a year for exports, but the three abandoned them in 2011 when Iran came under sanctions.

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Iran has also held talks with France, Germany and Belgium for construction of LNG tankers. The country has the world’s second largest proven gas reserves after Russia, with a potential to become a top producer. It plans to build a capacity to export 40 million metric tons of LNG a year.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News

Autogas to open three more filling stations in Ressano, Marracuene and Matola

Autogas, the company which sells compressed natural gas for use as a vehicle fuel, has announced that it is building three more filling stations in southern Mozambique. The stations will be located in Ressano Garcia, Marracuene and the city of Matola.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday 22 May, the managing director of Autogas, João das Neves, said that the three stations are already under construction.

Neves indicated that the company was satisfied with the gradual increase in the number of vehicles running on gas, saying that: “we already supply more than 2,500 vehicles and every month we register significant growth”. He added that: “our main customers are public transport buses and companies”.

Neves argued that the switch to gas powered vehicles was in line with the government’s call for austerity measures in the current economic climate. This was due to gas being significantly cheaper than the traditional fuels of gasoline and diesel.

Established in 2008, Autogas uses gas from the Pande and Temane gas fields (in

Inhambane Province). The natural gas is processed at Temane and piped by the South African petrochemical giant Sasol to South Africa. Spurs along the pipeline allow for gas to be used inside Mozambique.


Africa’s oil and gas industry still offers opportunities for service providers

The sharp decline in the oil price has left crude-dependent countries reeling. In Africa, many oil and gas companies have slashed capital expenditure and put projects on hold.

But according to Geoffrey White, CEO for Africa at global logistics services provider Agility, all is not lost as there are still opportunities for companies that provide services to the continent’s oil and gas industry.

“We are still seeing projects progressing, maybe not as fast as they were, but they are still progressing”, notes White

Globally, Agility has provided logistics support to mega oil and gas projects in places such as Australia, Doha and Papua New Guinea. In Africa it is currently involved with projects in Angola and Nigeria.

Several countries in the continent have recently discovered oil and gas, and are still in the early stages of development. White singles out the case of Mozambique, where significant natural gas discoveries have been made. According to US exploration and production company Anadarko, Mozambique could become the world’s third-largest exporter of natural gas.

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“[Countries] like Mozambique need someone to invest in infrastructure and the capability to build oil and gas compliant logistics to enable and support the development of what is potentially 10 LNG plants in the north of the country”, says White.

The Agility Africa boss notes there are similar opportunities in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mauritania and Senegal. In each of these countries there are insufficient human resources, infrastructure and logistics capacity – essentials for exploiting natural resources.

White says the gaps in project logistics in the oil and gas industry are severe, and often deliveries need to be made to “a barren field with no connectivity and no roads”.

“So there is a requirement for governments and [local] companies to partner with and work with international companies that do have the knowledge and expertise as to how you develop those projects and build the logistics platform to deliver all the components for these major projects”.

Although the oil and gas industry is currently not a big part of Agility’s business in the continent, White sees strong opportunities over the long run.

“I think the real opportunity is the new growth stories across the continent, where Africa is going to become a major energy exporter over time. The oil and gas story around Africa has really strong growth potential over the next 10 years”.

Agility has opened offices in Mozambique and Ghana, specifically to take advantage of opportunities in the hydrocarbons sector.

In Mozambique, it has done a review of the country’s infrastructure and logistics capabilities needed to support the industry.

“We have [made some] agreements with various government agencies to bring solutions when the project starts moving forward”.

He says Agility will be making similar moves in Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire.

“[This] is a sector that we think is very undeserved currently and in conjunction with governments and local partners, there is a big opportunity to build the infrastructure and capabilities to deliver all the project logistics that are required for the industry as it grows”.

Source: How we made it in Africa

Mining:

Three mining companies in distress

Three coal mining companies in Tete Province are at a standstill or operating part-time due to falling prices of raw materials in international markets.

The three companies are, the Mozambican subsidiary of International Coal Ventures Private Limited (ICVL), Jindal Africa and Minas do Moatize, which belonged to British company Beacon Hill Resources, which went bankrupt in 2015.

Falling commodity prices and the slowdown required in coal mining have led these three companies to lay off hundreds of workers, according to information provided to President Filipe Nyusi, during a visit to the region.

Grácio Rosario, provincial director of Mineral Resources and Energy of Tete,

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said Jindal Africa has brought virtually all mining work to a halt, with only processing, export and administrative services operating. Jindal Africa, of Indian group Jindal Steel & Power has a concession area of 20,000 hectares valid for 25 years, with an export capacity of 850,000 tons per year.

“All mining companies face the same difficulties, and Vale, for example, has reduced production”, Grácio said.

Coal prices have been declining since 2010, with coke and metallurgical coal falling from US$300 to approximately US$100 per ton, while thermal coal is currently being sold at about US$60 a ton.

Source: MacauHub

Disposal of Manica Gold Project for US$17.5 million

On Thursday 26 May, Xtract Resources Plc announced that it has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement to sell its Manica Gold project in Mozambique to Nexus Capital Limited and Mineral Technologies International Limited for a cash consideration of US$17,500,000, which will net down to US$12 million after paying off the final consideration to vendor Auroch.

Under the agreement, Xtract will sell its 100% interest in Explorator Limitada, the entity which holds title to the Manica mining licence 3990C, to the purchasers at completion. The Manica Licence holds gold deposits (both hard rock and alluvial) which the company has been progressing towards production since June 2015. It is expected that a Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS), assessing the viability of developing and mining a hard rock gold deposit identified within the Manica

Licence, will be completed in Q2 2016, with mine construction planned to commence in Q4 2016 and first production in Q4 2017. Mining of the alluvial gold deposit is planned for Q3 2016. The Board recognises that these projects at Manica are not without risk and all existing and new projects are reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure the execution, financial, economic, geographical and funding risks to the company are commensurate with potential returns.

As previously notified, the company has been exploring project financing options for Manica and it is clear from this process that the significant capital requirement, expected to be approximately US$35 million in start-up costs, would be highly likely to result in material dilution for Xtract’s shareholders.

When the Board received an offer from the purchasers to acquire the Manica Licence it considered the alternative options available to the company and concluded that it would be in the best interests of shareholders to dispose of the Manica Licence (through the disposal of Explorator) at this time as it would:

Secure a 40% return on its investment in the Manica Licence in under 12 months;

Deliver a strong return without taking exposure of significant risks to the company’s overall financial position;

Avoid material dilution to existing shareholders by removing funding requirement;

Enable Xtract to focus on the Chepica mine in Chile (the company’s principle producing asset);

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Strengthen the company’s balance sheet;

Obtain cash to invest in high return projects, which are currently being evaluated, delivering in the shorter term.

Jan Nelson, CEO of Xtract, said that: “The Board carried out a detailed strategic review on receipt of the proposal from MTI and Nexus and we believe that the value we have added to the projects at Manica has been recognised by the offer. An uplift in value of 40% in such a short time is testament to the work of the team at Xtract. The Board has recognised the substantial dilution which shareholders would have had to bear and has elected to sell Manica at this stage in order to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and focus on higher return targets which may realise shareholder value over a much shorter period”.

Terms of the transaction:

Under the terms of the agreement and upon completion, the group will dispose of its 100% interest in Explorator to the purchasers for a total cash consideration of US$17.5 million on a ‘cash free – debt free’ basis, and the consideration is subject to adjustment, under certain conditions.

The agreement is subject to inter alia: (i) obtaining the necessary corporate and regulatory approvals (including approval by the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy in Mozambique); and (ii) satisfactory completion by the purchasers of all financial, legal, technical, operational, commercial, regulatory and tax due diligence (including due diligence on the sovereign, political and economic status of Mozambique) by 31 August

2016. The agreement requires Xtract to deliver a BFS to MTI before 30 June 2016. In the event that Xtract does not deliver the BFS by 30 June 2016, the purchase consideration will be reduced by US$1 million.

In the event that the transaction does not proceed to completion for any reason, the group will continue to maintain its ownership of the Manica Licence and work will continue on the mine at Fair Bride and the Alluvial Gold JV Project, in accordance with the existing project timelines.

A scoping study indicated revenues from a mine at the site of US$55 million annually based on 50,000 ounces per year of gold production, cash costs of US$650 per ounce and an open pit operation for five years and three years underground.

Resources are estimated at 900,000 ounces from 3.5Mt at a grade of 3.01 grams per ton (g/t).

Source: Xtract Resources Plc/Stockhouse/Proactive Investors

Pathfinder Minerals hires Mondlane Jr to assist in dispute over the ownership of its two Mozambique concessions

Further to the company’s announcement on 16 March (see Rhula Weekly 11 to 18 March), Pathfinder is pleased to confirm that it has appointed Eduardo C. Mondlane Jr as its regional representative to seek opportunities to procure licences in Southern Africa.

Mondlane Jr has been providing strategic advisory services in Africa for 30 years across industries including aerospace, infrastructure, energy, power and financial services. He has advised companies

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including Boeing Commercial Airplanes, United Technologies, Siemens and GE Capital Aviation. He has also served on the boards of ABSA Group and Bank (Barclays Africa) and other Barclays African subsidiary banks.

In the immediate term Mondlane Jr will assist the company in its ongoing dialogue with the government to restore control of the areas previously licensed to the company under mining concessions 760C and 4623C following their appropriation in 2011 by Jacinto Veloso and Diogo Cavaco.

In the event that Pathfinder is successful in regaining control of the licences, the company has agreed to issue ordinary shares to Mondlane Jr equivalent to up to 25% of the enlarged issued share capital of Pathfinder. In such circumstances, it is envisaged that Mondlane Jr will assist with the ongoing administration of Pathfinder’s local operating subsidiaries and with the company’s relationships with regional and national authorities and with local communities.

Discussions between the company and the government are ongoing. The board is unable to provide any estimation of how long these may take or, indeed, whether they will be successful.

Source: Pathfinder Minerals Plc/London Stock Exchange

Mozambican rubies to be auctioned in Singapore in June

Mozambican rubies are to be auctioned in Singapore in June by the British company Gemfields. According to a statement by Gemfields, the stones to be sold are predominantly of mixed quality rough ruby from the Montepuez deposit in

Mozambique. The stones were mined in the northern province of Cabo Delgado by Montepuez Ruby Mining Limited, which is 75% owned by Gemfields.

Gemfields describes itself as the world’s largest producer of coloured gemstones. It has specialised in Zambian emeralds and amethysts but has branched out into Mozambican rubies. In its first sale of these rubies, Gemfields raised US$33.5 million. In its latest sale, in December 2015, the company presented both higher and medium quality rough ruby and corundum in untreated and treated forms. This auction raised US$28.8 million.

A spokesperson for the company told Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique that Gemfields has held five Mozambican ruby and corundum auctions in Singapore, which have raised a total of US$150.8 million. Last week Gemfields held an auction of predominantly lower quality emerald from its concession in Zambia. The auction in Jaipur (India) raised US$14.3 million.


Energy:

Electrification of Africa essential – Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário

On Tuesday 24 May, Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário said that the electrification of Africa is an essential component for industrialisation and for development in general. He was speaking in Lusaka, at a round table held as part of the Annual Meeting of the AfDB, at which he represented President Filipe Nyusi.

Prime Minister Rosário called for joint efforts on electrification. “Access to

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energy for the public, access to energy for agriculture and for industrialisation, is a challenge that cannot be overcome by one country acting alone”, he said.

Instead, it was a complex matter that required “concerted and very strong interventions” from the entire continent. Therefore, African countries should work together in attracting investment and financing, in the commercial area, in legal and regulatory aspects, and in the adoption of policies and strategies.

“All investment requires financing, and all financing requires project viability”, said Prime Minister Rosário. “When we act together, the viability of projects is easier”.

He called for balanced electricity tariffs, calculated on a “win-win” basis, in which there are gains both for the companies that generate, transmit and distribute electrical power, and for the end consumers.

“On the legal side, we must work so that we have legislation that promotes public-private partnerships”, the Prime Minister said. Prime Minister Rosário explained that the known electricity potential of Mozambique is “117 gigawatts from gas, 56 gigawatts from coal and 18 gigawatts from hydropower”. But the figures are theoretical – putting them into reality depends on finance, time and environmental impact studies. It would, for example, still take a long time to bring into use the natural gas reserves discovered recently in the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of Cabo Delgado.

Improved technologies needed to be mobilised, he added, to ensure that damage to the environment is reduced to a minimum.

Speaking at a Lusaka press conference, Prime Minister Rosário said that the target to ensure Mozambican electrification is 450,000 new connections per year up until 2025. This is an enormous task which will cost approximately US$500 million a year.

The AfDB itself announced, at the opening of the annual meeting that, over the next five years, it will invest US$12 billion in the African energy sector. Prime Minister Rosário praised this initiative, and added: “we must be prepared to see what are the mechanisms for access to these funds so that we can apply for them and make our programmes viable”.

The AfDB meeting, which concluded on Friday 27 May, was held under the theme ‘Energy and Climate Change’. Finance Minister, Adriano Maleiane, and the governor of the Banco de Moçambique, Ernesto Gove, accompanied the Prime Minister in attending the event.

The annual event focused in particular on two of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals – to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”, and to “take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”. The Bank expects the continent’s economy to grow by 3.7% this year. It estimates that, if commodity prices recover and the global economy improves, growth could accelerate to 4.5% in 2017. Mozambique is expected to grow faster than the continent’s average. The Bretton Woods Institution, the World Bank, predicts that Mozambique’s growth this year will be 5.8%, increasing to 7% next year.

The AfDB has operated in Mozambique since 1977. Currently, the AfDB is financing a portfolio of 19 projects in

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Mozambique, in the areas of transport, energy, and sanitation, totalling US$585 million.


Transport & Construction:

Vietnam and Mozambique intensify transport co-operation

Vietnam and Mozambique have the ability to co-operate in several areas within the transportation sector as the two countries share similarities in geography and enjoy a four-decade relationship of solidarity and friendship, said Vietnamese Transport Minister, Truong Quang Nghia.

During his talks with the Mozambican Minister of Transport and Communication, Carlos Mesquita, in Hanoi on Monday 23 May, Minister Nghia said that infrastructure development – including transport infrastructure – is seen as a crucial measure to turn Vietnam into a modern industrialised country. He revealed that Vietnam has achieved remarkable progress in road and aviation development over the past few years. However, the country has failed to effectively use railways for the transportation of goods, while traffic congestion still needs efficient solutions.

In return, Minister Mesquita briefed his counterpart on Mozambique’s development policies and bilateral co-operation possibilities in the transport sector. He said that his government has defined transport infrastructure development as one of the four important areas for sustainable growth. He asked Vietnam to provide Mozambique with more tourist vessels and more scholarships in the area of transportation.

He also hoped that the Southeast Asian nation would share experience in ensuring transport safety, minimising traffic accidents and reducing traffic congestions in big cities.

Source: VNA

Botswana plans to share construction costs of port in Mozambique

Botswana wants to re-launch the Techobanine port construction project as it will make the country’s world trade easier. The Botswana Minister of Social Affairs and Public Administration, Eric Molela, recalled that his country has no direct access to the sea and, therefore, has greater difficulties in its relationship with trading partners overseas.

The construction project of the natural port of Techobanine, in Matutuíne district (Maputo Province), includes construction of a 2,000 kilometre railway linking Mozambique and Botswana, passing through Zimbabwe. The minister told Jornal Notícias that his country is willing to share construction costs of both the port and the railway with Mozambique and Zimbabwe and added that: “we now have to agree on the participation of each country in the total costs”. Minister Molela was part of the official delegation accompanying the President of Botswana during a state visit to Mozambique.

Source: MacauHub

Nacala Port gets US corn for drought-hit Malawi

Mozambique’s port of Nacala has started receiving corn for drought-hit Malawi and is set to get more than 300,000 metric tons of the staple from June. On 29 April, Nacala (Nampula Province) received a shipment of 6,000 tons of corn from the

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US destined for Malawi, Portos do Norte SA Chief Executive Officer, Fernando Couto, said by phone. The additional grain will also come from the US, he said.

Malawi, a landlocked nation with 17 million people, is facing a second year of falling output after the El Niño weather pattern hurt crops across much of southern Africa, where corn is the staple food. The country wants to buy one million tons of white corn, its agriculture ministry said earlier this month. That’s 10 times more than the US government expects it to import for the entire season. Corn prices in Malawi reached a record in February, according to the United Nations.

The port of Nacala has capacity to handle the additional grains, Couto said. The facility is undergoing expansion with provisional storage for the grains needed for inland countries being built, he said. It has also contracted companies that specialise in packaging cereals to handle the gain, which arrives as bulk cargo, he said. Nacala lies approximately 1,000 kilometres east of Malawi’s capital (Lilongwe) by road, and 850 kilometres by rail.

Source: Bloomberg

Telecommunications:

Mozambique government considering phone companies merger

The government is considering the merger of Telecomunicações de Moçambique (TDM) and Moçambique Celular (mCel) as the best way to achieve the revitalisation and profitability of the two public enterprises. Making the announcement in the city of Beira (Sofala Province), the Deputy Minister of

Transport and Communications, Manuela Ribeiro, explained that the merger of the two companies is only at the feasibility study stage but that a merger appears the best way forward. Deputy Minister Ribeiro explained that, according to the latest report, this may be the best way out for the loss-making companies, saying that: “it would be good if this were to occur in the short to medium term”. According to the government, the merger will generate infrastructure and human resources efficiencies and deliver systems which will meet the demands of the market without further spending.

“TDM has much infrastructure that on its own it has little need of, while mCel doesn’t have so much infrastructure and, with the merger, would then own some, reducing both companies’ costs”, Deputy Minister Ribeiro said. The deputy minister pointed out that TDM is facing the problem of vandalism of its optical fibre network, which is expensive for the state to repair.

“We think that TDM should study strategies to stem fibre optic vandalism, and work with the Ministries of Interior or Defence to see to what extent these institutions could assist”, she said. On the financial situation, Deputy Minister Ribeiro recognised that public and private companies owe TDM a lot of money, and said that it was up to the company itself to implement collection strategies.

“Collection should start with companies in the sector. We can’t put this off any longer, because it is killing our company”, the deputy minister said, adding that some of the unpaid debts date back several years.

Source: A Bola

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Agriculture:

Multi-million dollar project to boost farming in Zambézia Province

The government, in partnership with the World Bank, will fund a US$17 million project over a four-year period to boost farming and increase agricultural productivity in the Zambezi Valley. The Catalytic Fund for Innovation and Demonstration is being implemented by the Zambezi Valley Development Agency (ZVDA) in the central provinces of Tete, Manica, Sofala and Zambézia. In particular, it will benefit farmers along the banks of the Zambezi River. Speaking on Friday 20 May, in the city of Chimoio (Manica Province), ZVDA’s Nelson Antonio said that the programme aims to support small-scale producers, increase domestic production and reduce imports.

He added that US$12 million will be disbursed by the World Bank with the balance being funded by the Mozambican government. The programme will run from 2015 until 2019. So far the emphasis has been on identifying suitable projects. However, this year funds will begin to be released.

Antonio also revealed that the programme will be expanded to include the Nacala Corridor in the north of the country. This will cover the provinces of Nampula, Cabo Delgado and Niassa at a cost of a further US$17 million. According to the Permanent Secretary of the Manica provincial government, Francisca Maluana, the initiative is in line with the government’s main focus which is on boosting agriculture and combatting poverty.


Mossuril and Ilha brace up to export Mozambique’s moringa to the world

Nampula Province hopes to produce moringa in commercial quantities for subsequent sale in the American, European and Asian markets. The leaves of the moringa tree have anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, cholesterol-lowering, and cardioprotective properties, and are high in vitamins and minerals. The moringa production project is being developed on a 1,000 hectare piece of land in the Ilha de Moçambique and Mossuril districts by MoSagri, a Dutch company.

In its first year of operation in Mozambique, the company has invested approximately MT165 million in production of the crop, which is used in the pharmaceutical and food industries. MoSagri employs 228 workers, of whom about 200 are seasonal, and has currently cleared and prepared 170 hectares of land, of which 130 have been planted.

According to Arlindo Mendonça, head of agriculture at Mossuril-based MoSagri, moringa can be harvested at 35-day intervals, with average annual production of 10,000 tons of leaves. Mendonça said that current production volumes are considered reasonable, taking into account that the projections for the future show the exploitation of the total area granted to the project. MoSagri plans to build a processing unit in Naguema, Mossuril district, to turn the moringa into pharmaceuticals and food supplements, the latter for the domestic market.

Company founder, Hugo Stam, says that moringa sales are virtually guaranteed, given the market for organic agricultural products, and that MoSagri has signed long-term supply agreements.

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Stam said that the price of moringa in the international market is currently high, and looks set to remain so for many years given that scientists, particularly in the pharmaceutical and food industries, are making efforts to find drugs for treating disease and malnutrition. Another perspective for the moringa project is its contribution to the treatment of chronic malnutrition within the country, where 42% of children under the age of five are malnourished.

“In partnership with the government we will involve, initially, Lúrio University, which teaches courses on nutrition, education and community awareness about the benefits of moringa consumption to health”, Stam explains.

Ilha de Moçambique and Mossuril have high rates of unemployment, and MoSagri plans to implement a moringa culture development model to empower local communities. Crops will be marketed by a sponsor company.

Source: Jornal Notícias/TVM

Coconut plague closes factories in Mozambique

Industrial coconut palm plantations in Inhambane Province have been hit by a plague, and factories that use coconut derivatives have closed because of lack of raw materials.

Inhambane is Mozambique’s second-largest coconut producing region after Zambézia in the centre of the country, but an infestation that causes yellowing of the trees’ leaves and decreases coconut production means thousands of palm trees can be used for nothing but wood. “It’s not the bottom or the trunk, but the top [leaves] that are affected by the

yellowing plague”, says farmer Henrique Sengo, who says it is not easy to make a living out of coconuts.

“Here in Inhambane, in particular in Morrumbene district, where many people live on coconut sales, there is no alternative source of income because there is nowhere else to work”, Sengo complains.

Plant closures:

Antonio Texeira, a farmer in Inhambane explains that, because of the disease: “Some farmers who have sawmills are cutting coconut trees down and not planting new saplings”. Currently, there are “about seven sawmills in Morrumbene village [doing this]”.

The situation has led to the closure of six plants that use copra, the dried flesh of the coconut, as raw material. “The factories that use copra to produce oil and soap have no raw material”, Teixeira says. Apart from the lack of raw materials, leaf yellowing of palm leaves reduces copra quality. Castro Vilankulo, an Inhambane copra supplier, admits that: “the quality is not good lately, but we grade our copra to give a good product”. Manufacturers return poor quality copra to the producers, who regularly claim the yellowing is the cause of the problem, he says.

The coconut tree plague is easily transmissible. A few years ago, Inhambane provincial government distributed coconut tree saplings to farmers to repopulate the plantations, but the project failed because of irregular rainfall.

Source: Deutsche Welle

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Mpumalanga government renews trade relations with Maputo

During the course of the weekend 21 to 22 May a delegation consisting of the Mpumalanga provincial government travelled to Maputo Province with the aim of renewing relations.

A delegation of Mpumalanga’s heads of department held meetings with their counterparts in Maputo to discuss the development of trade between the two provinces. The delegation agreed to establish a forum of businessmen who will oversee the projects that resulted from the meeting.

The three-day visit generated a significant amount of interest in trade between Mpumalanga and Maputo Province. The 16-member technical delegation from the Mpumalanga provincial government discussed issues of co-operation pertaining to agriculture, environmental conservation and the development of tourism in both provinces.

The discussions identified key agricultural land which farmers in Mpumalanga could potentially utilise in Maputo.

The Permanent Secretary of Maputo Province, Claudina Mazalo, said that they are open and willing to enter into a partnership with Mpumalanga.

“The memorandum of understanding between Mpumalanga and Maputo will ensure that the two provinces can grow economically, the points of focus within the memorandum of understanding include agriculture, tourism, transport and logistics and trade and industry, business technology and the flow of businesspeople and investments between provinces”. Mpumalanga is currently embarking on developing the province’s Fresh Produce Market.

According to Mpumalanga’s Director General, Thulane Mdakane, this partnership is set to bolster their goal in ensuring that their produce are exported to international countries using the Maputo harbour.

http://www.africaninfex.com

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Mdakane said that: “The province of Maputo is very close to the province of Mpumalanga and we have historic relations that stretch back for a long time and we think that we need to reinstate our partnership, identify areas of co-operation in order to strengthen development of both provinces, and one of the issues that we’re focusing on really is to strengthen economic ties, identify projects that will assist our business people to invest in both provinces.

There are many opportunities on the Mozambique side, one of the areas that we have identified for instance is agriculture”. Mdakane said that the two sides also agreed to establish a business forum of businessmen from both provinces to benefit from this partnership.

Mpumalanga Premier, David Mabuza, and the Governor of Maputo are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding to seal the relations of both provinces.

Source: SABC

Other:

1,300 foreign workers suspended in 2015

Approximately 1,300 foreign workers were suspended in the past year due to various irregularities in the hiring process. This is according to the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Vitória Diogo, who was speaking recently at the opening of the seminar on NGOs and labour issues in Mozambique. In total, there are 23,403 foreign workers employed throughout Mozambique. Of these 1,383 were suspended due to various irregularities in their contracts.

According to the minister, during the course of 2015, the government created approximately 340,350 jobs and more than 14,000 internships. The government’s Five-Year Programme envisions the creation of 1,900,000 new jobs by 2019.

Source: O País

POLITICS

National Assembly asks government to clarify hidden debts

The National Assembly will meet in a two-day extraordinary sitting next month (June) to debate the country’s public debt, which stood at US$11.64 billion by the end of 2015.

Speaking to reporters on Monday 23 May, the spokesperson for the Assembly’s governing board, its Standing Commission, Mateus Katupha, said that the debt was the only item on the order

paper for the session, which will be held on 8 and 9 June.

The debate will centre on a report drawn up by two of the Assembly’s working commissions – the Plan and Budget Commission and the Defence, Security and Public Order Commissions. During the course of the week 13 to 20 May, the two commissions held a joint hearing on the debt with Finance Minister Adriano Maleiane, who optimistically claimed that the debt was still sustainable.

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The debt ballooned in 2013-14, the final two years of the governance of president Armando Guebuza. In that short period, over US$2 billion was added to the country’s foreign debt in the shape of three commercial loans, guaranteed by the government, and taken out by state companies in which the main shareholder is GIPS, an institution which is run by SISE.

Before April of this year, only one of these loans had been declared, either to the Mozambican public, or to the country’s international partners, notably the IMF. This was the US$850 million dollars borrowed by Ematum, for the purchase of 24 fishing vessels and six patrol boats. It was subsequently discovered, after the boats were paid for, that, despite being made in a French shipyard, they do not meet European Union specifications, and so the tuna they catch cannot be sold in the EU.

The two other loans were to Proindicus (US$622 million) and MAM (US$535 million). The latter company is supposed to operate shipyards in Maputo and the northern city of Pemba (Cabo Delgado Province) for repair and maintenance of the Ematum and Proindicus boats, and for any other vessels that may need such services. But there is no sign that MAM has acquired the promised assets or is in any position to provide services. It has just missed the deadline of 23 May to make its first repayment (of US$178 million).

Katupha said that the report from the two commissions had already been distributed to all 17 members of the Standing Commission. All three parliamentary groups – of the ruling Frelimo Party, Renamo and the MDM – agreed that the government must address the full

parliamentary plenary about the debt, despite the expenditure involved in holding an extraordinary sitting. Renamo had demanded on 12 April that the government be summoned to parliament to explain the undisclosed loans, but this was just the day before the Assembly was due to suspend its ordinary sitting for more than two months.

The Frelimo majority threw out the Renamo request, and the head of the Frelimo group, Margarida Talapa, said that it was more important to discuss the disarming of Renamo. “Let the government work. Hand over the guns and stop killing people”, she declared.

But the Frelimo Central Committee, which met during the ensuing four days, disagreed with the parliamentary group, and insisted on the urgency of the government explaining the public debt. In a press conference held on Monday 23 May, the head of the Renamo parliamentary bench, Ivone Soares, said that the convening of the special session was “good news”, and that it would require the government to provide responsible answers with proper supporting documentation.

“On behalf of Renamo in parliament, we reiterate our commitment on behalf of about 25 million Mozambicans to demanding that the Frelimo government provides all necessary clarification and documentation on this debt, which is worrying Mozambican society”, Soares said. She maintained that the government should give reasons for its failure to apply to parliament for authorisation, indicate those responsible for the debt and the consequences for society.

Source: Lusa/Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique

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President Nyusi welcomes Dhlakama’s announcement and warns against time wasting

On Saturday 21 May, President Filipe Nyusi welcomed the decision of Renamo leader, Afonso Dhlakama, to appoint a three-member team to prepare for a face-to-face meeting, but warned that this should not be an excuse for countless rounds of preparatory meetings.

Months ago the government announced its team to prepare the Nyusi-Dhlakama meeting and invited Renamo to do likewise. Instead, Dhlakama insisted on a string of pre-conditions, of which the most important was that international mediators should be appointed. The mediators Renamo wanted were the Catholic Church, the European Union and South African President Jacob Zuma. However, the government insisted there was no need to involve foreign mediators in a dispute among Mozambicans. Dhlakama finally dropped his pre-conditions last week, and announced a team consisting of three Renamo parliamentary deputies – José Manteigas, Eduardo Namburete and André Magibire.

Speaking at a press conference in the city of Jinan, with the Mozambican journalists who accompanied him on a state visit to China, President Nyusi said that the appointment of the Renamo delegation “is the news the Mozambican people have been waiting for”. But the task of the government and Renamo delegations was just to prepare the conditions for the face-to-face meeting between the two leaders. “We don’t want to waste time with hundreds of meetings in the Joaquim Chissano Conference Centre”, said the President. President Nyusi was referring to the apparently endless “dialogue” between the government and Renamo in

Maputo’s main conference centre, which began in April 2013 and dragged on until August 2015, when Renamo abruptly broke the talks off. But President Nyusi was optimistic that his long-awaited meeting with Dhlakama “will happen and will be productive”.

It is the meeting between the two leaders that will take binding decisions. The preparatory talks “will set targets and we hold responsible those who do not meet them”. The President noted that, despite the appointment of the Renamo preparatory team, attacks by Renamo gunmen on the roads in central Mozambique have continued. “Piling on the pressure through armed attacks is an old tactic, and it doesn’t work”, he added.

President Nyusi said that the government’s response to the latest attacks was “to urge the defence and security forces to remain calm, not to rise to provocation, but to defend the people and protect the convoys on the roads”.


Renamo/government talks commence

On Thursday 19 May, Renamo named its team for talks about talks with the government, and the first meeting commenced on Wednesday 25 May. The Wednesday meeting, held behind closed doors at the headquarters of the National Defence and Security Council (CNDS), was to prepare a face-to-face meeting between President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader, Afonso Dhlakama. The two men have not met since February 2015. On Thursday Dhlakama presented his team: three members of parliament, José Manteigas, Eduardo Namburete and André Magibire. The first two are

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prominent while the third is less known but said to be trusted by the Renamo leader, Afonso Dhlakama. The government team comprises of former security minister Jacinto Veloso, former justice minister Maria Benvinda Levi, and Alves Muteque, an official in the Presidency.

There is very cautious optimism. Both sides have nominated reasonable teams – two experienced negotiators and one person close to their leader. President Filipe Nyusi made important concessions, notably stressing that these were to be unconditional talks about talks and that they could discuss mediation.

It is reported that government is now prepared to accept some form of international mediation. Both sides have been rigid and poor negotiators in the past, and mediators could be very useful in finding acceptable compromises.

On Dhlakama’s demand to name six governors, both sides have hinted at compromise. There are discussions inside government on ways to define and restrict the powers of governors to be more like mayors, which would allow them to be elected, while Dhlakama has hinted that he too is prepared for some compromise on this. But these are only talks about talks, so a settlement is still a long way off.

Meanwhile both sides have escalated the fighting. On Monday 23 May, there were two attacks on buses and other traffic on the EN1 road in Sofala Province between the rivers Save and Zambeze, with one person killed. And government military action appears to be increasing in Manica and Zambézia (click here to follow link to related article). On Tuesday 24 May, Dhlakama condemned the siege of his

base in Gorongosa (Sofala Province) but said the situation would not prevent the meeting between the Renamo delegation and the government scheduled for Wednesday. Dhlakama said that 10 armoured vehicles and two personnel carriers of defence forces troops had arrived in Mucodza, presumably for a military offensive on his movement’s base in Gorongosa. He subsequently questioned the seriousness of the resumed dialogue.

“If President Nyusi is indeed interested in dialogue, as he has said, how is it that the two teams meet tomorrow to begin to discuss the agenda at the same time as he sends troops to attack here?” the Renamo leader demanded to know.

“According to my information, a secret group is to come to attack and destroy everything here so that president Dhlakama has no time to direct negotiations or so that president Dhlakama accepts the outcome, because he is surrounded”, he continued, further revealing that: “some [government] military went on strike, deserted and returned to Maputo”.

Source: Mozambique News Reports & Clippings/Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique/VOA Português

Government and Renamo will meet again on Monday: Wednesday’s meeting merely preparatory

Government and Renamo delegations declared that Wednesday’s meeting was only preparatory and announced another meeting for Monday 30 May. Jacinto Veloso and Andre Majibire, speaking on behalf of the government and Renamo respectively, said that on Monday they would begin to address the content of the

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agenda for a high-level meeting aimed at restoring peace in Mozambique.

“It was a preparatory meeting to exchange ideas on the issues to be discussed in the preparation of the meeting, which we hope will take place soon, between the President and the leader of Renamo, in order to find a solution for peace and national reconciliation”, Veloso said, adding that discussions had been conducted in a “very friendly manner”.

For Renamo, Majibire said that the first round served to “devise a work methodology” for the dialogue sessions, in which they hoped to agree on an agenda and terms of reference for the meeting between President Nyusi and Dhlakama.

“We have a mandate to prepare an agenda and terms of reference which will be sent to the highest level, which is why we say that we had only a preparatory meeting”, the Renamo representative explained. Present at Wednesday’s joint committee meeting were National Defence and Security Council member and Frelimo veteran, Jacinto Veloso; presidential advisor and former Minister of Justice, Benvinda Levy; and presidency official, Álvaro Muteque. Renamo deputy Eduardo Namburete was absent from the meeting, therefore, the party was represented by José Manteigas and André Majibire.

Source: Lusa

Renamo calls for end to “government attacks”

On Wednesday 25 May, Renamo spokesperson, António Muchanga, issued a public statement just before the start of the Joint Committee meeting in preparation for the face-to-face meeting

between President Filipe Nyusi and Afonso Dhlakama. In the statement, Renamo demanded that the government terminate the attacks against Renamo’s positions to allow the resumption of political dialogue. Muchanga was referring to Dhlakama’s claim that a military unit has been deployed in Mucodza (Sofala Province), with the aim of launching an offensive against the Renamo base in Gorongosa.

“It is prudent to demonstrate with concrete actions that dialogue is the main solution of the conflict between us, tell the military offensives that are taking place in Gorongosa, for example, and other corners of the country to stop, so as to ensure that president Dhlakama can focus on the political dialogue taking place in Maputo”, reiterated Muchanga.


President of Botswana on state visit to Mozambique

On Monday 23 May, the President of the Republic of Botswana, Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Ian Khama, arrived in Mozambique for a three-day state visit at the invitation of his counterpart, President Filipe Nyusi. According to a press release from the Botswanan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the state visit was preceded by the fifth session of the Botswana-Mozambique Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation (JPCC) on 20 and 21 May. The JPCC, as per the release, discussed issues aimed at broadening the scope of bilateral co-operation between the two countries.

“Botswana and Mozambique enjoy excellent relations underpinned by close historical ties, which were forged during

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the liberation struggle in Southern Africa”, says the release.

It further says the relations have also been strengthened by the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1975. On the evening of Monday 23 May, President Nyusi invited Botswana business people to invest in “anchor projects” in Mozambique, such as the development road and rail corridors, the exploitation of mineral resources and others which have a direct impact on economic growth. He was speaking at a banquet in Maputo held in honour of President Khama. President Nyusi pointed to Mozambique’s enormous capacity to produce energy – through hydropower, natural gas, coal, and renewable sources. Mozambican electricity could make a major contribution towards overcoming the energy deficit within the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which is now estimated at 7.6 gigawatts at peak times.

President Nyusi said that, on the eve of President Khama’s visit, the Mozambique-Botswana Joint Cooperation Commission had met to identify activities that the two sides should carry out over the next few years. “Our greatest challenge lies in implementing daring programmes that will lever our economic growth”, he said.

The Mozambican leader noted that southern Africa has suffered from falling commodity prices, the strengthening of the US dollar, and the gathering impact of climate change.

“All these adversities and other negative dynamics, including localised military tension and the growth in the public debt, hold back the efforts to strengthen the economic structure of Mozambique”, said President Nyusi.

As for the priority areas where Botswana businesses could operate, to the mutual advantage of Mozambique and Botswana, President Nyusi listed agriculture, energy and tourism.

At a press conference earlier in the day, following talks between Mozambican and Botswana delegations headed by the two presidents, the Mozambican Foreign Minister, Oldemiro Balói, said that the two countries had signed an agreement on establishing a “Samora Machel Museum” in the Botswana region of Lobatse, approximately 70 kilometres from Gaberone. This was where Mozambique’s first president, Samora Machel, had lived briefly as he made his escape from colonial Mozambique and travelled to join Frelimo in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania).

Minister Balói said that the Botswana authorities had made space available, and the Mozambican government would finance construction of the museum. Currently architectural studies are under way, and construction of the museum is expected to take place later this year.

Botswana and Mozambique had also signed an agreement on geology and mining, Minister Balói said, and had discussed the longstanding plans for a deep water mineral port at Techobanine in the far south of Mozambique.

This would involve building a new railway from Techobanine, through Zimbabwe, to the Botswanan coalfields of Selebi-Pikwe, with a cost initially estimated at US$6.5 billion. Minister Balói said that the complex nature of this project requires comprehensive studies, including on its environmental impact, since this part of the Mozambican district of Matutuine is very sensitive in terms of biodiversity.

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On Tuesday 24 May, President Khama discussed the possibility of importing Mozambican aluminium following a visit to the Midal Cable International facilities in Boane district (Maputo Province). Asked whether Botswana plans to sign an agreement with Mozambique in the field of energy following a visit to the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric facility, President Khama said that his country is studying the implementation of a joint project to supply energy from Cahora Bassa, offset by a solar power system.

During his visit to the country, President Khama’s agenda included a visit to the Cahora Bassa dam (in Tete Province), and Midal Cables International factory, located in Boane district (Maputo Province).

President Khama was accompanied by the Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Eric Molale; the Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Kitso Mokaila; the Minister of Transport and Communications, Tshenolo Mabeo; and other senior government officials.

Source: Folha de Maputo/Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation/Daily News/Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique/O País

Belarus and Mozambique set to bolster dialogue at high political level

On Tuesday 24 May, the prospects for bolstering dialogue at high political level were discussed at a meeting between Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vladimir Makei, and the Mozambican Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nyeleti Mondlane.

“The parties discussed the current state of economic co-operation and the prospects

for bolstering bilateral dialogue at high political level”, reads a press release.

Deputy Minister Mondlane headed a Mozambican delegation that arrived in Belarus to take part in the first meeting of the Belarusian-Mozambican Joint Commission on Cooperation and the second round of bilateral political consultations.

The diplomats discussed the results of the first meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission and agreed to promote the development of contacts in agriculture, trade, education and other areas. The Belarusian delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Valentin Rybakov.

“The parties discussed matters of political co-operation, ways to strengthen trade and economic ties and improve the legal framework of the relations, and also the co-operation between Belarus and Mozambique in the international arena”, the press release said. Special attention was paid to the implementation of the agreements signed during official visits in 2014 and 2015.

Source: Belarus News

Minister Balói attends Nordic-African Foreign Ministers Meeting in Oslo

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Oldemiro Balói, recently departed for Oslo (Norway) to participate in the 15th Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Nordic-African countries, held on the 26 and 27 May. A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation says that the meeting took place in Oslo (capital of Norway), and had as its theme: ‘Foreign and security policy

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at a crossroads: Ensuring stability and prosperity in a new security environment’.

“These informal ministerial meetings are considered a unique platform in the relationship between African and Nordic countries, promoting a continuous and constructive dialogue between the two regional groups on matters of common interest”, the statement reads.

Chaired by Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Borge Brende, the meeting will be attended by 16 African foreign ministers along with those of the five Nordic countries, namely: South Africa, Angola, Algeria, Benin, Chad, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

In 2003, Mozambique hosted one of these meetings in Pemba (Cabo Delgado Province), three years after the creation of the informal consultation forum in 2000.

Source: Folha de Maputo/Lusa

China praises Mozambique, Burundi and Slovenia for support on South China Sea

China appreciates the support of the governments of Mozambique, Burundi and Slovenia on its stance on the South China Sea issue, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hong Lei, said on Thursday 19 May. The three governments back China’s efforts to resolve territorial and maritime disputes with directly involved countries through consultation and negotiation, Lei said at a regular news briefing.

“Burundi calls for correct understanding of China’s exclusion of compulsory

procedures to resolve the disputes, while Slovenia fully supports China’s position on international arbitration of the issue”, the spokesperson said.

He said the three governments’ positions “help safeguard international fairness and justice”. Some 40 countries have expressed support for China’s stance as an international tribunal in The Hague is due to announce its decision in May or June for an arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China over maritime disputes.

China has refused to accept or participate in the arbitration. It declared in 2006 that it would exclude compulsory arbitration on disputes concerning maritime delimitation, a right guaranteed under Article 298 of the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea.

China advocates a dual-track approach to solving the disputes. The directly concerned states should negotiate in line with international law as China and ASEAN countries work together to maintain regional peace and stability.

Source: Xinhua

Mozambican ambassador presents credentials to the President of Singapore

On Thursday 19 May, Ambassador Maria Gustava presented her credentials to President Tony Tan Keng Yam, affectively accrediting her as the High Commissioner of Mozambique to the Republic of Singapore. Following the accreditation ceremony, President Yam pledged his country’s commitment to strengthen existing relations of co-operation with Mozambique, particularly in the areas of business, human resources, civil aviation and port development.

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The President of Singapore emphasised the importance of signing an agreement with Mozambique on the promotion and protection of investments in order to encourage Singaporean entrepreneurs to invest in Mozambique.

Source: Folha de Maputo

President Nyusi on working visit to Tete

On Wednesday 25 May, President Filipe Nyusi commenced a four-day working visit to Tete Province.

While in Tete, President Nyusi will visit the provincial capital and the districts of Marara, Mágoè, Zumbo and Chifunde, where he will hold meetings with local government officials and various stakeholders, attend rallies and visit projects of economic and social interest.

The head of state is accompanied on his travels by the Botswana President Ian Khama, government officials and staff of the presidency and other state institutions.

Upon arriving in Tete, President Khama expressed confidence in the capacity of President Nyusi to overcome the challenges that the country is currently facing, including the restoration of effective peace. President Khama said that Mozambique and Botswana are facing common challenges, such as the rising prices of imported goods, and the severe drought in much of southern Africa.

“I believe that the wise leadership of President Nyusi will overcome all of these challenges”, declared President Khama to applause from the crowd that had gathered at the airport.

He recalled that the last time he had been in Tete was in the 1990s, as a senior officer in the Botswana army. Botswana was one of the countries which provided troops for the United Nations mission in Mozambique (ONUMOZ) during the implementation of the 1992 peace agreement between the government and the apartheid backed Renamo rebels.

He said that, when he left Mozambique at the end of the ONUMOZ mission, the country had been at peace. “I hope the same thing happens this time”, he added.

President Nyusi told the crowd that his Botswana counterpart had come to Tete “because Mozambique is not just Maputo. So President Khama is here to greet us and to visit Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), which sends electricity to his country and to other countries in the region”.

Botswana currently buys 80 megawatts (MW) of power from HCB. Increasing this would be difficult, since the Cahora Bassa dam and power station are now at the limit of their generating capacity. The other main clients for HCB power are the South African electricity company, Eskom, and Mozambique’s own power company, EdM, while a small amount is also sold to Zimbabwe.

Source: Rádio Moçambique/Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique/TVM

Assembly investigating mass grave claims

Members of the Commission on Constitutional and Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the National Assembly are visiting the central provinces of Manica and Sofala to investigate claims of mass graves, even though the

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governments of both provinces have denied these allegations.

Speaking to reporters in Maputo on Tuesday 24 May, the Chairperson of the Commission, Edson Macuacua, said that the commission members will interact with the local population, the provincial governments and the Criminal Investigation Police (PIC) to ascertain the truth.

“We shall work in Sofala and Manica with the local governments and local authorities in order to understand what really happened”, he said.

The claims of a mass grave in the Canda area of Gorongosa district (Sofala Province) first surfaced in late April. The Gorongosa district administrator, Manuel Jamaca, issued a statement saying the authorities had investigated but found nothing. He dismissed the claim as “disinformation”.

But journalists continued investigating, and just over the provincial boundary, in the Manica district of Macossa, they found bodies dumped in the bush. The independent television station STV filmed the bodies, and counted 13 of them. Nine of the bodies were lying under a bridge over the Piro River. The other four bodies were a few metres from the bridge, near a field. Later, the Attorney-General’s Office, carrying out its own investigation, said that there were 11 bodies, rather than 13. However, other media sources claim that up to 15 corpses were discovered.

Shortly after the discovery, the police buried the bodies with no attempt to identify them. The police justified the hasty burial on the grounds that the bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition.

The country’s top forensic doctor, Antonio Zacarias, criticised the police for failing to seal off a crime scene, and for making immediate autopsies impossible.

Macuacua said that the parliamentary commission has a deadline of 15 days, counted as from next Monday 30 May, to present a report on its findings to the Assembly’s governing board, its Standing Commission.

“In any case, even before any investigation, our position is that we strongly condemn all acts that violate human rights, regardless of who carried them out”, he said.

Renamo is boycotting the work of the commission, claiming that the investigation should be carried out by a Commission of Inquiry and not by one of the Assembly’s working commissions.

Also on Tuesday, the Attorney-General’s Office announced that, so far, no evidence has been found that points to the existence of a mass grave either in Manica or Sofala. However, it promised to continue investigating the case.

On the side-lines of the ninth session of the Coordinating Council of the Attorney-General’s Office, Taibo Mucobora, spokesperson and deputy attorney-general of the Republic, said that the Sofala Provincial Prosecutor travelled to the site of the alleged mass grave and found evidence of ditches. However, upon working in collaboration with the local population, they found no evidence of a mass grave.

During the session, the PIC maintained that the rumours as to the existence of the mass grave was the product of disinformation with the sole purpose of

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creating panic and fear amongst those who are already vulnerable due to the recent armed attacks in the area, attributed to Renamo. This is according to the Deputy National Director of PIC, Vicente Chicote, who said that the claim of mass graves is an attempt to convey

the illusion of human rights violations by the government of Mozambique, “which is not true”.

Source: Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique/@Verdade/Jornal Notícias

SECURITY

State of fear

Evidence is mounting that security forces are fomenting a climate of fear to suppress urban dissent while they conduct a scorched earth campaign against centres of support for Renamo in the countryside.

Anxious to prevent a full accounting for the disastrous loans crippling the economy, hard-liners in the governing Frelimo are believed to be responsible. On 23 May, prominent academic and commentator José Jaime Macuane was bundled into a car, then dumped on the road, shot four times in the legs and abandoned. He had just made his weekly appearance on independent television channel STV’s politics programme ‘Pontos de Vista’, where he has been critical of Frelimo, recently remarking that it was “showing that it survives off organised crime”. (Click here to follow link to related article).

Earlier attempts to intimidate the intelligentsia included the assassination of French lawyer Gilles Cistac and state Prosecutor Marcelino Vilanculos. Every time a demonstration is planned, the military appear in force. Vicious threats and propaganda abound, especially on social media. A demonstration organised by João Massango, leader of the Partido Ecologista Movimento da Terra, a small

green party, was banned. He was beaten up and narrowly escaped being kidnapped on 20 May. (Click here to follow link to related article).

While government publicly espouses dialogue with Renamo, elements in the police and army are clearly engaged in a ruthless counter-insurgency campaign; journalists are kept away. Police deny the existence of a mass grave that locals reported in Sofala as containing around 120 bodies and blocked access to the site. The human rights league, the Liga Moçambicana dos Direitos Humanos, accuses state forces of 83 summary executions in central Mozambique.

Source: Africa Confidential

Mozambique’s hidden conflict: fear has taken hold

Two decades after the end of Mozambique’s bloody civil war, residents of one region are living in fear and uncertainty once again. Security forces are trying to quell a conflict with fighters in the Gorongosa region believed to be linked to Renamo, the rebel group turned opposition party that fought a 16-year war against the state that ended with a peace treaty in 1992.

Last year, the Renamo leader, Afonso Dhlakama, claimed that the October 2014

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general elections, which the ruling Frelimo party won, were rigged and subsequently went into hiding in the mountains of Gorongosa (Sofala Province).

Soon after, fighters believed to be linked to Dhlakama started shooting at cars – killing civilians. Tensions between the security forces and Renamo members intensified in December after Dhlakama announced plans to take power in six of the country’s 11 provinces.

Now, the roads in to Gorongosa are constantly monitored. People can only travel in convoys guarded by security forces, because most highways that are leading into the region are ambush hot spots.

“It’s dangerous because if they want to attack they’ll attack anyone”, Ray Phiri, a traveller trying to reach Gorongosa, told Al Jazeera. A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva said in April that the agency had “received worrying information about ongoing armed clashes in Mozambique between national security forces and members of Renamo”.

The spokesperson told the AFP news agency that the security forces had been accused of “summary executions, looting, destruction of property, rape, ill-treatment, and other human rights violations” and that “at least 14 local Renamo officials” had been reported killed or abducted since the beginning of the year. Last month, farmers in the Gorongosa region said that they had found a mass grave containing 120 bodies. The killings are believed to be connected to a military crackdown on Renamo. The district administrator immediately denied the existence of such a mass grave.

“The authorities investigated the story – and found nothing”, he said. Visiting the region only weeks after the alleged discovery of the first mass grave, Al Jazeera’s Tania Page saw decomposing bodies lying under a bridge on a main road.

“It’s quite clear that someone’s stopped here and threw the bodies off the bridge”, she said. “We don’t know who they are, how they died or why.

“These are uncertain times in Mozambique. Former civil war enemies are fighting again, innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire, and fear has taken hold”.

Source: Al Jazeera/AFP

Analysts warn of the “Angolanisation” of Mozambican conflict

Analysts fear that the high indebtedness of the Mozambican State, coupled with President Filipe Nyusi’s visits to China and Angola, as well as the absence of dialogue, are indications that the government intends to solve the current politico-military tension militarily, but officials say that this is not part of its strategy.

Sociologist, Francisco Matsinhe, says it is curious that Mozambique is the only country in the Southern African region to sign a military agreement with China, and that the move, coupled with President Nyusi’s recent visit to Angola, can be seen as a step towards the “Angolanisation” of the Mozambican situation.

“This major investment in defence certainly has a purpose, which resonates with the head of state’s visit to Angola”,

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Matsinhe argues. The academic points out that, despite the current absence of dialogue between the government and Renamo, it is the only way the conflict will be resolved, “because eliminating the leader of Renamo and his party has already been tried, unsuccessfully”.

Raul Domingos, former Renamo number two and current president of the Party for Peace, Democracy and Development (PDD), also says that he is concerned about recent political developments in Mozambique. In his opinion, the FADM operation at Afonso Dhlakama’s home in Beira (on 9 October 2015), was aimed at physically eliminating the Renamo leader.

“But that will not solve the problem, because the solution is serious”, Domingos said, adding that Dhlakama’s death would perpetuate and even escalate the conflict.

However, government officials dismiss these comments, pointing out that so far all the initiatives aimed at restoring dialogue have come from the government, adding that the defence and security

forces have not acted more boldly out of political prudence.


Chronology: A year of political violence in Mozambique

The kidnapping and shooting of Mozambican analyst José Jaime Macuane on Monday morning on the outskirts of Maputo is just the latest case in more than a year of politically motivated and largely unsolved violence in the country.

Since the murder in March last year of Franco-Mozambican constitutional lawyer Gilles Cistac by still unknown individuals, political leaders, judges, academics and journalists have been targeted.

The murders and assaults on individuals in Mozambique over the last year have been committed in parallel with a worsening of the country’s political and military situation, and in an atmosphere of general lawlessness characterised by the

http://www.garda.com/gw

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almost complete absence of findings by investigating authorities.

These recent cases compound other high profile murders in the past which took the lives of journalist Carlos Cardoso in 2000, economist Siba Siba Macuácua in 2001, and Judge Dinis Silica in 2014.

2015:

3 March – The Franco-Mozambican constitutional lawyer Gilles Cistac is shot dead in broad daylight by unknown individuals when leaving a cafe in the centre of Maputo. The academic had received threats through Facebook in the days leading up to his murder after publicly defending the disputed constitutionality of Renamo’s petition to create autonomous provincial authorities as a solution to the political crisis in the country following the general elections of October 2014.

8 August – A former agent of SISE is found shot dead on the outskirts of Maputo. Mussá Inlamo was known to be about to give interviews denouncing the allegedly illegal activities of Mozambique’s secret services.

25 September – The Renamo leader’s convoy engages in a gunfight with the FADM in Manica, with heavy casualties among his guard. It was the second incident in less than two weeks, and was followed by accusations by Dhlakama that the government and Frelimo had made him the target of attempted murder.

9 October – Dhlakama’s home in Beira is surrounded and invaded by the police, allegedly to collect illegal

weapons. Men of the Renamo president’s guard are held for a few hours, the incident only ending with the voluntary surrender of weapons and the intervention of peace process mediators and religious leaders.

2016:

16 January – The secretary general of Renamo, Manuel Bissopo, is shot in the centre of Beira by unknown individuals, but escapes with his life. His bodyguard dies on the scene.

9 April – José Manuel, Renamo member of the National Council for Defence and Security and member of the main opposition party’s military wing, is shot dead by unknown individuals outside the Beira International Airport.

11 April – Maputo prosecutor Marcelino Vilanculos is shot dead as he is driving home on the outskirts of the capital.

18 May – Two local administration officers in Samoa (Tete Province) are killed in an attack attributed by the authorities to Renamo, subject of the many mutual accusations of kidnapping, murder and intimidation of members of the main parties in the centre of the country.

20 May – João Massango, leader of the Ecologista Party, one of the extra-parliamentary formations trying to organise a protest march in Maputo against Mozambique’s undisclosed debts and ongoing political and military crisis, reports that he was the target of an attempted kidnapping and assault by armed men in the outskirts of the capital.

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23 May – Political commentator and university professor Jaime Macuane is kidnapped in central Maputo and taken to the outskirts of the city where his attackers leave him with multiple gunshot wounds in his legs.

Source: Lusa

SADC intervention needed in Mozambique

The SADC, which last year leapt into the political squabbles in Lesotho, must now play a bigger role in a far more serious situation in northern Mozambique, where continued low-level conflict sparked by the rebel movement-come-political party, Renamo, threatens wider instability and deeper problems for the country.

Following a series of incidents in the northern and central regions of the country, including as yet unverified claims of mass graves, the escalating tensions between the government and Renamo – which has claimed it will take over governance in six provinces – has human rights organisations and the United Nations (UN) concerned.

In a statement, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) said that it had received reports of “rampant human rights abuses being perpetrated by the two warring sides”. According to the UNHCR, these human rights violations include cases of disappearances and summary executions.

The UNHCR said that 14 Renamo officials had so far been killed or abducted by unidentified individuals or groups since the beginning of the year. Security forces have been accused of summary executions, looting, destruction of property, rape, ill-treatment, and other

violations, while the UN added that Renamo has also been accused of attacking police and military infrastructure and committing their own abuses and violations against civilians perceived to be government sympathisers.

There is a growing concern among regional sources with a focus on security that the clashes in Mozambique have the potential to create deeper and wider instability and that there has already been a negative impact on investor sentiment and the economy.

Local media reports have quoted President Filipe Nyusi as acknowledging the political instability in parts of the country, saying that the development had forced some citizens to seek asylum in Malawi. President Nyusi said his government was seeking a way to restore stability and security in the affected regions so that the displaced people could return.

Renamo – which tends to escape censure from international organisations for its continued use of illegal militia and its threats to govern by force – claimed that it would take over rule in those regions of the country where it won a majority in the last elections. That resulted in a series of clashes between Renamo militia and government security forces in a low-intensity, but deepening, conflict since late last year that forced government to take extra measures to protect traffic and transport routes, among other steps.

While the latest bout of instability and conflict in parts of the country does not significantly alter the overall political risk rating – at least part of what has happened was anticipated – there is growing concern in the region that the conflict could escalate with a negative

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impact on the country’s economic and investment profile.

The government clearly wants to engage and resolve the issues underlying the conflict, but it seems unable to do so without some outside assistance.

Given its intervention in a lesser issue in Lesotho, it is SADC that must take up the challenge. It is imperative that SADC begins to play a larger role in dealing with a problem that threatens to become more menacing by the day with wider regional consequences.

Source: Gary van Staden/NKC African Economics/CNBCA Africa

Mozambique bus attacks continue as evidence emerges of soldiers on board

According to Zitamar News, evidence has emerged that Mozambique government troops are using civilians transport buses to travel around the country, backing up the claims made by the opposition movement Renamo, which has intensified highway attacks in recent days.

On Saturday 21 May, independent television station STV interviewed a young female soldier named Bernilde Tembe who has been in hospital in Quelimane (Zambézia Province) since February when she was shot in an attack on a bus belonging to privately-owned transport company Nagi Investimentos.

According to Tembe’s testimony, she was travelling in a Nagi bus from Gorongosa (Sofala Province) to Mocuba (Zambézia Province) when the attack occurred. “I was travelling on service to work in Mocuba”, she said. “I was sleeping in the Nagi bus when I suddenly felt bullets in my body”. Tembe’s mother, who lives in Xai-Xai in southern Mozambique, only

found out about the attack two months later and has since been sleeping rough in Quelimane to look after her injured daughter, STV reported.

The report lends credence to Renamo’s claims that the civilian buses it attacks contains military personnel. In an interview with STV on 17 May, Renamo leader, Afonso Dhlakama, said: “We’ve never attacked a civilian vehicle unless it contains soldiers”.

“What’s happening in fact is that Frelimo forces, scared of identifying themselves, travel in the civilian buses of Nagi and Etrago”, Dhlakama said. “They are told to do so by their commanders, but Renamo has secret services, so we know before they leave Maputo, Inhambane, or Tete”.

Attacks intensify:

Attacks on the EN1 highway in central and northern Mozambique have been intensifying despite military escorts provided by Mozambique’s security and defence forces.

On Thursday 19 May, three people were injured in an attack on a bus belonging to Mozambique’s post office, the state-owned Correios de Moçambique, which was heading from Maputo to Nampula. According to O País, the bus was attacked from both sides of the road when it was travelling at approximately 80 kilometres per hour.

The police also admitted that one of their number was killed and three others injured on 16 May, after a Renamo attack on their vehicle in Barue district (Manica Province). On 20 May, police spokesperson, Inácio Dina, said that the police had run out of patience with Renamo – and that such attacks would no

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longer be tolerated. Nevertheless, the following day, armed Renamo men attacked four buses belonging to Nagi, Etrago, Maningue Nice and Tanga Line, on the stretch of the EN1 between Zero and Muala (Zambézia Province). Rádio Moçambique said that four people were injured in the attacks.

Source: Zitamar News/Rádio Moçambique/STV

Update: three die in Renamo attack against Correios de Moçambique bus

As mentioned in the Weekly Media Review No.131, on Thursday 19 May, Renamo gunmen launched an attack against a Correios de Moçambique bus that was travelling between Maputo and the city of Quelimane. The attack occurred along the EN1 at Longoze, Mopeia district (Zambézia Province). The bus was shot at from both sides of the road as it was travelling at 80 kilometres per hour. Initial reports suggested that three passengers (one woman and two men) were killed in the attack. However, according to updated information, two women and a man were injured in the incident, but no deaths were recorded.


PRM accuses Renamo of new ambush against a bus in central Mozambique

On Monday 23 May, the PRM accused Renamo of two new ambushes on buses in the centre of the country which left one person dead and eight others injured (three of them seriously). According to the spokesperson of the PRM in Sofala Province, Daniel Macuácua, the first attack occurred in the morning between Save and Muxungué, one of the two EN1 sections subject to mandatory military

convoys. Six people were injured in this attack. The gunmen targeted a bus circulating along the Beira-Maputo route. Following the attack, the FADM were immediately mobilised to the area. The second attack occurred at approximately 15:00hrs, also along the EN1, between Nhamapaza and Caia. One person was killed and two others were injured.

According to Macuacua, the victims were transported to the Save Health Centre in Govuro district (Inhambane Province). Despite the willingness expressed by the Renamo leader, Afonso Dhlakama, to return to peace talks, the last week was marked by an abnormal number of attacks by armed men in the centre of the country attributed by the authorities to the illegal armed wing of the opposition party. According to Jornal Notícias, six people were injured in three attacks on three buses on Saturday 21 May, between Zero and Posto campo (in Zambézia Province).

Also last week, four people reportedly died and five were seriously wounded in ambushes attributed to Renamo in central Mozambique. The PRM also blamed the Renamo gunmen for the murder of two leaders of the local administration in Samoa (Tete Province) last week.

Source: Lusa

Renamo member who survived two alleged attacks is under special protection

The transfer of a Renamo member to a private health clinic in Maputo has been overseen by representatives of international organisations, journalists and police after the Liga Moçambicana dos Direitos Humanos contacted the Attorney-General’s Office and diplomatic

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representatives in the Mozambican capital.

According to Alice Mabota, president of the Liga Moçambicana dos Direitos Humanos, armed men were looking for Benedito Sabão on the night of Thursday 19 May, soon after he was admitted to hospital after being shot on 9 May in an suspected assassination attempt in Manica Province, linking the two cases with the political violence environment that is being experienced in the country.

Mabota said that Sabão became aware of intruders in the Central Hospital Orthopaedics facilities and fled. Officials from the Maputo Central Hospital who were present at Sabão’s transfer declined to comment, but other patients confirmed to Lusa that armed men had entered the health unit facilities.

Lusa sought comment from the General and Provincial Command of the Maputo police, but without success, and Renamo has also failed to comment on the case.

“I do not know what they want from this poor man, but they must think he knows something very important”, Mabota observed, saying that the League had called various embassies for support and enlisted the help of Protect Defenders, an international human rights body supported by the European Union, which is paying Sabão’s expenses.

According to Mabota, Sabão was taken to a private clinic in the Mozambican capital where he is under police protection, and he will soon leave the country for his own safety until the incidents are clarified. Mozambique is experiencing worsening political violence, with clashes between Renamo and FADM soldiers, mutual accusations of abduction and

assassination of party members, and attacks on military and civilian targets in the centre of the country attributed by the authorities to the opposition’s armed wing.

Despite Renamo’s apparent willingness to resume talks with the government, the last few days have been marked by ambushes on civilian targets in the centre of the country and the assassination, attributed to Renamo by authorities, of local administrators in Tete Province.

At the end of April, more than 13 bodies dumped in the bush in the centre of the country were discovered by journalists. The corpses, since buried without identification by the police, were near where farmers say they have seen a mass grave with more than 100 bodies, but so far there has been no confirmation by other witnesses.

Source: Lusa

Threatening letter releases truck carrying Renamo food supplies

According to Diário da Zambézia, the PRM in Morrumbala (Zambézia Province) recently released a seized truck that was found to be carrying Renamo food supplies to Sabe – the scene of many clashes between Renamo gunmen and FADM troops. The truck was seized on Sunday 22 May, and was impounded at the local police command.

It is thought that the release of the truck could be related to an alleged threatening letter demanding the unconditional release of Renamo’s groceries on pains of an attack targeting the district headquarters. Two days later, the truck was released without demur. Contacted on Tuesday 24 May, the district police commander declined to discuss the

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matter, saying that it was the government’s decision, but Diário da Zambezia sources confirm that it was the threatening letter that did the trick.

Source: Diário da Zambézia

Al-Jazeera photographs human remains at the site of the 13 abandoned corpses

During the course of the weekend 21 to 22 May, Al-Jazeera visited Macossa district (Manica Province), where 13 abandoned corpses were discovered approximately three weeks ago. At the site of the 13 bodies, Al-Jazeera took photographs of human remains, which they found in plain sight.

Images from Al-Jazeera clearly show the bodies, including a skull and larvae feasting on human remains. Although the Mozambican authorities announced that the bodies had been buried, the images show a collective grave with a thin layer of dirt failing to cover the cadavers.

The bodies were discovered in the same area where local farmers claim to have seen a mass grave with more than 100 corpses – reports which have since been denied by local and judicial authorities in a region under tight military control, especially since the recent allegations of human rights violations.

Several journalists tried unsuccessfully to reach the location described by farmers, but neither the state National Commission on Human Rights, nor UN nor non-governmental organisations have said whether they have tried or managed to gain access to the site. Gorongosa (Sofala Province), where it is assumed that the leader of Renamo is currently living, has been marked by clashes

between Renamo’s armed wing and government forces in a conflict low on reliable information about casualties on either side, and where there are persistent reports of harassment of rural communities.

Source: Lusa

More dead bodies found in Mocuba

Residents of the administrative post of Murrothone, Mocuba district (Zambézia Province), claim to have found 28 dead bodies, allegedly killed in a full-scale clash between FADM troops and Renamo guerrillas.

A Mocuba resident purportedly asked Zambeze to appeal to the authorities to remove the bodies scattered on the slopes of Mt Potho, which lies within the perimeter of Renamo’s Murrothone base, on the grounds that the corpses are in an advanced state of decomposition and could spread disease.

“We appeal to government authorities to remove the bodies urgently and deliver them to their relatives for decent burial ceremonies”, said the resident.

The bodies are said to be those of combatants killed following three days of clashes between Renamo and government forces. However, according to Zambeze, some of the bodies belong to civilians who were killed in the region.

Zambeze sources said that soldiers had only been able to remove the bodies lying along the paths, but considered it too dangerous to enter into the woods to remove the other bodies. Attempts to establish contact with the Zambézia authorities were unsuccessful.

Source: Zambeze

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Military tension condemns hoteliers to unemployment

Approximately 3,000 workers in the hotel and tourism sector lost their jobs or are facing possible unemployment. This is due to mass closures of hotels throughout the country, resulting from the significant decrease in the number of tourists who are afraid to visit the northern and central regions of the country for fear of Renamo attacks.

This is according to the Secretary General of the National Hotel and Tourism Union, Luís Macuácua, who was speaking at a recent meeting in the port city of Nacala. Macuácua suggested that employers and workers join forces in order to seek alternative solutions to the difficult situation.

On Wednesday 25 May, President Filipe Nyusi attended the inauguration of the Inter-Tete Hotel (Tete Province), and warned that tourism depends on a climate of peace and tranquillity. President Nyusi said that: “Tourism unites peoples and is an object of peace. But without peace naturally there is no tourism, since this is an activity in which people are at ease and relaxing”.

The new hotel cost approximately US$3 million. It has 71 rooms, including three VIP suites, and is just a few minutes’ drive from Tete International Airport. This means that guests arriving by air do not have to drive over the Samora Machel Bridge across the Zambezi into the centre of the city to reach the hotel.

The President stressed that tourism remains a priority for the government alongside agriculture and infrastructures. “Investments have been made here”, he said, “and so the owners need to live in

peace so that they are not cast into despair”.

But a further worry for investors in Tete hotels is the downturn in the Tete economy. The Inter-Tete Hotel was planned during the early days of the coal boom in Tete. But since then the international price of coal has collapsed, and the number of business tourists has shrunk dramatically. President Nyusi also chaired an extraordinary meeting of the Tete Provincial Government, where the Provincial Governor, Paulo Auade, claimed that the military situation is under control although “relative tension” remains in certain areas.

“The Defence and Security Forces are on the ground maintaining public order, security and tranquillity”, he said. “Because of this the situation is tending to normalise and the people are gradually returning to their zones of origin”. Governor Auade said that the military tensions caused by Renamo gunmen had affected the areas of Nkondezi (in Moatize district), Monjo, Chibaene and Chiandame (Tsangano) and Kazula (Chiúta).

He recognised that the tensions had caused people from Nkondezi, Chibaene, and Chiandame to flee across the border into Malawi. Governor Auade added that, alongside the work of the defence forces, the government was taking action to improve social and economic conditions in the border areas to encourage people to remain within Mozambique.

Despite the drought that has hit parts of Tete during the 2015-16 agricultural campaign, Governor Auade claimed that the province had increased grain production by 8.3%. The mining and energy sectors had grown by 16% and 12% respectively.

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The opening of a new operating theatre at the health centre in Zobue, on the Malawian border, has reduced the number of Mozambicans that cross into Malawi for medical treatment, said the governor, and the opening of four new schools had improve the teacher/pupil ratio.

The great challenge facing the provincial government, he added, was to increase the percentage of the Tete population with access to safe drinking water, through the drilling of 139 new boreholes, mostly along the border areas.

Source: Jornal Notícias/TVM/Agencia de

Informacao de Moçambique

Protest organiser escapes attempted abduction in Maputo on the day before a march which never took place

On the morning of Friday 20 May, unknown assailants attempted to kidnap João Massango, organiser of the protest march called for last weekend. Massango, who is president of one of the small green parties, Partido Ecologista Movimento da Terra-PEC-MT, was en-route to a press conference where he intended to announce that Saturday’s march would continue as planned (despite a ruling by the Municipal Council deeming the march illegal), when three individuals attacked him with an iron bar and tried to force him into a car.

In statements broadcast by the private television channel STV, Massango said that three men attacked him with an iron bar and tried to force him into one of the two cars they were using. Displaying the marks of the attack and visibly upset, the party leader said that he managed to escape his attackers and had sought police protection.

Massango, one of the extra-parliamentary civic leaders who had called a protest for Saturday and Sunday in Maputo, said afterwards that it was up to the people to decide whether or not to march in protest against the recently disclosed state-guaranteed debts and the ongoing political and military crisis.

In the end, no march took place.

According to Mozambique News Reports & Clippings, the government has been anxious to prevent demonstrations such as the one in 2010 in which 13 people died – forcing the government to reverse price rises.

There have also been nasty and racist campaigns organised by trolls on social media, attacking critics of the government. This has included “wanted” posters with images of people being attacked. There was such a campaign against academic Gilles Cistac last year before he was gunned down. Prominent civil society figures and their families have been the subject of threatening telephone calls. At least one prominent Mozambican academic at UEM has been frightened enough to temporarily leave the country.

According to Joseph Hanlon: “This is an organised campaign and it has been at least partly successful – people are more frightened than I have seen before. But the general public, at least in Maputo, is discussing the debt crisis very openly and is critical of the government, building on a simmering resentment about perceptions of growing inequality.

Source: STV/RFi/Lusa/Mozambique News Reports& Clippings

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CRIME

MAP 1: KIDNAPPING INCIDENTS IN CENTRAL MAPUTO 2014 – 2016

GRAPH 2: REPORTED KIDNAPPINGS PER YEAR

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GRAPH 3: TIME OF KIDNAPPINGS 2014 - 2016

GRAPH 4: KIDNAPPINGS PER GENDER / AGE-GROUP 2014 - 2016

*Please note: the data present in the graphs and maps is not 100% accurate owing to the high number of unreported cases and irregularities in the documentation of these events. This graph illustrates the successful kidnapping incidents ONLY and not attempted/aborted/intercepted kidnappings.

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00:01 - 04:00 04:01 - 08:00 08:01 - 12:00 12:01 - 16:00 16:01 - 20:00 20:01 - 00:00

Note: This graph excludes kidnappings in which the time of the kidnapping was not reported

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<18 19-36 37-54 55-72 >73

Male Female

Note: This graph excludes kidnappings in which either the gender or age of the victim was not reported

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Political analyst José Jaime Macuane kidnapped and shot in Maputo

Two people who have spoken out against the government have been the victims of targeted attacks.

On the morning of Monday 23 May, political analyst and ‘Pontos de Vista’ commentator for independent STV channel, José Jaime Macuane, was kidnapped and shot just outside his house. According to reports, the victim was driving in the up-market Coop neighbourhood, en-route to the Eduardo Mondlane University, when he was stopped by an undisclosed number of men in three cars. The assailants introduced themselves as police officers and informed Macuane that he was driving a stolen vehicle. The men subsequently accosted Macuane and forced him into one of their cars before fleeing the scene.

Macuane was subsequently dumped along the Maputo Ring Road and told to run, at which point he was shot four times in the legs. As they did so, they told their victim they had orders to leave him cripple. The assailants then fled in Macuane’s vehicle. A photograph taken by an eyewitness and seen by Folha de Maputo clearly shows evidence of a physical assault, with gashes and bruises visible on Macuane’s head.

Macuane was rescued by local residents and taken to the Maputo Central Hospital, from there he was transferred to the Private Hospital of Maputo, where he is in a “stable condition and under medical observation”. On Monday afternoon, reporters revealed that Macuane was shot four times, resulting in three flesh wounds and serious damage to his femur. Later on Monday

afternoon, doctors operated to remove the bullet and attempted to repair the damage to the bone.

As well as working as a commentator on ‘Pontos de Vista’ programme, which airs on Sunday evening and analyses the issues of the week, Macuane is a professor at Eduardo Mondlane University. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The programme ‘Pontos de Vista’ is managed by Mozambican journalist Jeremias Langa. Mozambican journalist Fernando Lima also appears on the show.

Lima, who is also the chairperson of the independent media company Mediacoop, and a former chief news editor at Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique, had spoken to Macuane’s father-in-law, Pedro Guambe, who told him that the attackers were not masked and took Macuane’s identity documents and phone. “As far as we know, he was not threatened [before the abduction]”, Guambe said, adding that it is now up to the authorities to catch the perpetrators. The family had no suspects in mind, saying that it is the job of the police and of the State to speculate and identify suspects. Lima believes that the attack came in response to Macuane’s criticism of governance in the country, and views the incident “with concern but not surprise”.

“In the current climate, nothing surprises us. We know that we take these risks so it’s no big surprise. But it’s sad that we are living in a situation like this”, said the journalist. Lima feels it’s important that people maintain their integrity and not be intimidated by incidents like these.

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“People are shot in one or another part of Mozambique by nameless and faceless people on a daily basis. This is not a recent thing, it dates from way back. If they want to hurt us, they will hurt us. The important thing is that we keep our integrity, because if we show fear and retreat, we are granting the goals of those who want to intimidate us”, he said. Asked whether he felt his own life was in danger, Lima told Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique that he had been feeling that for a long time.

‘Pontos de Vista’ is notable for its critical stance, and its willingness to subject government policies and statements to sharp scrutiny. In one of his latest discussions on this programme, Macuane remarked: “When the State does not clear up crimes, the State is showing that it survives off organised crime”.

Senior journalist, Tomas Vieira Mario, who chairs the Higher Mass Media Council (CSCS), the press freedom watchdog body established under the Mozambican Constitution, said that: “it is almost inevitable to associate this attack with the fact that José Jaime Macuane is a commentator on ‘Pontos de Vista’. This being the case, we are facing a serious assault against human rights. A scenario of terror has been created, in which we don’t know from where and for whom the shots will come”.

Mario, who was Macuane’s predecessor on ‘Pontos de Vista’, before taking up his post at the CSCS, said one of the purposes of the attack “is to create fear among citizens, and intimidate them so that they do not express their thoughts honestly and frankly”.

Investigative journalist, Marcelo Mosse, took to his Facebook page, saying that the maiming of Macuane “represents what is most sinister in this trend of silencing the voices most critical of the status quo with the resort to physical violence of the most extreme cruelty … Macuane told truths that no gun pointed at our heads can silence: that the current model of reproduction of our elites, based on the theft of public assets, is exhausted”.

Mosse doubted that President Filipe Nyusi could possibly approve of what had been done to Macuane, and he urged the President “to condemn publicly and vehemently these acts”. Taking such a public stance, he added, was fundamental for the President’s own image, and “to clarify whether we are indeed advancing towards a state of fear and censorship, in which citizens cannot discuss particular matters for fear of being shot”. Ivone Soares, head of the Renamo bench in parliament, deplores the attack, saying that freedom of speech is under threat in Mozambique.

“It was with shock and horror that we became aware of the infamous abduction and attack Dr. José Jaime Macuane was subjected to this morning”, she said.

“What is happening in our country is a violation of constitutional norms that we ourselves as Mozambicans defined. Shooting a citizen because he freely expresses his opinion is unjustifiable”, Soares said. Soares said that her party is “deeply shocked that the room for Mozambicans to speak out on matters of public interest in this country is being steadily reduced”. The MP recalled some of the kidnappings and attacks on

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personalities recently, asking: “Who is next?”

“It seems that there is a list that is being followed. That we may all be on that list, and perhaps it is just a matter of time before we find ourselves in the same situation or worse. What is happening is inhuman. Mozambicans can’t even demonstrate or protest”, Soares complains. The shooting of Macuane coincided with the opening of a meeting of the Coordinating Council of the Attorney-General’s Office. When she addressed the meeting, Attorney-General Beatriz Buchili could not have known of the attack against Macuane – had she known, perhaps she would have added his name to the list she gave of prominent figures, such as attorney Marcelino Vilanculos or Judge Dinis Silica, who have fallen victim to organised crime in the recent past.

24 hours after the shooting, reports suggested that the PRM had no clues as to the identity of Macuane’s attackers. Later in the week, Interior Minister, Jaime Monteiro, insisted that the government was not involved in any way in Monday’s shooting. The minister argued that the government’s job is to protect people, not endanger their lives.

Source: Folha de Maputo/O País/Lusa/Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique/Canal de Moçambique/Mozambique News Reports& Clippings/Deutsche Welle

Macuane attack – Transparency International demands action

The anti-corruption organisation Transparency International (TI), and its Mozambican chapter, the CIP, have demanded a serious investigation into Monday’s attack against prominent

academic and political commentator José Jaime Macuane.

The TI statement noted that Macuane is “one of several prominent activists who have taken a strong stand against corruption within the current and former Mozambique governments. His abduction and shooting is seen as a warning message to all who openly question and seek investigation of the latest government corruption scandal” (a reference to more than US$1 billion worth of undisclosed government-guaranteed loans that came to light in April, and led the IMF and other partners to suspend financial assistance to Mozambique).

“Corruption fighters speak for the people, they hold governments to account and they must have the freedom to speak openly about government problems and how to fix them. José Jaime Macuane is a hero and he and people who have the courage to speak truth to power must be protected in Mozambique, and everywhere”, said Elena Panfilova, vice vhair of Transparency International. The release also pointed out that, as a signatory of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, Mozambique has an obligation to protect members of civil society and “create an enabling environment that will facilitate civil society and the media to hold governments to the highest levels of transparency and accountability in the management of public affairs”. Meanwhile both the police and the Attorney-General’s Office have promised an investigation into the attack. The assistant Attorney-General, Taibo Mucobora, told reporters on Wednesday 25 May, that prosecutors

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will work with the PIC “to find out what happened and hold the moral and material authors of the crime responsible”.


Armed gang targets journalist in Matola Gare

On the morning of Friday 20 May, an armed gang assaulted and robbed Cremildo Lipanga, a journalist for Televisão de Moçambique (TVM). The gang stole Lipanga’s car, a grey Toyota D4D/VVTi with a South African number plate (LIPANGA GP). Lipanga received minor injuries during the attack. No arrests have been made as yet.

Source: Folha de Maputo

Crime wave terrifies residents of Matola

Residents of the city of Matola live in fear of the current crime wave affecting the area, particularly in the districts of Intaka, Khongolote, Patrice Lumumba, Trevo and Infulene.

Residents complained of the frequent occurrence of crimes such as murder and armed robbery. According to the locals, the criminals move in large groups, armed with firearms and blunt objects.

The district secretaries confirmed the current crime situation and advocated for the need to limit store operating hours, intensify police patrols and strengthen the relationship between the community and police.

Source: O País

Kidnappers abduct 9-year old child in Beira

At approximately 6:45hrs on the morning of Wednesday 25 May, between three and five masked gunmen kidnapped a nine-year-old child in the central city of Beira (Sofala Province).

The child, whose name has not been released, is the grandson of a Beira businessman, who owns a shop called Motichande.

The kidnappers seized the child from outside his home in the neighbourhood of Ponta-Gea as he was preparing to leave for school in the company of his younger brother and another classmate.

“There were three of them [kidnappers], and they parked in front of the businessman’s home”, said an eyewitness. “Two of them stepped out of the car. They were masked and carrying a pistol. It was all very quick. They grabbed the child closest to them and dragged him into their car. It was a grey Toyota Nadia, with the number plates covered with white paper”.

They attempted to abduct the second child too (the victim’s brother), but he escaped and ran from them, shouting for help.

The kidnappers subsequently demanded the keys of the car the children would have used to go to school, but the driver, Antonio Chinai, resisted. One of the kidnappers subsequently shot Chinai in the left leg, took control of the car and sped off at high speed, heading towards the centre of the city.

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Chinai was taken to Beira Central Hospital. A spokesperson for the hospital later said that Chinai was out of danger. By Wednesday evening it was not yet clear whether the kidnappers had contacted the family to demand a ransom. The police have opened a case of kidnapping.

Addendum: according to unconfirmed reports, the nine-year-old boy was rescued and returned to his family on Thursday 26 May.

Details of the rescue are not known, with police unable to comment. But a family source confirmed the boy’s safe return. Photos of the boy being reunited with his family were posted on Facebook.

Source: Folha de Maputo/CRV Magazine/Jornal Notícias/Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique

South Africa to extradite man from Mozambique for allegedly kidnapping his daughter

A six-year-old girl from Mamelodi (South Africa) has been reunited with her mother almost a year after she was abducted by her biological father and taken to Mozambique.

This after Interpol led a cross-border operation in conjunction with the Mamelodi Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences and Vehicle Crime Investigation police units in Komatipoort.

The Hawks’ Major Robert Netshiunda said that the mother had left the child in her grandmother’s care while she visited a clinic. The girl’s father subsequently requested to take her to buy clothes.

The unsuspecting grandmother released the young girl into her father’s care as it was not the first time that he had requested to spend time together.

It is alleged that the father subsequently crossed the border into Mozambique with his daughter.

“The investigating team learned about the child’s whereabouts and found the girl at her father’s house in Mozul village on the outskirts of Mozambique,” said Major Netshiunda. The mother, who could not be named to protect the identity of the child, thanked Interpol and all those involved in bringing her child back.

Major Netshiunda said the father was arrested. The Hawks says it will follow the right procedures in order to extradite the father (who is a South African) from Mozambique.

Source: EyeWitness News/Pretoria East Rekord

Couple sentenced to prison for attempted kidnapping of an albino

On Wednesday 25 May, the Niassa Judicial Court sentenced Anselmo Alexander and his wife, Felizarda Júlio, to 24 years in prison for attempting to kidnap an albino child.

The pair were found guilty on three separate charges relating to the abduction, which took place in August 2015 in the Namacula neighbourhood, Lichinga city.

The presiding judge, Leonardo Mualia, informed the media that Alexander was sentenced to 24 years in prison, while his wife was handed down a sentence of 23 years in jail, reduced to 21 years due

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to “extenuating circumstances”. The prospective buyer managed to evade arrest and his identity and whereabouts remain unknown.

According to evidence presented at the trial, the couple lured their would-be victim with soft drinks and cakes.

Judge Mualia said that the economic situation of the defendants was taken into consideration during sentencing. As such, the couple was ordered to pay the victim’s family compensation to the amount of MT10,000.

Source: @Verdade

Agents of crime must be held responsible for their acts – Buchili

On Monday 23 May, Mozambique’s Attorney-General, Beatriz Buchili, declared that it is time for prosecutors “to strengthen our courage and give confidence to our people that any agent of crime, no matter who he is, shall be held responsible”.

“That is the oath we have taken, and we must never lose sight of it”, she declared, at the opening of a meeting of the Coordinating Council of the Attorney-General’s Office, which was held under the motto: ‘For a Public Prosecution Service that is Firm in the Fight against Organised and Transnational Crime’.

“We have no alternative but to fight crime, and particularly organised crime, with all our force”, said Buchili. “That is a challenge for the entire judicial apparatus”. She recalled those judges, prosecutors, police officers and lawyers who have fallen in the struggle against organised crime. The most recent case

was that of Maputo city prosecutor Marcelino Vilanculos, who was murdered on 11 April.

“The best way of weeping and avenging our colleagues is to embrace the oath we took, to pursue crime and, without hesitation, bring the agents of crime to trial and sentencing”, she added.

At the same time, “we must continue to show to the legislative and executive powers of our State the pertinence of more daring legislative reforms and making available more human, material and financial resources including the adoption of an adequate security strategy, within the country’s capacities, for the correct functioning of the legal apparatus”. This was a delicate call for the provision of protection for judges and prosecutors handling sensitive cases so that no more of them will meet the fate of Marcelino Vilanculos.

The same methods used to fight petty crime were not appropriate for the battle against organised crime. “We must advance firmly with the restructuring of the Criminal Investigation Police (PIC) and in legislative reform, so that we can use investigative methods and techniques that are in line with the complexity of the crimes that we face”, said Buchili.

For many years now lawyers and prosecutors alike have called for a radical overhaul of PIC – and particularly for an end to PIC’s subordination to the Ministry of the Interior.

Buchili also advised essential services, including the police and the courts, “to strengthen internal security measures, since criminals are able to introduce

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themselves into public organisations and manipulate services in order to weaken investigation and guarantee their impunity”.

A chilling view of the capital came from the Maputo City Chief Attorney, Amelia Machava, who declared that Maputo “has become the field for the greatest criminal atrocities”.

She pointed in particular to the assassination of judges and prosecutors. She could not have been aware that, just a couple of hours before she spoke, a further atrocity had been committed. Prominent political commentator, José Jaime Macuane, had been abducted from outside his Maputo house, driven outside the city, and shot four times in the legs.

Machava stressed that the State can only survive, “if it has strong institutions, if it has a Public Prosecutor’’ Office and a judiciary who are capable of imposing themselves on individuals, without worrying what positions those individuals may occupy”.

She added that in moments of crisis citizens expected that prosecutors will act to ensure that looted state property is returned and that the looters are held responsible for their acts. But when judges and prosecutors are indifferent to the pillaging of state assets, they are contributing to the building of “a wall of crime”.

She cited the acceptance of blatant over-invoicing. “As the guardians of legality and of public probity, we can no longer just accompany reports, from social media or other sources, that the rehabilitation of a simple bathroom costs MT1 million (approximately US$18,180)

or that building a wall round a house costs MT3 million. We must not remain passive in the face of this”.


Angola attends SADC Police General Commanders meeting in Bilene

On Monday 23 May, an Angolan delegation headed by the General Commander of the National Police, Chief Commissioner Ambrósio de Lemos, arrived in Mozambique to participate in a four-day SADC Police General Commanders meeting, held in Bilene district (Gaza Province).

The session aims to analyse current issues relating to police security within the SADC and assess the previous meeting held in May 2015 in South Africa.

The Angolan delegation is joined by the National Director of the SADC, Sandro de Oliveira; the General Director of Criminal Investigation Service (SIC), Chief Commissioner Eugénio Alexandre; Chief Commissioner Elizabeth Ranque Franck; Commissioner Eduardo Serqueira and the Director of International and Exchange Affairs Office of Police, Sub-Commissioner Rui Cardoso.

The Angolan delegation is expected to contribute towards concrete solutions on the problem of poaching, which raises the need to adapt the law of each SADC member state on the systematisation of wildlife approach to a binding rule in the region.

Source: Agência Angola Press

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PRM accused of sabotaging evidence at crime scenes

Valentim Simbinde, a criminal investigation expert from Mozambique, has publically accused the PRM of dishonesty, disorganisation, stealing victim’s possessions, committing various irregularities (often times deliberately), and of sabotaging crime scenes. According to Simbinde, behaviours such as these make solving crimes (particularly homicides) very difficult.

The criminal investigation expert argues that some police officers intentionally enter a crime scene, instead of cordoning off the area, in order to loot the scene. This behaviour leads to the contamination of the scene, which jeopardises the investigation.

“If the victim had a phone, it is no longer there. If there was money in the car, it is no longer there. Sabotage spoils the criminal investigation process”, said Simbinde.

He argues that investigators waste precious time collecting cigarettes, discarded cold drink cans, fingerprints and footprints that were more often than not left on the scene by fellow police officers.

Simbinde maintains that mistakes such as these often result from poor training on the part of the PRM, who are unaware of the procedures.

Simbinde cautions that if nothing is done to teach the PRM how and why to secure a crime scene, the investigators will continue to waste time and criminals will continue to walk free.

Source: @Verdade

PRM neutralises illegal drug distributors in Manica

During the course of the week 13 to 20 May, the PRM arrested seven men (identified as Mateus Sande, António Mande, Graciano Samuel, Carlitos Natal, Nelson António, Meque António and Nassita Jafar, aged between 28 and 46), for their involvement in the theft and illegal distribution of pharmaceutical drugs from the National Health Service.

The arrests took place in Chimoio (Manica Province). The police confiscated large quantities of drugs such as diclofenac, antiretrovirals, antimalarials and paracetamol, as well as syringes, hydrogen peroxide and bandages.

The illicit sale of pharmaceuticals is a particular problem in Chimoio.

Source: @Verdade

Mayor of Lichinga found guilty of corruption

On Tuesday 24 May, a court in the northern Mozambican city of Lichinga (Niassa Province) sentenced the mayor of the city, Saíde Amido, to 18 months imprisonment for corruption and abuse of power.

However, Amido will not spend any time in jail, since the judge, Kaled Varinda, converted the sentence into a fine, at the rate of MT30 (US$0.54) a day. He must also pay an additional fine of MT640,000 and pay compensation to the state of MT200,000. The total he must pay comes to MT856,410 (approximately US$15,300). According to the report on the trial, the court found Amido guilty of illicitly charging three

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foreign nationals MT150,000 for occupying land where they intended to build snack bars. The money has since been returned to the foreigners.

Amido’s accomplice, municipal worker Jonas Pedro, was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, and the head of his office, Aderito David, was sentenced to six months for covering up the crime. In both cases, their prison terms were converted into fines.

Amido was elected mayor of Lichinga on the ticket of the ruling Frelimo Party in the municipal elections of 2013, for a five year term of office.

Branded as corrupt by a court, it looks impossible for Amido to complete his term of office, and thus a mayoral by-election in Lichinga is likely to be held in the near future.

Source: @Verdade/Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique/O País

HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND NGO’S

US Centre for the Prevention of Genocide concerned over Mozambique

The United States Centre for the Prevention of Genocide is concerned with the development of conflicts in Mozambique, and on Saturday 21 May, its director urged the international community to act quickly in local conflicts, such as that of Mozambique, to prevent the escalation of violence from creating major problems.

“We are concerned that what is now happening in Mozambique could transform the country into a Syria tomorrow”, if the international community does not take “early action to avoid an escalation in the conflict”, Cameron Hudson, head of the Simon-Skjødt Centre for the Prevention of Genocide, said. When “violence triggers, the response of the international community is always too slow”.

Hudson was one of the keynote speakers at the Global Forum on Ending

Genocide held last Thursday at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, and, between 2005 and 2009, directed the African affairs section of the US National Security Council.

Hudson spoke to Lusa about the factors in local security issues in places like Mozambique, and how to prevent them from becoming larger-scale conflicts.

“From academic research, we know that societies that have already experienced high levels of violence in the past, targeting the civilian population, is the number one indicator that there may be a return to violence in the future”, Hudson told Lusa. In recent months, Mozambique has seen an escalation of violence, with reports of clashes between Renamo and the defence and security forces, and mutual accusations of abductions and assassinations on both sides, with attacks attributed by authorities to the armed opposition wing against civilian targets in the centre of the country.

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Other factors which experts use to assess the degree of conflict risk include the type of government and its degree of ethnic, religious or tribal diversity.

“We also evaluate how much of the state budget is spent on the military, as well as corruption levels. A country that displays all these indicators, with high levels of social inequality between rich and poor, where wealth is concentrated in a minority elite – all this can indicate a high level of risk”, Hudson said.

Renamo threatened to seize power in the six provinces where it claims victory in the 2014 general elections, and its leader, Afonso Dhlakama, has demanded an investigation into human rights abuses in Mozambique and the alleged death and disappearance of his party’s members and supporters.

In a case that has aroused the condemnation of the international community, dozens of bodies have been found abandoned in the jungle in the centre of the country, and in early March, more than 11,000 Mozambican refugees fled to neighbouring Malawi.

The International Crisis Group has put Mozambique on a “conflict risk alert”, but according to Hudson, there is a “wide range” of inexpensive and effective ways of preventing atrocities.

“The earlier we are able to identify signs of a conflict, the more effectively we can act, through development assistance, promotion of political and diplomatic dialogue and training people to build more resilient societies”.

However, preventive action “does not change society overnight”, he warned, and Hudson advocates the creation of

early warning systems and local networks to prevent the worst from occurring in Mozambique.

“It is very specific to each context and is a process that must be developed locally”, he explained. Two decades after the peace agreements in Mozambique, society is still “healing its wounds”, he added.

Source: Lusa

50 million Africans face hunger after crops fail again

Up to 50 million people in Africa will need food by December as a crisis across the continent triggered by El Niño worsens, the UN and major international charities have warned.

A second year of deep drought in much of southern and eastern Africa has ravaged crops, disrupted water supplies and driven up food prices, leaving 31 million people needing food now, and 20 million more likely to run out this year. A further 10 million people in Ethiopia, six million in southern Sudan and five million in Yemen were in danger of starvation after floods and drought, said the UN.

The severest El Niño in 30 years was expected to tail off in the next month as hot equatorial waters in the Pacific returned to normal temperatures, but its effects would be felt for many more months, said the World Food Programme. Stephen O’Brien, the UN’s humanitarian chief, said that: “The collective impact of the El Niño phenomenon has created one of the world’s biggest disasters for millions of people, yet this crisis is receiving little attention.

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“The numbers are staggering. One million children in eastern and southern Africa alone are severely acutely malnourished, and across southern Africa 32 million people need assistance and that figure is likely to increase”. The UN predicts that food will start running out on a large scale by July, with the crisis peaking between December and next April.

Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Madagascar, Angola and Swaziland have either declared Red Alert’s, national emergencies or disasters, as have seven of South Africa’s nine provinces. Botswana, Kenya, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have also been badly hit.

In Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe has appealed for foreign aid to buy food and Malawi is expected to declare in the next few weeks that more than eight million people – half the population – will need food aid by November. Maize prices have risen by 60% across much of the region within a few months.

Seven million people in Syria, 10 million in Ethiopia and 14 million in Yemen also needed food urgently, said the UN. Elhadj As Sy, secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, pledged US$110 million after visiting Malawi and Zimbabwe last week. “We cannot describe enough how dire the situation is”, he said.

Abdoulaye Balde, the World Food Programme country director in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, said that: “The situation is critical. We are at the point of no return”.

Fears are mounting that international donors, meeting at this week’s UN humanitarian summit in Istanbul, will not pledge enough in time to buy and deliver food. Their fear is that the Syrian civil war and refugee crises are putting an unprecedented strain on aid. African leaders have requested more than US$1.5 billion, but less than 25% has been pledged.

“The window for responding in a meaningful manner is closing rapidly”, said Shadrack Omol, senior adviser to the UN’s children fund, UNICEF. “The concern is that slow-onset emergencies, such as the one we are dealing with in southern Africa, do not get enough attention because they creep up on us”.

Since July 2015, Britain has contributed approximately £150 million for aid to El Niño-affected countries in Africa, including Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia and Uganda. The international development minister, Nick Hurd, said that: “We cannot and will not stand idly by while millions suffer. Britain is playing a leading role in helping countries across Africa to cope with the impact of El Niño. Support for people affected by El Niño is important to Africa and also firmly in Britain’s national interest”.

Source: The Observer

“Investigating the mass grave is necessary to reassure people” – Daviz Simango

The leader of the MDM and mayor of Beira (Sofala Province), Daviz Simango, maintains that Mozambique has violated human rights and that political machinations are hindering the investigation of alleged mass graves.

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In recent weeks, bodies found abandoned in central Mozambique and allegations of the existence of a mass grave with more than 100 corpses prompted the High Commissioner of the United Nations to request clarification from the Mozambican authorities.

The Attorney-General’s Office, which responded to the case, said this week that no mass grave had been found but said it would continue to investigate.

In an interview with Deutsche Welle Africa the MDM leader spoke about factors hindering the investigation. Mayor Simango believes that what is happening in the country is of the utmost concern and that Mozambique risks being labelled as a country that violates human rights.

DW Africa: In your opinion what needs to be done to investigate these cases?

Daviz Simango (DS): In the midst of all this there is the fear of the country being reported as unaccountable in terms of human rights, and this explains why the Mozambican authorities are reluctant to collaborate with those who have reported discovering bodies buried in mass graves or simply dumped in an unacceptable manner.

What is happening is that, in terms of both Manica and Sofala provinces, there are reports and confirmation by residents that have been seen bodies. Now it is up to the government of Mozambique to allow the free movement of persons so that researchers and authorities can investigate. In the case of our Attorney-General, it is known how high-level positions are secured. They are appointed by the head of state, are loyal

to him, and it is difficult for these people to countenance anything that goes against the will of the rulers.

DW Africa: Will an international investigation be necessary, in your opinion, to ensure that an impartial investigation is carried out?

DS: I think that any type of investigation that will clarify matters and reassure people is essential. So I see no obstacle to any international, independent investigation.

Now, there is a parliamentary committee undertaking this task, but of course when they get to the site these representatives will be guided by government authorities, which means that they will simply go where they’re taken. Our position is that there are in fact bodies, scattered corpses, and this is bad for a country like ours, which is starting down the path of a country that violates human rights. We understand that the dead have the right to the dignity of a decent funeral.

DW Africa: What role has the National Commission on Human Rights, established by the Mozambican presidency, had so far, if any?

DS: From what I can see, it has not so far budged an inch. And why not? Because they are bound, and that means they have commitments. They should be the first on the ground, should be the first to react, and not trail behind waiting for the government to take its position.

Source: Deutsche Welle

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WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Virtually all countries play a role in illicit wildlife trafficking

On Tuesday 24 May, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched its inaugural World Wildlife Crime Report, highlighting how the poaching and illegal trade of thousands of different species across the globe not only present real environmental dangers but ultimately undermine the rule of law by potentially fuelling conflict. The report – part of UNODC’s ongoing Global Programme on Wildlife and Forest Crime – also urges shared responsibility in tackling this crime given how products made from illicit flora and fauna such as fashion items, furniture, food, and pets, may be hidden in plain sight.

Launched at this week’s Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), the report was developed by UNODC with data provided by partner organisations under the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), including the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the World Customs Organization (WCO).

In the inaugural launch of the World Wildlife Crime Report, UNODC and its partner organisations have identified that virtually every country plays a role in wildlife trafficking – but not a single one of them is the source of more than 15% of global seizures.

The report highlights that wildlife crime is not limited to a specific region, but that it is a global phenomenon, with all the world’s regions playing the role of

either source, transit, or destination for contraband wildlife. Traffickers of about 80 nationalities have been identified.

The trafficking of wildlife is increasingly recognised as both a specialised area of organised crime and a significant threat to many plant and animal species, and the World Wildlife Crime Report represents the first global assessment of its kind. The report builds on information taken from World WISE: a recently-unveiled data platform, which contains over 164,000 seizures related to wildlife crime from 120 countries. One of the key observations that the database illustrates is the extreme diversity of this illegal activity: nearly 7,000 species are included in the seizures, yet no single one represents more than 6% of the total, nor does a single country constitute the source of more than 15% of the seized shipments.

While wildlife trafficking operations are globally occurring, certain species are strongly associated with each region.

Trafficking birds is strongly associated with Central and South America, mammals with Africa and Asia, reptiles with Europe and North America and corals with Oceania.

Since the scale, value and impact of wildlife trafficking operations is very diverse and therefore difficult to compare, the research process in creating the report takes into account many aspects in order to provide a general overview of global wildlife trafficking. An example, as stated in the report, is the trafficking of tiger skins. The World WISE data identifies 380 tiger skin seizures between 2005 and

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2014, worth a mere US$4 million. However, since there are only about 3,000 tigers left in the wild, the ecological impact of these seizures is much bigger than the monetary value of the illicit operation.

Wildlife crime groups are usually concentrated on smuggling one particular species. However, there are exceptions, as, for example, ivory, rhino horn and pangolin scales have been seized in the same shipment multiple times.

CITES Secretary-General, John E. Scanlon, meanwhile noted how the launch of the first ever World Wildlife Crime Report highlighted that the response to wildlife crime has come of age. “This comprehensive global report is rooted in the best data and case studies available, is backed by in-depth analysis, and demonstrates a heightened sense of rigor in the way in which we report on wildlife crime. Future reports will benefit from more and better data, with CITES Parties to submit annual illegal trade reports starting in 2017. Hundreds of additional species of animals and plants, including 250 tree species, are being considered for global protection under CITES at its 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties – to be held in Johannesburg later this year. The World Wildlife Crime Report shows the extensive involvement of transnational organised criminal groups in these highly destructive crimes and the pervasive impact of corruption, demonstrating that combating wildlife crime warrants even greater attention and resources at all levels. We sincerely thank the Executive Director and staff of UNODC for leading this tremendous effort, together with our other ICCWC

partners, INTERPOL, the World Bank and the World Customs Organization”.

The report also finds that the relationship between the legal and illegal markets regarding wildlife products varies based on the products.

Research shows the legal market for ivory is much smaller than the figures showing the illicit supply of “hundreds of tons” of it annually, indicating that most of the illicitly acquired ivory ends up in an illegal market, and that only a small part of the illicit ivory is being sold through the legal market. The same can be said about the trade in Asian pangolin – between 2007 and 2013, 1,467 of them were traded legally, yet 107,060 were seized as contraband. The market for rhino horns is exclusively illegal, as there is no legal market for the product.

On the other hand, products with vast global markets, such as wood and seafood, are often acquired illegally, yet sold in a legal market – the buyers often have no idea about the illegal origin of the product. This may be the case if there is no international regulation regarding a species, or if the traffickers forge or in any way fraudulently acquire the relevant paperwork.

According to UNODC General Director Yury Fedotov, “...criminals exploit gaps in legislation, law enforcement and criminal justice systems”.

However, the report emphasises that it does not cover all aspects of wildlife crime. Since it heavily relies on CITES, which tracks the trade of 35,000 protected species, the data does not account for the many wildlife crimes affecting species that are not among

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those listed by CITES. The data is also limited to international trade, so the report does not account for poaching of protected species or domestic markets for illicit wildlife products.

In contrast to other research on the topic, UNODC’s new report does not provide a dollar amount estimate for the annual value of illicit wildlife trade. While the markets for specific species products can be estimated with varying degrees of precision, an accurate figure for the 7,000 species included in World WISE would be near impossible. Instead, the report looks to provide an insight into the crime and the great lengths to which traffickers go to exploit loopholes in the international controls. By doing so, several significant gaps in this area are highlighted, including informational, legislative and operational factors which, if addressed, could dramatically reduce the negative impact trafficking is having on wildlife.

Source: Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project/UNODC/Conservation Action Trust

South Africa just lifted its ban on the rhino horn trade

With just three terse sentences, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has legalised rhino horn trade in South Africa again, rejecting an appeal by the government to keep a ban on domestic trade in place. The decision opens a door to criminal activity that some say is necessary to save the species – and others say will doom it.

International trade in rhino horn has been banned since 1977 among the now 182 member countries of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), the body that governs international wildlife trade.

But CITES covers trade between countries; it does not apply to trade within a country’s own borders. South Africa, home to the world’s largest rhino population, and nearly all of the world’s 20,000 white rhinos, allowed domestic trade in white rhino horns until 2009. That year, in response to a rise in poaching, the government imposed a moratorium, shutting off the internal South African rhino horn business.

The scrapping of South Africa’s rhino horn moratorium comes at an especially awkward moment for the South African government. In September, South Africa will host the triennial meeting of CITES. Given pro-trade statements by the country’s wildlife negotiators at the previous CITES meeting, in Bangkok, many had anticipated that the South African government would use the opportunity to push for removing the international ban on rhino horn trade.

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Instead, last month the environment ministry announced that it would make no such proposal. Then just hours before a CITES deadline on proposal submissions, tiny Swaziland, a landlocked monarchy inside South Africa, submitted its own proposal to CITES to sell rhino horn on the international market.

Rhino horn is made of keratin, the same protein as in hair or fingernails. In South Africa, ranchers raise rhino like dairy cows. However, rather than milk their animals, they periodically anesthetise them, saw off their horns, and stockpile the lumps of keratin. If a rhino’s horn is removed above the root, it grows back.

The primary markets for rhino horn are China and Vietnam, where it is often ground into powder for use, fallaciously, as a cancer or headache cure, or as a display of one’s affluence. Even opponents of South Africa’s domestic rhino horn ban acknowledge that there is virtually no market for rhino horn inside South Africa. And so the opening of South Africa’s rhino horn market brings with it an unpleasant reality: horn will now most certainly be smuggled out of South Africa to Asia.

As Julian Rademeyer, a senior fellow at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, notes that: “Given the levels of corruption in some provincial permitting offices, there are certainly concerns that legal domestic sales could become a conduit for criminal networks to obtain horns which can be smuggled out of the country and sold on the black market. We saw as much prior to 2009 when middlemen for Vietnamese syndicates travelled the length and breadth of the

country buying up ‘loose stock’ of horns from game farmers”.

Victory for world’s largest rhino farmer:

John Hume farms rhinos – nearly 1,300 of them on his property outside Johannesburg. He estimates that he’s stockpiled roughly five tons of rhino horn. Hume, along with safari operator Johan Kruger, had sued the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs (DEA) to invalidate the 2009 moratorium.

In a case heard on World Rhino Day last year, 22 September, Hume’s lawyers argued that since he’s the world’s largest rhinoceros rancher, the minister had a duty to consult with him before implementing the 2009 ban. In a ruling issued on 26 November 2015, South Africa’s High Court in Pretoria agreed with Hume.

The court invalidated the moratorium, leaving rhinos in an odd position: the ban itself might have been constitutional, but the way it was enacted violated the administrative elements of South Africa’s National Environmental Biodiversity Act.

The DEA first appealed to the Pretoria High Court, which denied leave to make the appeal. Then the ministry turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which last week dismissed the government’s application in three terse sentences, concluding that: “the requirements for special leave to appeal are not satisfied”.

Hume’s lawyer, Izak Du Toit, believes this latest court decision marks the end of litigation that has been going on since 2012.

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The Switzerland of rhino horn banking?

Du Toit believes that exports of South African rhino horn across the border to Swaziland would violate South African and Swaziland law, as well as the countries’ CITES commitments.

But, he notes, if Swaziland wins the right to export rhino horn on the international market then South African ranchers could quite easily send live white rhinos to Swaziland and then harvest the horns there. This is possible because both South Africa and Swaziland maintain an exception to CITES’ rhino horn trade ban. The exception allows them to export live rhinos to “appropriate and acceptable destinations”, an undefined phrase that stands as a potential loophole.

Du Toit looks into the future and presents a hypothetical situation whereby “Swaziland could become the most popular country in the world for live rhino!”

According to Rademeyer, “There have been a few wackier schemes proposed on the side-lines, including the creation of specialist ‘clinics’ in South Africa aimed at Asian tourists with a taste for rhino horn”.

Du Toit acknowledges that rhino horn will have to be smuggled from South Africa to Asia in order to find a market, but that smuggling, he says, if it is of horns taken from live rhino, would be a reasonable form of civil disobedience in light of a CITES ban that has failed to protect rhinos. “I’ve compared it to apartheid”, he says. “Black people had to transgress the very law they objected to in order to show it was illegal”.

For his part, Hume remains sceptical that the court’s decision last week means he’ll be allowed to sell rhino horn on the South African market again.

“You never know with this government”, he says. “In the next day or two we will apply for a few permits and see”.

According to Reuters, potential domestic buyers could include those who see rhino horn as a store of wealth that could appreciate in value and those who want it as a decoration.

“Legal finality has now been achieved”, Pelham Jones, chairman of South Africa’s Private Rhino Owners Association (PROA), told Reuters, saying trade could resume this year.

Around 5,000 rhinos, or about a quarter of South Africa’s population, are in private hands.

The government has not revealed the size of its rhino horn stockpile but the PROA estimates that its members have around six tons and reckons that the State has close to 25 tons. The combined 31 tons could fetch US$2 billion by some estimates.

Supporters of rhino horn trade say the money earned could be used for conservation and to pay for security. Opponents counter that a legal trade could tempt poachers who kill rhinos to launder their “blood” horns with clean supplies.

Roger Porter, former head of conservation planning for Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, said he was concerned that the government still did not have the necessary checks and balances in

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place to prevent horns being smuggled out of the country illegally.

Dr Colman O’Criodain, a wildlife trade policy analyst for WWF, said that: “It is hard to see any positive benefits from lifting the moratorium on domestic trade in rhino horn, particularly at a time when rhino poaching figures are at record highs”.

Source: National Geographic/Bryan Christy/Reuters/ek/Cape Times/Tony Carnie

Rhino decision ‘victory for poachers’

The Humane Society International, one of the world’s largest animal protection organisations, has voiced “grave disappointment” over the Supreme Court of Appeal decision that reopens the door for rhino horns to be smuggled out of South Africa to China, Vietnam and other Eastern nations.

Commenting on a ruling last week by Supreme Court Judge Eric Leach and acting Judge Nambitha Dambuza, the Humane Society said that the decision to overturn the 2009 moratorium on rhino horn trading inside South Africa would only benefit those who sought to commodify wild animals.

“With only about 29,000 rhinos left in the world, 1,175 were poached in South Africa alone in 2015. Poaching rates are on the brink of overtaking the rhinos’ natural rate of reproduction; the tipping point towards extinction for these iconic animals”, said Dr Teresa Telecky, the society’s director of wildlife.

“Rhinos are wild animals who need to be protected so that they may grace our planet for years to come, not be treated as a commodity to be bought and sold out of existence”.

Telecky said the Supreme Court decision was “a gravely disappointing move” that could not have come at a worse time for the species.

“Amidst a rhino poaching crisis and increased international efforts to reduce demand for rhino horn, this ruling will do nothing whatsoever to protect rhinos, and only serves to benefit those parties with vested interests who seek to commodify rhino horn, and who stand to profit greatly as a result”.

While several local wildlife ranchers have been heartened by the ruling, many remain angry that the Cabinet bowed out last month from a proposal to push for legalised international trade at the 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) to CITES, to be held in Johannesburg in September.

Private ranchers now own more than 30% of the estimated 20,000 remaining white rhinos in South Africa. It is also understood that they also own a significant portion of Africa’s estimated 30 ton stockpile of rhino horns.

“The (international) trade ban, which has been in place since 1977, has been a failure by any measure”, Private Rhino Owners’ Association Chairperson, Pelham Jones, said. “It has not saved the life of a single rhino.

“Government’s cowardly capitulation will have a detrimental effect on both private sector and rural conservation communities, and the ultimate price will be paid by the rhino itself”.

Norman Adami, a director of Wildlife Ranching SA, has described the decision not to push for international trading as “totally illogical”.

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“The one solution that could possibly have saved the rhino has been rejected. The threat to the species’ existence has now been heightened…

“With poaching now spreading wider within the country, government’s decision is a victory for the poachers and illegal trade”.

Source: Independence Online

What to expect from the Johannesburg CITES meeting

The signatories to CITES will be meeting in Johannesburg (South Africa) for an important conference later this year. What are the likely highlights going to be?

Controlling the trade in endangered plants and animals:

The 17th CITES Convention of the Parties (CoP17) will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 24 September to 5 October.

Not a conservation organisation per se, CITES regulates the international trade in endangered wild plants and animals by listing them in three appendices according to the degree to which they require protection.

Appendix I includes species that are threatened by extinction. Buying and selling them internationally is only permitted under exceptional circumstances. The species in Appendix II are subject to controlled trade regulations designed to ensure their survival. Appendix III species are protected in at least one country which has asked the other member states for help in managing trade.

Every three years, the rules which govern CITES are debated and voted on at its Conference of the Parties. Members had until 27 April to submit proposals for the CoP17 agenda.

While countries can still withdraw proposals that fail to gain sufficient traction, the provisional list of proposals offers a good indication of some of the key issues that are likely to be debated at the convention.

Secret voting:

Most of the proposals involve requests to either elevate or demote species from one appendix to another, but as Dr Pieter Kat, the director of the international conservation organisation LionAid points out, some contentious procedural topics may also be on the agenda.

“There might be some proposals to reconsider the way CITES operates”, he explains. One such matter involves the fact that member countries can request votes on particular proposals to be secret, allowing signatories to vote anonymously on controversial issues.

Critics complain that CITES involves a lot of political influence-peddling and horse-trading. Secret voting allows countries to negotiate with one another on how to vote on contested proposals, sometimes to the detriment of conservation priorities.

“CITES is part of the United Nations”, says Kat, “and the United Nations does not allow secret votes. Somehow this practice has crept into CITES procedures and it’s happening more and more, so it may be put on the agenda once again”.

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“Personally, I would like to see discussion around compliance and enforcement being made a priority”, says South African conservationist Ian Michler. “Without a far greater effort going into the commitments made by CITES members, all resolutions around protecting habitat and species become meaningless. I think CITES should be reconstituted to become a relevant crime combating agency rather than a body that merely regulates the rate at which species decline”.

Rhino horn:

Following months of speculation, the South African government announced that it would not be submitting a proposal to lift the ban on international trade in rhino horn which has been in place since 1977.

However, in a surprise move, Swaziland has proposed a modification to the current Appendix II listing of its population of 73 southern white rhino in order to allow it to sell its existing 330 kilogram stockpile of horns to “a small number of licensed retailers in the Far East”, as well as an additional 44 kilograms of non-lethally harvested horns per year to the same unidentified buyers.

Experts believe that a vote on such a proposal would be very unlikely to garner the required support of two-thirds of CITES’ 182 member states.

Lion:

A group of African countries are proposing to move all populations of African lion from their current status in Appendix II to Appendix I. At the

moment, only the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is listed in Appendix I.

Pangolin:

The peculiar-looking pangolin, which is hunted for its meat and scales, is the subject of four separate proposals. Several countries, bolstered by the USA, are suggesting that all of the world’s pangolin species – four in Asia and four in Africa – be promoted from Appendix II to Appendix I. “More pangolins are involved in illegal trade than pretty much any other species of mammal”, explains Kat, “and many experts agree that to stop this, pangolins will have to be on Appendix I”.

Cape mountain zebra:

Arguing that “harvesting” the species from the wild would not reduce wild populations to the extent that its survival would be threatened, and that international trade would increase its commercial value and geographical range, South Africa is proposing to downgrade the Cape mountain zebra from Appendix I to Appendix II.

Turtles:

Turtles are the world’s most endangered vertebrates. At the CITES CoP16 (held in Bangkok in 2013), 47 species of freshwater turtles were afforded greater protection. Declining numbers and improved conservation measures in Asia have resulted in the demand for turtle cartilage and meat to shift to African species. To counter this threat, a number of African countries and the USA are arguing for six species of softshell and flapshell turtles native to Africa and the Middle East to be listed in Appendix II.

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Elephant:

Zimbabwe and Namibia want annotations to the Appendix II listing of their elephant populations to be modified. Along with Botswana and South Africa, both countries were granted a once-off sale of their ivory stockpiles in 2008. The annotations in question state that no proposals for further ivory sales can be submitted for nine years after this sale.

Evidently Zimbabwe and Namibia are keen on selling more ivory before the end of this time limit. In its submission, Zimbabwe claims that: “effective and sustainable conservation of Zimbabwe’s elephants is wholly dependent on establishing regular open market sales of elephant ivory to fund management and enforcement actions”, apparently disregarding the contribution made by sustainable wildlife tourism to fund such activities.

By contrast, a group of 10 African countries and Sri Lanka have submitted a proposal to include all African elephant populations, including those of Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, in Appendix I.

“There is likely to be a discussion over the highly controversial decision-making mechanism for ivory trade”, says Susie Watts of WildAid, an organisation that works on reducing global consumption of wildlife products. “This issue has been dragging on for years and the debate now centres around whether, at this critical time for elephants, CITES should even be talking about a legal ivory trade”.

Stephen Sautner of the Wildlife Conservation Society points out that

Kenya, Gabon, the USA and other countries have submitted proposed resolutions that call on all CITES member states to close their domestic ivory markets. “International ivory trade is already prohibited, but open domestic markets undermine efforts to stop poaching of elephants and trafficking in their ivory, and stimulate laundering of illegal ivory through the ‘legal’ system”.

Source: Andreas Wilson-Späth/News24

Kenya lobbies UN session for total ban on illegal ivory trade

On Monday 23 May, Kenya lobbied the second session of the UN Environment Assembly to support its bid for a total ban on ivory trade and address climate change. The meeting opened at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi (Kenya).

Environment CS Judi Wakhungu said that the government will table two proposals – one on a total ban on ivory trade and another on natural capital.

“We have been working on the total ban of illegal trade on wildlife products for the last two years and the UNEA II is set to send a strong message to the world that as a country we are serious because our iconic species are endangered”, Wakhungu told The Star on the side-lines of UNEA II.

Putting an end to the illegal trade in wildlife was expected to take the centre stage during Tuesday’s session. Kenya Wildlife Service Director General, Kitili Mbathi, and CITES executive secretary John Scanlon were expected to attend.

Wakhungu said that the proposal on natural capital seeks to have Kenya’s natural capital recognised.

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“Climate change is a big issue now. The UNEA II assembly is set to send a strong message that all countries must come together and provide solutions”, she said. The CS said climate change solutions lie with exploring science.

Wakhungu said science plays an important role in addressing some problems. “We must address the nexus between the environment and human health”, she said. Wakhungu said that the government has shown her commitment in supporting the UNEA.

Last month, Kenya burned more than 100 tons of ivory and rhino horn. It was viewed as a statement on the country’s seriousness to protect elephants and rhinos. President Uhuru Kenyatta called for a total ban on the ivory trade to protect the future of jumbos in the continent.

Source: The Star

Zimbabwean government to revamp Save Conservancy

The Zimbabwean government has started restructuring wildlife-rich Save Valley Conservancy in southeast Lowveld as part of efforts to curb rampant poaching and to reduce conflict between animals and humans who have settled in the area.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is spearheading the rehabilitation process of the mega-park in the semi-arid Lowveld.

The move to restructure the 340,000 hectare Save Conservancy comes amid reports of a surge in poaching activity following occupation of parts of the park

by land hungry villagers from Chiredzi and Bikita districts.

The Zimbabwean government recently ordered that Save Valley be incorporated into the parks estates under the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority after withdrawing hunting leases from politicians and other VIPs, predominantly from Masvingo Province, who had allocated themselves permits of up to 25 years under the wildlife-based land reform. Restructuring of the conservancy involves demarcating a new boundary where a new perimeter fence will be erected.

Almost half of a 320 kilometre double perimeter fence around Save Valley was destroyed by the new settlers, increasing the likelihood of contact between humans and wildlife. Over US$4 million is required to rebuild the fence. There are growing fears that wildlife at Save Valley could be decimated by both subsistence and commercial poachers unless immediate remedial action is taken.

The authority’s head of management services, Geoffreys Matipano, confirmed that the rehabilitation of Save Valley was underway.

“Reconstruction of a perimeter fence is a huge and expensive undertaking. A complete perimeter fence will only be possible once properties that make up the new Save Valley Conservancy are determined given that some properties are now settled by A1 farmers. The exercise to restructure the conservancy is underway”, he said.

Matipano said that while individual property owners in the conservancy were expected to conduct anti-poaching

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activities at Save Valley, the authority was spearheading the charge to curb both subsistence and commercial poaching.

He said that the authority had deployed officers to deal with problems of poaching in the conservancy.

“The authority has deployed a senior parks officer and patrol rangers on a permanent basis in the Save Valley Conservancy and is working with the Zimbabwe Republic Police Support Unit on anti-poaching operations in the area. The authority is also working with private farm rangers”, he said.

“All rangers deployed in the conservancy went through a refresher training programme and the authority has drawn up an anti-poaching strategy covering many aspects including curbing armed poaching and poisoning of wildlife. There is also a rhino and elephant management plan. Besides staff stationed in the conservancy, the authority has elephant and rhino co-ordinators focusing on biological and security issues”.

Investigations by The Herald revealed that almost half of the conservancy on the southern part of Tugwi River is under threat owing to rampant subsistence poaching, primarily targeting small game.

Matipano confirmed the poaching of small wildlife species in Save Valley.

While Save Valley has the potential to earn over US$2 million per annum by allocating hunting quotas and visits by tourists, business has been almost at a standstill over the past four years, a development that impinged on the

capacity of property owners to finance anti-poaching operations. However, Matipano revealed that the authority issued hunting permits this year.

“All properties with meaningful wildlife that applied for hunting quotas and permits were issued with these documents to do their business. BIPPA (Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement)-covered properties were left alone, and are not being managed by Parks”, he added.

When The Herald visited the wildlife-rich conservancy recently, operators in the southern part of Save Valley said that the future of the conservancy was bleak unless the government speedily restructures it.

Properties in the south such as Nyangambe, Humane, Senuko-2 and -3, Hammond, Lavanga, Impala, Angus, Mukazi and Mukwazi have been occupied by settlers, most of them without offer letters.

Poaching is negligible in the northern side of Save Valley where properties such as Sango, Makore, Savuli, Mapare, Gwindingwi, Matendere, Chishakwe, Musaisi and Mukondo are protected under BIPPAs.

Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister, Senator Shuvai Mahofa, was non-committal on the fate of Save Valley.

“I do not want to comment on Save Valley Conservancy. We are still waiting for President [Robert] Mugabe to give us direction on what needs to be done there. President Mugabe will tell us the direction that we will take at Save going forward”, she said.

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Last month (April), Senator Mahofa told Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa that the Masvingo provincial leadership wanted black players to be involved in running Save Valley.

Senator Mahofa suggested that the entry of black players would solve current security issues around Save Valley where white operators are alleged to be externalising wildlife using private airstrips dotted around the mega wildlife conservancy.

Source: The Herald

Tip-off leads to arrest of five suspected rhino poachers in South Africa

On Saturday 21 May, members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) Rhino Task Team from the Stock Theft Unit were tipped off about a possible rhino poaching incident at the Marikele National Park (Limpopo Province).

Five suspects, three believed to be from Mozambique, were arrested after two vehicles were stopped and searched on the Thabazimbi/Rooiberg road next to the park on Saturday night at around 23:00hrs, said provincial police spokesperson, Col Ronel Otto.

“A 458 hunting rifle, with the serial number filed off; a silencer; eight live rounds; two knives and eight cell phones were also confiscated”.

The five suspects were expected to appear in the Thabazimbi Magistrates’ Court on Monday 23 May, on charges of conspiracy to commit rhino poaching.

Source: Capricorn Voice

Government strengthens protection for endangered species

On Tuesday 24 May, the Mozambican Cabinet approved the regulation for the protection and international trade of threatened wild fauna and flora species.

According to the Cabinet spokesperson and Deputy Minister of Health, Mouzinho Saíde, “This regulation aims to protect species threatened by human activity”.

The adoption of this regulation will improve the activities of the authorities with regard to supervision under the government’s plans for the protection of endangered species, in addition to increasing the penalties for this type of crime.

Source: Lusa

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HEALTH

Mozambique hosts first PALOP cancer congress

Mozambique hosted the first African Portuguese-speaking Countries’ International Congress on Cancer from 25 to 27 May. During the three-day meeting, approximately 150 participants gathered to discuss the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancers that affect roughly 3,000 people a year in Mozambique. Cancer is considered to be the country’s public health priority in terms of prevention. The National Director of Medical Assistance, Ussene Isse, said that 3,000 cases of cancer are diagnosed annually across the country. Of these, 57% are women, suffering mainly from cancer of the breast and womb, followed by Kapozi’s sarcoma.

Isse said that the country is investing in staff training, with four Mozambican doctors undergoing specialist training in Brazil and Portugal set to join the eight oncology experts already working in the country. The International Congress on Cancer is being co-ordinated in partnership with the Office of the President’s Wife, and the opening ceremony on 25 May was chaired by Isaura Nyusi.

Source: TVM

First Lady advocates early diagnosis of cancer

The First Lady of the Republic, Isaura Nyusi, pointed out the need to increase access to preventive care and early detection of cancer through the expansion of health facilities to the most remote areas of Mozambique.

On the measures to be adopted within this framework, Isaura Nyusi also advocated the introduction of universal vaccination against the human papilloma virus (HPV), as well as improvements in the therapeutic approach through greater access to chemotherapy and the introduction of radiotherapy in Mozambique.

Isaura Nyusi pointed out these challenges at the opening session of the Second International Conference on Cancer, which commenced on Wednesday 25 May, bringing together experts, scientists, pharmacists, social partners and civil society of the African Portuguese-speaking countries. According to the First Lady, the presence of such a variety of representatives will increase knowledge about prevention methods as well as innovation, diagnosis and therapy.

In a conference guided by the motto ‘Cancer is a public health problem in Mozambique – Its control should be prioritised’, progress in cancer research was discussed. Mozambique records approximately 3,000 cases of cancer annually, according to the Ministry of Health.

However, it is acknowledged that, because of the country’s size and inability to adequately gather data, this number is still far from reality, a situation prompting the Ministry of Health to undertake efforts to improve data collection. According to Isaura Nyusi, at this point in time, the country’s priority should be to continue looking for better ways to support the implementation of public health policies and strategies in the different countries where the

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incidence of cancer requires urgent and large-scale measures.

“We will seek better partnerships, strengthen those that exist and consolidate co-ordination efforts among researchers, manufacturers, suppliers and consumer countries”, said the First Lady. The expectation is that the debates and reflections at the conference will result in the strengthening of the national, continental and global fight against cancer, along with the commitment to a more diversified, innovative, humane and integrated approach.

The dominant focus of the three-day meeting included cancer diagnosis; national strategic plan to fight cancer; epidemiological surveying; paediatric oncology and palliative care, among others.

Source: A Bola

Mozambique spends US$4 million a year sending cancer patients abroad

Mozambique spends nearly US$4 million a year sending cancer patients to other countries for radiotherapy treatment. The National Director of Medical Assistance, Ussene Isse, said that a radiotherapy session in South Africa – with whom Mozambique has a treatment agreement – costs up to ZAR80,000, equivalent to approximately MT280,000.

Some Mozambican cancer patients are treated in Portugal and India. According to Isse, last year Mozambique transferred 25 prostate, liver, cervix and breast cancer patients to these destinations for treatment.

Source: Rádio Moçambique

Mozambique: paracetamol for cancer

A woman climbs the 16 steps up to the Oncology Department like a climber ascending Everest. Her movement is slow and unsure, her legs are heavy. The heat saps her strength: she is sick. 43-year-old Melita Boca arrives on the balcony exhausted and, without saying a word, flops into one of the chairs scattered there. Acacias and well-tended flowerbeds surround the colonial-style building, strangely tranquil considering that those who arrive there come to die.

Now seated, Melita undoes the top button of her denim skirt and rubs her stomach, revealing a scar running from one side to the other. She wriggles in the armchair, looking for a less painful position.

To get to Maputo Central Hospital, Melita left her six children, one new-born, in the care of her younger sister and rode two minibuses clutching the doctor’s prescription she hopes will buy her some relief from the pain that has wracked her body for four full days.

Still breathless, she says softly, almost apologetically, that she “can’t stand” it, that she needs “medicine”.

A little over a month ago, soon after the birth of her last child, her left kidney was removed, and the biopsy results procured her an appointment a few days later. There, she was given an injection for pain and a prescription for paracetamol that was fulfilled in the hospital pharmacy.

Almost all patients that end up in the Oncology Department are going to die. “They are terminally ill, we only have

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palliative chemotherapy”, says 36-year-old head nurse, Juvenal Santos Dinis. “It is very rare that we think about healing”, he sighs. “It’s only five or six years that we’ve been talking about cancer. Before that, people used to die at home, without even knowing why”.

One oncologist for a nation:

In a year and a half, the department, which is the principal oncology unit in the country, has dealt with 1,500 cancer cases – very few, considering the country’s 25 million inhabitants. Of these, 80% arrived at an advanced stage of the disease, and received only palliative care, says Satish Tulcide, director of the oncology service. “But it’s not all bad news. Even with limited resources, I’ve had patients for five or six years”, he says proudly.

In 2015, Dinis spent two months in Porto, training at São João Hospital. With its long-standing relationship with the hospital, the Gulbenkian Foundation had set up an oncology care training programme and recruited partners – the Camões Institute, the Millennium-BCP Foundation and the Millennium BIM Bank – to work on various areas in the treatment of cancer. It was not the most obvious choice, but major donors like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have focused on tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS.

In total, €500,000 were allocated to improve training and provide equipment. “In oncology, we still lack a lot”, admits hospital director, João Fumane, who is well aware that for a year and a half he was the only oncologist in the country. “That is why I seized this opportunity with velvet gloves. At one point, I had to do everything myself. Attend adults,

children, guide treatments and palliative care”, he recalls.

The results will not be visible immediately, admits the director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Partnership for the Development, Maria Herminia Cabral. “The main investment is in the training of human resources”, she notes. “It is institutional support, not a replacement project. All decisions are made in consultation with HCM’s directors, who have managed to find in their own budget the funds to build the day hospital, improve the pharmacy and relaunch the radiotherapy service. All of these improvements have been achieved with tools chosen and supported by the project”.

From Portugal, where he says he felt welcome from day one, Dinis brought back several ideas, starting with patient management and drugs regimes. “On the course, they taught us the ideal, but here we have to improvise. In the chemo room in Porto there were two nurses for each patient. Here there are two for 18”.

“It was hard to come back”, he admits. To survive the work, Dinis took a course in psychology. “Sometimes I feel like giving up. But I cannot”.

The walls in the building need paint, and the yellowing sheets cry out for replacement. But it’s the smell that makes the greatest impression. Heavy, thick, rotten. “It’s the cancer wounds”, explains Mariana Brandão, a Portuguese doctor who came to work at the hospital as a volunteer for three months. “In Portugal, it is very rare to find a patient with an ulcerated cancer. In Mozambique it happens in 90% of breast cancer cases”. She cites the

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case of one woman, among many others, who had her first oncology consultation two years after having first felt the lump in her breast.

In one of the beds, a patient waits for her husband to bring her proof that he has given blood, so that she can get a transfusion. She is suffering from advanced breast cancer and has a haemoglobin count of six – half the minimum acceptable. The country has a blood bank but, in order to remain sustainable, it will only authorise transfusions after a blood donation from a family member of the patient. For those who are alone – which happens often – there is a group of volunteers to the hospital can appeal to.

Tulcides proudly displays the empty room in the basement of the building, which will soon open as new day hospital. Just four painted walls and a tile floor, but, when equipped, it will avoid Melita’s painful climb up those 16 steps. “In this hospital I am a doctor, a foreman – I do everything”, he says. It was he who initiated the rehabilitation of the once-abandoned space.

Right next to it will be the long-awaited radiotherapy department, the first in the entire country. How can you treat cancer without one of the main weapons used to fight it? Gudo Alberto Morais, the only radio-oncologist in the country, does not despair. “We adapt what we have available. We do more radical surgery and have aggressive chemotherapy regimens. And we have been able to heal people”, said Morais, who graduated in São Paulo, Brazil. “You don’t always need a Ferrari. Often a small utility van will take you where you need to go”, he says.

When we cross the hospital to the Pathological Anatomy service, it feels like we’ve crossed an ocean. Everything is familiar, from microscopes to the board on the wall announcing “Sala Manuel Sobrinho Simoes”. The Pathological Anatomy service dates from the 1990s and a collaboration with the then director of the Molecular Pathology and Immunology Institute of the University of Porto. When he came on board, the main sponsor was Norway. “With increased longevity, cancer begins to be a serious problem. We have to attack it with well-made, reliable diagnosis. Only then can progress to treatment”, he says.

Carla Carrilho is the director of the service and a disciple of Sobrinho Simoes. Part of her task, also part of the programme co-ordinated by the Gulbenkian Foundation, has been managing the hospital’s cancer records. “’Cancers of civilization’ are yet to appear. For now, we mainly have cervical cancer [associated with human papillomavirus, or HPV], in a very advanced state, plus liver and breast cancer, and even cancers associated with AIDS, such as lymphoma and Kaposi’s sarcoma”.

Preventable cancers, in other words. The vaccination of 8,000 children against HPV was a first step in reversing these deadly statistics. The programme is now expected to be extended to the whole country.

A hospital without a whimper:

Where ever she goes, Doctor Emilia Miquindade takes her pain scale – a sheet of cardboard with 10 faces representing suffering from zero to 10, a state of uncontrollable pain. “I often ask,

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‘What is your level of pain?’ And they answer, ‘Normal, it is here for me’”, she says. “No! Pain is not normal”, she seems to want to scream. As a doctor at Maputo Central Hospital, this is her main task: to convince patients that suffering does not have to be part of life. After specialising in the area of pain and working in Spain, the 37-year-old returned to Mozambique to lead the unit. “It is a cultural issue. People here do not complain. In Valencia, they complained …” she says, ruefully.

Yes, European patients complain; Mozambicans don’t utter so much as a whimper. One comes away from the hospital not believing the silence, the serenity with which people accept lack –

lack of medicines, places to sit, water in the drinking machines. “When they arrive, most patients are between level seven and 10. We only let them go when they are at zero”, Miquindade says, boasting of having everything she needs to achieve results: a portable ultrasound machine, morphine in liquid and tablet form. “Life here is very hard, people are accustomed to suffering and have a higher pain threshold. We get good results with just paracetamol sometimes”.

That is the relief which is possible for Melita’s cancer.

Source: Visão

END

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