WEEKLY MEDIA REVIEW No.

169: 24 FEBRUARY TO 3 MARCH 2017

www.rhula.net

Managing Editor: Nigel Morgan

Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama (above) announces a further two-month extension to the politico-military truce in Mozambique
(Page 51).

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Pointers:
POLITICS & THE ECONOMY
The government’s timetable to negotiate its preferred option for solving the ‘toxic debt’ problem –
rolling all the debt into one – awaits final delivery of the Kroll audit report (See Rhula Weekly
167 & 168 Pointers and Page 17 below).
The IMF has made it plain that it will not be involved in negotiations between the government and
the debt-holders. The G14 donors will follow the IMF’s lead. The debt-holders are unwilling to
discuss re-structuring until they have seen the Kroll report (now due 31 March). The government
says it will have a ‘concrete debt restructuring’ proposal by the end of March.
Meanwhile, the government is due to make a capital repayment of US$119 million on the
Proindicus debt by 21 March. It is not expected to pay. It missed the first US$59.8 million coupon
payment on the sovereign-backed (Ematum) Eurobond in January. Current Finance Minister
Adriano Maleiane acknowledged, as far back as October 2016, that the government does not
have the resources to meet the $2-billion of sovereign guarantees signed off by his predecessor,
Manuel Chang.
Apart from the international implications of a second sovereign default, Mozambique’s local
financial sector risks being severely tested. It was alleged by Africa Confidential (“Frelimo’s
ostrich plan”, 8 July 2016) that local bondholders include Millennium BIM and Moza Banco (which
is already in administration). There are rumours in financial circles that there may be at least one
other local bank involved. The extent of the exposure of local banks has so far been concealed. A
related risk is that the capital raised by Proindicus was used as collateral for commercial loans, or
for down-payments on contracts for military equipment, thus increasing the risk of yet more
undisclosed debt.
Articles:

Mozambique aims to have debt restructure proposal by end of March (Page 17): Finance
Minister Adriano Maleiane says that the government aims to have a “concreate proposal” for its
creditors by the end of March, which will start negotiations to restructure the country’s commercial
foreign debt. Maleiane says that he “cannot foresee” what will happen. A committee representing
some of the holders of the sovereign bonds says that it will not negotiate with the government
until the Kroll report is published (also end of March). Meanwhile the next payment, for US$119-
million on Proindicus, is due on 21 March 2017. Zitamar News reported in January that if the
payment is missed, it could cause chaos in Mozambique’s domestic banking system due to local
banks having bought portions of the loan when it was syndicated by the arranging bank, Credit
Suisse.

Mozambique to seek partial debt restructuring, says Prime Minister (Pages 17-18): Prime
Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário says: “We will negotiate with the creditors to restructure
these debts,” but “in a balanced way”. “We all want the audit completed on time” (referring to the
end-March deadline), “We are awaiting the results, but negotiations with the IMF are under way.”

Economist says that Mozambique’s debt renegotiation is possible (Pages 18-19): Economist
Hipólito Hamela asserts that it still possible to package all the debt, renegotiate it with better
terms and conditions, and make it sustainable. This can be achieved by adapting the time frame
for repayment to projected government income expected from the exploitation of Mozambique’s
natural resources. Hamela says that if the (Kroll) audit concludes that the debt was not legally
contracted, it is essential to find those responsible and hold them accountable, but not punish
them (because) “if there was a sovereign guarantee it is because there was a sovereign goal that
the government allowed this sovereign guarantee and the responsibility is collective”.
IMF directors explain how they lend to countries with unsustainable debt (Page 20):
Following the January default, the major credit rating agencies either lowered their rating of
Mozambique’s sovereign debt, or signalled the economy as evolving negatively. All delivered a
non-investment (‘junk’) rating. Standard & Poor currently calculates Mozambique’s total
indebtedness as circa $11-billion - 137% of GDP. The IMF believes that its regulations forbid
loans to countries with unsustainable public debt, such as Mozambique, unless debt restructuring
takes place and there are credible macro-economic objectives.

IMF, austerity, inequality (Pages 21-23): IMF MD Christine Lagarde’s recent Davos speech
emphasised three factors that will come into play when it comes to resumption of budgetary
support to Mozambique: 1) the demand for increased austerity; 2) accountability for the $2-billion
secret debt; 3) policies that deliver a reduction in poverty and inequality. Alex Segura-Ubiergo,
the former IMF resident representative in Mozambique, warned that “high levels of inequality
hamper government policies to reduce poverty … make it difficult to sustain growth … and can
lead to political instability”. The IMF maintains that: “increasing the income share of the poorest
can boost growth, but raising the income share of the richest can actually harm growth” and that
“Spending on infrastructure reduces inequality”. Agriculture remains a key issue. Farm subsidies
or cash transfers to the rural poor (always opposed by the IMF and donors), actually increase the
incomes of workers, reducing inequality. Donors are going to play a key role because they have
effectively made a return to a normal aid programme conditional on a new IMF programme.
Having put the IMF in charge, donors will now need to keep tabs on the negotiations, to ensure
that in Mozambique the IMF really does “walk the talk” and does not impose an austerity package
that further increases inequality. The WEF measure of ‘wastefulness of government spending’
finds that for Mozambique: “although corruption is a problem, government spending is relatively
efficient”. Good point made regarding hypocrisy, ‘leadership standards” and the IMF: the current
and two previous managing directors of the IMF have been involved in scandals that seriously
question the organisation’s own leadership standards.

OAM demands punishment over “hidden debts” (Pages 23-24): The Chairman of the
Mozambique Bar Association, Flavio Menete, calls for exemplary punishment for those found
guilty of crimes related to the secret debts, which have increased the country’s debt burden by
20%. “Since there was no transparency in the entire process, including knowledge of how the
money was used”, he said, “one can only think of the possibility that it was corrupt.” Menete also
attacked the recent award of a country’s relief agency (INGC) contract , without public tender, to a
company linked to Transport Minister Carlos Mesquita; not the first time he has been in a conflict
of interests in public office.

Mozambique officials say truce is boosting the economy (Page 24): CTA cites tourism, trade
and transport as beneficiaries. In January, for example, the number of passenger buses leaving
from Maputo to provincial capitals increased by 74%.

Mozambican private sector not in a position to raise salaries (Page 25): CTA warns “Wages
based on the macro-economic data presented would be unsustainable. Companies would close,
and operators who tried to work would be confronted every day with strikes for non-payment of
wages”.

Unions suggest two wage rises in 2017 (Pages 25-26): The OTM calls for the minimum wage
to be increased twice this year rather than once. Workers’ living standards tumbled last year due
to the “politico-military instability, natural disasters, a financial crisis, depreciation of the metical
and unsustainable foreign debts”. The CPI for the three largest cities (Maputo, Nampula and
Beira), indicates that inflation for the year reached 25.27%. “These factors have raised the cost of
living to unbearable levels, and worsened the poverty of the majority of Mozambicans”.
CONSILMO calls for privitisation – in order to return EdM, LAM and PETRMOC to profitability
(Page 28).

BUSINESS:

Financial Services:

Moza Banco says recapitalisation proceeding within expectations (Pages 29-30): Rebuttal of
unfavourable comment on its stability. At the end of January, the General Shareholders’ Meeting
of Moza Banco, owned by Portugal’s Novo Banco, approved a capital increase of MT8.17-billion
(€107.7-million) after the Banco de Moçambique injected around MT8-billion (€105-million) into
Moza in December to halt its collapse and avoid an “earthquake” in the Mozambican financial
system. Moza has more than 93,000 private and 8,000 commercial customers and a 7.71%
share. It is the fourth largest Mozambican bank, with 48 branches across the country.

Société Générale pledges expansion in Mozambique (Page 31): SG is hoping to achieve a

market share of 10%. It entered the market by becoming the majority shareholder in what was
formerly the Mozambican branch of the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB). Its priority is on
corporate banking, in areas such as oil and gas. It has become the financial advisor to Anadarko
(Rovuma Basin Area 1).

Oil & Gas:

Companies seek US support for hydrocarbon exploration (Page 32): Report on a meeting (28
February), organised by the commercial services of the US Embassy in partnership with the CTA,
looking at the opportunities and challenges and the role of the companies (state and private) in
the logistics sector. “With extensive experience in oil and gas exploration, we plan to bring United
States experts to help Mozambique cement its involvement in the entire process of exploring
these resources.” US presence is currently represented by Anardarko (Rovuma Basin Area 1),
but ExxonMobil is preparing to explore sectors of Area 4 (ENI consortium).

ENI close to finalising deal to sell stake in Mozambique gasfield (Pages 32-34): ENI says it is
“within weeks” of sealing a multibillion-dollar deal to sell a stake in its Mozambique operations.
ExxonMobil, which already has exploration licenses in Mozambique, is seen as the most likely
candidate. According to the FT, bankers and industry figures say it would be a big surprise if it is
not ExxonMobil (who decline to comment). ENI’s stake sale is expected to be followed later this
year by the final go-ahead for its multibillion-dollar Coral South field – the first part of the Area-4
block due for development. BP last year agreed a 20-year deal with ENI to buy the entire output
from Coral South. ENI holds a 50% stake in the Area-4 block; he other half is owned by CNPC of
China, Galp Energia of Portugal, KOGAS of South Korea and Mozambique’s ENH. An industry
analyst estimates that the sale of a 20% stake in Area-4 would raise €1.7-billion in cash for ENI,
with the potential for this to rise to as much as €2.5-billion should the Italian group eventually
hand over operational control to the buyer.

Sasol says Mozambique drilling campaign showing ‘promising results’ as it scales back
capex as rand strengthens, H1 earnings fall (Pages 34-35): Sasol says that it is scaling back
planned capital expenditure this year in the face of a strengthening rand as it posted a fall in
interim earnings partly rooted in the currency’s gains. In Mozambique, the company says that it
has completed four wells, as part of its drilling campaign, which are “showing promising results.”

Sasol says relations with Mozambique in “good space” - Reuters (Pages 35-36): Sasol’s
senior management describes the group’s relations with the Mozambique government as being in
a “good space”, despite the country’s current fiscal difficulties, as well as periodic criticism that
the country is not benefiting fully from Sasol’s investment activities.
Sasol says that all the feedback from the government is very supportive and Sasol is supporting
the Mozambican authorities in their efforts to navigate their way through the prevailing financial
challenges. Since 2004, more than US$2-billion has been invested by Sasol in developing gas
fields, as well as the gas pipeline to South Africa, which was recently expanded through a project
known as Loop Line-2. From 2004 to 2016, more than US$1-billion was delivered to government
in taxes, royalties and social investments, as well as through profit sharing and dividends paid to
state-owned entities. Further, goods and services worth US$831-million were procured from
Mozambican suppliers. Sasol says it is also pushing ahead with a US$1.4-billion investment
programme in support of the PSA granted in early 2016.

Mozambique’s INP denies any new oil discovery in Inhambane (Pages 36-37): INP denies
claims, apparently made on Monday 27 February, that there has been any new oil discovery in
the province of Inhambane. INP says five new production wells have been drilled in the area
covered by Sasol’s production sharing contract, three in Temane containing gas, and two in
Inhassoro, containing oil. The new discoveries, including T-27, were promptly notified to the
Mozambican authorities in August and September last year. Since then, the INP adds, no other
discovery has been notified. Hence references to petroleum production can only refer to the
Inhassoro light oil project, which was approved in January 2016. The INP acknowledges that it
may be due to a mistake in reporting:

 In Mozambique, the company said it has completed four wells as part of its drilling four
wells (out of a planned 12) as part of its drilling campaign which are “showing promising
results” (Reuters article on Pages 34-35).
 The JSE-listed company drilled four gas and oil wells – two in Temane and two in
Inhassoro – during the six months to 31 December 2016, and subsequently issued a
notice of discovery after finding oil (together with gas) while drilling for gas in the Temane
permit area (Mining Weekly article on Pages 35-36)

Rosneft expects to make concession agreements on Mozambique offshore areas (Page

37): RN-Exploration (a subsidiary of Rosneft) and ExxonMobil’s affiliate in Mozambique were
recognised winners of the tender for three areas organised by Mozambique’s INP. Work was
planned to start in the third or fourth quarter of 2016, but no agreement with the government of
Mozambique has been signed so far. Rosneft says that they expect negotiations to be complete
by Mid-2017.

Fuel companies demand change in subsidy system (Pages 37-38) The Mozambican
Association of Fuel Companies (Amepetrol) warns PM that the country risks running out of petrol
and diesel, if the government does not change its current fuel subsidy system. They say that they
can no longer go on shouldering the difference between the price which they pay for fuel on the
international market (denominated in US dollars), and the price in meticais at Mozambican filling
stations, which is fixed by the government. The government is supposed to compensate the
companies for this difference, but they claim this subsidy system is not working properly because
of the government’s lengthy delays in paying, which creates cash flow problems. Losses
accumulated since June 2016 are around US$70-million. Unless the current subsidy system is
changed, Mozambican fuel distribution could simply collapse.

Mining:

Vale Moçambique ends 2016 with a loss of US$105-million (Page 38): a figure which
compares with a loss of US$508-million in 2015. The improvement was mainly due to the
reduction of costs and expenses (US$344-million) and an increase in market prices, which
increased the company’s turnover by US$140-million. Coal exported by rail from Moatize for
loading at the port of Nacala provided revenue of US$110-million.
Coal transported along the Sena line for loading at the port of Beira posted a loss of US$215-
million. Coal transported along the Sena and Nacala lines totalled 8.8-million tons in 2016, more
than double the 4.1-million tons carried in 2015. The coal shipped at ports totalled 8.7-million
tons, also more than double the 3.7-million tons recorded in 2015.

Cheap Mozambican coal leading to shutdown of Malawi’s mines (Page 39): The import of
cheap Mozambican coal into Malawi has choked the local market and led to the shutdown of
more than three quarters of Malawi’s mines, as production at Moatize ramps up.

Chinese investment in coking coal (Page 39): China’s CBSteel says that it will set up an
industry to transform the thermal coal extracted from mines in Tete Province into coking coal. The
plant, budgeted at around US$1.3-billion, will be established, not in Tete, but in the northern
province of Nampula, along the transport corridor leading to the port of Nacala. The planned
production capacity for the plant is expected to be four-million tons of coking coal a year, and
construction work is due to begin in the second half of this year and take about a year, directly
creating 1,500 jobs. CBSteel envisages “a major industrial zone” springing up around the factory,
with the potential to create many more jobs.

Mustang Resources Ltd. acquires highly prospective adjacent ruby license next to
Gemfields (Page 40-44): 65% interest in 3,500 hectare concession next to its existing
Montepuez Ruby Project and a key secondary deposit being mined by London-listed Gemfields.

Energy:

Mozambique can be self-sufficient in electricity by 2021 (Page 45).

POLITICS & SECURITY

There is increasing optimism that a workable peace settlement between Renamo and Frelimo
can be reached.

Bilateral negotiations continue between two slimmed down working groups, appointed directly by
President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Alfonso Dhlakama. One is focussed on
decentralisation and the other military issues.

The key issues remain:

 Constitutional change that will enable the winning party in provincial assembly elections to
nominate the provincial governor;
 Disarming, demobilisation and integration of Renamo militias;
 Equitable sharing of key posts in the military, police and other government-controlled
institutions.

Behind the scenes, an aspect of negotiations that is likely to prove sticky is a possible Renamo
demand for some form of financial settlement ‘to ease things along’.

Why peace now looks possible?

Apart from there being ‘no-winners’ from the military conflict that has plagued the country from
April 2015 to the 27 December 2016 ceasefire, each side recognises that economic situation in
Mozambique is so dire that it is in their mutual interest to reach an agreement.

It is a positive sign that the ceasefire has been again been extended, this time to 4 May. While
the ceasefire has been in force there has been an absence of major violations.
In the conflict regions in central Mozambique, activities and the movement of people and goods
are slowly getting back to normal (See Pages 24 & 57).

In the central provinces, Renamo is urging internally displaced people to return to their homes
and get on with their lives (Page 65).

In parallel, Renamo is resuming its activities as a political party. It has begun the process of
reorganising its party machine, with an eye to the municipal (October 2018) and national elections
(November 2019).

Considerable diplomatic ‘encouragement’ is being applied, internationally and regionally, to

achieve a successful outcome to the peace talks. Note the inclusion of heavy-weight
ambassadors in the so-called ‘Contact Group’, chaired by the Swiss ambassador (currently
Adrian Hadorn), and co-chaired by the American ambassador (Dean Pittman). The other five
members of the group are the Ambassadors of China, the European Union and Norway, and the
High Commissioners of Botswana and of the United Kingdom (Pages 52-53).

It is likely that, even if the government negotiates a solution to the toxic debt problem, resumption
of IMF and G14 funding would also be contingent on a peaceful settlement between Frelimo and
Renamo, as major foreign investment is being lost by the current political uncertainty.

The timetable for a settlement is strongly influenced by President Nyusi’s determination to

present a successful outcome to both the peace negotiations, and the problem of ‘toxic debt’, to
the Frelimo Party Congress in September 2017. The Congress is a vital stepping-stone on
Nyusi’s route to consolidating power in the party. He is up for re-election to the presidency of the
party at the Congress (Pages 45 & 55). The Congress will also select the Frelimo Executive
Committee, due to convene 1 March 2018, which in turn will select the Frelimo candidate for the
Presidential election in November 2019.

Articles:

Afonso Dhlakama announces extension of the truce for another two months (Page 51):
Dhlakama says that permanent contact exists between himself and President Filipe Nyusi, and he
is confident that the peace process is well underway. He hopes that the next 60 days would see
“serious negotiations” that should result in a legislative proposal to parliament over the
decentralisation of state administration.

Renamo demands approval of decentralisation this quarter (Page 51): Insistence on

approval of decentralisation measures and the resolution of pending military issues this quarter.
Renamo says that the decentralisation package will allow for the appointment of Renamo
governors in provinces where the party won the most votes in the 2014 elections, while military
issues include the integration of Renamo men into the government Defence and Security Forces.
The current session of the Assembly of the Republic ends in early May.

President Nyusi appoints ‘Contact Group’ for peace talks (Pages 52-53): A run-down of the
composition of the slimmed-down negotiating teams (“Working Groups”) on both sides, and also
the Contact Group, which is there to “provide co-ordinated financial and technical assistance, and
carry out other tasks as indicated in their terms of reference”. Members of the contact group will
advise but not act as mediators.

“President Nyusi is leading a peace process with transparency” (Pages 55-56): Suggestion
that by inviting ambassadors to play the role of observers in the peace negotiations with Renamo,
the President has proven that he has no intentions of bad faith against Renamo leader Afonso
Dhlakama.
President Nyusi calls on Mozambicans to maintain the truce (Page 56).

Renamo promises its armed wing will maintain truce with Mozambican Armed Forces
(Page 64).

Thousands returning home confident of end to conflict (Pages 65-66).

National Assembly: all parties call for “effective peace” in a rare display of cross-party
unanimity (Pages 57-58). Ivone Soares, leader of the Renamo parliamentary party (and nice of
Dhlakama) claimed that the truce was Dhlakama’s initiative, and that she now expected it to
become “definitive”. She did not mention the longstanding Renamo demand that it has the right to
rule the provinces where it secured a majority of votes in the 2014 general elections. This is a
shift away from Dhlakama’s earlier position that Renamo would simply appoint governors and
other officials in the provinces it claims. A completely new demand raised by Soares is for a
“provincial police force”. The existing force, the Mozambique Republic Police (PRM), would retain
responsibility “for the most serious crimes”, while other policing matters would pass into the
hands of the provincial forces. Soares wants the National Assembly to pass legislation on
decentralisation and on the defence and security forces in this first quarter of the year – which
gives the deputies slightly more than a month to reach consensus on a range of complex issues.
Consensus is needed, because changing the way in which the provinces are governed will
require amending the constitution. Constitutional amendments require a two thirds majority in the
Assembly, which no party can obtain on its own. The fifth parliamentary session runs until 11
May.

“Sing from the same page”, President Nyusi urges Frelimo deputies (Pages 59-60):
speaking at a meeting between Frelimo parliamentarians, members of the Party’s Political
Commission and government members, Nyusi stressed the need for stability – both political
stability, in terms of securing a definitive peace, and macro- economic stability, including
stabilising inflation.

Action needed this month on elections (Page 61): Municipal Elections are due in the first two
weeks of October 2018, and the specific date must be set by the Council of Ministers 18 months
in advance – effectively by the end of March 2017.

CRIME:

Missing Portuguese businessman kidnapped in Mozambique: Interior Minister goes to

Lisbon (Page 68).

Police should reflect on how to prevent violent crime – President Nyusi (Pages 68-69)
followed by a series articles on mixed performance of police units. (Pages 69-73).
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Click on a title to follow the link to the related article. To return to the Contents Page, click on the link
at the top-right hand corner of the page.

BUSINESS INDEX ........................................................................................................ 14

ECONOMY & BUSINESS ............................................................................................. 16

GRAPH 1: MOZAMBIQUE CURRENCY EVALUATION......................................... 16

Macro-economy: ...................................................................................................... 17
Mozambique aims to have debt restructure proposal by end of March – report......... 17
Mozambique to seek partial debt restructuring, says Prime Minister ......................... 17
Economist says that Mozambique’s debt renegotiation is possible ............................ 18
IMF directors explain how they can lend to countries with unsustainable debt .......... 20
IMF, austerity, inequality ............................................................................................ 21
OAM demands punishment over “hidden debts” ........................................................ 23
Mozambican officials say truce is boosting economy ................................................. 24
Mozambican private sector not in a position to raise salaries .................................... 25
Unions suggest two wage rises in 2017 ..................................................................... 25
Mozambique Stock Exchange still lacks a single listed SME ..................................... 26
Tax incentives raise doubts in Mozambique .............................................................. 27
CONSILMO asks government to readjust contracts with contractors/privatise EdM,
LAM, Petromoc .......................................................................................................... 28
Young Mozambicans disappointed with employment policy ...................................... 28

Financial Services:................................................................................................... 29
Banco de Moçambique slams illegalities in the issuance of guarantees by
microfinance operators............................................................................................... 29
Banco Moza says recapitalisation proceeding within expectations ............................ 29
Société Générale pledges expansion in Mozambique ............................................... 31

Oil & Gas:.................................................................................................................. 32

Companies seek US support for hydrocarbon exploration ......................................... 32
ENI close to finalising deal to sell stake in Mozambique gasfield ............................... 32
Sasol says Mozambique drilling campaign showing ‘promising results’ as it scales
back capex as rand strengthens, H1 earnings fall ..................................................... 34
Sasol says relations with Mozambique in “good space” ............................................. 35
Mozambique’s INP denies any new oil discovery in Inhambane ................................ 36
Rosneft expects to make concession agreements on Mozambique offshore areas... 37
Fuel companies demand change in subsidy system .................................................. 37

Mining: ...................................................................................................................... 38
Vale Moçambique ends 2016 with a loss of US$105-million ...................................... 38
Cheap Mozambican coal leading to shutdown of Malawi’s mines .............................. 39
Chinese investment in coking coal ............................................................................. 39
Mustang Resources Ltd. acquires highly prospective adjacent ruby license next to
Gemfields ................................................................................................................... 40
Mozambican experts condemn gaps in studies on environmental impacts of projects
................................................................................................................................... 44

Energy:...................................................................................................................... 45
Mozambique can be self-sufficient in electricity by 2021............................................ 45
Mavuzi and Chicamba power stations: US$120-million rehabilitation complete ......... 45

Transport, Construction & Development Projects: ............................................... 46

Gravel theft endangers railway in northern Mozambique ........................................... 46
Maputo-Catembe crossing: ferry-boat Bagamoyo breaks down again ....................... 46
ETM reduces number of buses .................................................................................. 47

Agriculture & Fishing: ............................................................................................. 47

Mozambique to export avocados to Europe ............................................................... 47
President Nyusi visits Tete poultry producer .............................................................. 47

Tourism:.................................................................................................................... 48
“Do not turn Culture and Tourism into the government’s burden” – President Nyusi . 48

Other: ........................................................................................................................ 49
President Nyusi inaugurates largest shopping centre in Tete .................................... 49
 Labour Inspectorate suspends 13 foreign workers .................................................... 50

POLITICS...................................................................................................................... 51
Afonso Dhlakama announces extension of the truce for another two months............ 51
Renamo demands approval of decentralisation this quarter ...................................... 51
President Nyusi appoints ‘Contact Group’ for peace talks ......................................... 52
On the right path to peace, says Prime Minister ........................................................ 53
President Nyusi urges “understanding and humility” .................................................. 54
“President Nyusi is leading a peace process with transparency” – Sibindy................ 55
President Nyusi calls on Mozambicans to maintain vigilance in observing the truce . 56
President Nyusi calls for the preservation of peace in Lent........................................ 56
Assembly: all parties call for “effective peace” in Mozambique .................................. 57
Mozambican parliament places peace agreement on agenda ................................... 58
Sing from the same page, President Nyusi urges Frelimo deputies ........................... 59
Mulembue claims President Nyusi will be Frelimo candidate in 2019 ........................ 60
Frelimo general secretary denies Mulembue ............................................................. 61
Action needed this month on elections ...................................................................... 61
Renamo youth march marks opening of political year ............................................... 62
President Nyusi criticises negligence at Youth and Sports Ministry ........................... 62
Domestic violence high on the agenda ...................................................................... 63
Vitória Diogo joins AfDB panel on youth employment ................................................ 63

SECURITY .................................................................................................................... 64
Renamo promises its armed wing will maintain truce with Mozambican Armed Forces
................................................................................................................................... 64
‘Secretário de círculo’ and wife of Funhalouro community leader murdered .............. 64
Thousands returning home confident of end to conflict .............................................. 65
Zimbabwe safe from Renamo – Army ........................................................................ 66
CRIME........................................................................................................................... 67
GRAPH 2: Province by Month ................................................................................ 67
GRAPH 3: Injuries/Fatalities by Month ................................................................... 67
Missing Portuguese businessman kidnapped in Mozambique: Interior Minister goes to
Lisbon ........................................................................................................................ 68
Police should reflect on how to prevent violent crime – President Nyusi.................... 68
Mozambique denies police abuse in ruby deportations.............................................. 69
Five policemen accused of involvement in fuel theft .................................................. 69
Five Mozambican policemen were detained on the morning of Monday 27 February,
accused of facilitating a criminal scheme to steal 10,000 litres of diesel at the Lingamo
fuel terminal in the southern city of Matola, according to a report in Thursday’s issue
of the O País .............................................................................................................. 69
PRM recovers 20 tons of stolen wheat on a train in Manica ...................................... 70
Police neutralise fuel theft gang in Beira Port ............................................................ 71
Top law officials denounce prison overcrowding ........................................................ 72
Josina Machel case raises question over compensation ........................................... 73
ZAR8-million gold bar bust at OR Tambo: “Passenger in transit from Maputo to Dubai”
................................................................................................................................... 74
Man arrested in Marracuene for possession of an illegal weapon ............................. 74
Thirty-six illegal Ethiopian immigrants arrested in Meconta thanks to tip-off .............. 75
Murder-suicide in Tete Province ................................................................................ 75
Government officials arrested for falsifying documents in Zambézia ......................... 75

HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND NGO’S ......................................... 76

Pequenos Libombos: authorities investigate fire at Maputo water supply dam .......... 76
Pequenos Libombos floodgates close ....................................................................... 76
Flooded out in Beira: a month’s rainfall in just two days............................................. 77
Three children drown in Beira floods .......................................................................... 78
Houses in Xai-Xai city flooded ................................................................................... 79
Five die as river bursts its banks ................................................................................ 79
Warnings of possible storms in Mozambique ............................................................. 79
 Approximately 550,000 people affected by cyclone Dineo ......................................... 80
World Food Programme pledges to help 50,000 victims of cyclone Dineo ................ 80
Tents serving as makeshift schools in Inhambane and Gaza .................................... 81
Mozambican religious leaders repudiate use of girls to repay debts .......................... 81
Thirty schools reopen in Morrumbala ......................................................................... 82
House of Mozambican citizen burned down in Pretoria in xenophobic attack ............ 82

HEALTH........................................................................................................................ 83
Maputo: cholera situation report as of 23 February .................................................... 83
Mozambique has 13 psychiatrists for 150,000 seeking mental health services ......... 85
New health centre for Zimpeto ................................................................................... 86
Swedish support for safe abortion and contraception ................................................ 86
INAE closes 20 establishments, mainly over hygiene ................................................ 87
Inspectors close well known Maputo restaurant after finding ‘a range of threats to
public health’ .............................................................................................................. 88

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

Government launches ‘Operation Tronco’ in six provinces ........................................ 89
Mozambique is the first country to add areas to Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park .. 89
Rhino horns handed over to BMB .............................................................................. 91
Mozambique in need for law that punishes buyers and traffickers of illegal wildlife
products ..................................................................................................................... 92
Over 600 poachers and traffickers arrested in South Africa ....................................... 93
Lies, damned lies and rhino statistics ........................................................................ 95
Rhino sale bombshell hidden in new draft regulations ............................................... 97
Something’s not right in the DEA ............................................................................... 99
What drives the demand for rhino horns? ................................................................ 101
BUSINESS INDEX
AdeM ............................................................................................................................. 74
AfDB .............................................................................................................................. 58
Anadarko ................................................................................................................. 25, 26
Aviario Paula ........................................................................................................... 41, 42
Banco de Moçambique............................................................................................ 23, 24
Bankia ........................................................................................................................... 16
BP ................................................................................................................................. 27
CBSteel ................................................................................................................... 33, 34
CFM .............................................................................................................................. 70
Chistevas Import and Export ......................................................................................... 86
CNPC ............................................................................................................................ 27
Corredor de Desenvolvimento do Norte ........................................................................ 40
Credit Suisse ........................................................................................................... 11, 16
EdM ......................................................................................................................... 22, 39
ENH............................................................................................................................... 27
ENI .............................................................................................................. 26, 27, 28, 31
ETM............................................................................................................................... 41
ExxonMobil .............................................................................................................. 26, 31
Galp............................................................................................................................... 27
Gemfields .......................................................................................................... 34, 35, 36
Goldman Sachs ............................................................................................................. 28
IMF ................................................................................ 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 29, 47, 48
Jindal ............................................................................................................................. 33
KOGAS ......................................................................................................................... 27
Kroll ................................................................................................................... 11, 16, 48
LAM ............................................................................................................................... 22
Lazard Frères ................................................................................................................ 11
MAM ...................................................................................................... 10, 12, 16, 47, 48
MCB .............................................................................................................................. 25
McCormick Property Development ................................................................................ 43
Mesquita Group ....................................................................................................... 17, 48
Millennium-BIM ............................................................................................................. 47
Moza Banco .................................................................................................................. 24
Mustang Resources ................................................................................................ 34, 36
Novo Banco................................................................................................................... 24
PETROMOC ................................................................................................................. 22
Proindicus ....................................................................................... 10, 11, 12, 16, 47, 48
Regius Resources Group Ltd. ....................................................................................... 36
RN-Exploration .............................................................................................................. 31
Rosneft .................................................................................................................... 27, 31
Sasol ................................................................................................................. 28, 29, 30
SLR Mining Lda ............................................................................................................. 37
Société Générale .................................................................................................... 24, 25
Standard & Poor’s ......................................................................................................... 14
TCM ........................................................................................................................ 17, 48
Transmarítima ............................................................................................................... 40
Vale ......................................................................................................................... 32, 33
VTB ............................................................................................................................... 16
Westfalia Fruto Moçambique ......................................................................................... 41
White & Case ................................................................................................................ 11
World Bank.............................................................................................................. 12, 39
 Return to Contents Page

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Mozambique Exchange Rate and Fuel Prices: 3 March 2017

Mozambique Metical (MZN) Exchange Rate Mozambique Fuel Prices

Currency Buy Sell Fuel Type Price Per Litre
Euro (EUR) 73,38 73,48 Petrol 50.02MT
U.S. Dollar (USD) 69,78 69,88 Diesel 45.83MT
S.A. Rand (ZAR) 5,33 5,33

GRAPH 1: MOZAMBIQUE CURRENCY EVALUATION

16

Macro-economy:
Mozambique aims to have debt
restructure proposal by end of March –
report
Mozambique is aiming to have a
“concreate proposal” for its creditors by
the end of March to start negotiations to
restructure the country’s commercial
foreign debt, Finance Minister Adriano
Maleiane told O País on Monday 27
February.
Mozambique is currently in arrears on the
three financing facilities – its US$767-
million sovereign Eurobond, having
defaulted on a US$59.8-million payment
in January; a US$535-million guaranteed
loan taken out by maritime security
company Mozambique Asset
Management (MAM), which it failed to pay
in May 2016; and a US$622-million
guaranteed loan taken out by another
maritime security company, Proindicus,
having failed to honour one of the
creditors’ demands for early payment
following a ratings downgrade in 2016.
Mozambique first asked its creditors to
consider restructuring all three facilities in
October 2016, aiming to conclude the
restructure by the time the January
payment on the sovereign bond was due
– a deadline which has now passed.
The next payment is for US$119-million
on Proindicus, due on 21 March 2017.
Zitamar News reported in January that if
the payment is missed, it could cause
chaos in Mozambique’s domestic banking
system due to local banks having bought
portions of the loan when it was
syndicated by the arranging bank, Credit
Suisse.
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In an interview following the opening of
the first session of parliament for 2017,
Minister Maleiane told O País that he
“cannot foresee” what will happen, but
said: “What we have to do is make an
effort to conclude negotiations with the
advisors by March, so by then we can
have a concrete proposal to be able to
bring Mozambique’s debt to sustainable
levels”. Minister Maleiane added that he
also wants “to have this debt framed
within the programme that we have for the
2017 budget”. The Minister was
scheduled to address a press conference
on Wednesday 1 March, regarding the
2017 budget and spending plans.
A committee representing some of the
holders of the sovereign bonds has said it
will not negotiate with the government
until the results of an independent audit
into the three deals, being carried out by
investigations company Kroll, is
published. The report was initially due to
be published by the end of February, but
the deadline has now been pushed back
to 31 March. Mozambique’s Ministry of
Finance is advised by investment bank
Lazard Frères and by law firm White &
Case.
Source: Zitamar News
Mozambique to seek partial debt
restructuring, says Prime Minister
On Wednesday 1 March, Prime Minister
Carlos Agostinho do Rosário announced
that Mozambique will seek to negotiate a
restructuring of part of its debt. The
southern African nation is struggling to
repay loans of more than US$2-billion that
were not approved by parliament or
disclosed publicly. “We will negotiate with
the creditors to restructure these debts,”
said Prime Minister Rosário, adding that
the nation wants to honour its debts “in a

balanced way”. With aid by the IMF
suspended in the wake of the unapproved
loans, Mozambique’s government last
year said its debt was unsustainable.
Prime Minister Rosário also said he
expected Mozambique would reach its
economic growth target of 5.5% this year.
The nation’s foreign currency reserves
have increased and is now sufficient to
cover five months of imports, Prime
Minister Rosário said. In November the
country appointed risk management firm
Kroll to probe the state firms that hid the
loans from government and international
creditors. “We all want the audit
completed on time”, said Prime Minister
Rosário referring to the end-March
deadline. “We are awaiting the results, but
negotiations with the IMF are under way”.
Source: Reuters
Economist says that Mozambique’s
debt renegotiation is possible
Economist Hipólito Hamela says that the
Mozambican government cannot pay its
debts right now. If an international audit,
which is still ongoing, concludes that
“there is a debt not legally contracted”,
those “responsible will have to be found”
and held responsible, he says.
There is one month to go before
Mozambique has to pay one of the
instalments of the state-guaranteed debt
contracted in favour of the companies
Ematum, Proindicus and MAM.
Minister of Economy and Finance,
Adriano Maleiane, acknowledged this on
Monday 27 February, stating, however,
that it is not yet possible to foresee the
outcome of the case. He said the
executive is making an “effort” to ensure
that by March it will have concluded
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negotiations with donors on a concrete
proposal for bringing Mozambique’s
global debt down to sustainable levels.
Renegotiation of debt is possible:
In an interview with Deutsche Welle
Africa, economist Hipólito Hamela said
that, in his opinion, it is still possible to
reach an agreement on debt renegotiation
so as to adapt it to the timeframe in which
the country will start to receive benefits
from natural resources exploitation, which
is due to start soon.
According to Hamela, given the tight
deadlines, the government’s option to
“package all the debt, renegotiate it with
better terms and conditions and make it
sustainable” is “perfectly possible”.
Should the Mozambican government not
be able to complete the debt renegotiation
or pay the instalment due in March, the
country will register a second default, after
having failed to repay debt interest in
January.
For Hamela, the country does not have
many more alternatives. “We only have
this March window to do this renegotiation
and come away ‘clean’. It is never good
not to pay, but to come away clean from
the point of view of our country’s
international image”, he says.
Debt not repayable at present:
Hamela says that Mozambique is not in a
position to repay its debt at this time and
has a dilemma on its hands, given that it
“may have money to pay”, but that this
“would mean sacrificing many other
things”.

“It’s like a father who owes money to the
bank. If he pays the debt it’s taking 70%
or 80% of his salary, which means there’s
no food at home. He thinks that he either
renegotiates the debt to the bank or else
he pays and there is no food in the house.
Most probably, a responsible parent will
renegotiate with the bank. The bank will
have to accept conditions so that the debt
can be repaid and the children kept alive”,
Hamela explains.
In reaffirming this possibility of debt
renegotiation, the economist highlights the
fact that, in the short-term, gas exploration
projects in the Rovuma Basin will start
and eventually oil projects, with medium
to long-term gains in prospect. And only
after successfully completing
renegotiations can Mozambique re-
establish the previous friendly relationship
with the World Bank, the IMF and donors.
Find those responsible:
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International partners have been
subjecting the resumption of direct aid to
the Mozambican State Budget to
conditions including the presentation of
the conclusions of the international audit
into the so-called hidden debts due in
March. The total amount owed is US$11-
billion.
Hamela says that if the audit concludes
that the debt was not legally contracted, it
will be necessary to find those responsible
and hold them accountable, but not
punish them. But “if there was a sovereign
guarantee it is because there was a
sovereign goal that the government
allowed this sovereign guarantee and the
responsibility is collective”, he says.
A number of voices are, however,
supporting the individual accountability of
those involved.
Source: Deutsche Welle

IMF directors explain how they can
lend to countries with unsustainable
debt
The IMF believes that its regulations
forbid loans to countries with
unsustainable public debt, such as
Mozambique, unless debt restructuring
takes place and there are credible macro-
economic objectives.
An article on the IMF’s ‘Global Policy
Forum’ website by the director of the legal
department, the director of research and
the director of the IMF’s European
department explains the Fund’s approach
to the issue of unsustainable debt which
renders countries ineligible for relief.
“When sovereign debt is unsustainable,
the IMF’s legal framework precludes it
from providing financial support unless the
programme includes specific measures –
normally including a debt restructuring –
that credibly address the debt
sustainability problem within the medium-
term”, the article by Sean Hagan, Maurice
Obstfeld and Poul M. Thomsen explains.
Without specifically mentioning
Mozambique, one of the countries facing
this issue, the article explains that the
concept of “unsustainable” essentially
applies when “scheduled debt service
exceeds the capacity of the member to
service it, even taking into account both a
strong adjustment programme and
significant financial support from the IMF”.
In January, Mozambique failed to pay a
provision of nearly US$60-million on
US$727.5-million of sovereign debt issued
in April last year, which had already been
subject to restructuring which extended
the repayment term from 2020 to 2023
and increased the annual interest rate.
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The government then argued that it was
not able to make this and the other
payments expected for this year, in an
initiative that the holders of these bonds
considered to be a move to force them to
restructure the Eurobonds.
Following this default, the credit rating
agencies either lowered their rating of
Mozambique’s sovereign debt or signalled
the economy as evolving negatively. All
gave Mozambican debt non-investment
recommendation, commonly known as
‘junk’.
“Although considerable work has been
done to establish a methodology to guide
the IMF’s debt sustainability analysis, the
application of this methodology still
requires the exercise of judgement”, the
article reads, namely the need to make a
“a realistic assessment of the unique
circumstances of each member country”.
With a public debt estimates by rating
agency Standard & Poor’s to be currently
at 137% of gross domestic product (GDP)
and expected to remain close to 120% by
2020, Mozambique is one of the countries
facing the difficulty of needing IMF
financial support and at the same time
having to convince holders of sovereign
debt to accept payment restructuring.
Creditors say that the country must reach
an agreement with the IMF first, to ensure
compliance with adjustment programme
budgetary targets and follow-ups, while
the IMF, in the latest public statements
and in this article now published, prefers
debt restructuring to take place before the
implementation of any support
programme.
On the methodology for assessing debt
sustainability, the article authors explain
that they use two models. “The first

methodology asks if, by the end of the
IMF programme and with debt serviced on
the original terms, debt ratios to GDP will
be sufficiently low or on a clear enough
downward path to restore lender
confidence and allow the government
once again to tap financial markets”.
The second, “which is especially relevant
when debt has a long maturity and
particularly low interest rates, is to ask
whether the country’s annual financing
needs – to cover gross payments of
interest and principal as well as its
primary fiscal balance – can reasonably
be met by the markets going forward”.
In both cases, say the authors of the
article, projections on payments have to
be realistic and should improve debt
sustainability over the years, “rather than
levels that would disrupt the economy so
severely that tax revenues actually fall
and fiscal targets are abandoned”. Thus,
ultimately, the IMF’s assessment of debt
sustainability “will rely on both the
country’s own circumstances and our
extensive experience with other members
in distress”, the authors conclude.
Source: Lusa
IMF, austerity, inequality
As the IMF discusses a new programme
with Mozambique, an important debate
with and within the IMF becomes relevant.
After the secret debt fiasco, the IMF has
the upper hand, but donors and civil
society will need to monitor the
discussions to ensure that a hard-nosed
IMF negotiating team actually follows the
new guidelines emerging from
Washington.
For four years, IMF head Christine
Lagarde has taken a lead in stressing that
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inequality reduces economic growth, most
recently speaking at Davos in January.
This triggered articles such as The IMF is
Showing Some Hypocrisy on Inequality by
Christopher Sheil and Frank Stilwell, who
argue that “IMF leaders should practise
what they preach when it comes to
inequality”. One response is an IMF blog
by Prakash Loungani and Jonathan D.
Ostry, entitled appropriately Bridging
Research and Reality.
Mozambique’s new programme will be
one of the first since Lagarde’s most
recent Davos speech. Three factors will
come into play. First the IMF will demand
increased austerity. Second the IMF will
want to at least slap the wrists of
Mozambique for being a bad child by
keeping the US$2-billion debt secret. But,
third, inequality in Mozambique doubled in
the past six years, and a year ago the
then IMF resident representative Alex
Segura-Ubiergo warned that “high levels
of inequality hamper government policies
to reduce poverty … make it difficult to
sustain growth … and can lead to political
instability”. This is confirmed in another
new IMF study, by Stefania Fabrizio and
others.
In a 16 February statement, the IMF said
that “increasing the income share of the
poorest can boost growth, but raising the
income share of the richest can actually
harm growth”. But Shell and Stilwell argue
that IMF operational guidelines for its
annual macro-economic surveys make no
reference to inequality, “nor has anything
significant changed in the requirements
that the IMF imposes on countries to
which it provides financial assistance”.
The IMF’s Loungani and Ostry note that
IMF programmes tend to focus on three
policy areas: reducing budget deficits
through austerity, liberalising labour

markets, and removing barriers to the
movement of capital across borders. But
they note that these policies “sometimes
have the side effect of raising inequality”.
To counter this, they stress the need to
protect public spending on health and
education, and to encourage redistribution
through cash transfers to low-income
families and other welfare benefits. They
also note that “spending on infrastructure
reduces inequality”. Fabrizio and his team
point out that infrastructure investment
efficiency matters, and they use the World
Economic Forum (WEF) measure of
“wastefulness of government spending”.
And WEF finds that for Mozambique,
although corruption is a problem,
government spending is relatively
efficient.
Agriculture remains a key issue. Farm
subsidies (always opposed by donors and
the IMF) actually increase the incomes of
workers, reducing inequality, Fabrizio et al
look specifically at Malawi’s fertiliser
subsidy, and found that it both boosted
maize production, raised the income of
small and poor farmers, and reduced
poverty and inequality. Cash transfers to
the rural poor are an alternative to farm
subsidies.
Fabrizio et al argue there is a need to
boost agricultural productivity, but they
warn that in the short-term this tends to
only benefit the better off, increasing
inequality, so it should be combined with
cash transfers to the rural poor. In
addition they call for investment in rural
electrification and irrigation, more
investment in agricultural R&D and
services, and increased access to
financial services.
All this requires increased spending and
goes counter to austerity. The IMF forced
Mozambique to adopt the Value Added
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Tax (a sales tax) but Loungani and Ostry
point out that greater reliance on indirect
taxes like VAT increase inequality. The
Fabrizio team notes that “VAT rate
increases adopted by LIDCs [low income
developing countries] over the past two
decades have been associated with
higher inequality”.
Financial sector reforms are sure to be
part of any IMF programme for
Mozambique, but the Fabrizio team point
out that “financial sector reforms can
exacerbate inequality if financial access is
limited to a small share of the population”
– which is the case in Mozambique.
Donors will play a key role because they
have effectively made a return to a normal
aid programme conditional on a new IMF
programme. Donors have put the IMF in
charge, but will need to keep tabs on the
negotiations, to ensure that in
Mozambique the IMF really does “walk
the talk” and does not impose an austerity
package that further increases inequality.
IMF again sets leadership standards:
On 23 February, Rodrigo Rato, managing
director of the IMF 2004-07, was
sentenced to four and a half years in jail
for misusing funds of a Spanish bank,
Bankia, of which he was chair and which
collapsed and was taken over by the
government in 2012. Top officials of the
bank were given “black credit cards”
which could be used for unlimited
personal spending.
Rato and 64 other Bankia directors and
executives used the cards for €5-million in
illegal purchases. In a separate ongoing
trial, Rato and others are accused of
misrepresenting the bank’s financial
soundness at the time of a public share
offering in 2011. Bankia claimed it made a

profit of €11-million in 2011, but a later
audit showed a loss of €3-billion.
This means the last three managing
directors of the IMF have been involved in
scandals. Dominique Strauss-Kahn
(2007-11) resigned under a cloud of
various sexual and financial scandals. He
was succeeded by Christine Lagarde,
who was confirmed in her post
immediately after being convicted, on 19
December 2016, of “negligence with
public money” for approving a payment of
€400-million when she was French
finance minister.
Source: Mozambique News Reports &
Clippings
OAM demands punishment over
“hidden debts”
On Wednesday 1 March, the chairperson
of the Mozambican Bar Association
(Ordem dos Advogados de Moçambique,
OAM), Flavio Menete, called for
exemplary punishment of those involved
in the scandal of the country’s “hidden
debts”, should it be proved that any
crimes were committed in contracting
these debts.
Speaking at the ceremony opening the
2017 judicial year, Menete said the
country’s economic situation, caused by
such factors as the fall in commodity
prices, had been worsened by the
“shameful situation” of the hidden debts.
He was referring to loans of over US$2-
billion granted by European banks
(notably Credit Suisse and VTB of Russia)
to three quasi-public, security related
companies – Ematum, Proindicus and
MAM. Since the loans were fully
guaranteed by the Mozambican
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government, they count as part of the
country’s debt.
By guaranteeing these loans in 2013 and
2014, the government of the time, headed
by Armando Guebuza, increased the
country’s foreign debt burden by 20%. It
has subsequently become clear that none
of the three companies can pay back the
loans.
Menete noted that the guarantees were
issued without the authorisation of the
National Assembly. “Since there was no
transparency in the entire process,
including knowledge of how the money
was used”, he said, “one can only think of
the possibility that it was corrupt”.
He hoped that the company hired to audit
Ematum, Proindicus and MAM (the
London branch of the US company Kroll)
“will do its job professionally, obeying the
highest standards of quality, and
observing the best practices accepted
internationally”.
For its part, the Public Prosecutor’s Office,
Menete continued, “should use the
available information, in an impartial
manner so that, if there is sufficient
indication that crimes have been
committed, those who committed them,
their accomplices and those who covered
the crimes up, will be held responsible in
an exemplary fashion”.
They should be “prevented from
continuing to benefit from the values,
goods and rights acquired from this
criminal activity, and should be obliged to
repay the state for the losses caused. It is
time we ended the perception that our
justice system is strong against the weak,
but weak against the strong”.

He did not name any suspects in
particular – but the man who signed the
government guarantees, knowing that
they violated the 2013 and 2014 Budget
Laws, was the the finance minister
Manuel Chang. As for president Guebuza
himself, last year he told the
Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into
the loans that, despite the illegal nature of
the guaranees, he had no regrets and
would do it again, in the name of “national
security”.
Menete also attacked the recent award of
a contract by the country’s relief agency,
the National Disasters Management
Institute (Instituto Nacional de Gestão de
Calamides, INGC), without a public
tender, to the company “Transportes
Carlos Mesquita Ltd.” (TCM), a company
in which Transport Minister Carlos
Mesquita has an interest. The Minister is
one of the owners of the Mesquita Group,
which is the main shareholder in TCM.
The TCM contract is worth MT20-million
(about US$292,000).
This is not the first time that companies
linked to the Minister have been accused
of receiving undue benefits. “What are the
interests that guide governance?”, asked
Menete. “What criteria were used to grant
benefits to these companies?”
He thought the Law on Public Probity,
which was intended to prevent such
conflicts of interest, “is being grossly
violated. These situations must be
stopped”.
Turning to the damage caused by cyclone
Dineo, which hit Inhambane Province on
16 February, Menete noted that in areas
that are prone to natural disasters,
schools and other public infrastructure
“should be built with characteristics that
allow them to resist”.
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But that was not the case in Inhambane,
and Menete suspected that contractors
had taken short cuts and broken the law.
“Were those schools built taking disasters
into account? Was there inspection?
Were the materials used of the quality
required for buildings of this nature,
considering that they are in areas where
cyclones may occur? What engineering
measures were taken to protect roads that
suffer from rains, and almost always in the
same places?”
“Taxpayers and future generations cannot
continue to be sacrificed because the law
is being broken, which leads us to pay
several times for repairing the same
infrastructures”, he declared.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Mozambican officials say truce is
boosting economy
The Confederation of Economic
Associations of Mozambique
(Confederação das Associações
Económicas de Moçambique, CTA)
considers that the truce between the
FADM and the Renamo militia is boosting
the economy. On Tuesday 28 February,
Agostinho Vuma, the CTA vice-president,
said that transport, tourism and trade are
just some of the areas that are benefiting
from the truce.
“An assessment by CTA in January found
that the agreement has boosted some
important economic sectors, opening new
lines for the recovery of the economy”,
said Vuma. According to Vuma, in
January, the number of passenger buses
leaving from Maputo to provincial capitals
increased by 74%.
Source: Observador

Mozambican private sector not in a
position to raise salaries
The CTA says that the private sector is
not in a position to raise workers’ wages.
The announcement was made on
Tuesday 28 February in Maputo, during a
meeting of CTA members aimed at
discussing the minimum wages for this
year, which ended without consensus
being reached.
Representatives of the eight economic
sectors participated in the meeting. All
sectors agreed that 2016 was an atypical
year for the national economy and, as a
result, there were inconsistencies in the
economic balance presented by the
Labour Advisory Commission’s 2016
Economic and Social Plan (PES).
According to CTA representative, Victor
Miguel, PES 2016 makes a positive
assessment of the national economy,
which entrepreneurs question. The CTA
maintained that the Balance of the Social
Economic Plan of 2016, presented by the
Ministry of Economy and Finance, does
not reflect the reality experienced by
business people and economic agents in
general throughout the past year.
Entrepreneurs say that any proposal
presented must match the financial reality
of companies, at the risk of strikes or
bankruptcies as a result of not being able
to pay.
“The minimum wage is calculated on a
formula. Wages based on the macro-
economic data presented would be
unsustainable. Companies would close,
and operators who tried to work would be
confronted every day with strikes for non-
payment of wages. If the documents
move forward as they are, we can
anticipate a major crisis”, Miguel stated.
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The meeting will continue to work towards
a consensus proposal agreeable to the
committee, which represents companies
both affiliated and not affiliated with the
CTA. As soon as there is a definite
proposal, it will be taken for discussion
with the Mozambican Workers’
Organization (OTM). The new minimum
wage will take effect on 1 April.
Source: Folha de Maputo/O País
Unions suggest two wage rises in 2017
Mozambique’s main trade union
federation, the OTM, has suggested that,
if the country’s current financial situation
prevails, then the minimum wage should
be increased twice this year rather than
once. OTM General Secretary Alexandre
Munguambe made this call public on
Friday 3 March, during a meeting of the
Labour Consultative Commission (CCT),
the tripartite negotiating forum between
the government, the unions, and the
employers’ organisations.
The standard practice has been for the
CCT to agree on a set of minimum wages
by sector, which the government then
puts into law. The new wages take effect
as from 1 April each year. But the OTM is
now suggesting that in times of high
inflation, wages should be adjusted more
frequently.
“We would like to recall that in the past,
when annual inflation reached two digits,
the minimum wage was increased twice a
year”, said Munguambe. “If the current
situation continues, there is every reason
to return to this practice”.
In 2016, inflation sharply deteriorated,
largely because of the depreciation of the
Mozambican currency, the metical.

According to the National Statistics
Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estatística,
INE), based on the consumer price
indices of the three largest cities (Maputo,
Nampula and Beira), inflation for the year
reached 25.27%.
Munguambe stressed that workers’ living
standards had tumbled last year. “2016
was characterised by politico-military
instability, natural disasters, a financial
crisis, depreciation of the metical and
unsustainable foreign debts”, he said.
“These factors raised the cost of living to
unbearable levels, and worsened the
poverty of the majority of Mozambicans”.
The purchasing power of workers earning
low wages had fallen sharply, he said. On
top of this came increasing
unemployment, as companies laid off
staff. “Lack of jobs for people of
economically active age, plus layoffs,
worries us, because unemployment
worsens crime”, said Munguambe. Under
these circumstances, a wage rise was
imperative. “Wages must be increased as
from 1 April”, said Munguambe. “It can’t
be the workers who pay for the economic
crisis”.
Labour Minister Vitória Diogo, who chairs
the CCT, gave a much rosier picture,
claiming that 277,647 jobs were created in
2016. Approximately 106,749 citizens,
mostly young, had attended professional
training courses, thus increasing their
chances of obtaining good jobs.
She urged the negotiators to act “with a
high sense of responsibility, always
bearing in mind that more and better jobs,
maintaining jobs, and improving the living
standards of workers and their families,
and the prosperity of enterprises, are,
taken together, our objectives – but they
are attained gradually and as we increase
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the productivity and profitability of the
companies”. Workers and employers
needed each other, she claimed, arguing
that “there are no winners and no losers.
What must guide us is the principle of
good faith”.
Minister Diogo urged the negotiating
teams to ensure that the discussions on
raising the minimum wage “take place in
an environment of fraternity, calm,
thoughtful consideration and discretion, so
that we may find, without extreme or
radicalised positions, a fair balance
between the need for a wage adjustment,
the maintenance and creation of jobs, and
the sustainability of the companies”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Mozambique Stock Exchange still
lacks a single listed SME
Small and medium businesses operating
in the country completely ignore the
financing potential of the Mozambique
Stock Exchange, and although 20 years
old, the country’s only stock exchange
does not list even one small or medium-
sized enterprise (SME).
Several reasons can be presented.
Among them are entry requirements
beyond the companies’ capacities, poor
disclosure of stock market value, fear of
joining a Stock Exchange still lacking
expression, and organisational deficits
such as the lack of organised accounting.
The Chairman of the BVM Board of
Directors says that the requirements for
joining the stock market were simplified in
2008, but even so, it remains very difficult
to convince entrepreneurs to join. From
2008 to 2009, companies were supposed
to have a minimum of MT16-million of

share capital, two years of audited and
published accounts and a dispersion of
15% of the capital stock in order to be
able to join exchange.
However, Sailm Valá points out, since
2009, everything has changed.
Companies are now required to have
MT4-million, nine months of audited and
published accounts and 5% of capital
dispersion.
Despite the simplification, no SME joined
and the number of listed companies even
dropped by four. “From 2009 until today,
we do not yet have any small and medium
company listed on the stock exchange”,
Valá admitted.
To find solutions to the problem, the
Mozambican Stock Exchange and the
Institute for the Promotion of Small and
Medium Enterprises (IPEME) signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on
Wednesday 1 March. The goal is to
publicise stock exchange financing
opportunities.
On that occasion, Valá said that IPEME
has the responsibility of preparing and
persuading companies to join the
exchange, which can offer SMEs lower
interest rates than commercial banks.
IPEME director general Claire Zimba says
that nothing is lacking in the institution
that he directs, although he recognises
the need to be more agile.
“I wouldn’t say we’re failing. I understand
that we must continually disseminate
information”, he said.
After the signing of the MoU, IPEME staff
started receiving training from the stock
exchange in ways to attract more SMEs.
Source: O País
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Tax incentives raise doubts in
Mozambique
The excessive tax benefits that cost the
state more than US$400-million a year
continue to divide opinions in
Mozambique. The government says they
are aimed at job creation, while
economists consider them unnecessary
and likely to offer cover for corruption.
Several economists told VOA that the
policies the Mozambican government is
following are moving money out of the
country, but officials say tax benefits are
needed to attract investment.
All projects approved under the
Investment Law are exempt from customs
duties and Value Added Tax (VAT) on the
importation of equipment in class K of the
Customs Tariff, for example.
Investments in the city of Maputo enjoy a
five-year reduction in the collection of
Corporate Income Tax in relation to the
total investment amount. The other
provinces receive 10% of this deduction.
Economists admit that the US$400-million
that the country loses each year as a
result of tax breaks would not provide for
all of Mozambique’s needs, but say it
could do much.
For economist João Mosca, the argument
that tax breaks attract investments is not
true, because Mozambique has good gas
and coal reserves, “and investors will
always come if there are good
governance practices and fiscal policies
similar to those practiced in other
countries”.
Mosca points out that certain rates of
taxation could be applied, provided that
this ensures that the company which pays

these preferential rates has a comparative
advantage in gas exploitation, for
example, compared to its exploitation of
other deposits, because there are more
deposits that are not being explored.
Figures from the Centre for Investment
Promotion (Centro de Promocao de
Investimentos, CPI) indicate that the
volume of investments in Mozambique in
2015 was approximately US$6-billion.
Source: VOA Português
CONSILMO asks government to
readjust contracts with
contractors/privatise EdM, LAM,
Petromoc
Against a backdrop of companies laying
off workers due to the difficult economic
situation that the country is experiencing,
the National Confederation of
Independent and Free Trade Unions of
Mozambique (Confederação Nacional dos
Sindicatos Independentes e Livres de
Moçambique, CONSILMO) argues that
the solution is for the government to
adjust contracts signed with contractors to
oblige them to not cut their labour force.
“The government should review the
contractual agreements already entered
into with contractors with a view to
ensuring that they can, in the context of
the devaluation of the metical,
progressively from 2014 to 2016, benefit
from adjustments to continue ongoing
projects and thus contribute to preventing
companies going bankrupt as a result of
the economic and financial crisis that has
hit them”, CONSILMO secretary general,
Jeremias Timana, says.
Timana added that the union wanted the
government to liberalise transportation
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tariffs so that the activity could be carried
out profitably.
“We recommend government consider the
possibility of liberalising transport prices,
according to the operational costs and
according to existing and consolidated
models in other countries. We also
recommend creating mechanisms that
encourage the maintenance of vehicles in
the country”.
CONSILMO also calls for the privatisation
of, among others, Moçambique (LAM) and
PETROMOC in order to return them to
profitability, and conversely deplores the
precarious conditions under which some
security company employees in the
country work.
Source: O País
Young Mozambicans disappointed with
employment policy
Young Mozambicans say the
government’s projections about creating
around 300,000 new jobs this year are
unrealistic and over-optimistic. In
conversation with VOA, several young
people have slammed the absence of an
effective employment policy, especially for
youth. Labour Minister Vitória Diogo said
that the new jobs would be created under
the government’s strategy to reduce
unemployment and raise incomes in the
country, especially through a focus on
agriculture.
She said that if agriculture managed to
raise incomes, it would mean that income
and self-employed remuneration would
also increase, “and this is how the country
will fight poverty”.
“The issue of new jobs leads us to see
that there is a lot more creativity

emerging, with new entrepreneurs and
new initiatives, and when we look at
services, we also see that self-
employment has increased”, she said.
But for Abdul Sulemane, this is not the
result of any government employment
policy, and it remained necessary to
create opportunities “for the young to
succeed”.
“I have heard these government
projections and I think they are unrealistic.
We do not have a youth employment
policy in the country”, he said.
Orlando Francisco, another young man,
says he does not know if he will ever get a
job, “but I remember that creating jobs for
youth was one of the promises made by
President Filipe Nyusi during the election
campaign”.
For his part, Policarpo Tamele believes
that one of the solutions to the lack of
employment is to give tools to
Mozambican youth, “not in the sense of
giving money, but by creating conditions
for young people to access start-up funds”
Mozambican authorities estimate the
country’s unemployment rate at about
30%, but some disagree, saying the
percentage is higher.
Source: VOA Português
Financial Services:
Banco de Moçambique slams
illegalities in the issuance of
guarantees by microfinance operators
On Wednesday 1 March, the Banco de
Moçambique condemned the practice of
microfinance operators issuing bank
guarantees contrary to legislation in force
in the country.
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A central bank statement received by
Jornal Notícias recalls that bank
guarantees can only be issued by banks.
“There being based evidence of non-
permitted activities conducted by some
microfinance operators, namely the
issuance of bank guarantees, the Banco
de Moçambique communicates that, in
the light of Article 4 of the Law on Credit
Institutions and Financial Companies –
Law No. 15/99 of 1 November, with the
changes introduced by Law no. 9/2004, of
21 July, the issuance of bank guarantees
is an activity exclusively allowed to
banks”, the statement reads.
The statement adds that institutions
authorised to grant credit in accordance
with the Microfinance Regulation,
approved by Decree No. 57/2004 of 10
December, namely Microbancos, Credit
Unions, Savings and Loan Organisations
and Microcredit, can only issue other
types of guarantees other than banking,
and within the context of the microfinance
segment and within the scope of the
conditions allowed for the exercise of their
activity.
Source: Jornal Notícias
Banco Moza says recapitalisation
proceeding within expectations
On Wednesday 1 March, Moza Banco
said that its recapitalisation was
proceeding within expectations and that
the institution was functioning normally.
In a statement aimed at rebutting
unfavourable perspectives on its situation,
Moza Banco said it had been able to
recover confidence in the market and with
the general public.
 Return to Contents Page

“The rescue of this institutional credibility
is very much in keeping with the
commitment that the Banco de
Moçambique has given regarding the
conduct of this process, through the
intervention carried out on 30 September
of last year”, the statement reads.
Banco de Moçambique has said on
several occasions that the recapitalisation
of Moza Banco would undoubtedly be
brought about, regardless of the form and
the players who would participate in the
process.
“We want to assure all Moza Banco
stakeholders, whether they are clients,
suppliers, employees or other partners,
that we strongly believe the institution will
continue to carry out its mission in the
national financial system and economy in
a solid and well-balanced way”, the
statement, signed by Moza Banco
president João Figueiredo, said.
leading the central bank to deny any
‘reasons to panic’ and to assure the public
that the financial system was sound, with
average solvency ratios of 14%, well
above the 8% required by the supervisory
body.
Unlike O Nosso Banco, which had only a
little more than 5,000 private and 900
commercial depositors and represented
only 1% of the country’s banking system,
Moza has more than 93,000 private and
8,000 commercial customers and a 7.71%
share, being the fourth largest
Mozambican bank, with 48 branches
across the country.
Source: Lusa

At the end of January, the General

Shareholders’ Meeting of Moza Banco,
owned by Portugal’s Novo Banco,
approved a capital increase of MT8.17-
billion (€107.7-million) after the Banco de
Moçambique injected around MT8-billion
(€105-million) into Moza Bank in
December to halt its collapse and avoid
an “earthquake” in the Mozambican
financial system.

Two months after its intervention in Moza

Banco, the bank supervisor liquidated O
Nosso Banco, owned by the National
Social Security Institute (INSS), and
activated the deposit guarantee fund,
providing for a refund of only MT20,000
meticais (€R240) for individual depositors,
excluding companies.

Despite its small size, O Nosso Banco’s

bankruptcy launched a wave of alarm,

30

Société Générale pledges expansion in
Mozambique
On Thursday 2 March, the French
banking group Société Générale (SG)
pledged to expand its business in
Mozambique, hoping to achieve a market
share of 10%. “We are not here for the
short-term, but to develop long lasting and
trusting relations with the Mozambican
government and Mozambican clients”,
said Alexandre Maymat, the Société
Générale deputy director responsible for
Africa, addressing a press conference at
the inauguration of the new Maputo
headquarters of SG-Mozambique.
Société Générale entered the
Mozambican banking system through an
agreement in March 2015, under which it
became the majority shareholder in what
was then the Mozambican branch of the
Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB). The
Chief Executive Officer of SG-
Mozambique, Laurent Thong Vanh, said
SG had injected capital of US$18-million,
giving it a 65% stake in MCB-
Mozambique.
MCB only had two branches in
Mozambique, in Maputo and the
neighbouring city of Matola, concentrating
mainly on corporate clients. Since taking
over MCB, SG has invested a further
US$3-million in upgrading the bank’s
computer platforms, and has doubled its
staff (from 50 to 100).
Vanh said the bank will expand to other
major cities, such as Beira, Nampula and
Pemba, but that its retail operations,
especially in more remote areas, will
depend heavily on mobile banking.
Rather than build large numbers of
branches, SG-Mozambique will operate
via “banking agents” (such as petrol
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stations) providing the clients with an
electronic wallet, allowing them to make
transactions via a smart phone.
SG stresses that, for the time being, one
of its priorities will remain corporate
banking, “an area in which it has a
competitive advantage due to the
reputation and stability of the group”. It
has focused on sectors where it believes
it has a world leadership position, such as
the oil and gas industries. In Mozambique,
it has become the financial advisor to
Anadarko, the US company that is the
operator of offshore Area-1 of the
Rovuma Basin, in the far north, where
vast reserves of natural gas have been
discovered.
But in future, said Maymat, the bank
intends to expand its retail business. “We
expect retail banking to become decisive
for profitable banking”, he said,
mentioning 10% as a target market share.
“I look at this market as an opportunity,
not a risk”, he added. The majority of the
Mozambican population do not hold bank
accounts, and Société Générale saw this
as providing room for development. In
which Société Générale could bring its
expertise to bear.
Société Générale, a bank founded in
France in 1864, is regarded as one of the
30 largest banks in the world, with net
assets of around US$66.4-billion. It
operates in 76 countries, 18 of them in
Africa.
Mozambique is the first country in
southern or eastern Africa where Société
Générale has invested. Vanh regarded
this as the first step in expansion across
southern Africa.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique

Oil & Gas:
Companies seek US support for
hydrocarbon exploration
Gas exploration is at the door and
national companies have high
expectations. A meeting in Maputo on
Tuesday 28 February, organised by the
commercial services of the US Embassy
in Mozambique in partnership with the
CTA, discussed opportunities, challenges
and the role of the state, government,
companies in the logistics sector and oil
companies.
Participants recognise that there are
windows of opportunity for the growth of
companies, but they point out the need to
prepare the country for the standards
demanded by the oil and gas industry.
The private sector, represented by CTA
Vice-President Agostinho Vuma, believes
that there are great opportunities in
various service sectors, so opportunities
should not be seen as limited to technical
sectors.
The government pointed to the National
Content Law as an important step in
enabling the country to profit, with Director
of Economic and Financial Studies at the
Ministry of Economy and Finance, Vasco
Nhabinde, explaining that Mozambique
takes advantage of local content
compared to international experiences, as
it looks not only to the hydrocarbon sector
but others such as agriculture, in addition
to involving both domestic and foreign
companies.
The US Embassy says that national
companies need to be supported in order
to be able to do business in the
hydrocarbon sector.
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“With extensive experience in oil and gas
exploration, we plan to bring United
States experts to help Mozambique
cement its involvement in the entire
process of exploring these resources”.
The need to improve competitiveness is a
point highlighted by one of Area-4
operators in the Rovuma Basin, the
American oil company ExxonMobil.
“We have to investigate international
quality standards to ensure the
competitiveness of your companies,
because we want customers to help us
become more efficient”, the company’s
representative said.
US presence in gas exploration in
Mozambique is currently represented by
Anadarko, the company that is exploring
Area-1 of the Rovuma Basin in Cabo
Delgado Province.
ExxonMobil, another US multinational, is
preparing to explore Area-4 and is willing
to recruit Mozambican labour during its
operations, as it is already doing in other
countries where it operates, such as
Angola and Nigeria.
Source: O País
ENI close to finalising deal to sell stake
in Mozambique gasfield
On Wednesday 1 March, ENI said that it
was “within weeks” of sealing a
multibillion-dollar deal to sell a stake in its
Mozambique operations, with ExxonMobil
favourite to buy the asset.
The Italian energy group has been
seeking a partner to help sell
Mozambique’s vast offshore gas
resources on global markets and
ExxonMobil is seen as the most likely

candidate because it also has exploration
licences in the south-east African country.
Claudio Descalzi, ENI chief executive, told
the Financial Times the long-awaited
transaction was “very close” but declined
to comment on the identity of the buyer.
Bankers and industry figures said it would
be a big surprise if it was not Exxon. The
US energy group declined to comment.
Descalzi’s statement came as ENI
reported its first quarterly profit for 18
months, aided by higher oil prices.
ENI wants a partner with strong financial
and technical capacity to help develop
gasfields in its so-called Area-4 block off
the coast of Mozambique, and the
onshore infrastructure needed to export
the output in liquefied form.
Mozambique’s location beside the Indian
Ocean makes it ideally placed to serve
the growing liquefied natural gas (LNG)
markets of Asia but there have been
many political, economic and practical
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hurdles to development in one of the
world’s poorest nations.
ENI’s stake sale is expected to be
followed later this year by the final go-
ahead for its multibillion-dollar Coral
South field – the first part of the Area-4
block due for development.
BP last year agreed a 20-year deal with
ENI to buy the entire output from Coral
South.
Massimo Bonisoli, analyst at Equita,
estimated the sale of a 20% stake in
Area-4 would raise €1.7-billion in cash for
ENI, with the potential for this to rise to as
much as €2.5-billion should the Italian
group eventually hand over operational
control to the buyer.
ENI holds a 50% stake in the Area-4
block. The other half is owned by CNPC
of China, Galp Energia of Portugal,
KOGAS of South Korea and
Mozambique’s national oil company,
Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos
(ENH).

Any deal would add to the US$2.2-billion
raised by ENI from the sale of stakes in its
giant Zohr gasfield in Egypt last year to
Rosneft and BP.
Bringing partners into its biggest projects
is helping ENI reduce debts and capital
expenditure after a series of large oil and
gas discoveries that have made it the
most successful explorer among global oil
and gas majors.
In a strategy update, ENI said on
Wednesday that it aimed to raise €5-
billion to €7-billion from disposals over the
next four years, including the
Mozambique stake.
Descalzi said exploration successes were
beginning to pay off with four large
projects – in Angola, Ghana, Indonesia
and Zohr in Egypt – due to start
production this year.
ENI forecast that its oil and gas
production would grow by 3% a year until
2020.
There would be no let-up in exploration
and project development, with plans to
drill 120 wells in more than 20 countries
over the next four years, and bring 22 new
projects on stream.
This would be achieved in spite of a 10%
reduction in capital expenditure over the
period due to cost cuts and stake sales.
ENI predicted that oil prices would be
around US$70 per barrel in 2020 – more
than a quarter higher than current trading
values – and said that, at this level, it
would produce US$29 of free cash flow
per barrel after capital expenditure was
deducted.
ENI’s adjusted net profit in the three
months to 31 December came to €459-
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million, more than double the €200-million
consensus forecast from analysts.
Michele Della Vigna, analyst at Goldman
Sachs, attributed the “strong” results to
higher production and lower costs.
He noted debts were falling and that ENI’s
record of replacing reserves was the best
within its peer group.
Source: Financial Times
Sasol says Mozambique drilling
campaign showing ‘promising results’
as it scales back capex as rand
strengthens, H1 earnings fall
On Monday 27 February, South African
petrochemicals group Sasol said that it
was scaling back planned capital
expenditure this year in the face of a
strengthening rand as it posted a fall in
interim earnings partly rooted in the
currency’s gains.
 Sasol said it was revising its capex
estimate for the full year to ZAR66-
billion (US$5-billion) from ZAR75-
billion “largely due to the impact of
the stronger rand/US dollar
exchange rate coupled with our
cash conservation initiatives and
active management of our capital
portfolio”.
 Sasol’s products are priced in
dollars but much of its costs are
rand-based. Forex movements also
have valuation implications for the
company’s balance sheet.
 Half-year headline earnings per
share (HEPS) decreased 38% to
ZAR15.12, in line with what the
company previously flagged to the
market.

 Sasol attributed the decline to rand
gains and to a strike at its Secunda
mining operations.
 Net cash position decreased from
ZAR52-billion in June 2016 to
ZAR28-billion rand at 31 December
2016, mainly due to the funding of
the company’s ethane cracker
project in Louisiana and the effect
of a stronger rand/US dollar
exchange rate.
 Board declared a gross interim
dividend of ZAR4.80 per share,
15.8% lower compared with the
prior period.
 In Mozambique, the company said
it has completed four wells as part
of its drilling campaign which are
“showing promising results.” (US$1
= ZAR12.9615).
Source: Reuters
Sasol says relations with Mozambique
in “good space”
Sasol joint president and Chief Executive
Officer, Stephen Cornell, has described
the group’s relations with the Mozambique
government as being in a “good space”,
despite the country’s current fiscal
difficulties, as well as periodic criticism
that the country is not benefiting fully from
the South African energy and chemicals
group’s investment activities.
Cornell says that, besides ongoing
investment activities, Sasol is also part of
efforts to support the Mozambican
authorities navigate their way through the
prevailing financial challenges.
Mozambique has confirmed the
deterioration of its macro-economic and
fiscal positions, as well as government’s
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capacity to make debt payments being
under strain. The country’s total public
debt, which is mostly denominated in
foreign currency, increased to what the
IMF described as “distressed levels” in
2016, owing to the addition of previously
undisclosed loans worth US$1.4-billion,
the equivalent of 10.7% of GDP.
Sasol is nevertheless pushing ahead with
a US$1.4-billion investment programme in
support of a Production Sharing
Agreement (PSA), granted in early 2016.
The programme covers oil and gas
development areas in southern
Mozambique.
The JSE-listed company drilled four gas
and oil wells – two in Temane and two in
Inhassoro – during the six months to 31
December 2016, and subsequently issued
a notice of discovery after finding oil
(together with gas) while drilling for gas in
the Temane permit area.
The current focus of the 13-well
campaign, comprising five gas wells,
seven oil wells and a water well, is on oil
prospects; Sasol is confident of adding oil
production to its gas-dominated
Mozambique portfolio in the coming two to
three years.
“Our feeling is that we are in a good
space – we want to do more, they are
critical to us and, I believe, we are very
important to them. And, from our
standpoint, [the relationship] hasn’t really
changed at all in the last few years”,
Cornell says.
“All the feedback we have from the
government of Mozambique is very
supportive”. His statement follows after
the re-emergence of reports suggesting
that Sasol’s initial contract to mine
Mozambican gas and transport it to South

Africa, primarily for conversion to fuel and
chemicals at its Secunda and Sasolburg
facilities, was too heavily skewed in favour
of the company.
Countering this argument, Sasol joint
president and Chief Executive Officer
Bongani Nqwababa reports that, since
2004, more than US$2-billion has been
invested in developing gas fields, a
central processing facility in Temane, as
well as the gas pipeline to South Africa,
which was recently expanded through a
project known as Loop Line-2.
From 2004 to 2016, more than US$1-
billion was delivered to in taxes, royalties
and social investments, as well as through
profit sharing and dividends paid to state-
owned entities, he adds. Further, goods
and services worth US$831-million were
procured from Mozambican suppliers.
“We remain committed to our growth
plans … and we will continue to partner
with the country’s government and other
stakeholders on projects that will help
stimulate growth”, Nqwababa states, while
adding that Sasol is confident that the
economics to develop the PSA licence
area remain positive. Sasol expects to
complete its 13-well drilling programme by
the end of 2018.
Source: Mining Weekly
Mozambique’s INP denies any new oil
discovery in Inhambane
Mozambique’s National Petroleum
Institute (Instituto Nacional de Petróleo,
INP) has denied claims, apparently made
on Monday 27 February by an executive
of the South African petrochemical
company Sasol, that there has been any
new oil discovery in the province of
Inhambane.
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A Tuesday press release by the INP notes
that Sasol has been opening new
production wells for oil and gas since mid-
2016. These are part of Sasol’s light oil
project in Inhassoro district, which forms
part of the overall development plan for
the Pande and Temane gas fields. Sasol
has been exploiting these fields since
2004, and exports much of the gas by
pipeline to its chemical plants in the South
African city of Secunda.
According to the INP, in late August 2016,
in one of the new Temane wells, identified
as T-27, Sasol discovered “previously
unknown confined reservoirs of gas and
petroleum, the commercial viability of
which should be assessed”.
So far, the INP release adds, five new
production wells have been drilled in the
area covered by Sasol’s production
sharing contract, three in Temane
containing gas, and two in Inhassoro,
containing oil. The new discoveries,
including T-27, were promptly notified to
the Mozambican authorities in August and
September last year.
Since then, the INP adds, no other
discovery has been notified. Hence
references to petroleum production can
only refer to the Inhassoro light oil project,
which was approved in January 2016.
The INP assures the public that the
Mozambican government will use all the
means at its disposal to make any mineral
resource discovery known to
Mozambicans at first hand.
This is strikingly different from the claim
made on Monday in a report from the
Reuters news agency, which made it
seem that new oil discoveries had very
recently been made in Inhambane.

Indeed, by using the word “off”, the report
implied that these were offshore wells.
The report cited a Sasol Executive,
Stephen Cornell, as saying that four wells
(out of a planned 12) had given positive
results, two for gas and two for oil. “These
will be the first oil wells in Mozambique
that go to full development. Probably in
two, maximum three years”, Cornell
supposedly said.
But if, as the INP release states, there
have been no new discoveries since
August, either Reuters got the story
seriously wrong, or Cornell was talking up
discoveries that had been made months
earlier, in the context of a well-known
project.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Rosneft expects to make concession
agreements on Mozambique offshore
areas
Rosneft expects to make concession
agreements for development of three
offshore areas in Mozambique in mid-
2017, a Rosneft representative told TASS
on Thursday 2 March.
RN-Exploration (a subsidiary of Rosneft)
and ExxonMobil’s affiliate in Mozambique
were recognised winners of the tender for
three areas organised by Mozambique’s
INP. Work was planned to start in the third
or fourth quarter of 2016 but no
agreement with the government of
Mozambique has been signed so far.
“The delay in contract negotiations with
INP and the government occurred due to
reasons beyond the control of partners.
The invitation to initiate talks was received
in the fourth quarter of 2017. Negotiations
are underway now and we expect they will
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be end in mid-2017”, the source said.
“Rosneft does not hold talks with ENI on
engagement in Italian company’s projects
in Mozambique”, the source said.
According to Financial Times, ENI may
sell a stake in an oil and gas field in
Mozambique shortly.
Source: Tass
Fuel companies demand change in
subsidy system
The Mozambican Association of Fuel
Companies (Amepetrol) has warned that
the country risks running out of petrol and
diesel, if the government does not change
its current fuel subsidy system, reports
Friday’s issue of O País.
The companies, in a letter addressed to
Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do
Rosário, said they can no longer go on
shouldering the difference between the
price which they pay for fuel on the
international market (denominated in US
dollars), and the price in meticais at
Mozambican filling stations, which is fixed
by the government.
The government is committed to
compensating the companies for this
difference, but they claim this subsidy
system is not working properly because of
the government’s lengthy delays in
paying, which creates cash flow problems
for the companies.
The letter says the companies have, since
June 2016, suffered accumulated losses
of around US$70-million– money which
the state should pay, but has not yet done
so.
“The current decapitalisation of the
companies is largely due to failure to
update the price of fuel”, the letter argues.

“It is this that has originated the credit of
around US$70-million which has to be
paid by the state”.
The situation, they warn, will worsen if the
current trend of rising international oil
prices continues.
Unless the current subsidy system is
changed, the letter adds, Mozambican
fuel distribution could simply collapse.
“We stress that it is absolutely imperative
and urgent to change the system, doing
away once and for all with the system of
price compensation”, the companies say.
The last time fuel prices changed was on
1 October, when the price of petrol rose
by 5.3%, from MT47.52 to MT50.02.
But if the price is expressed in foreign
currency, petrol was still much cheaper
than a couple of years ago, thanks to the
sharp depreciation of the metical.
In 2014, when expressed in US dollars,
the price was about US$1.6 per litre. Even
with the October price rise, it was just 66
US cents per litre.
The price of diesel rose in October by
24.5%, from MT36.81 to MT45.83 a litre.
The metical has staged something of a
recovery over the past couple of months,
so that, in dollar terms, petrol is now 73
US cents a litre, and diesel 67 cents.
Amepetrol argues that is not enough, and
fuel remains cheaper in Mozambique than
in some of the neighbouring countries –
which is an incentive for foreign drivers to
cross the border and fill their tanks at
Mozambican petrol stations.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique/O País
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Mining:
Vale Moçambique ends 2016 with a
loss of US$105-million
Vale Moçambique, a subsidiary of
Brazilian group Vale, had an operating
loss of US$105-million in 2016, a figure
which compares with a loss of US$508-
million in 2015, said the mining group as it
published it accounts for the fourth quarter
and 2016.
The document said the improvement
compared to 2015 was due mainly to the
reduction of costs and expenses in the
amount of US$344-million and an
increase in prices, which increased the
company’s turnover by US$140-million.
Coal, exported through the port of Nacala
along the railway out of Moatize that
crosses part of Malawi and swings back
into Mozambique, provided revenue of
US$110-million while the coal transported
along the Sena railway and loaded at the
port of Beira posted a loss of US$215-
million.
Coal transported along the Sena and
Nacala lines totalled 8.8-million tons in
2016, more than double the 4.1-million
tons carried in 2015 and the coal shipped
at ports totalled 8.7-million tons, also
more than double the 3.7-million tons
recorded in 2015.
Overall, the Vale group, which operates
coal mines in Australia and Mozambique,
improved its performance from a loss of
US$508-million in this segment in 2015 to
a US$54-million loss in 2016, mainly due
to improvements in Mozambique and an
increase in ore prices.
Source: MacauHub

Cheap Mozambican coal leading to
shutdown of Malawi’s mines
The import of cheap Mozambican coal
into Malawi has choked the local market
and led to the shutdown of more than
three quarters of Malawi’s mines,
according to Mining & Trade Review.
Mines at Mwaulambo, Nkhachira, Jalawe,
Lisikwa, Njati and DDY Trading in
Malawi’s North Region have all stopped
operations as production has ramped up
at mines at Moatize in Tete Province,
Mozambique – which is closer to the
coastal consumers in Malawi’s
commercial city of Blantyre.
Mozambique coal is sold at an average
price of US$165 per metric ton while
Malawi coal sells at around US$190 per
ton, according to the article.
Wiskes Mkombezi, a spokesperson at
Malawi’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and
Tourism, told Mining & Trade Review that
Mozambican coal is only cheaper when
the importers evade taxes.
Mozambique is exempted from import
duty due to trade protocols under the
Southern Africa Development Community
(SADC) that remove trade barriers
between member countries. However, the
former minister of Natural Resources,
Energy and Mining, Grain Malunga, told
Mining & Trade Review that it is possible
for Malawi to put in place regulations to
protect local industry, despite these trade
protocols.
Tanzania, for example, has just imposed
similar import restrictions on foreign coal,
which has further weakened the
profitability of Malawian mines.
Source: Zitamar News/Mining &Trade Review
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Chinese investment in coking coal
On Friday 24 February, the Mozambican
authorities signed a MoU in Maputo,
under which a Chinese steel company will
set up an industry to transform the
thermal coal extracted from mines in Tete
Province into coking coal.
The plant, budgeted at around US$1.3-
billion, will be established, not in Tete, but
in the northern province of Nampula, in
the transport corridor leading to the port of
Nacala.
The memorandum was signed by the
Permanent Secretary of the Mozambican
Ministry of Industry and Trade, Carla
Soto, and by the chairperson of the Board
of Directors of the company China Brazil
Xinnenghuan International Investment
(CBSteel), Zhang Shengsheng.
Witnessing the ceremony were the
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade,
Rajendra de Sousa; and the Chinese
Ambassador to Mozambique, Su Jian.
The plant is planned for a production
capacity of four-million tons of coking coal
a year, and construction work is due to
begin in the second half of this year.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy
Minister de Sousa said that setting up this
type of industry will create “very attractive”
economic conditions for investment. “For
us Mozambicans, this project will
contribute to better management of our
raw materials”, he added. “We should
thus increasingly build up the capacity of
our local labour force, in order to
accompany the growing competitiveness
of industry”.
None of the companies currently mining
coal in Mozambique, such as the Brazilian

and Indian mining companies Vale and
Jindal, have a monopoly, he stressed, and
the entry of CBSteel would create great
competitiveness in the Nacala Corridor,
which would be beneficial for the
Mozambican economy.
According to Shengsheng, building the
factory could take about a year, and
would directly create 1,500 jobs. He
envisaged “a major industrial zone”
springing up around the factory, with the
potential to create many more jobs.
The coking coal produced at the new
factory can be exported from Nacala to
CBSteel’s steel mills in Brazil. The raw
material, thermal coal from the Tete
mines, can reach Nampula along the
railway from the Moatize coal basin, which
runs through southern Malawi and links
up with the Nacala Corridor.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Mustang Resources Ltd. acquires
highly prospective adjacent ruby
license next to Gemfields
Mustang Resources is pleased to
announce that it has agreed to acquire a
65% interest in a new highly strategic ruby
license (License 8245L) which borders its
existing Montepuez Ruby Project in
Mozambique. A site visit undertaken by
Mustang consultant, Paul Allan, has
confirmed that artisanal miners are
recovering large, high-quality rubies from
this license area, which also borders one
of the key ruby deposits being mined by
London-listed Gemfields.
Importantly, Mustang's new license is only
three kilometres directly south-east of the
company’s plant site and Alpha ruby
deposit and lies along the south-east,
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north-west ruby mineralisation trend,
which also transects the adjacent
Gemfields licenses.
Highlights:
 Mustang acquires 65% stake in
highly strategic ruby license
bordering its Montepuez Ruby
Project in Mozambique
 The 3,500-hectare license sits
between the Montepuez Ruby
Project and a key secondary
deposit being mined by London-
listed Gemfields
 Site visit confirms artisanal miners
currently recovering large gem-
quality rubies from the area
covered by the new license
 Mustang will issue 30-million
shares (escrowed for 24 months)
and pay US$100,000 cash as
consideration for the 65% interest
in the license
 Mustang will fast-track prospecting
from this new area to complement
the growing bulk sampling
programme at Montepuez
 Heavily oversubscribed placement
to a select group of new and
existing institutions and
sophisticated investors to raise
5.88-million.
Following completion of environmental
permitting, Mustang will immediately
commence a prospecting programme,
including mapping, auger drilling and
trenching to determine a preferred
location to open a bulk sampling pit.
Mustang will then commence processing
gravels from the priority areas identified,

further enhancing the current bulk
sampling programme and ruby sales
planned for 2017.
To support a further increase in the drilling
and bulk sampling campaign and to
accelerate its development plans with the
expanded project area, Mustang has
undertaken a capital raising, receiving
binding commitments for up to 5.88-
million from existing and new institutional
and sophisticated investors. The
placement has been heavily
oversubscribed.
Mustang Managing Director Christiaan
Jordaan said the acquisition of the new
license was another important step in the
company’s strategy to become a leading
global supplier of premium-quality rubies:
“We recently achieved our target of
tripling the throughput rate on our bulk
sampling and we now beat it regularly”,
Jordaan said.
“The first rubies sent to the US earlier this
year are well advanced in their
preparation by leading cutter and polisher
Meg Berry for certification and sale.
“These near-term sales will enable us to
value our rubies and are a key input into
our feasibility study. It will also pave the
way for Mustang to record its first sales
revenue before the middle of this year.
“The global market for rubies is growing
rapidly and Mozambique stones are in
particularly strong demand, as shown by
Gemfields’ success.
“The acquisition of a 65% interest in this
strategic and highly exciting new license
will help us to capitalise on what we
believe is an outstanding opportunity for
Mustang and its shareholders”.
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“We are very pleased to welcome a range
of new institutional and sophisticated
investors onto our share register. To have
received such strong demand for the
placement is a real credit to the work
done by the Mustang team to date”.
Geology of newly acquired License
8245L:
License 8245L lies within the Montepuez
Complex, an extremely geologically and
structurally deformed complex defined in
part by its unique geophysical signatures
compared to the surrounding areas. Due
to the complexities of the lithology and
structure within the license area, several
factors may have contributed to the
formation of corundum and, in particular,
gem-grade ruby within the license area.
These include:
 The possibility of suitable
(Aluminium rich) sedimentary
protoliths.
 The possibility of aluminous
intrusives.
 The possibility of partial melts
resulting in aluminous melts/fluids.
 Suitable metamorphic and/or
metasomatic conditions.
 Suitable structures to localise
Aluminium rich fluids and or
intrusives or associated
pegmatites.
 Possible influence of carbonate
rocks.
Importantly, the newly-acquired license is
covered by similar lithologies as those
found in the Gemfields project areas and
the potential thus exists for similar ruby

mineralisation, both primary and
secondary, especially given that the
regional area is structurally very complex
and not yet well understood. An analysis
of the high resolution aeromagnetic data
of the area shows several SE-NW
trending lineaments which transect the
license area as well as the Gemfields
license areas to the south-east. These
lineaments/faults may have played a role
in the localisation of ruby associated
magmas or fluids or the remobilisation
thereof.
Mustang plans to prospect the areas
along the SE-NW mineralisation trend
aggressively through auger drilling and
pitting. An access road will be built to the
area currently being mined by artisanals
on license 8245L and ruby-bearing
gravels will be transported to the existing
Mustang plant for processing and further
analysis as part of Mustang’s broader bulk
sampling programme. Due to the
prospectivity of this area and the quality
(and size) of the rubies being recovered
by local miners there, the company
intends to fast-track the development of
this project.
Artisanal mining activity on License 8245L
and high quality rubies:
License 8245L has extensive artisanal
activity which has proven secondary ruby
mineralisation within three kilometres of
the company’s Alpha ruby deposit. The
images that follow show identified sites of
artisanal activity identified from a
heliborne survey of the area in February
2017. These sites have also been
“ground-truthed” by independent
consultant and ruby exploration specialist
Paul Allan, who noted there were
approximately 50 to 100 active artisanal
miners. The rubies that the artisanal
miners presented to Allan were high-
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quality and notably secondary (abraded
with pockmarks).
The presence of artisanal activity within
License 8245L, combined with its
prospective geology, provide high priority
targets for further prospecting, including
the undertaking of bulk sampling
activities.
In addition to the above, the international
market for Mozambican rubies is very
significant and increasing, principally
owing to the marketing efforts of
Gemfields. The prices for Mozambican
rubies published by Gemfields are
significant and even a modestly-sized
primary or secondary ruby discovery is
considered by Mustang to have good
potential to be economically viable for the
foreseeable future.
Rubies from Montepuez are very
important to the trade because of the
large quantities and the wide range of
qualities and sizes produced. Their
colours bridge the gap between those
from the classic sources of Burma (highly
fluorescent, with low iron content) and
Thailand/Cambodia (weakly fluorescent,
with high iron content). Whilst rubies owe
their red colour to chromium, their colour
is modified by the presence of iron, which
reduces the chromium-caused
fluorescence.
An interesting aspect of rubies from the
amphibole-related deposit near
Montepuez is their range of iron content,
from nearly as low as Burmese marble-
type rubies to as high as rubies found in
basalt-related deposits along the Thai-
Cambodian border. This means they can
potentially suit the tastes of a range of
different markets.

Details of acquisition of 65% interest in
License 8245L:
The material terms of the proposed
acquisition are as follows:
(a) Parties: - Mustang Resources Ltd
(“Purchaser” or “MUS”) and Regius
Resources Group Ltd. (“Regius” or
“Vendor”)
(b) Interest being acquired: A 65%
shareholding in an entity incorporated
specifically to hold the license (SPV) with
the remaining 35% held by the current
license holder (SLR Mining Lda) which is
contractually obligated to transfer the
license to the SPV.
(c) Consideration: 30,000,000 MUS
Ordinary Shares (escrowed for 24-months
from date of issue) and US$100,000.
(d) Conditions Precedent: The conditions
precedent which must be satisfied (or
waived) prior to MUS completing the
proposed acquisition include, due
diligence, ASX Listing Rule 11.1.3 not
applying, all necessary regulatory,
shareholder and third party approvals in
Australia and Mozambique to allow MUS
to lawfully complete the acquisition and an
independent expert opining that the
proposed acquisition is fair and
reasonable or not fair but reasonable for
MUS’ shareholders not associated with
the transaction.
(e) Funding commitment: MUS will be
required to sole fund all expenditure for
the full duration of the project by providing
a loan to the newly incorporated entity
established to hold the license (65% held
by Mustang and 35% held by SLR Mining
Lda owned by a Mozambican individual).
100% of the revenues generated from the
sale of rubies recovered from the license
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during the bulk sampling programme will
be used to repay the loan balance for the
bulk sampling program and once that loan
is repaid profits will be distributed in
proportion to the shareholdings in the
entity holding the license. Loans made
subsequently by MUS for other purposes
(e.g. commercial scale mining operations)
will be repaid by distributing 50% of the
revenues generated from the sale of
rubies recovered from the license to
repayment of the loan with the remaining
50% distributed proportionately to
shareholders.
(f) Put option: SLR Mining Lda will have
the right to sell its shareholding in the
SPV to MUS at any time after
identification of a mineable resource at a
price to be determined by an independent
expert.
(g) (Decision to mine payment): MUS will
be required to pay SLR Mining Lda (the
current license holder) US$1,500,000
following the successful completion of the
150,000-ton bulk sampling program which
leads to the decision to start full-scale
mining.
(h) (Decision not to proceed): Should
MUS decide not to proceed with the
project it agrees to sell its interest in SPV
to SLR Mining Lda for MZM10 (0.02
cents) and write off all shareholder loans.
(i) (No Board changes): There will be no
change to the board of MUS as a result of
the proposed acquisition but SLR Mining
Lda will have the right to appoint one of
the three directors on the SPV and
receive a US$3,000 per month consulting
fee effective from 1 June 2017.
Further details regarding the agreement
will be included in a Notice of Meeting to
be dispatched to shareholders

immediately following a signed
Independent Experts' Report (IER).
Strategic placement to institutional and
sophisticated investors:
In addition to the transformational
acquisition detailed above, Mustang has
received firm commitments from a select
group of new and existing institutional and
sophisticated investors for a placement to
raise up to 5.88-million through the issue
of approximately 76.4-million new ordinary
shares at an issue price of 7.7 cents per
share (“Placement”). The issue price
represents a 10% discount to the
company’s 15-day VWAP.
The Placement will be completed in two
tranches with approximately 68.6-million
shares (approximately 5.28-million) to be
issued in the first tranche (Tranche 1)
under the company’s existing capacity
pursuant to ASX listing rule 7.1.
Settlement of Tranche 1 is expected to
occur on or around Wednesday, 8 March
2017.
Given the strong demand from long-term
shareholders, an additional 7.8-million
shares will be issued in a second tranche
also at 0.077 per share (Tranche 2),
conditional on shareholder approval at a
general meeting expected to be held by
early April 2017 to approve the
acquisition. (“EGM”).
Funds raised pursuant to the Placement
will be used to meet costs associated with
the acquisition of the 65% interest in ruby
license 8245L, for increased bulk
sampling activities and to fund an
accelerated auger drilling programme at
the Montepuez Ruby Project, and for
general working capital purposes.
Source: ABN Newswire
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Mozambican experts condemn gaps in
studies on environmental impacts of
projects
Mozambique has attracted a great deal of
interest from foreign investors, especially
in the area of mineral resources in the
central and northern regions of the
country, raising expectations of growth of
the national economy.
But communities affected by large
projects have benefited very little from
them in the past.
Non-governmental organisations such as
Environmental Justice (Justiça Ambiental)
and Living Earth Centre (Centro Terra
Viva) explain this failure as the result of
deficiencies in the environmental impact
assessment process.
Determination to implement these projects
at any cost and non-observance of legal
instruments by the government are at the
source of this situation, according to
environmentalist Daniel Ribeiro of Justiça
Ambiental.
“The first step should be to know if the
project is feasible, and only then to
promise something”, he says. “The other
gap has to do with the market, because
the investor pays for the study, and as
you can imagine, whoever pays has a lot
of say over the final product”.
Justiça Ambiental says that if this
scenario continues, the communities
affected by projects will be damaged even
more. “To continue to pollute our rivers,
reducing fishing and the fertility of our
soils, will have a huge impact on the
health and life of Mozambicans”, the
environmentalist said.

Another environmental non-governmental
organisation, the Terra Viva Centre,
argues that communities should be made
aware of benefits before implementing
any project.
“Most of the communities that are affected
by these projects have no idea of their
rights, for example. What we in Centre
Terra Viva call social preparation, before
projects start, is extremely important. One
example of this is Palma. When the
project started the people were prepared
in advance, and already there has been a
greater interaction and action by these
people in defence of their rights and their
lands”, Pereira explained. The study of
environmental impact assessment
processes in Mozambique is called ‘For
Only the Englishman to See’.
Source: VOA Português
Energy:
Mozambique can be self-sufficient in
electricity by 2021
Mozambique’s Temane power station and
the Temane-Maputo power transmission
line are expected to start operating by
2021. The construction of the two major
developments, financed by the World
Bank, government of Norway and other
co-operation partners, is planned to start
next year and will cost US$1.2-billion.
The country’s current electrical energy
demand is 900 megawatts (MW), while its
current supply capacity is 800MW. EdM
says that the forthcoming entry into
operation of the Chicamba and Mavuze
hydroelectric dams, together with the
Temane power station, will solve the
state-owned company’s supply deficit and
give it a surplus to export.
Source: TVM
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Mavuzi and Chicamba power stations:
US$120-million rehabilitation complete
The Mavuzi and Chicamba hydro-electric
power stations, on the Revue River (in
Manica Province), have been delivered to
the publicly owned electricity company,
EdM, after complete rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation and modernisation of the
two power stations was in the hands of a
consortium of French and Norwegian
companies. It cost around US$120-million
and took about three years. Although they
will not be formally re-inaugurated until
late March, they are already in use.
According to the project co-ordinator,
Abraao Rafael, who is also EdM’s deputy
director for electrification and projects, the
final certificate testifying to receiving the
stations after their rehabilitation was
signed on 20 February.
The rehabilitation dealt mainly with the
generator groups, turbines, cooling
systems, command and control
equipment, and fire-fighting gear.
EdM uses Chicamba and Mavuzi to
supply electricity to Manica and the
neighbouring province of Sofala, and the
power is only sufficient with the
interconnection with the Chibata sub-
station which draws its power from the
Cahora Bassa Dam on the Zambezi.
The modernisation was important in order
to prolong the life of the two power
stations, which were in danger of shutting
down entirely due to the obsolescence of
their components. Because the original
parts no longer exist on the international
market, the consortium had to design and
make new parts.

EdM claims that the work has given
Chicamba and Mavuzi an additional 30
years of useful life.
The work also allows the stations to
generate almost 20MW more than they
could prior to the rehabilitation. Thus, the
maximum generating capacity at
Chicamba has risen from 38 to 44
megawatts, and that at Mavuzi has risen
from 30 to 41 megawatts.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Transport, Construction &
Development Projects:
Gravel theft endangers railway in
northern Mozambique
People living near the Lichinga-Cuamba
line (Niassa Province) have been
removing gravel from along the railway to
use in private construction works. The
district administrator, Alberto Mussa, said
that the most recent case occurred in the
village of Micava in Lichinga.
“We are very concerned because we have
noticed that in our part of Lichinga,
especially near Mitade, there is sabotage
happening with the removal of gravel from
along the railway line, which can only
damage us ourselves”, he says.
Corredor de Desenvolvimento do Norte –
which owns the railway – is also
concerned. Line supervisor Carlos
Mucave, told Deutsche Welle Africa that
the ongoing gravel theft was dangerous
and could have “drastic consequences”
for the railway.
“Once the ballast was removed from the
railway line”, he explains, “energy is no
longer dissipated and hits the railroad
platform directly, damaging the platform,
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breaking rails which could result in
derailments”.
Damage of various kinds:
Mucave also warns that worse could
happen: “We could probably see loss of
life, which we do not want at this
moment”. In addition to the gravel theft,
members of local communities are also
accused of stealing the glass from train
carriage windows by authorities.
The district administrator warned that acts
of vandalism are slowing the development
of the province. Mussa appealed to
community leaders for greater vigilance. “I
want to make another request to the
entire community leadership of the district
of Lichinga and the city together to ensure
that our railway is not vandalised,
because we bear the prime responsibility,
as those who have received this great
railway infrastructure here in Niassa”.
Source: Deutsche Welle
Maputo-Catembe crossing: ferry-boat
Bagamoyo breaks down again
The Bagamoio ferry boat linking the city of
Maputo with the municipal district of
KaTembe has been out of action since the
morning of Monday 27 February, limiting
vehicle crossings between the two points.
According to an employee from
Transmarítima, the company that
manages the vessel, the breakdown
occurred early on Monday morning after
the vessel had made a round trip.
Jornal Notícias reported that on Monday
the vehicle crossing was being made by
the Mpfumo, a vessel that falls short of
responding completely to users’
requirements, causing long lines of
vehicles waiting to cross the bay.

The Bagamoyo has been in operation
since 1972 and has broken down
frequently over the past two years. It
regularly operates with only one of its two
engines in service, which does not allow
full utilisation of its 208-passenger
capacity.
Source: Jornal Notícias
ETM reduces number of buses
The Municipal Public Transport Company
of Matola (Empresa Municipal de
Transportes Públicos da Matola, ETM)
has reduced the number of buses in
circulation in a bid to cut down on financial
costs amidst the current economic crisis
in the country. The lack of money to buy
fuel is the main reason behind ETM’s
decision. Buses will be available during
peak times in order to transport
commuters and students.
Source: Jornal Notícias
Agriculture & Fishing:
Mozambique to export avocados to
Europe
The company Westfalia Fruto
Moçambique has announced that it will
export avocados produced in the central
province of Manica to the international
market and especially France. Westfalia
consultant Manuel Roriz said that the first
consignment of 400 tons could be ready
for export to France in March.
Westfalia Fruto Moçambique is an
agricultural subsidiary of the South African
group of the same name. It has been
operating in Manica Province for two
years and occupies an area of about 250
hectares.
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The company invested nearly US$480-
million in a first phase and has announced
plans to open new plantations in Manica.
The aim is to increase exports to 7,000
tons by 2021. Westfalia employs more
than 100 workers in Manica and also
produces lychees.
Source: MacauHub
President Nyusi visits Tete poultry
producer
On Saturday 25 February, President Filipe
Nyusi urged the country’s poultry
producers to work towards national self-
sufficiency in chickens. He was speaking
during a visit to a large poultry
undertaking, the Aviario Paula, in the
Samora Machel neighbourhood on the
outskirts of the western city of Tete.
President Nyusi noted that, although it is
not easy to breed poultry in Tete, due to
the high temperatures prevalent in this
province, Aviario Paula has been making
efforts to supply the local market with
Mozambican chickens.
This poultry company has been in
business since 1988. It started with just
one pavilion, with the capacity to hold
2,500 chickens. But today it has 10
pavilions, and the newest can hold 11,000
chickens.
The company has its own semi-automatic
slaughterhouse, with the capacity to
slaughter 2,000 birds a day. Every month,
the company produces an average of
44,000 chickens. It employs about 80
workers.
Paula Carvalho, co-manager of the
company, told Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique that this year the plan is to
increase production to 64,000 chickens a

month. She says the company intends to
build a further two poultry pavilions, install
a factory to produce chicken feed, and an
egg incubator. President Nyusi praised
Aviario Paula, for its ability to overcome
day-to-day difficulties, and to survive and
grow. He also expressed his gratitude to
the people of Tete for their commitment to
hard work.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Tourism:
“Do not turn Culture and Tourism into
the government’s burden” – President
Nyusi
On Wednesday 1 March, Culture and
Tourism Minister Silva Dunduru received
the President on his visit to the Ministry,
guiding him around the various
departments as he learned about its
functions. The President was briefed
about the role of cultural and creative
industries, and inspected some of the
institution’s books, recordings and
manuals.
President Nyusi visited the various
departments from culture to tourism, and
heard about programmes developed to
promote tourism, a sector that in 2015
contributed about 2.5% to the national
economy. Finally, the President directed
the Extraordinary Consultative Council of
the Ministry of Culture and Tourism,
where he expressed his misgivings.
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“Do not make culture and tourism the
government’s burden. We have a lot to
carry. We want to find solutions to the
calamities, build bridges, roads … No. It is
a Ministry that has and should not be
borne by anyone,” President Nyusi
warned. The President reminded those
who run the culture and tourism sector
that they are not there just to take office,
because “anyone can take office. But to
assume [office] means to understand the
mission and to exercise. You have no
other authorisation if you do not make a
difference”.
President Nyusi urged the institution to
become sustainable. For the President, it
is not justifiable that, among the diverse
tourist resources in the country, the
culture and tourism sector cannot bring
about satisfactory gains. But there were
not only complaints. There was advice as
well. Or rather, lessons for Minister
Dunduru on how to run a sector such as
culture and tourism. President Nyusi said
that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism
should get closer to the architects of
culture in order to encourage them to
develop the Mozambican cultural mosaic.
The President said that the work being
carried out by the National Inspectorate of
Economic Activities (Instituto de
Actividades Económicas, INAE) should be
the responsibility of the Ministry. “The
work being done by the National
Inspectorate of Economic Activities is your
job”, President Nyusi said.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is the
fourth to be visited by the President after
the Ministries of Agriculture and Food
Security, Public Works, Water Resources
and Housing and Ministry of Mineral
Resources and Energy.
Source: O País/TVM
Other:
President Nyusi inaugurates largest
shopping centre in Tete
On Friday 24 February, President Filipe
Nyusi urged national and foreign
businesses to invest in retail trade
throughout the country. He was speaking
in the western city of Tete at the
inauguration of a shopping centre that is
the largest in Tete Province. Named
simply the “Tete Mall”, the centre covers
27 shops, plus administrative services, a
car park, and other public utilities.
The Mall belongs to the South African
group, McCormick Property Development,
and the shops include branches of the
South African supermarket chain
Shoprite, the Botswana-based chain
Choppies, the South African clothing store
PEP, and the fast food outlet, Kentucky
Fried Chicken (KFC). The Mall employs
600 Mozambican workers.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony,
President Nyusi said he was pleased to
learn that McCormick intends to expand to
other parts of the country, including
Pemba (Cabo Delgado Province), and the
southern city of Matola. He added that he
would like to see this company open
businesses in Lichinga, (in Niassa
Province), and in Mocuba (in Zambézia
Province).
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President Nyusi stressed that the Tete
Mall will help establish business linkages
in the chain of agricultural production in
the Zambezi Valley. He claimed that the
new mall will not compete with small Tete
traders, but will operate as a partner and
an alternative source to supply the rural
zones of the province. President Nyusi
believed that the McCormick group will
help transform Tete into a modern city,
which can offer its residents a range of
good quality services and products that
are up to international standards.
Tete provincial governor Paulo Auade
said Tete consumers expect to find on the
shelves of this new shopping centre
Mozambican products, such as the
potatoes grown in the Tete districts of
Angonia and Tsangano. Agencia de
Informacao de Moçambique found that
Angonia potatoes are indeed on sale in
Choppies, as is locally caught fish
(tilapia). On his arrival at Tete Airport,
President Nyusi urged his listeners to
maintain vigilance in observing the truce
between the Defence and Security Forces
and the militia of the rebel movement
Renamo.
Thanks to phone conversations between
President Nyusi and Renamo leader
Afonso Dhlakama, the Renamo truce took
effect on 27 December. Initially only for a
week, it was extended for a further two
months (until 4 March). The truce has
held, and there have been no further
reports of Renamo ambushes on the
roads or of clashes between Renamo and
government forces.
President Nyusi told the crowd at the
airport that all Mozambicans should be
vigilant in preserving the current climate of
peace. “I’ve come to follow the
environment of peace”, said the
President. “I want to confirm whether,

here in Tete, what I discussed with the
Renamo leader, about the need to halt
military hostilities, is being observed or
not”. He stressed that, for the lives of
Mozambicans, a definitive end to politico-
military tensions is of extreme importance,
and is the way to ensure the development
of the country.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Labour Inspectorate suspends 13
foreign workers
The General Labour Inspectorate (IGT)
has suspended, with immediate effect, 13
foreign citizens found to be working
illegally for a number of Mozambican
companies. The action is the result of an
inspection carried out by the IGT across
103 companies operating in the country,
employing 1,627 workers, including 1,555
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domestic workers and 72 foreign
nationals. In addition to the illegal
employment of foreign workers, the
campaign revealed 149 other violations of
various labour standards, 15 of which
deserved the issuing of notice (meaning
they were sanctioned), while the rest were
given written warning.
The audit helped to identify 94 companies
and institutions who together owed the
INSS a total value of MT3.2-million (about
US$43,000) already deducted directly
from workers’ salaries for social purposes.
A statement from the Ministry of Labour,
Employment and Social Security
(MITESS) quoted by Agencia de
Informacao de Moçambique notes that, of
this number, it had so far proved possible
to recover some MT1.6-million from 60
taxpayers.
Source: Folha de Maputo

POLITICS
Afonso Dhlakama announces
extension of the truce for another two
months
During a telephone conference held on
the morning of Friday 3 March, Renamo
leader Afonso Dhlakama announced that
the truce has been extended for another
two months to allow further peace talks
with President Filipe Nyusi’s government.
“As of midnight on 4 March, a new truce
takes effect for a period of two months –
until 4 May”, said Dhlakama.
“Peace is sacred”, Dhlakama told
reporters. “We intend to achieve true
peace, the definitive peace, where
Mozambicans can enjoy free circulation
and develop the economy of the country”.
The Renamo leader said that he hoped
that the next 60 days would see “serious
negotiations” that should result in a
legislative proposal to parliament over the
decentralisation of state administration.
During the conference, Dhlakama
revealed that permanent contact exists
between himself and President Filipe
Nyusi, and assured that the peace
process is well underway. Dhlakama also
disclosed that a new (unnamed) figure of
“recognised international merit” has joined
the Contact Group, which is already
carrying out its functions in Mozambique.
Friday’s announcement raises hopes of
an end to years of tit-for-tat violence.
A long-term deal would strengthen
President Nyusi’s position ahead of a
conference of the ruling Frelimo Party in
September at which he is expected to be
re-elected leader despite a high-profile
debt scandal hanging over him.
Source: O País/Zitamar News/Reuters
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Renamo demands approval of
decentralisation this quarter
“The peace of Mozambicans cannot wait
any longer”, the head of the Renamo
parliamentary bench declared on Monday
27 February in parliament, insisting on
approval of decentralisation measures
and the resolution of pending military
issues this quarter.
The decentralisation package will allow for
the appointment of Renamo governors in
provinces where the party won the most
votes in the 2014 elections, while military
issues include the integration of Renamo
men into the government Defence and
Security Forces.
“We would like this house [the National
Assembly] to approve a legislative
package on decentralisation and defence
and security issues seriously and quickly,
and in this first quarter,” head of Renamo
parliamentary bench, Ivone Soares, said.
In her speech, quoted by Mediafax,
Soares said that her party was genuinely
committed to the restoration of effective
peace in Mozambique, and that she
hoped that the government would also
find it in its interest to complete the
process.
“We want to participate in the 2018
elections with the decentralisation
package already approved by this great
house”, said Soares, whose party believes
it will leverage development in the
country.
The current session of the Assembly of
the Republic ends in early May.
Source: VOA Português/Mediafax

President Nyusi appoints ‘Contact
Group’ for peace talks
On Tuesday 28 February, President Filipe
Nyusi announced the creation of a
‘Contact Group’, formed by several
ambassadors which will support the
attainment of a “sustainable peace”.
A press statement from President Nyusi’s
office explained that this group has been
set up “in the framework of the dialogue to
achieve effective and lasting peace”, and
in the wake of the phone conversations
between President Nyusi and Renamo
leader Afonso Dhlakama.
The statement says that the Contact
Group “will provide co-ordinated financial
and technical assistance, and carry out
other tasks as indicated in their terms of
reference”.
The Contact Group will be chaired by the
Swiss ambassador (currently Adrian
Hadorn), and co-chaired by the American
ambassador (Dean Pittman). The other
five members of the group are the
Ambassadors of China, the European
Union and Norway, and the High
Commissioners of Botswana and of the
United Kingdom.
The Contact Group, which was scheduled
to start work this week, is intended to
advise the two working groups appointed
last month by President Nyusi and
Dhlakama, to work on decentralisation
and on military issues.
President Nyusi appointed two academics
and jurists, Albano Macie and Eduardo
Chiziane, to the working group on
decentralisation. Renamo’s appointees to
this group are Saimone Macuiana and
Maria Joaquina, who are both former
members of the National Elections
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Commission (CNE). Macuiana headed the
Renamo side in the negotiations that
produced the September 2014 agreement
on a cessation of hostilities, an agreement
that Renamo refused to implement.
For the working group on military
questions, President Nyusi appointed two
retired army officers, and veterans of the
independence war, Gen Armando
Panguene and Col Ismael Mangueira.
Panguene is also one of the country’s top
diplomats who has served as
Mozambican Ambassador to Pretoria,
Lisbon, London and Washington.
The Renamo members of this group are
parliamentary deputy Andre Magibire and
Leovilgildo Buanancasso, who is currently
a member of the Council of State, a body
that advises the President of the Republic.
A few days later, President Nyusi
announced that he had issued invitations
to international bodies to witness the
resumption of dialogue between the
government and Renamo. He said that in
his phone contacts with Dhlakama, the
two had reached agreement on the
appointment of “international advisors”.
It was assumed that these would be
foreign experts who would travel to
Maputo for meetings. But instead
President Nyusi has appointed
ambassadors who are already on location,
and who will not need to travel to and from
other countries in order to attend
meetings.
President Nyusi made it clear in February
that the “international advisors” will not be
mediators, and Dhlakama seems to have
accepted this, thus abandoning Renamo’s
longstanding demand for foreign
mediation.

In the second half of 2016, a large team of
international mediators struggled, without
much success, to achieve consensus
between Renamo and government
delegations.
The mediators could not even secure a
ceasefire between Renamo and
government forces over the Christmas
holiday.
Yet phone contacts between President
Nyusi and Dhlakama, without any foreign
involvement, led to Renamo declaring a
truce that took effect on 27 December.
The truce has held, and there have been
no further reports of Renamo ambushes
on the roads or of clashes between the
Renamo militia and government forces.
At the opening of the current sitting of the
National Assembly of the Republic, on
Monday, the head of the Renamo
parliamentary group, Ivone Soares (who is
Dhlakama’s niece) said she expected the
truce to be “definitive”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
On the right path to peace, says Prime
Minister
“We must all work for peace to be lasting”,
declared Mozambican Prime Minister
Carlos Agostinho do Rosário at a Maputo
press briefing on Wednesday 1 March.
“Indications are that we are on the right
path”, he said, and there was movement
“towards converting the current truce into
a definitive ceasefire”.
“We are all called upon to join our efforts
to attain peace”, declared Prime Minister
Rosário.
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He was upbeat about the prospects for
the Mozambican economy, and believed
that all the conditions exist to meet this
year’s target of 5.5% growth in the GDP.
Inflation was now declining, and there was
a slow recovery in the value of the
metical.
Prime Minister Rosário noted that the
metical had been at around 80 to the US
dollar in October, but has now recovered
to 70 to the dollar.
On Wednesday morning, the country’s
largest commercial bank, the Millennium-
BIM was quoting the metical at 68.55 to
the dollar.
After sharp drops in 2016, Mozambique’s
net foreign currency reserves have risen,
and Prime Minister Rosário said they now
stood at an amount sufficient to cover five
months of imports of goods and non-factor
services.
The Prime Minister believed that the
government is making good progress in
re-establishing confidence among the
country’s international partners, following
the crisis in mid-2016, when undeclared,
government-guaranteed loans in excess
of US$1-billion were discovered.
Those loans, to the security related
companies Proindicus and MAM, led the
IMF to suspend its programme with
Mozambique, and all 14 partners who
provided direct support to the
Mozambican budget suspended all further
disbursements.
Key to restoring trust is an independent
audit of Proindicus, MAM and a third
company that enjoyed a massive,
government guaranteed loan, Ematum.
That audit is in the hands of the US
company Kroll, which enjoys a reputation

as the world’s foremost forensic audit
company.
“We all want the audit completed on time
(by the end of March)”, said Prime
Minister Rosário. “We are awaiting the
results, but negotiations with the IMF are
under way”.
Mozambique has been quite unable to
service the Ematum, Proindicus and MAM
debts, and that seems unlikely to change
in the near future. “We will negotiate with
the creditors to restructure these debts”,
sad Prime Minister Rosário. “We want to
honour our debts, but in a balanced way”.
Asked about an apparent conflict of
interest involving Transport Minister
Carlos Mesquita, Prime Minister Rosário
said there are appropriate institutions for
dealing with such matters.
The company TCM was one of four
companies which, in February, were
awarded transport contracts by the
country’s relief agency, the INGC. The
TCM contract is worth MT20-million
(about US$292,000). The Minister is one
of the owners of the Mesquita Group,
which is the main shareholder in TCM.
Minister Mesquita himself has refused to
answer accusations in the media that his
involvement in TCM is a conflict of
interests, and that he had violated the Law
on Public Probity.
Prime Minister Rosário said this was a
matter, not for the Prime Minister, but for
the ethics commissions established under
the law. But if it were proved that Minister
Mesquita had broken the law there would
be consequences, since “nobody is above
the law”, Prime Minister Rosário warned.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
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President Nyusi urges “understanding
and humility”
On Wednesday 1 March, President Filipe
Nyusi urged the members of two working
groups set up under the dialogue between
the government and Renamo to work
within the same spirit that had guided the
consensus achieved between himself and
Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama.
“We want you to replicate the
understanding and humility with which we
have been working, though this doesn’t
mean that there are no different opinions”,
said President Nyusi.
He was speaking at a meeting in Maputo
with the members of the two specialist
working groups, and with the “Contact
Group”, formed by seven ambassadors
resident in the capital, which will play an
advisory, technical and financial role.
The country is currently enjoying a truce:
military hostilities came to a halt, as from
27 December, after phone conversations
between President Nyusi and Dhlakama,
who has not yet left his headquarters in
the central district of Gorongosa (Sofala
Province).
President Nyusi told the Wednesday
meeting that in his phone talks with
Dhlakama, there were disagreements,
“but with arguments and thoughtful
considerations, we reached conclusions”.
In his latest contacts with Dhlakama, the
two had agreed that the two groups, one
on decentralisation and the other on
military questions, can begin working
“because the Mozambican people are in a
hurry to live definitively in peace”.
The Contact Group is chaired by the
Swiss Ambassador (Mirko Manzoni), and

co-chaired by the American Ambassador
(Dean Pittman). The other five members
of the group are the ambassadors of
China, the European Union and Norway,
and the High Commissioners of Botswana
and of the United Kingdom.
“We have to find a way out so that we all
feel proud”, said President Nyusi,
addressing the ambassadors in particular.
“We also think the time has come to deal
with the military questions of
disarmament, demobilisation, re-insertion,
and monitoring. We will need a lot of
resources which we will not be able to
mobilise on our own. We are counting on
our partners who always helped us in
previous processes”.
President Nyusi said that involvement by
ambassadors resident in Maputo would be
cheaper than relying on foreign mediators
based outside the country. The dialogue
with mediators last year had not been
“very productive” and had suffered from
“interference”.
In any case, he added, “we saw that the
international mediators always consulted
the people living here. It’s good when we
are working directly with people who live
here, know the reality and have authority”.
The task of the Commission on military
matters, he continued, should include
mechanisms to monitor a definitive
cessation of hostilities. So far, despite the
lack of any national or international
observation, the truce has held, and there
were no reports of serious violations.
“We want this to be definitive and not just
another pause”, President Nyusi stressed.
The task of the group on decentralisation,
the President said, was to draw up bills or
constitutional amendments to be put
before the National Assembly. “There is
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still a long way to go before this process
can be owned by all Mozambicans”, he
added. He did not regard decentralisation
as a matter solely for the government and
Renamo, noting that there are other
voices in society with opinions on the
matter, and “the specialist group has
sufficient capacity and competence to
respect these voices”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
“President Nyusi is leading a peace
process with transparency” – Sibindy
The leader of the Independent Party of
Mozambique (Partido Independente de
Moçambique, PIMO), Yaqub Sibindy, says
that by inviting ambassadors to play the
role of observers in the peace
negotiations with Renamo, the President
has proven that he has no intentions of
bad faith against Renamo leader Afonso
Dhlakama.
On his Facebook page, Sibindy said that:
“We were very apprehensive of certain
opportunists who could have taken
advantage of President Nyusi’s diplomacy
to reach Dhlakama and to kill him, just as
they tried to do on 9 October 2015, in the
City of Beira!” Sibindy said that, by inviting
the seven ambassadors “of friendly
countries” and the representative of the
European Union in Mozambique,
President Nyusi is proving to
Mozambicans that his intention to
negotiate peace with Dhlakama is clear.
For the leader of PIMO, the head of state
has shown that anyone who disobeys his
orders and puts Dhlakama’s life in danger
will be severely punished by the
Mozambican people, backed by the
powers of the Commander-in-Chief.

The PIMO suggested that the President of
the Republic also invite the ambassadors
of the friendly GCC countries to join the
seven ambassadors, namely
Ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates and the Arab
Republic of Egypt, accredited in Maputo.
Sibindy maintains that, if President Nyusi
“were playing bad faith against Dhlakama
he would not invite ambassadors from
some of the world’s strongest countries to
join the negotiation process”. He further
stated that: “Because the President has
courageously escaped from his ‘political
hijackers’ … the PIMO appeals to all
Mozambicans to publicly express their
support for President Nyusi” in his efforts
to achieve peace.
Likewise, PIMO and its leader also urge
Mozambicans to prepare a “crown of
flowers” to decorate Afonso Dhlakama on
the day he leaves his hiding place, for
having demonstrated that the strategy for
achieving peace is through dialogue and
mutual respect between the parties.
“Dhlakama deserves the support of all
Mozambicans, since he avoided an
extensive offensive guerrilla warfare
throughout the whole country, limiting the
party to defensive war…”.
Source: Folha de Maputo
President Nyusi calls on Mozambicans
to maintain vigilance in observing the
truce
On his arrival at Tete airport on Friday 24
February, President Filipe Nyusi urged his
listeners to maintain vigilance in observing
the truce between the Defence and
Security Force and the militia of the rebel
movement Renamo.
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Thanks to phone conversations between
President Nyusi and Renamo leader
Afonso Dhlakama, the Renamo truce took
effect on 27 December. Initially only for a
week, it was extended for a further two
months. The truce has held, and there
have been no further reports of Renamo
ambushes on the roads or of clashes
between Renamo and government forces.
President Nyusi told the crowd at the
airport that all Mozambicans should be
vigilant in preserving the current climate of
peace. “I’ve come to follow the
environment of peace”, said the President.
“I want to confirm whether, here in Tete,
what I discussed with the Renamo leader,
about the need to halt military hostilities, is
being observed or not”.
He stressed that, for the lives of
Mozambicans, a definitive end to politico-
military tensions is of extreme importance,
and is the way to ensure the development
of the country.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
President Nyusi calls for the
preservation of peace in Lent
On Thursday 2 March, President Filipe
Nyusi called on Mozambicans to be
guided by the values of peace and
national reconciliation as a way of
observing the spirit of Lent, which began
on Wednesday.
“That the fundamental values of
Christianity, such as love of the
neighbour, forgiveness, reconciliation and
peace, transcend the religious domain to
be guiding values of Mozambican society,
because they are shared by all of us,
regardless of our differences, religious or

otherwise”, President Nyusi said in a
message to the media.
The head of state said that Lent should be
a time of deep reflection on the values
and principles of Christianity for
Mozambicans.
President Nyusi also called for the
occasion of Lent to inspire Mozambicans
in the hope and assurance of peace,
removing all factors that undermine
healthy, harmonious and peaceful
coexistence.
Peace in Mozambique has been under
constant threat in recent years due to
fractures between Frelimo, the ruling
party, and Renamo, the main opposition
party.
Between 2013 and the end of 2016, the
country was plagued by violence between
the Defence and Security Forces (FDS)
and the armed wing of Renamo, but since
last December a truce declared by the
government and the leadership of the
main opposition party has been in force.
Source: Lusa
Assembly: all parties call for “effective
peace” in Mozambique
In a rare expression of unanimity, all three
political parties represented in the
National Assembly, on Monday expressed
their hope that the current truce will
become a definitive peace.
Speaking at the opening session of the
first sitting this year of the Assembly, the
head of the parliamentary group of the
ruling Frelimo Party, Margarida Talapa,
declared that Mozambicans were looking
to the Assembly to ensure that in this
sitting “the country will at last find a solid
platform for effective peace”.
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“Our debates”, she urged, “should seek
only the national interest which in the first
place means definitively silencing the
guns. We reaffirm that all Frelimo deputies
are ready to place all their skills in the
service of achieving the legitimate desire
of the people”.
The truce had already borne fruit, she
noted, in that the free circulation of people
and goods was now possible throughout
the county, schools which had been
closed were reopening, and health units in
zones of conflict were functioning again.
“Frelimo argues that peace is the top
priority, and that only permanent, open
and frank dialogue, free of
preconceptions, will contribute to
consolidating the unity in diversity which
characterises us and enriches us as a
people”, said Talapa.
She urged all Mozambicans, political
parties and civil society organisations “to
contribute to the re-establishment of
peace, in the spirit of reconciliation,
tolerance and national unity”.
Her opposite number, in the Renamo
parliamentary group, Ivone Soares,
claimed that the truce was Dhlakama’s
initiative, and that she now expected it to
become “definitive”. (Since she is
Dhlakama’s niece, her words may well
reflect his thinking).
“The truce has brought great hope to all
the Mozambican people”, she said. “This
country can advance if we opt for a
genuine peace, if we promote the
democratic rule of law, based on strong
and non-partisan laws and institutions”.
Soares stressed the need for
decentralisation, one of the main themes
in last year’s negotiations between the

government and Renamo. But she did not
mention the longstanding Renamo claim
that it has the right to rule the provinces
where it secured a majority of votes in the
2014 general elections.
Instead Soares said “we believe that
decentralisation will allow the provinces to
be governed directly by the governors
which they will elect. This means bringing
democracy closer to the voters”.
This is a shift away from Dhlakama’s
earlier position that Renamo would simply
appoint governors and other officials in
the provinces it claims.
A completely new demand raised by
Soares is for a “provincial police force”.
The existing force, the Mozambique
Republic Police (PRM), would retain
responsibility “for the most serious
crimes”, while other policing matters
would pass into the hands of the
provincial forces.
Soares wanted the Assembly to pass
legislation on decentralisation and on the
defence and security forces in this first
quarter of the year – which gives the
deputies slightly more than a month to
reach consensus on a range of complex
issues. Consensus is needed, because
changing the way in which the provinces
are governed will require amending the
constitution. Constitutional amendments
require a two thirds majority in the
Assembly, which no party can obtain on
its own.
Lutero Simango, the head of the
parliamentary group of the second
opposition force, the Mozambican
Democratic Movement (MDM), said the
current truce “should serve as a platform
to give peace back to Mozambicans so
that they can dream and work freely on
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national reconstruction, and reinvent the
state, in accordance with the values of
democracy, freedom, political pluralism
and the rule of law”.
“There is a national consensus that peace
should not be conditional”, declared
Simango. “Peace should be real and
effective, it should be the property of all
Mozambicans”.
The sustainability of peace and
democracy, he argued, “necessarily
involves an inclusive national dialogue”.
Political dialogue must no longer be
restricted to the government and Renamo,
but should involve “all the live forces of
society to establish commitment and
undertakings for a sustainable and lasting
peace”.
Simango insisted that the Assembly “must
legislate and establish norms conducive to
the sustainability of peace, inclusion,
political participation and shared
economic development”. The MDM
believed that amending the Constitution
and the electoral legislation was crucial to
this.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Mozambican parliament places peace
agreement on agenda
The main item on the agenda when the
fifth session of the Assembly of the
Republic commenced on Monday 27
February was peace and the debate on
decentralisation.
Ivone Soares, head of Renamo’s
parliamentary group, guaranteed that her
party would prioritise peace.

For Frelimo, the priority in this session will
be the disarmament of Renamo, “just as
the Constitution of the Republic states”.
“There is a huge effort, particularly by
President Filipe Nyusi, for a definitive
peace and we as MPs will echo his words
and actions”, said parliamentary
spokesperson Edmundo Galiza Matos
Júnior.
Although the MDM is not party to the
dialogue preparing the decentralisation
package to be submitted to parliament,
party leader Lutero Simango says he will
make the best possible contribution to
achieving peace.
“The greatest concern of Mozambicans is
in fact to rescue peace, the peace that
has to be truly effective, cannot be subject
to conditions, much less borrowed, hence
our parliamentary bench will continue to
say that we all want an effective peace
which is real, we want peace for all
Mozambicans”, Simango said.
Journalist and political analyst Luís
Mazoio believes that the steps taken by
the political leaders have created
conditions for parliament to start
discussing the decentralisation package.
“The latest signs are very encouraging,
and while parliament may not be
fundamental, it can serve as a notary and
ratifier of the agreements”, Mazoio
explained, noting that “as happened on
other occasions, like the electoral
package, when it reached Parliament it
was soon ratified”.
The fifth parliamentary session runs until
11 May.
Source: VOA Português
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Sing from the same page, President
Nyusi urges Frelimo deputies
On Monday 27 February, President Filipe
Nyusi, speaking in his capacity as
President of the ruling Frelimo Party,
urged the Frelimo leadership and the
Party’s parliamentary group “to sing the
same tune”.
Speaking in Maputo at a meeting between
Frelimo parliamentarians, members of the
Party’s Political Commission and
government members, President Nyusi
expressed his satisfaction at the role
played by the Frelimo parliamentary group
in ensuring that the National Assembly
approves key instruments for the
development of the country. He pointed to
the approval of the government’s Five-
Year Programme for 2015-19, and the
annual Economic and Social Plans with
their respective budgets. These were
instruments that facilitated the speedy
development of the country, he claimed.
He stressed that the role of the Frelimo
parliamentary group is fundamental, since
without the approval of key planning and
budgetary document “everything that the
people ask for would be impossible to
achieve”. “We cannot provide water or
electricity without the approval of our
plans for governance”, he said. “When we
hear that this or that district doesn’t have
electricity, what that really means there
are only a few places without electricity,
and that is thanks to the work that is being
done”.
The Monday meeting, President Nyusi
added, was an attempt “to bring still closer
together the party leadership and the
parliamentary group. We want to create
the conditions for improving our working
relations”. “We need to co-ordinate so that
we are all playing the same tune”, he

declared, “and we need our orchestra to
make rehearsals such as this meeting”.
“Quarrels sometimes arise, not because
of political differences”, he said, “but
because of unequal opportunities, and if
we discuss these aspects, we will be
making a contribution towards stabilising
our people”.
“We appreciate your willingness to
discuss these matters”, he told the
deputies, “and as a government we
assure you that we will remain open to co-
operate. But also as a party, in whose
leadership you placed me, we shall do
everything to ensure a balance and to
continue to work”.
The results of their discussions, he hoped,
would lead to the success of the current
sitting of the Assembly, which began on
Monday morning. The sitting could be
fraught with problems, since it may have
to decide on key issues in the negotiations
between the government and the Renamo
rebels – notably the question of how the
provinces are to be governed.
President Nyusi stressed the need for
stability – both political stability, in terms
of securing a definitive peace, and macro-
economic stability, including stabilising
inflation.
The head of the Frelimo parliamentary
group, Margarida Talapa, said that the
party’s work in the Assembly had not been
easy, because of the very nature of the
matters under discussion. “We have had
difficult sittings, because of the delicacy of
the materials”, she said. After the opening
speeches, the meeting continued behind
closed doors.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
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Mulembue claims President Nyusi will
be Frelimo candidate in 2019
A meeting of the Frelimo parliamentary
group ended on the night of Monday 27
February with a sudden declaration by
Eduardo Mulembwe, the former
chairperson of the National Assembly, that
Frelimo will be at the side of President
Filipe Nyusi “until 2024”.
This was a declaration that President
Nyusi will be the Frelimo candidate in the
next presidential election, scheduled for
2019.
“In this boat, Comrade President is the
helmsman”, declared Mulembwe, in a
speech broadcast by the independent
television channel STV. “We are saying
that we set out on this boat in 2015 (when
President Nyusi was sworn into office for
his first term, and we will be with you until
we reach our port of destination in 2024”.
The meeting of the parliamentary group
was chaired by President Nyusi, in his
capacity as President of Frelimo, and was
attended by members of the government
and of the Frelimo Political Commission. It
was called to discuss the performance of
the Frelimo group and, in President
Nyusi’s words in his opening speech, it
was an attempt “to bring still closer
together the Party leadership and the
parliamentary group”, to ensure that they
are all “singing the same tune”.
The meeting was not called to discuss
who would be Frelimo candidate in 2019,
and had no legitimacy at all to take such a
decision.
Under the Frelimo statutes, only the
Frelimo Central Committee can decide on
the Party’s Presidential candidate. The
Central Committee chose President Nyusi

as candidate on 1 March 2014, less than
nine months before the election.
The term of office of the current Central
Committee runs out later this year, and a
new Central Committee will be elected at
Frelimo’s 11th Congress, scheduled for
September. Whether Mulembue acted
alone, or was backed by other members
of the parliamentary group, he certainly
had no right to pre-empt a decision of a
Central Committee that has yet to be
elected.
Other Frelimo members are also entitled
to put their names forward for
consideration. In 2014, four other
candidates stood in the Central
Committee election, which took two
rounds, with President Nyusi beating
former Prime Minister Luísa Diogo in the
second round.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Frelimo general secretary denies
Mulembue
The declaration on Monday night by
Eduardo Mulembue, the former
chairperson of the National Assembly, that
President Filipe Nyusi will run for a
second term of office in 2019, is just his
own view, and is not the official position of
Frelimo, the party’s general secretary,
Eliseu Machava, said on Wednesday 1
March.
At the end of a meeting of the Frelimo
parliamentary group, chaired by President
Nyusi in his capacity as President of the
party, Mulembue had declared “In this
boat, Comrade President is the
helmsman. We are saying that we set out
on this boat in 2015 (when President
Nyusi was sworn into office for his first
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term), and we will be with you until we
reach our port of destination in 2024”.
At a press conference, at the start of a
working visit to Frelimo organisations in
Maputo city, Machava dismissed
Mulembue’s remarks as irrelevant. Cited
by the independent television station STV,
Machava said that Frelimo’s main concern
right now is to prepare for its eleventh
congress, scheduled for September, and
not to discuss possible candidates for the
presidency.
Mulembue’s statement “is just the opinion
of one of our members”, he said.
It would not be at all surprising if Frelimo
did indeed run President Nyusi for a
second term, but, under the Party’s
statutes, that decision can only be taken
by its Central Committee, and other party
members must be given the opportunity to
put their names forward.
A new Central Committee will be elected
at the September Congress. The
Congress will also elect the Party
President, and is likely to confirm
President Nyusi in the post.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Action needed this month on elections
The election laws involve very long time
scales, so action is needed now for the
2018 municipal elections. Elections are in
the first two weeks of October, and the
specific date must be set by the Council of
Ministers 18 months in advance –
effectively by the end of March 2017.
The registration law requires that voter
registration be done in the six months
after the date of the election is marked –
that is, April-September this year. But the

national census will take place in August,
and it will be extremely difficult to hold an
electoral census as well. Thus, there must
be a change in the law, which will need to
be agreed this month.
When could the voter registration be held?
The National Elections Commission must
set the number of local assembly
members six months before the election,
and that is based on the number of
registered voters. Processing and
checking the electoral role takes about
two months.
That means the registration must end by
the end of January 2018, which suggests
electoral registration in the municipalities
in November and December 2017 and in
the rest of the country in April-September
2018 for national elections the following
year. Taken together, this month (March)
the Council of Ministers will need to set
the municipal election date and parliament
will need to amend the registration law.
Source: Mozambique News Reports &
Clippings
Renamo youth march marks opening
of political year
On Saturday 25 February, members of the
Renamo youth in Nampula Province
marched through the streets of the city to
mark the opening of the political year.
Hundreds of supporters joined the
peaceful demonstration wearing Renamo
paraphernalia, welcoming the current
period of peace and, in particular, the
truce.
“We are here to show that we are glad
that there is a declared truce. Because of
this truce, we have opened a space for
the demonstration of our political
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activities”, Ossufo Francisco, a Renamo
youth member in Nampula.
The march was not covered by the police,
even after the youth of the Renamo Party
submitted a request asking for police
presence during the event.
Source: O País
President Nyusi criticises negligence
at Youth and Sports Ministry
On Thursday 2 March, President Filipe
Nyusi accused senior staff of the Ministry
of Youth and Sport of being asleep on the
job.
He was speaking at an extraordinary
meeting of the Ministry’s Consultative
Council, after making visits to the Olympic
swimming pool and sports complex in the
outlying Maputo neighbourhood of
Zimpeto. Although this complex was built
fairly recently, for the 2011 All Africa
Games in Maputo, it is showing alarming
deterioration.
President Nyusi found that the pool water
was dirty, and certainly not fit to swim in.
The bathrooms were closed, the toilets
clogged, and without water. There were
cracks in the wall, and an outer wall,
which collapsed in February 2016, killing
the national swimming coach, Frederico
dos Santos, has not yet been rebuilt. The
man who had the contract to run the
leisure space beside the pool had
disappeared, making off with the keys.
“You ruined my day when you brought
me to see the stadium and the Olympic
swimming pool”, President Nyusi told the
Ministry officials. “We are influenced by
what you do, and that is negative”.
Managers of the Zimpeto complex justified
the problems on the grounds that the

buildings were designed and built at the
same time, such was the haste to
complete them. But President Nyusi was
not convinced by attempts to shift the
blame on to things which had happened
six years ago. There was, for instance, no
excuse for the shortage of water since the
borehole used is owned by the
government’s own Sports Development
Fund.
“I was very disappointed”, said the
President. “I don’t know whether this gives
the Minister of Youth and Sports
headaches. All the bathrooms are clogged
up. They say they weren’t in the original
programme, but now we have to see what
to do with that monster”. He feared that,
under current conditions, other parts of
the complex might collapse. “You’ve fallen
asleep”, President Nyusi accused. “Do
your jobs! I can’t come and replace you in
your work. You are becoming directors of
things that are broken”.
President Nyusi told the country’s sports
leaders to tackle the problems of
managing and maintaining the sports
infrastructures, and ensuring that they
become profitable.He noted that the
Ministry was concentrating almost
exclusively on sport, to the detriment of
the other area for which it is responsible,
policies for young people. “I did not notice
in the Ministry that there is any
programme with an impact on youth”, he
said.
President Nyusi stressed that it is the duty
of this Ministry to take an interest in jobs
and housing for young Mozambicans, and
hence to coordinate with other ministries,
such as the Ministries of Labour and of
Public Works and Housing.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
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Domestic violence high on the agenda
New legislation is needed on domestic
violence, Speaker of House, Verónica
Macamo, said in her opening statement
Monday 27 February. “Violent crime is
increasing and we are preoccupied with
intra-family violence”, said President Filipe
Nyusi on 24 February, adding that “recent
events of this nature oblige us to rethink
our values and the basis of society”.
Attorney-General Beatriz Buchili raised
the topic of domestic violence at the
opening of the judicial year on 1 March.
Speaking on Saturday, Inhambane
Governor Daniel Chapo said that the
province now had four centres for victims
of gender-based domestic violence. He
said in that province alone, 2,000 cases of
domestic violence were reported in 2016,
double the level of 2015.
The Human Rights Commission issued a
statement on 22 February “vehemently
condemning the macabre acts of domestic
violence that have been verified in our
country at an alarming level”. The lawyers
argue that the present penalties are two
weak; the penalty for most domestic
violence is under two years in prison,
which can be converted into a fine,
whereas penalties from crimes against
property can be more than 12 years in
prison.
Source: Mozambique News Reports &
Clippings
Vitória Diogo joins AfDB panel on
youth employment
The Minister of Labour, Employment and
Social Security, Vitória Diogo, travelled to
Pretoria (South Africa) in order to join the
panel at the ministerial conference for the
countries of Southern Africa, organised by

the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The one-day event brought together
ministers from the southern region
responsible for economic, financial,
labour, social and youth issues, with the
aim of reflecting together and finding
solutions to the employment demand in
southern Africa.
SECURITY
Renamo promises its armed wing will
maintain truce with Mozambican
Armed Forces
On Wednesday 1 March, Renamo
announced that its armed wing promised
to maintain its truce with the Mozambican
Defence and Security Forces (FDS), while
accusing them nevertheless of
intimidation.
In a statement sent to Lusa by its
spokesperson, António Muchanga,
Renamo reports that the members of its
armed wing have urged the population not
to flee their homes, saying that the truce
struck with the government at the end of
December would continue beyond 4
March.
The statement, however, accuses the
FDS of spreading the rumour in the centre
of the country that the two parties would
resume confrontations after 4 March,
provoking agitation in the community.
According to Muchanga, in the
administrative post of Machipanda,
Manica district (Manica Province), “military
reinforcements arrived from Chimoio by
road and spread rumours that
confrontations would restart at the end of
the truce, making the population and local
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Academics, economists, trade unionists,
employers, socio-economic and labour
specialists, as well as organisations active
in the market were also present at the
event. The conference was held under the
motto: ‘Employment Strategy for Young
People in Africa’.
Source: Folha de Maputo
authorities apprehensive, although
Renamo forces are promising that the
truce will continue”.
The country’s main opposition party
maintains that last week, army officials put
commanders in various positions in
Gorongosa district on high alert, claiming
that the truce would end and military
clashes restart. “These provocations
create panic in the population and call into
question the efforts that the two
leaderships [the President and the
Renamo leader] are making to consolidate
peace in the country”, the statement says.
Source: Lusa
‘Secretário de círculo’ and wife of
Funhalouro community leader
murdered
On Sunday 26 February, local community
leader Azarias Massingue and his wife
(identified as Fatima Muetui) were
attacked in their home, located in district
25 de Junho, Funhalouro (Inhambane
Province). Muetui was killed in the attack,
while 66-year-old Massingue was
seriously injured. The same group of
attackers subsequently travelled to the
nearby home of Frelimo secretary Ernesto
Govene, where they fatally shot him.

Police spokesperson Juma Aly Dauto told
a news conference that the perpetrators of
the killings could possibly be members of
Renamo. According to Dauto, 10 armed
men (some of whom were dressed in
uniforms typically worn by the Renamo
militia) were involved in both attacks. This
led the authorities to conclude that the
attackers might be Renamo members,
“who in the recent past have been leading
attacks on the populations in the area...”
“We are worried, we are currently
experiencing a truce, but Renamo still
continues with the attacks on the people
in this area. It is a huge concern for the
Defence and Security Forces, but we are
doing the work to neutralise these
individuals still on the mountain”.
Contacted by Deutsche Welle Africa, the
Renamo spokesperson, António
Muchanga, declined to comment. But in a
written message, he said that the killings
were not politically motivated, and that
they may have been related to personal
matters. The police have already
dismissed the hypothesis of crime of
passion.
Source: Rádio Moçambique/Deutsche Welle
Thousands returning home confident
of end to conflict
In a sign of confidence in the current
cessation of hostilities, thousands of
villagers have begun to return to central
Manica, to the homes they deserted as a
result of the recent politico-military conflict
between Renamo and the government.
“There is no longer any war, so I have
returned with my family, here where I can
make a living selling food to travellers”,
says Elisa Roque, a resident of
Nhamatema in Báruè district, waving a
bowlful of boiled and roasted corncob to
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passing vehicles. On the outskirts of the
village, where a government delegation
was attacked and villagers forced to flee,
traditional honey and charcoal stalls have
also begun to reopen.
Several villages, especially in Mossurize
in the south and Báruè in the north of
Manica, were completely abandoned due
to clashes between government forces
and the Renamo militia. However, since
the initial announcement of a 60-day truce
by the Renamo leader in January, the
population has been contemplating
returning home, and others have already
begun cleaning up houses damaged by
fire.
“We fled to Catandica, to a family
member’s house, but we were only
waiting for everything to end, and many
people will continue to return now that
there is no longer any fighting”, Ndeinda
said. Ndinda remembered how she fled
from her house at dawn last winter without
even clothes on her body. In Chiuala, the
centre of the attacks attributed by the
police to Renamo on the EN7 between
Manica and Tete and on to the African
interior, a village once occupied by
government forces quartered there once
again has residents plying their trades.
“First we started selling mangoes, even
with the military escorts, but now the
situation has improved and many are
already returning home because there is
no fighting anymore”, a local merchant
said, explaining that the military that had
occupied the village had now withdrawn
leaving only a token force. The military still
patrol the village, which saw a great
number of attacks on the EN7, but
casually dressed and unarmed.
Source: Lusa

Zimbabwe safe from Renamo – Army
Zimbabwe is safe from incursions by
Renamo bandits from Mozambique
despite sporadic attacks between that
country’s government forces and the
rebels, the Zimbabwe National Army has
said. There were fears that rebel Renamo
bandits, under the leadership of Afonso
Dhlakama, would pose a security threat in
communities in Manicaland that border
with Mozambique.
However, ZNA Chief of Staff responsible
for Operations and Training, Major
General Trust Mugoba, said over the
weekend that Zimbabwe was safe from
the Renamo threat.
Maj-Gen Mugoba said the country’s
security forces were closely monitoring
the situation in Mozambique where
feuding parties signed a ceasefire. He
said ZNA was going to beef up personnel
on the country’s border with Mozambique
to curb cross border crime.
“We are beefing up our forces to increase
border patrols that we carry together with
members of the ZRP so that we stop
cross-border smuggling that is rampant
along our border with Mozambique”, he
said.
“We observed that there is rampant
smuggling of illicit drinks that are used to
make liquor together with second hand
clothing”, he said.
Maj-Gen Mugoba said they also wanted to
reduce cross-border cattle rustling either
by criminal gangs from Mozambique or
gangs from that country working in
conjunction with their local counterparts.
“There is a ceasefire that is being
observed in Mozambique at the moment
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between the government and rebels and
we are closely monitoring the situation,
but we have not had a situation where
Mozambican rebels have made incursions
into our country”, he said.
“The only Mozambicans that we have in
our country at the moment are refugees
numbering about 860 who fled conflict in
their country and are housed at
Tongogara Refugee Camp”, he added.
Maj-Gen Mugoba said there were
increasing cases of smuggling through an
area about 10 kilometres north of Sango
Border Post and the Corner Store area
along the border.
Smugglers were also using the recently
de-mined area near Crooks Corner in
southern Chikombedzi to illegally bring
various items into the country. Maj-Gen
Mugoba said there was also an urgent
need for the Surveyor-General’s Office to
restore border markings that clearly
demarcated the official border between
Zimbabwe and its eastern neighbour.
“There are no longer any visible pegs that
demarcate the border between us and
Mozambique and this has been creating
some problems because the border
between our two countries is not clear in
some areas and the local office of the
Surveyor-General should work on that
together with their counterparts from
Mozambique to solve this problem”, said
Maj- Gen Mugoba.
Cross-border smuggling is rampant along
Zimbabwe’s porous border with
Mozambique with smugglers bringing into
the country cheap second hand clothing
and illicit drinks such as brochili.
Source: The Herald
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CRIME

The following graphs and map relate to the political and security incidents in Mozambique
from 01/01/2016 to 31/12/2016.

GRAPH 2: Province by Month

GRAPH 3: Injuries/Fatalities by Month

Should you wish to view the full report and additional statistics on
Mozambique incidents please email alerts@rhula.net

67

Missing Portuguese businessman
kidnapped in Mozambique: Interior
Minister goes to Lisbon
Interior Minister Jaime Monteiro
commenced a working visit to Lisbon this
week to discuss the case of the
Portuguese businessman kidnapped in
Beira (Sofala Province) last July and
missing since.
According to the journal Público, after
seven months of silence and three weeks
without responding to a letter from
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on
the missing businessman, Mozambican
head of state Filipe Nyusi has finally sent
a Minister to Lisbon.
According to Público, Maputo’s unusual
silence has generated deep unease in the
Portuguese state.
Minister Monteiro arrive in Lisbon on
Wednesday 1 March and met with
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and
Prime Minister António Costa in separate
meetings.
During the two meetings, the Mozambican
Minister revealed that “investigations by
the Mozambican authorities are
continuing” in order to establish the facts
behind the disappearance of a
Portuguese citizen.
There are dozens of theories circulating in
both Mozambique and Portugal about the
circumstances and possible motivations of
the kidnappers, some of them seeing the
abduction in a political setting, others in
an economic.
Source: Folha de Maputo/Lusa
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Police should reflect on how to prevent
violent crime – President Nyusi
On Friday 24 February, President Filipe
Nyusi urged the Academy of Police
Sciences (ACIPOL) and the police force
itself to reflect about the best way of
combating violent crime and domestic
violence.
“It’s time for us to try and seek the
reasons behind such attitudes and work to
avoid their repetition”, declared President
Nyusi during a ceremony at which 231
police officers graduated at the ACIPOL
headquarters, in Marracuene district
(Maputo Province).
He stressed that modern societies are
characterised by constant improvements
in their police forces so that they can rise
to present and future challenges,
anticipating events through prevention.
He urged the graduates “to commit
yourselves to the people and use the
scientific knowledge acquired during your
training to improve the security of
Mozambicans and of all those who, for
various reasons, are in the country”.
He noted that the latest cases reported
should lead citizens to rethink social
values, as well as the role of the state in
building a healthy and harmonious
society.
President Nyusi said that violence is
sheathed with the false perception that
there is something natural about
aggressive acts. “This happens, for
example, when we believe that physical
and verbal aggression is equitable
punishment, and promotes the character
and personality of a particular member of
the family”, the President added.

President Nyusi stressed the role of the
family, the churches and the community in
general in the all-round training of citizens,
and of the state itself, which contributes
with educational institutions, such as
ACIPOL.
“It is also up to the state to act so as to
correct deviant or criminal behaviour
through the police, on the one hand, and
through the courts on the other”, he
continued. “Institutions such as ACIPOL
should ponder, through studies and
research, on how to correct these types of
criminal phenomena”.
President Nyusi said that it is the duty of
the police to restore order by preventing
and repressing crime, in the framework of
the law and of respect for the fundamental
rights of citizens, such as the right to life
and to physical integrity”.
Police training, he added, is only
meaningful if, on the various fronts of
preventing and fighting crime, it makes a
positive difference, and if this difference is
reflected in public tranquillity and security.
President Nyusi urged the graduates “to
be reference points in professional ethics,
so that you can induce transformations
which we hope will be permanent”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Mozambique denies police abuse in
ruby deportations
A Mozambican government official has
dismissed allegations by Tanzanian
citizens that they had been assaulted by
security forces as they left the country
amid a crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Abdul Chuguro, who heads the forestry
department in Cabo Delgado Province,
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told the BBC that the allegations are
“unfounded”.
However, he said that Tanzanians and
people of other nationalities, including
Mozambicans, were being forced to
abandon the illegal mining of rubies in the
Montepuez district.
He said the only goods seized from
Tanzanians during the operation were 22
vehicles, which had forged documents,
including number plates and vehicle
registration books.
He also said the allegation that a woman
had been raped by two policemen was
found to be untrue by health authorities
who had examined the alleged victim.
Chuguro said most of Tanzanians relied
on illegal mining and did not have
resources for survival or to pay
transportation to return home. He said
most of the of them were put on buses to
the border.
Source: BBC
Five policemen accused of
involvement in fuel theft
Five Mozambican policemen were
detained on the morning of Monday 27
February, accused of facilitating a criminal
scheme to steal 10,000 litres of diesel at
the Lingamo fuel terminal in the southern
city of Matola, according to a report in
Thursday’s issue of the O País
Ironically, these policemen had been sent
to protect the terminal precisely because
of repeated thefts of fuel.
The criminals drove vehicles into the
Matola Port area, broke into pipelines
carrying the diesel, and siphoned it into
containers.

The detained policemen claimed they
knew nothing about the theft, and did not
even see the cars moving around the
terminal. “I know nothing about the theft”,
one of them said. “I don’t know what time
the cars came in. None of the team saw
any movement”.
A second police agent said she had fallen
asleep at her post. “When they woke me
up, they told me I had to get into the car,
and I thought I was being taken to the
chief because I was sleeping on duty. I
had no idea what had happened. It was
cold that night. I didn’t resist and I fell
asleep. I didn’t take part in this crime, and
I don’t know what happened”.
But the Maputo provincial police
command has no doubt that the five
policemen were involved in facilitating the
theft.
“We found the vehicles inside the
terminal, carrying 9,770 litres of diesel”,
said police spokesperson Emidio
Mabunda. “These police agents were
there to protect the area, but instead of
doing their duty, they took part in the theft.
Right now we are working to identify the
owners of the vehicles”.
During the police operation, the owners of
the vehicles abandoned them and fled.
But they left behind documents and
mobile phones, through which the police
may be able to identify them.
A second police spokesperson, Juarce
Martins, said “It isn’t possible for unknown
persons to enter the port premises and
steal so much fuel without the connivance
and facilitation of the police agents.
Certainly someone opened the gates for
them”.
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“In the police force, we don’t want people
who are pretending to be police”, said
Martins. “We want policemen who are
committed to guaranteeing public order
and to fighting crime”.
Stealing fuel can be a hazardous
business. On 13 December 2015, there
was a raid on the fuel terminal by thieves
using fishing boats. The theft went badly
wrong when the fuel caught fire, killing at
least 17 of the thieves, destroying seven
of their boats, and causing extensive
damage to the port.
Policemen supposedly guarding the port
were also complicit in this theft.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
PRM recovers 20 tons of stolen wheat
on a train in Manica
The Mozambican police recently
recovered 20 tons of wheat stolen from a
goods train in the area of Messica
(Manica Province).
Speaking to reporters in Manica town on
Monday 27 February, the spokesperson
for the provincial police command, Elcídia
Filipe, said the train had been carrying a
cargo of wheat from the port of Beira
(Sofala Province) to Zimbabwe. When the
train stopped in Messica, a gang of
thieves started looting the wagons. Filipe
said their intention was to sell the wheat
on the informal market.
Five members of the gang were caught
red-handed as they moved the sacks of
wheat from the wagons to waiting cars.
The police seized four of these vehicles.
Filipe said it was thanks to a tip-off from
the local population that the theft was
interrupted and the criminals arrested.

This was by no means the first such theft:
Filipe said local people had seen trains
stopping in the Messica area, and
unloading goods several times, both in
broad daylight and at night.
“We were informed of the theft and so we
went there”, said Filipe. “When we arrived,
we found them loading the product onto
the vehicles”.
“It’s not the first time”, she added. “They
change zone and they steal various goods
carried by the trains going from Beira to
Zimbabwe. This is a criminal network that
operates throughout the Beira Corridor”.
The five thieves attempted to bribe the
commmander of the Messica police post,
offering him MT60,000 (about US$875, at
current exchange rates) in exchange for
their freedom. He rejected the bribe, but
seized the money as evidence. The five
men will thus face changes of theft and of
attempted bribery.
Although not mentioned by Filipe, it
seems clear that regular looting of
Zimbabwe bound trains is only possible
with the connivance of railway staff.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Police neutralise fuel theft gang in
Beira Port
Police in Sofala Province have put a stop
to the theft of fuel from the port of Beira
orchestrated by a sophisticated network
with unlicensed tanks and sales stations
in residential backyards which has cost
business owners and the state dearly for
several years.
“The police have set up a police station
right in the harbour zone and have been
patrolling the corridor where there was a
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fuel robbery situation. We can say that
there has been a significant reduction in
the theft of fuel in the port since the last
quarter of 2016”, Sofala police command
spokesperson, Sididi Paulo, said.
With this squadron and the reinforcement
of existing means, “the police have
responded quickly in containing the foci of
fuel theft, ensuring that no case has been
recorded since September 2016”, Paulo
said.
However, assaults on freight leaving the
port of Beira in the Munhava area,
particularly trucks loaded with grain for
neighbouring countries, still occur.
“We met with the local community and
launched several appeals, and, with the
management of the port, consensus was
reached that no one was going to move
goods without having the police force
there, and that when they contract
services to private forces, those too would
send information to the police or port
police station”, Paulo explained, adding
that night-time unloading had been
abandoned.
Fuel theft and assaults on freight lorries
are usually carried out by groups of young
people just outside the port of Beira. The
thieves live near the port and the scheme
is organised with informal fuel dumps at
their residences.
The merchandise is marketed in parts of
Beira city and in other areas of the
country.
Since the end of 2016, the police have
been co-ordinating actions with the Beira
port operators, carriers and the Portos e
Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique
(CFM) to contain the theft of fuels and
other goods

Speaking off the record to VOA, one Beira
businessperson said that the police would
still have a difficult job cracking down
completely on the theft of fuel and other
goods because the thieves constantly
changed strategies.
“It’s no longer stolen the old-fashioned
way. There are new, more sophisticated
methods”, the source claimed.
Source: VOA Português
Top law officials denounce prison
overcrowding
Serious overcrowding in Mozambican
prisons hinders the rehabilitation of
prisoners, damages their dignity, and
imposes extra costs on the state,
denounced the President of the Supreme
Court, Adelino Muchanga, on Wednesday
1 March.
Speaking at the ceremony opening the
2017 judicial year, Muchanga pointed out
that total capacity in Mozambican jails
was for 8,188 prisoners, but they are now
holding over 18,000 people – more than
twice the installed capacity.
He blamed the overcrowding on excessive
use of preventive detention, the slowness
in bringing prisoners to trial, and the use
of imprisonment, rather than alternative
forms of punishment, for petty offences.
In 2016, Muchanga said, 35% of those in
the country’s jails had not been tried, but
were in preventive detention. Many of
them had not even been charged, and of
those facing charges many could be
released on bail, and told to await their
trials at home.
Suspects “persistently requested
provisional release during the preliminary
investigation of their supposed crimes, or
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in the subsequent phases, but there is
reluctance and hesitation about setting
them free, even when there is no reason
to believe that they pose a flight risk, or
will disturb the investigations”, he added.
This reluctance persisted, Muchanga said,
even in cases where the legal time limits
on preventive detention had been grossly
exceeded. As a result, there has been a
substantial increase in the number of
habeas corpus requests reaching the
Supreme Court.
“We receive 15 habeas corpus requests in
2015, and the number rose to 61 in 2016,
almost all of them based on the fact that
the limits on preventive detention had
been exceeded”, he continued.
But most detainees cannot afford a
lawyer, and know nothing about the
habeas corpus rules: if they did, the
number of requests would certainly be
much larger.
Attorney-General Beatriz Buchili also
denounced prison conditions, noting that
the number of people now incarcerated
was higher than it had been for the last
three years.
She agreed with Muchanga that the
situation could be minimised by reducing
the number of illegal detentions, speeding
up judicial procedures, and using
alternative punishments (such as
community service) instead of
imprisonment.
Buchili hoped that a new Penal
Procedural Code and a Code on
Alternatives to Prison, now under
consideration by the National Assembly,
will significantly improve prison conditions.

She also denounced the “countless
reports” of inhuman treatment of
detainees in prisons and police cells. A
major challenge for the bodies of the
administration of justice, she said, was to
eliminate these situations, since “people
who are incarcerated, although they have
committed offences, are still human
beings and deserve full respect and
dignity”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Josina Machel case raises question
over compensation
In Mozambique, the speed of the process
and high value of damages decided in the
case of Josina Machel are raising
eyebrows. Fávio Menete Bastonário of the
OAM explains that compensation is
determined by the court based on the Civil
Code.
Rufino Licuco was convicted and ordered
to pay Josina Machel MT200-million in
compensation, but many compare the
Machel case with thousands of others
where courts have stipulated amounts
considered ridiculously low, even in cases
of death. No-one remembers
compensation as high as this in a similar
case.
Who has money can violate?
Maria Paula is the president of Fórum
Mulher and says that she understands
people’s disgust, and raises other
questions regarding big compensation
sums.
“I think the issue is fair. I would even
prefer the family not to receive this
amount because we have to demonstrate
firmness as to what we want, and that is
justice. Otherwise we are saying that
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whoever has money can violate because
they can afford it. Then, we are not
actually going to achieve our goals”. Vera
Cruz believes that the high amount of the
compensation will usher in other
problems.
“[The money] will distract us, it will put
things out of focus. I think that money
causes us all to think about the sentence,
the law and the whole process
surrounding the case”.
But the head of the women’s NGO says
that the case raises questions such as the
need to take ownership of the law and its
critical analysis, as well as its results. But
the lack of knowledge of the laws is
widespread in the country.
Compensations: Civil Code establishes
what amount should be set by the court.
That is why Deutsche Welle Africa sought
a lawyer to clarify the laws and criteria
which determine the amount of damages
awarded.
Flávio Menete is the chairman of the OAM
and explains that “with regard to non-
property damage, and it is on these
damages that the controversial matter is
addressed, the law, which is the Civil
Code, is to be served as to their gravity”.
“Of course, we are not discussing whether
or not there is seriousness insofar as the
person is left without an eye”, he points
out. “Now, as regards the amount of
compensation, the Civil Code establishes
that the amount should be fixed equitably
by taking into account the degree of
culpability of the offender, his economic
situation and the economic situation of the
injured party and also the circumstances”.
Another aspect of the case that also
causes unease is the speed with which

the lawsuit was conducted. There are
many who can think of thousands of
criminal cases of even greater gravity
hanging in limbo or even completely
forgotten. Not so with elite figures such as
Josina Machel, daughter of the first
president of independent Mozambique.
Speed for the few?
But Vera Cruz disregards this almost
universal opinion, saying, “I believe that
possibly the efforts made by the victim
herself helped in some way to speed up
the matter. I do not think it was on the side
of the family; maybe it was the sensitivity
of jurists wanting to make this case a
publicly instructive case that would prompt
reflection. But I personally do not think
that’s the reason”.
The chairman of the Bar Association, on
the other hand, makes this point about the
speed at which the case was dealt with. “I
should like to express my pleasure at the
fact that the case was dealt with swiftly. Of
course, I would not say the same for those
who are not treated with the same speed.
We need to give some importance to
these issues related to domestic violence,
because they must be dealt with quickly.
When we talk about domestic violence we
are dealing with issues that affect the
stability of a home”.
The trial has triggered a debate on law
enforcement, and Menete acknowledges
that such a high-impact case is an
opportunity to bring about change. “I think
it’s something that needs to be
considered. So we have to use this
opportunity to discuss the subject with a
clear head and see how we’re going to
have to deal with these kinds of issues
from now on”.
Source: Deutsche Welle
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ZAR8-million gold bar bust at OR
Tambo: “Passenger in transit from
Maputo to Dubai”
Customs officials in South Africa arrested
a man with 16 kilograms of gold bars
worth ZAR8-million in his suitcase at OR
Tambo International Airport‚ the SA
Revenue Service (SARS) said on
Thursday 2 March.
“The passenger was in transit from
Maputo‚ Mozambique to Dubai”, SARS
said in a statement.
“Upon inspection of the passenger’s travel
documents‚ customs officials noted
possible irregularities. An inspection of the
passenger’s hand luggage led to the
discovery of five gold bars”, The
documentation and gold bars were
handed over to the Hawks precious metal
unit. The man faces prosecution under
Section 37 of the Precious Metals Act of
2005.
Source: TMG Digital
Man arrested in Marracuene for
possession of an illegal weapon
A young man was recently arrested in
Marracuene (Maputo Province) on
charges of carrying an illegal weapon.
According to the detainee, who assumed
ownership of the weapon, someone in his
family is “using witchcraft to lure him into
the world of crime”. “When I am
disgraced, someone wins”, he said.
The detainee was arrested following a tip-
off from his older brother who found the
gun in his house and immediately
informed the police.
Source: Moçambique Media Online

Thirty-six illegal Ethiopian immigrants
arrested in Meconta thanks to tip-off
The PRM have arrested 36 illegal
Ethiopian immigrants, found in a house in
Meconta district (Nampula Province).
The spokesperson for the Nampula
provincial police command, Zacarias
Nacute, announced the arrests at a press
conference in Nampula city on Monday 27
February.
He said the house where the Ethiopians
were living had been discovered thanks to
a tip-off. The house was raided in a joint
operation by the police and the Provincial
Immigration Services.
“We haven’t ascertained whether they
were all living in the same house”, said
Nacute.
“But the fact is that we found them all in
the same residence. The procedure to
repatriate them to their country of origin is
under way. It was proven that they were
living in the province without any legal
authorisation”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Murder-suicide in Tete Province
An unnamed woman murdered her
husband, buried his corpse on her family
farm (allegedly with the help of her elderly
father), and then hanged herself a few
days later.
The incident occurred in the district of
Changara (Tete Province).
Preliminary examinations suggest that,
following a fight between the couple, the
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woman struck her husband on the head
with a stick, resulting in his death.
A few days later the couple’s children
discovered that their father had been
murdered and buried by their mother.
They interrogated their mother, who
admitted to the murder.
Later that same day the woman hung
herself, allegedly in an attempt to avoid
accountability for her actions.
The woman’s father has not yet been
arrested as the police are still collecting
evidence.
Source: @Verdade
Government officials arrested for
falsifying documents in Zambézia
Two state officials were recently arrested
in Zambézia Province on charges of
falsifying and selling military declarations.
One of the detainees was assigned to the
Zambézia Military Recruitment Centre in
Quelimane.
He used his position to obtain incomplete
military declarations, which had been
signed and stamped but not filled out.
Once in possession of such documents,
the man sold them to several unknown
people.
At least 200 military declarations are
believed to have been sold by the
detainee for between MT200 and MT500
each.
Source: @Verdade

HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND NGO’S
Pequenos Libombos: authorities
investigate fire at Maputo water supply
dam
On the night of Thursday 23 February, a
fire broke out at the dam that supplies
water to Mozambique’s Greater Maputo
region. While the flames were
extinguished two hours later, the damage
was yet to be assessed as of Monday 27
February.
Delario Sengo, head of the Technical
Department of Águas do Sul Regional
Administration (Ara-Sul), said a short
circuit was suspected.
Situated about 40 kilometres from
Maputo, the Pequenos Libombos Dam’s
main function is to supply water to the
Greater Maputo region, including the of
Boane and Matola municipalities.
The dam has storage capacity of 400-
million cubic meters, but because of the
prolonged drought in the region, the dam
currently only holds about 70-million cubic
meters of water, or approximately 18% of
its capacity.
Because of the lowness of reserves, the
authorities are rationing water supply in
the Greater Maputo region.
Source: VOA Português
Pequenos Libombos floodgates close
On Tuesday 28 February, Mozambican
authorities closed the floodgates at the
Pequenos Libombos reservoir on the
Umbelúzi River, the Minister of Public
Works, Carlos Martinho, told reporters.
Speaking at a Wednesday press briefing
alongside Prime Minister Carlos
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Agostinho do Rosário, Minister Martinho
said this was a water saving measure, as
the government attempts to increase the
amount of water stored in the reservoir.
The pumping and treatment station on the
Umbelúzi is the main source of drinking
water for the Greater Maputo Metropolitan
Area, and it depends on the regular flow
of water out of the Pequenos Libombo
Dam.
But the level of the reservoir had fallen so
low that, as from 10 January, the Maputo
Regional Water Company (Águas da
Região de Maputo, AdeM) began
rationing the water supply to Maputo and
Matola cities and Boane district. Each
neighbourhood only receives water on
alternate days.
The level of the reservoir fell at one point
to around 13%. Minister Martinho said the
recent rains have allowed it to recover to
around 20%, although the government
was still hoping for it to reach over 50%.
Up until Tuesday, the reservoir was
releasing 1.5 cubic metres of water a
second into the Umbelúzi. With the
floodgates closed, nothing at all is leaving
the reservoir. Minister Martinho told
Agencia de Informacao de Moçambique
that this was possible because there is
still water further downstream at Movene,
which is supplying the treatment station.
When there is no longer any water at
Movene, the Pequenos Libombos
floodgates must re-open. This required
careful co-ordination on the part of the
water resource managers.
Minister Martinho put the greater Maputo
water deficit at 120,000 cubic metres a

day. Some of this deficit could be met
from ground water. There is potential to
exploit ground water in Marracuene and
Manhica districts, north of the capital, he
said (but new water mains would be
needed to carry this water to Maputo).
Another possibility would be to use water
stored behind the Corumana Dam on the
Sabie River, in Moamba district. That
would require construction of 100-
kilometre-long pipeline to carry the water
to the Machava distribution centre in
Matola.
Minister Martinho said he had met with his
Ministry’s partners on Monday, who
expressed a willingness to help overcome
the current water crisis. He said US$1.4-
million is needed immediately, and short-
term measures would cost a further
US$16-million. In the long-term, solutions
would cost over US$1-billion, including
new dams, such as that planned at
Moamba Major, on the Incomáti River.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Flooded out in Beira: a month’s rainfall
in just two days
Heavy rains on the night of Sunday 26
February continued to fall on Monday,
flooding homes and forcing families on the
outskirts of the city of Beira (Sofala
Province) out into the open. Alto de
Manga, Matacuane, Macurungo, Chota,
Munhava and Ndunda are worst affected,
with streets totally impassable to any form
of motorised transport.
The poor state of drainage and sewage
ditches in many neighbourhoods
aggravated the situation, resulting in the
flooding of homes, and a Diário de
Moçambique reporter doing the rounds of
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the city neighbourhoods witnessed the
sad scenario.
Several interviewees reported that their
homes were flooded by the rains, and
some were even left without a roof over
their heads. Alves César Mussa said that
he and his family had temporarily
abandoned their house because it was
flooded, while Elisa João Bosco said that
she had only just escaped with her
belongings.
“I’m on the street because my house was
flooded, so I’m taking my possessions to
my grandmother’s house in Manga. When
the water goes down I’ll return to my
house”, she said.
Chico António Bene, another resident,
said that when his house started to flood,
he and his family moved to the freeway.
“My property has suffered, my house has
flooded, the water level does not allow us
to stay there. That’s why we’re out on the
road. We are waiting for it to come down
so we can go back”, he said.
Berta João, a resident of the Alto da
Manga neighbourhood, said she lost most
of her March food shopping. “I lost a bag
of rice and 10 kilograms of flour – the
water level did not permit me to recover
anything. And since last night I have been
on the street”, she said.
Achado Jamal, of the National Institute of
Meteorology (Instituto Naciona de
Meteorologia, INAM) in Sofala, said that
223.9 millimetres of rain fell on Sunday
and Monday in the city of Beira, almost
the amount that would fall in and average
February (296.2 millimetres). Jamal
predicted the weather would improve from
Tuesday on, though without intermittent
showers or heavy rain.

Jamal explained that the weather was due
to atmospheric instability resulting from
the interaction between air masses of
different types. “INAM forecast the
occurrence of moderate to strong (30 to
50 millimetres of precipitation in 24 hours)
or strong rains (more than 50 millimetres
in 24 hours), accompanied by severe
thunderstorms and winds gusting up to 60
kilometres per hour, from 25 February
until 28 February in the districts of
Machanga, Chibabava, Buzi,
Nhamatanda, Dondo, Muanza,
Gorongosa, Cheringoma, Marromeu and
Beira”, he said.
In response to the bad weather, INAM
warns maritime concerns and the general
population to take appropriate
precautionary measures.
Source: Diário de Moçambique
Three children drown in Beira floods
Three children have drowned in floods
caused by torrential rains in the central
city of Beira (Sofala Province).
The rain began on the night of Sunday 26
February, coinciding with high tides, and
swamped many low-lying areas. One of
the victims was a seven-month-old baby
who drowned in his sleep.
His parents, also asleep, did not realise
that the flood waters had invaded their
house.
According to a report carried by the
independent television station STV, a
four-year-old boy died while he was
playing in the muddy water. He is believed
to have fallen into a hole and drowned.
The third victim, a 12-year-old boy,
drowned in a ditch as he was trying to
make his way to school.
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Homes were inundated in outlying
neighbourhoods such as Munhava,
Macarungo, Manga, Chota, Muchatazina
and Vaz. In some cases, residents were
forced to abandon their homes. Some
Beira schools had great difficulties in
operating, since the rains kept many of
their pupils and teachers away.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday
morning, the mayor of Beira, Daviz
Simango, recalled that Beira is prone to
flooding owing to the fact that part of the
city is below sea level, and the water table
is very high.
This made it crucial to maintain the city’s
drainage system, and Mayor Simango
reported that the new floodgates installed
at the Chiveve River, inaugurated in
January, performed well, as did the older
floodgates in the Palmeiras
neighbourhood.
Municipal staff have been checking on
them since Sunday night, to ensure that
the storm waters are channelled towards
the sea. An emergency floodgate was
opened on Tuesday, to strengthen the
system.
Mayor Simango said that natural factors,
such as the rains and the high tides,
combined with disorderly construction
along the drainage ditches, and the
dumping of garbage in the ditches, had
produced the current flooding.
From Sunday night to 6:00hrs on
Tuesday, 223 millimetres of rain fell on
Beira – an amount that normally falls in an
entire month. The forecast is that the
weather in Beira will improve as from
Wednesday.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique

Houses in Xai-Xai city flooded
The number of homes flooded in Xai-Xai
city (Gaza Province), has risen to 226
following intermittent rains over last 10
days.
Xai-Xai city councillor Almeida Guilume
told Jornal Notícias that the situation
mainly affected low-lying land prone to
flooding when it rains.
Currently, at least 1,400 people are
affected and 140 kilometres of urban
roads have been damaged, with some
sections impassable.
About 600 hectares of crops have also
been flooded.
If the situation prevails, Guilume says,
temporary accommodation may be
needed, but so far solidarity among
neighbours and family members has
successfully addressed the situation of
those affected.
According to INAM, Xai-Xai City
registered 93.7 millimetres of rain on
February 24 and 68 millimetres on
Saturday.
The forecast for the area is for winds with
strong gusts and moderate to strong rains.
INAM foresees moderate to strong rains
(30 to 50 millimetres of precipitation in 24
hours) possibly rising to strong (more than
50 millimetres in 24 hours), accompanied
by severe thunderstorms and winds with
gusts of up to 60 kilometres per hour.
The weather system will also affect the
districts of Massangena, Chicualacuala,
Chigubo, Mabalane, Mandlakazi, Chibuto,
Guijá and districts of Xai-Xai.
Source: Jornal Notícias
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Five die as river bursts its banks
Five people died and five others are
missing, when the vehicle they were
travelling in was swept away by the
waters of the Mussapa River, in
Sussundenga district (Manica Province).
A press release from the Manica
provincial government said that the
tragedy happened on Monday 27
February “when the waters of the
Mussapa burst their banks”.
The victims were travelling in a vehicle
belonging to the Chimanimani National
Reserve, which is an important
conservation area in Manica. There were
21 people on board, 11 of whom survived.
Five bodies were recovered and the other
five are still missing: they are three
workers of the Chimanimani reserve and
two members of a local community.
The vehicle too has not yet been located.
Search operations are continuing, with the
participation of the local population. The
provincial government has sent a team
from the fire brigade to assist in the
search.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Warnings of possible storms in
Mozambique
INAM has warned of new weather
phenomena that could result in floods and
damage in the country, just days after
southern Mozambique was hit by cyclone
Dineo, killing seven and affecting 650,000
and causing damages estimated at about
US$16-million.
Forecasters say there is no room for
complacency as the water temperature in
the Mozambique Channel is very high,

possibly presaging another tropical storm.
Temperatures range between 28 and 31
degrees and Acácio Tembe, head of
forecasting at INAM, says that such
temperatures are conducive to the
occurrence of cyclones.
Tembe reminded the public that the
cyclone season, which runs from January
to April, is still ongoing and further
cyclones may well occur, albeit possibly
not as devastating as the one which hit
Inhambane Province on 15 February.
Tembe urged all Mozambicans,
particularly those living near the coast and
in low-lying areas near rivers, to heed
warnings and withdraw immediately to
safe areas when requested to do so by
the authorities.
Source: VOA Português
Approximately 550,000 people affected
by cyclone Dineo
The latest estimate of the damage caused
by cyclone Dineo, which struck the
southern province of Inhambane on 16
February, is that over 550,000 people
were affected, according to the
government spokesperson, Deputy Health
Minister Mouzinho Saíde.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday 28
February, after the weekly meeting of the
Council of Ministers (Cabinet), Deputy
Minister Saíde said the known death toll
from the cycle still stands at seven.
Ninety-six people were injured, 16 of them
seriously.
The report given to the Council of
Ministers said that Dineo destroyed
33,712 houses and damaged a further
71,526.
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Approximately 1,692 classrooms were
destroyed, and 72 health units were also
affected.
Deputy Minister Saíde pledged that,
through the country’s relief agency, the
INGC, the government “will continue to
provide humanitarian assistance to the
people affected and to the most
vulnerable groups”.
The Council of Ministers also received a
report on the new school year, which
opened on 20 January.
According to Deputy Minister Saíde, there
are about seven-million pupils enrolled in
12,528 primary schools, 539 secondary
schools, and 181 technical and
professional schools.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
World Food Programme pledges to
help 50,000 victims of cyclone Dineo
The United Nations World Food
Programme (WFP) has pledged to help
50,000 people affected by cyclone Dineo
for a period of three months.
Speaking to the media in Inhambane, the
Permanent Secretary of the province,
Ricardo Nhacuongue, said that WFP will
provide food support and distribute
blankets and tents from March to May.
“We need 746 school tents and at the
moment we have only 17, we are going to
prioritise primary schools because of the
urgency with which children should return
to classes”, said Nhacuongue.
Source: A Bola

Tents serving as makeshift schools in
Inhambane and Gaza
More than 2,000 schools were destroyed
in Inhambane in the wake of tropical
cyclone Dineo. The students from the
effected schools have been forced to
attend classes in makeshift tents.
“In Inhambane we have 2,222 schools
that were destroyed, and in Gaza we have
44. And so far we have been able to
acquire some tents that are serving as
classrooms, but we are mobilising
ourselves to rebuild the destroyed schools
in order to resume classes normally”, said
Deputy Minister of Education and Human
Development, Armindo Ngunga.
Source: O País
Mozambican religious leaders
repudiate use of girls to repay debts
Religious leaders at a national seminar on
preventing and combating premature
marriages have rejected the practices of
pastors of some religious congregations
who encourage the use of virgin girls to
pay debts incurred by their parents.
In a debate on the theme ‘Role of the
Family and Society in General in
Preventing and Combating Premature
Marriages’ held on the morning of Sunday
26 February, the last day of the national
seminar taking place in Pemba (Cabo
Delgado Province), Albino Mussuei,
secretary general of the Council of
Religions of Mozambique (COREM),
launched a strong attack on “Satanic
agents” infiltrating the ministry of God.
Mussuei said there was no teaching in
any of the 73 books of the Bible saying
that a virgin could serve for the payment
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of debts, the forgiveness of sins or secure
divine blessing.
“There is nothing in the bible that
authorises a man to use his daughter for
the payment of services rendered by the
pastor of the congregation that his parents
attend”, the COREM Secretary General
said.
The practice is quite common, even
among practitioners of traditional medicine
and particularly in remote areas of the
country, due to the financial inability of
families to pay.
According to the 2011 Demographic
Health Survey, one in two girls in
Mozambique gets married before the age
of 18, 14% of these before the age of 15.
Figures from the Ministry of Education and
Human Development show that the
dropout rate of girls in school increases
after 12 years of age.
Faced with the reality still endemic across
much of the country, Mussuei said there
was an urgent need to intensify education
on human rights, values that are almost
unknown in thousands of Mozambican
families.
Mussuei pointed out, for example, that at
birth all children (boys and girls) have
rights that must be unconditionally
respected, but what happened was the
exact opposite, because families
themselves fostered some of the practices
that undermined the children’s future.
Mussuei advocated empowerment and
vocational training as measures that could
contribute to reducing the high levels of
economic vulnerability affecting families
and society.

The speeches revealed the shocking case
of a religious congregation in the central
province of Zambézia which had to be
closed down because a large number of
young girls in a body of believers were
pregnant, their religious leaders being
heavily involved in the abuse.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
Thirty schools reopen in Morrumbala
Approximately 30 schools in Morrumbala
(Zambézia Province) that had been
temporarily closed last year due to the
politico-military conflict were recently
reopened in the light of the military truce.
According to the administrator of the
district, Pedro Sapange, the classes are
going well, although some students do not
yet have books. Sapange expects the
books to arrive later in March or early
April.
Source: O País
House of Mozambican citizen burned
down in Pretoria in xenophobic attack
The home of a Mozambican national
residing in South Africa was reduced to
ashes in a fire set by South Africans who,
for several days now, have been
demonstrating against the presence of
foreigners in their country.
The Mozambican High Commissioner in
that country, Paulino Macaringue, said
that the Mozambican citizen lived in
Pretoria with a minor son, and had lost all
her assets in the fire.
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The embassy issued the woman and her
child new travel documents so that they
could return to Maputo.
“Of her own accord, she chose to return to
the country. Thus, we provided all
necessary support and she is already in
Mozambique”, explained Ambassador
Macaringue.
The ambassador indicated that he was
working to see if there were more
Mozambicans affected by the violence. To
that end, Macaringue said he was in
contact with community leaders in the
desolated areas in order to identify and
provide all due support.
“As you know, the zone (where the riots
have been going on) is big and we have to
do some investigative work to find out
whether or not there are more
(Mozambican) victims. Fortunately, so far
we have no other indication of compatriots
affected”, explained the diplomat.
Demonstrators accuse foreigners of being
responsible for drug trafficking and
prostitution.
Xenophobic incidents have escalated in
this country for the last two weeks, with
reports of several deaths, looting and
burning of houses.
It should be noted that the two great
manifestations of xenophobia recorded so
far in South Africa had Mozambican
citizens as emblematic victims. In 2008,
Ernesto Nhamuave was burned alive and
in 2015, Emmanuel Sithole was stabbed
to death.
Source: Jornal Notícias

HEALTH
Maputo: cholera situation report as of
23 February
Highlights:
 A total of 388 cases and one death
(CFR 0.0%) have been reported
Epidemiological week 1 and
Epidemiological week 8. Of these,
239 (61.5%) are from Nampula
Province (Meconta and Monapo
districts)
 Laboratory tests have confirmed
the presence of Vibrio cholera O1
in 37 samples collected from
Nampula and Maputo Province
 As shown in the epi curve, there is
steady increase in number of cases
reported in Maputo City and
Nampula Province
Most affected “bairros”/districts:
In Matala district:
1. Matola A (30%),
2. Tsalala (30%),
3. Malhampswene (20%)
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4. Matola C (10%) and Partice
Lumumba (10% of confirmed
cases)
In Maputo City:
1. Kamovota (47%),
2. Kabukukuane (42%)
3. KaLhamanculo (5%)
4. KaMaxaquene (5%) and
5. KaMpfumo district (1%).
In Nampula Province: Meconta district
(56% of the cases at provincial level) and
Monapo-Neita (44% of the cases).
It is also important to notice that diarrheal
diseases have increased by 46% in
Maputo Province over the first six weeks
of the year comparing 2016 with 2017.
WASH in CTC:
The CTC within the hospital in Matola is
clean and patients suspected to have
cholera are separated from other patients
on arrival.
Medical staffs have preventive items and
measures in place:
 Foot bath with chlorine
 Hand-washing with chlorine
 Protective materials
 Pulverisation on vomiting
 Swab with chlorine water

 Disposal of grey water from CTC
(even from laundry) is done in safe
sanitary.
WASH situation in the affected “Barrios”
Two field visits have been carried out with
Direccao de Saude de Ciudade de
Maputo on 23 February and with Direccao
Provincial de Saude de Maputo on the 24
February.
Water availability:
Water shortage is a significant issue in
most of the affected “barrios”. In Cabral
Barrio, it was reported that tap water is
available one or twice per week. Few
houses have shallow open-well with water
table almost as the same level as ground
level resulting of poor filtration and
contamination with drainage water.
Private boreholes with (sometimes) tanks
and submersible pumps are common as
an alternative but people have to walk
long distance and pay water (MT2 for 20
litres) or even more if the water is brought
to you through private water-trucking.
Water scary is likely to continue as the
reservoir provided water to Maputo and
surroundings is only 20% full.
Such scary is having consequences on
hygiene habits (bathing, cleanness of
household, handwashing) as drinking and
cooking water are high priority.
Water quality:
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At household level, 86% (13/15) of the
water stored was contaminated by E.Coli
as 68% of people admitted that they do
not treat their drinking water (such
percentage is probably even more).
However, we have observed that people
have good knowledge of water treatment
solution (chlorine or boiling water) but
practice is poor due to lack of “certeza”.
Tap water analysed in Matola was
chlorinated (day one: trace of chlorine;
day two: 0.5mg/L of chlorine), however,
no analyses have been carried out in
Maputo (due to lack of water). Shortage of
water in the water networks have also an
impact of water quality and residual
chlorine due to increasing sources of
contamination.
Hygiene messages:
Hygiene messages during the outbreak
should be limited to the main three
messages as we have notices that
beneficiaries seem a bit confused. Main
messages should be:
 Treat or boiled water
 Wash hands with soap at critical
time
 Any suspected cases should go
ASAP to receive free medical care
Families affected by cholera and their
neighbours receive visit from medical
staffs to receive one bottle of “certeza”,

hygiene messages and disinfection
through pulverisation.
Sanitation:
The suburbs visited are built on stamp
with challenging sanitation conditions.
Rubbish is not regularly collected, there is
no drainage. Grey water from houses are
going directly into the sandy and narrow
streets and sanitation coverage do not
seem adequate (poor hygienic facilities)
having latrine pits full of underground
water and sometimes overflowing.
Improving sanitation conditions is not
recommended as costly and time
consuming as an emergency response.
Wash Recommendations:
1. Increase availability of “certeza” at
HH level through mass distribution
in all the houses in the most
affected barrios
2. During mass distribution of certeza,
provide keys messages identified
above
3. Use mass media to alert families
on cholera risks and prevention
messages
4. Do shock chlorination of water
tanks connected to boreholes
5. Advocate for alternative water
supply on short-term considering
scarcity.
6. Advocate to FIPAG to make sure of
0.5mg/l of residual chlorine in the
water network and monitor through
DPS through donation of “pool
testers”
Source: WHO/Relief Web
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Mozambique has 13 psychiatrists for
150,000 seeking mental health services
Studies in some African countries indicate
that one in six patients seeking health
care suffers from at least one type of
mental, neurological or behavioural
disorder. And in recent years, more than
150,000 people, representing about 6% of
the total Mozambican population, have
sought care from Mozambique’s
psychiatric and mental health services.
The information was released at the
International Conference on Innovative
Mental Health Research in Maputo on
Sunday 26 February by the Permanent
Secretary of the Ministry of Health,
Zacarias Zindoga.
“Recently we have invested in training and
increased the number of mental health
professionals such as psychiatrists,
psychologists and psychiatry technicians.
We are also working on expanding
psychiatry and mental health services to
all districts in the country, opening
services for drug addicts, interventions for
the mentally ill living on the streets,
psychological interventions in crisis
situations and calamities, and in
implementing the ‘Reducing the Gap’
epilepsy treatment programme”, Zindonga
said.
The head of the mental health department
of the Ministry of Health, Lídia Gouveia,
said that diseases such as epilepsy,
schizophrenia, affective disorders and
problems related to the consumption of
psychoactive substances are the most
common in health units offering psychiatry
and mental health services. “Our actions
focus on preventing these problems, so
we work on community awareness to
persuade families to take the patient to
health units for diagnosis and treatment

as soon as they see warning signs.
Actions are also aimed at avoiding stigma.
Many people fail to seek treatment
because of the way society regards
people who attend psychiatric clinics”, she
said.
Participants including researchers from
countries such as the United States,
Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Cabo Verde and
São Tomé discussed practical and
effective ways of doing research in the
area of mental health over the next five
years. For the president of the American
Psychiatric Association, there is plenty of
scope for research in mental health in
Mozambique, but warns that the scarcity
of resources must be taken into account.
“We cannot waste the country’s resources
on programmes that do not work. That is
why it is important to do research to
confirm that the Ministry’s programmes
are worth it”, he said. Currently,
Mozambique has 13 psychiatrists to serve
a population of approximately 26-million.
Four more are in training.
Source: O País
New health centre for Zimpeto
Approximately 90,000 women (aged
between 19 and 49) will benefit from the
new Women’s Health Centre to be built in
the Zimpeto neighbourhood (Maputo City).
Budgeted at about USS70,000, the new
centre will also have a diagnostic and
prevention unit for cervical cancer,
HIV/AIDS treatment and tuberculosis.
The centre was initiated by the Health
Department of Maputo City, and
construction is being funded by the
Embassy of Japan and implemented by
the Community of Sant'Egidio.
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Speaking at the signing of the agreement
formalising the start of construction,
Arlindo Muchanga said on behalf of the
Maputo City Health Department that the
health centre will help meet the
government's goals in fighting pandemics.
The Ambassador of Japan in
Mozambique, Akira Mizutani, said the
project will contribute to improve the living
conditions of the local population. The
construction works of the Women's Health
Centre are already under way and are
expected to be completed soon.
Source: Jornal Notícias
Swedish support for safe abortion and
contraception
The Swedish government and the
international NGO Ipas, which works
around the globe to support the sexual
and reproductive rights of women, are
now collaborating to ensure the access of
Mozambican women and girls to safe
abortion and contraception services.
According to a Wednesday 1 March press
release from the Swedish Embassy, this
programme began last December (2016),
and will run until December 2019. Sweden
is contributing about US$5-million to the
programme.
It is intended to increase the knowledge,
opportunities and capacities of women
and girls to take informed and safe
decisions about abortion and
contraception. In Mozambique Ipas works
with the Ministry of Health, and is a
member of the Ministry’s Technical Group
on Abortion, which is developing norms
and directives for the provision of
comprehensive abortion services.
Abortion was decriminalised under the
new Penal Code, approved by the

National Assembly, in 2014. The Ministry
of Health estimates that about 11% of all
maternal mortality in Mozambique is due
to unsafe, clandestine abortions.
The Swedish release notes that currently
safe abortion services are only available
in the urban areas of southern
Mozambique. So the programme
supported by Sweden will focus on the
northern province of Nampula, and on
Zambézia in the centre of the county,
where there is little or no abortion
services.
Between them, these two provinces
account for about 40% of the Mozambican
population. But they have some of the
worst sexual and reproductive health
indicators in the country.
Comprehensive abortion services, the
release says, include not only safe
abortion itself, but also the treatment of
any resulting complications, pain relief
and post-abortion contraception.
It adds that abortion and contraception
services “are necessary because they
allow women and girls to decide on
reproductive matters, which is a
necessary precursor for their ability to
participate fully in society, including
attending school, obtaining decent jobs,
and participating actively in politics”.
Sexual and reproductive rights “are
fundamental human rights for attaining
gender equality, poverty reduction and
sustainable development”, declared
Swedish Ambassador Irina Schoulgin
Nyoni. “This support is a fundamental part
of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy”.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique
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INAE closes 20 establishments, mainly
over hygiene
The INAE last week ordered the closure of
20 establishments across the country,
mostly for lack of hygiene. Speaking at a
Maputo press conference on Monday 27
February, the INAE Deputy Director,
Acacio Foia, said the inspectors had also
fined 22 establishments a total of
MT597,000 (about US$8,700, at current
exchange rates).
Over the week, INAE inspected a total of
622 establishments, mostly bakeries and
restaurants. The inspectors seized and
ordered the destruction of deteriorated
foodstuffs valued at MT600,000. In
Maputo City and province alone, INAE
closed 10 bakeries. “In one of the
bakeries, the police had to intervene”, said
Foia, “because the staff, acting on orders
of the owner, refused to allow us to enter,
although we are accredited”.
“We were obliged to contact the nearest
police station”, he said. “Then we invaded
the place and discovered that it was
filthy”. During the visits to bakeries, the
INAE inspectors not only check for
hygiene and cleanliness, but they also
weigh the loaves to see whether the
clients are being cheated. Out of a sample
of 15 bakeries, the inspectors found that
nine were selling underweight loaves. In
one case, a loaf which ought to have
weighed 200 grams only weighed 147
grams.
On Friday alone, according to a report in
Monday’s issue of Mediafax, INAE
ordered the closure of three bakeries in
the city of Matola, confiscated 900 loaves
and ordered the destruction of dozens of
others.

The INAE General Inspector, Maria
Freitas, told the paper that all three
bakeries had serious problems of hygiene
and cleanliness, including dirty toilets and
wash basins, the presence of rats and
cockroaches, and workers who were
unshaved and had long fingernails.
The “Deju” bakery did not even have its
own source of piped water, and had
neither bathrooms nor dressing rooms for
the workers. None of the workers had the
obligatory health card, and it could not
weight the bread it produced, since it had
no scales.
Mediafax adds that the owners of some of
the businesses inspected have been
making angry phone calls to INAE and to
the Ministry of Industry and Trade
demanding a change in INAE’s decisions.
The owners of these closed bakeries
called themselves “comrades” of the ruling
Frelimo Party. So far INAE has not yielded
to this sort of political pressure.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique/Mediafax
Inspectors close well known Maputo
restaurant after finding ‘a range of
threats to public health’
On Tuesday 28 February, the INAE
ordered the closure of the well-known
Cristal restaurant, in central Maputo.
An inspection brigade that visited the
Cristal found a range of threats to public
health, including septic tanks that were
clogged up, dirty conditions in the kitchens
and staff toilets, pools of foul smelling
water, and the corridor leading to the
kitchen full of garbage.
The cupboards were also dirty, the
workers’ own dining area was in poor
condition, and water was seeping through
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some of the walls. Cats were also present
in the restaurant – apparently brought in
to hunt rats. The brigade found that none
of the restaurant workers possessed the
obligatory health card.
The toilets for the clients were clean, and
so was the seating area. But the same
could not be said for the workers’ toilets,
which were in a deplorable condition, with
the sanitary ware completely decrepit.
The INAE General Inspector, Maria
Freitas, who headed the brigade, told
reporters that the seriousness of the
problems found left her with no option but
to close the restaurant and its adjacent
pastry shop.
She stressed that it is completely
unacceptable to have pet cats in
restaurant kitchens, because of the risk
that the food served to clients could be
contaminated by cat hairs and even cat
urine. The Cristal is now closed to the
public, and it is up to its owner to correct
all the problems detected, and then apply
to INAE for authorisation to reopen.
“We didn’t give them any deadline to
correct the anomalies”, said Freitas.
“What we did was forbid the restaurant
from operating without observing basic
hygiene conditions”. The Cristal will be
fined, and the size of the fine in such
cases depends on the number and
seriousness of the problems.
INAE is on an offensive across the
country to impose cleanliness and
hygiene on establishments such as
restaurants and bakeries. Last week INAE
inspected 622 establishments and closed
down 20 of them.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de
Moçambique

WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Government launches ‘Operation
Tronco’ in six provinces
On Wednesday 1 March, the government
launched its ‘Operation Tronco’ forestry
inspection initiative to combat illegal
logging in Cabo Delgado, Nampula,
Zambézia, Tete, Manica and Sofala
provinces.
The operation hopes to trace the 700,000
cubic meters of timber thought to be
logged illegally and valued at MT20-
billion. Up to now, the main infringements
detected by the operation have been in
the unauthorised storage, transportation
and commercialization of forestry
resources.
Source: Rádio Moçambique
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Mozambique is the first country to add
areas to Great Limpopo Transfrontier
Park
The 240,000 hectare Greater Libombos
Conservancy (GLC) is now the first
privately owned area to be included as
part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier
Park (GLTP) and Conservation Area,
making Mozambique the first country to
add areas to Great Limpopo in terms of
the Great Limpopo Treaty signed in 2002.
The ground-breaking process for
Mozambique, supported by Peace Parks
Foundation, was formalised on Friday 24
February, at a Trilateral Ministerial
Committee Meeting held in Maputo.

In addition to including the Greater
Libombos Conservancy to the Great
Limpopo Transfrontier Park and
Conservation Area, Mozambique will be
launching an international conference on
conservation and the protection of wildlife.
This is according to South Africa’s
Department of Environmental Affairs, who
says the move is a crucial development
for the enhancement of the
implementation of the International Treaty
establishing the Great Limpopo
Transfrontier Park and Conservation Area.
The Joint Management Board comprises
of the three partner countries of
Mozambique, South Africa and
Zimbabwe.
The Ministers resolved that the process
for the formalisation of this incorporation
between the countries must be finalised
by the governments of Mozambique and
South Africa.
Why is this expansion of the conservancy
important?
The GLC comprises a total of nine
properties on the eastern boundary of the
Kruger National Park, the Peace Parks
organisation says.
It is significant in terms of its
environmental attributes, as well as its
geographic location.
The GLTP and Conservation Area
straddles the borders of Mozambique,
South Africa and Zimbabwe and
consolidates almost 100,000 square
kilometres of some of the most
established wildlife areas in southern
Africa.
“It conserves and protects diverse natural
and cultural assets. It is largely devoid of
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infrastructure or anthropogenic impacts
and includes vast unspoilt areas that
provide opportunities for the development
of true wilderness experiences.
This is where the Greater Libombos
Conservancy lies and how it forms part of
the GLTP and Conservation Area:
Move to combat poaching:
The GLC is also a key component of the
largest rhino refuge area in southern
Africa and, together with its neighbours, is
at the forefront of the combat against the
current rhino poaching epidemic.
South Africa’s DEA agrees, saying the
new expansion of the conservation area
will give the joint governmental agencies
more authority in combating wildlife crime
across the trans-frontier region.
This comes as the DEA announced South
Africa’s most recent rhino poaching
statistics, pointing to an overall 10.3%
decline from 2015 stats.
Despite the drop, the number of illegal
incursions into the Kruger National Park
continues to increase.
For 2016, there were a staggering 2,883
instances of poaching-related activities
(such as poaching camps, contacts,
crossings, sightings, tracks and shots
fired) in the Park, compared to 2,466
recorded in the same period in 2015.
This is an increase of 16.9%.
“These criminal gangs are armed to the
teeth”, the DEA says, “well-funded and
part of transnational syndicates who will
stop at nothing to get their hands-on rhino
horn”.

The move to combine three countries’
efforts to combat wildlife crime will
hopefully ensure a more acute treat to the
poaching epidemic.
Adding the GLC to Great Limpopo TFCA
has major positive implications for
conservation, tourism, community
development and countering wildlife
crime.
Together, the GLTP Trilateral Ministerial
Committee also declared that in terms of
conservation and protection, the countries
will reaffirm the implementation of the
wildlife translocation programme for the
GLTFCA and the continue the restocking
of species into key protected areas in the
Mozambican component of the GLTFCA.
Source: Traveller 24
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Rhino horns handed over to BMB
On Monday 27 February, the Bureau of
Customs (BoC) of the Philippines formally
handed over rhino horns worth P74-million
to the Biodiversity Management Bureau
(BMB). The horns in question were seized
in September 2012.
The handover of the contraband, originally
shipped from Mozambique which
suggests that the rhinos were African,
serves to demonstrate the Philippines’
“strong commitment to the global fight
against illegal wildlife trade”, the
Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) said in a statement.
BMB Director, Theresa Mundita S. Lim,
for her part, said the handover reaffirmed
the country’s resolve to end illegal wildlife
trafficking and trade.
“We may not have rhinoceros in our
country, but this does not mean we will
allow others to use them and other such
wildlife for unscrupulous gains and
contribute to their extinction as a species”,
said Lim, adding that they would co-
ordinate with Mozambique for the possible
return of the specimens.
Should the African state refuse to accept
them, the rhino horns will be disposed of
properly or destroyed, she added.
The horns were seized by the BoC in
2012 at the Manila International Container
Port. They had been declared as cashew
nuts and shipped by Chistevas Import and
Export from Maputo City.
Republic Act No. 9147, also known as the
Wildlife Resources Conservation and
Protection Act, designates the BMB’s
Wildlife Rescue Centre as depository of

seized wildlife specimens, their derivatives
or by-products.
The Philippines’ fight against illegal
wildlife trafficking and trade is in line with
its commitment to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)
to regulate commercial trade in certain
wildlife species, including the critically
endangered rhinoceros.
Source: Business World Online
Mozambique in need for law that
punishes buyers and traffickers of
illegal wildlife products
The fight against poaching in Mozambique
is progressing as hundreds of poachers
and illegal hunters have been detained.
However, there is no single dealer,
trafficker or buyer in custody because the
Law on Protection, Conservation and
Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity
only provides for prison terms only for
those who hunt without a license.
At the request of the Ministry of
Environment and the Attorney-General’s
Office, Law 16/2014 was revised by the
National Assembly in November last year,
and as such, all of those directly or
indirectly involved in the devastation of
protected species of Fauna or Flora face
jail time.
However, to date, the revised law has yet
to be sent to the President for
promulgation, allowing traffickers, dealers
and buyers to continue unpunished.
Many will recall the police operation in
May 2015 which lead to the largest
seizure of ivory and rhino horn in the
country (340 ivory tips and 65 rhino horns
seized from a luxurious residence in the
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city of Matola). Many will also remember
that rhino horn was stolen from the
secured police storage facility by PRM
agents. The remaining rhino and ivory
was subsequently destroyed.
However, the Asian citizen arrested in
connection with the Matola seizure
(identified as Ching Dai) has long since
disappeared.
Carlos Lopes Pereira, of the National
Administration of Conservation Areas
(Administração Nacional das Áreas de
Conservação, ANAC), told @Verdade that
he was following the trial – which was
scheduled for 5 November that year – but
the defendant disappeared and the court
no longer responds to his inquiries on the
matter.
In connection with the horn theft from the
PRM storage facility, numerous suspects
were detained (a PRM inspector who was
also head of the Criminal Investigation
Police, a PRM principal inspector; a PRM
deputy inspector, a PRM sergeant, an
employee of the Provincial Directorate of
Environment Land and Rural
Development in Maputo Province, and two
civilians); however, there is no information
on any of them having been tried and held
accountable for the crimes.
“We have a law that works in the favour of
traffickers … the trafficker could go out on
bail”, laments Pereira.
According to Pereira, even when they are
known to the authorities, foreign traffickers
and buyers are able to escape via
Mavalane International Airport, or are
detained and imprisoned but are then
given bail.
“This use and abuse results in what we
are currently experiencing – almost no

individuals detained, including foreigners,
in connection with trafficking”.
Pereira told @Verdade that the ANAC has
been working in partnership with the
Attorney-General’s Office, whose
sensitivity to these crimes has evolved
considerably.
Pereira told @Verdade that during the
past year 363 poachers were detained in
the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park
area.
But in Mozambique’s section, only 82
poachers have been arrested – many of
whom may no longer be detained. At the
same time, on the South African side, 281
illegal hunters were detained, of whom
102 are Mozambicans.
A report by the Environmental Research
Agency (EIA) indicates that between 2012
and 2014, 539 poachers were detained in
Mozambique, 17 of which were fined and
none were sentenced to prison.
Against this backdrop, Attorney-General
Beatriz Buchili acknowledged in her report
to the National Assembly last year that the
so-called “Conservation Law” was far from
effective with regard to the large-scale
destruction of conservation areas and
protected animals.
As such she defended its urgent revision
because the law is “fragile, fundamentally,
in terms of the punishment given to those
found in possession of wildlife products
and those implicated in their transport and
sale”.
@Verdade questioned the Minister of
Land, Environment and Rural
Development, Celso Correia, asking him
why Law 16/2014 had not yet come into
force, especially since many other laws
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that were approved by the Assembly of
the Republic at the same time as Law
16/2014 have since passed on to the
head of state and were promulgated.
“The information I have is that it has
already been promulgated”, said the
Minister at a press conference after the
sixth meeting of the countries responsible
for the Transfrontier Park.
Faced with the lack of public information
on the promulgation, @Verdade contacted
the Presidency of the Republic, which
revealed that: “We have not yet received
the Law”, said Arsénio Henriques, the
press attaché of the head of state.
Source: @Verdade
Over 600 poachers and traffickers
arrested in South Africa
“During 2016, the South African Police
Service reported that a total of 680
poachers and traffickers were arrested for
rhino-related poaching offences nationally.
This is a marked increase in arrests from
317 in 2015”, Environmental Affairs
Minister Edna Molewa said on Tuesday
28 February.
From the total number of arrests made,
417 were both within and outside the
Kruger National Park.
Minister Molewa said she is pleased with
the progress taking place at the Kruger
National Park, as the area is the hardest
hit by poaching.
A total of 148 firearms were seized inside
the park in 2016, and six just outside the
park.
In a statement released on Tuesday,
Minister Molewa highlighted the progress

made on the implementation of the
Integrated Strategic Management
Approach.
She said the strategy, which comprises
four pillars, namely compulsory
interventions, managing rhino populations,
long-term sustainability interventions and
new interventions, is yielding the desired
results.
All of the four pillars are implemented in
the context of regional and international
co-operation.
Poaching statistics:
“A total of 1,054 rhino were poached in
2016, compared to 1,175 in the same
period for 2015, representing a decline of
10.3%.
“Specifically for the Kruger National Park,
a total of 662 rhino carcasses were found
in 2016 compared to 826 in 2015. This
represents a reduction of 19.85% in
2016”, Minister Molewa said.
She said the progress was made despite
a continued increase in the number of
illegal incursions into the Kruger National
Park.
She said while there has been a decrease
in the number of rhino killed for their horns
in the Kruger National Park and
Mpumalanga, the number of rhino
poached has increased in some other
provinces.
“This indicates that syndicates are feeling
the pressure from the interventions being
employed in the Kruger National Park. We
are therefore prioritising these pressure
points through enforcement operations”,
Minister Molewa said.
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She expressed her concern on the 46
elephants that were poached in the
Kruger National Park in 2016.
“The interventions being implemented to
counter rhino poaching are also used to
respond to this emerging threat.
“It is clear that more financial resources
are required to address this challenge that
we are experiencing in terms of both rhino
and elephant poaching”, Minister Molewa
said.
Last year, there were 2,883 instances of
poaching-related activities (such as
poaching camps, contacts, crossings,
sightings, tracks and shots fired) in the
Kruger National Park, compared to 2,466
recorded in the same period in 2015.
“This is an increase of 16.9%. These
criminal gangs are armed to the teeth,
well-funded and part of transnational
syndicates who will stop at nothing to get
their hands on rhino horn. This decrease
can be attributed to the efforts of our men
and women on the ground, especially our
rangers”, Minister Molewa said.
Ports of entry and exit:
Last year, the Green Scorpions trained
905 border officials on initiatives focused
on the Illicit International Cross Border
Movement of Endangered Species.
“In December 2016, 90 judicial officers
from four different countries participated in
a Judicial Colloquium related to the
adjudication of crimes relating to
biodiversity, the result of a partnership
between Department of Environmental
Affairs, the GEF-UNEP Rhino Programme
and the South African Judicial Education
Institute”, Minister Molewa said.

She said the GEF-UNEP Programme has
also enabled the renovation of a new
laboratory at the Veterinary Genetics
Laboratory of the University of Pretoria
where the rhino DNA samples are
analysed.
“This additional capacity has also enabled
us to analyse some of the backlog of
routine rhino horn samples.
“During 2016, we also received rhino DNA
samples from seizures in Mozambique
and Vietnam. This has enabled us to link
these seizures to illegal activities in South
Africa relating to rhino and providing
investigators with critical information to
guide further investigations”, Minister
Molewa said.
Source: Bizcommunity
Lies, damned lies and rhino statistics
The latest 10% drop in the national rhino
poaching statistics may sound like good
news, but it masks the fact that the
decade-long bloodbath has thinned out
animal numbers so deeply that rhinos are
no longer such easy meat for poachers.
Poachers now have to work that much
harder to fill the order books for
international crime cartels because the
Kruger National Park rhino population has
been hammered since 2008.
Also, the target has shifted away from the
Kruger to KwaZulu-Natal, where there has
been a staggering 38% increase in horn
poaching over the past year.
Environmental Affairs Minister Edna
Molewa announced on 27 February that
1,054 rhinos were killed for their horns
nationwide during 2016 – compared with
1,175 in 2015.
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That adds up to 121 fewer rhinos killed
during 2016, or 161 fewer than the record
tally of 1,215 rhinos poached in 2014.
But it still adds up to roughly three rhinos
gunned down every 24 hours.
Compare this daily killing rate with the
decade preceding 2008, when annual
poaching figures barely exceeded double-
digit figures.
It is true, as Minister Molewa noted, that
rangers and anti-poaching units in South
Africa’s world-famous Kruger Park have
upped their game to the point that rhino
killings dropped by almost 20% (662 last
year compared with 826 in 2015).
Yet is also clear that the total rhino
population in Kruger has dropped. The
latest census suggests there may be
roughly 7,200 white rhinos left in Kruger,
from about 8,800 in 2015.
It is quite plausible that the natural birth
rate of Kruger rhinos has also been hit
hard by several years of drought, but
considering that the park’s white rhino
population stood at more than 10,000
seven years ago, it is clear that numbers
have now been thinned out significantly by
the horn poachers.
KwaZulu-Natal:
What of KwaZulu-Natal, the cradle of
global rhino conservation?
In the late 1800s, there were just 50 to
100 Southern white rhinos left in the world
(all of them in the Imfolozi Game Reserve
in KwaZulu-Natal). This tiny remnant
population was multiplied steadily thanks
to the conservation work of the former
Natal Parks Board and game rangers like
the late Dr Ian Player.

By 2008, when the continental rhino-killing
spree really hit South Africa, the tiny
remnant KwaZulu-Natal population had
been used to restock Kruger and other
parks and the national herd had grown to
more than 20,000.
In stark contrast to the rest of Africa,
South Africa was custodian to more than
90% of the global population of white
rhino and about 35% of the continent’s
black rhino population by 2013.
All this painstaking work continues to
unravel.
Now the poachers have turned their rifle
barrels, axes and machetes on the
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park and other
reserves in KwaZulu-Natal, killing at least
160 rhinos last year, compared with just
11 during 2011.
Compared with last year alone, the
conservation group WWF-SA estimates
that rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal shot
up by 38% over the last year in the
province that saved the white rhino
species from almost certain extinction just
over a century ago.
Earlier this month, Minister Molewa’s
department made a surprise
announcement that South Africa – under
legal pressure from private rhino breeders
who now own roughly a third of the
national herd – is planning to lift the eight-
year-old moratorium on domestic rhino
horn sales.
While the global trade in rhino horns has
been banned since the late 1970s, South
Africa still allowed rhino horns to be sold
on the domestic market for decades. This
came to an end in 2009.
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Some observers argue that news of the
impending domestic moratorium sparked
the steady spike in horn poaching from
2008 onwards. They argue that rhino
poaching would decline sharply if the
domestic moratorium and international
ban were lifted.
This also appears to be a tacit
acknowledgment that several private rhino
ranchers were deeply involved in
supplying the illegal global rhino horn
trade until at least 2009.
Opponents of a legal trade in rhino horn
argue that South Africa is not in any
position to prevent illegal or poached
horns being laundered into the proposed
legal trade. They believe that lifting the
moratorium now will reopen, and possibly
exacerbate, the illegal global trade.
In her briefing statement on Monday,
Minister Molewa sent out further mixed
messages on South Africa’s stance on
reopening the trade.
On one hand, she asserted that the 2009
moratorium was “a rational and
reasonable measure that contributed
positively to the conservation and
protection of the rhino in South Africa”.
Now, however, she argues that lifting the
moratorium can still ensure “the strict
regulation of a prospective domestic trade
in rhino horn” at a time when the
commercial international trade in rhino
horn is still prohibited in terms of the
CITES.
But why would anyone want to buy a rhino
horn on the domestic market today when
it remains illegal to sell this commodity
beyond our borders?
Source: Business Day

Rhino sale bombshell hidden in new
draft regulations
The public has until 10 March to respond
to draft regulations by the South African
Department of Environmental Affairs
(DEA) which seek to make widespread
sale of rhino horn legal and could
undermine attempts by CITES to save
rhinos.
Speaking in a Parliamentary portfolio
committee on Tuesday 21 February,
Minister Edna Molewa and DEA
biodiversity director Thea Carroll spoke of
the regulations in terms of legalising the
sale of two rhino horns per person, but
failed to mention the devil in the detail
which a closer reading of the regulations
later revealed.
It turns out the two-per-person discussion
was a red herring which effectively
diverted attention of the few attending
MPs from the fact that this only applied to
“a person from a foreign state”. South
Africans wanting to buy or sell rhino horn,
on obtaining a permit, would have no such
restriction and could trade and export as
much horn as they pleased. Foreigners
owning rhinos could also do so.
Because the paragraph concerning the
two-horn restriction referred to “a person
contemplated” in another part of the
regulations, it was easy to miss the key
point that the “person” referred to was
only a foreign national not domiciled in
South Africa or not owning a rhino. No
such restriction was placed on locals.
South Africa has the greatest number of
rhinos in the world and a huge poaching
problem. Legalising trade and export is
likely to collapse international attempts to
protect rhinos. If the trade regulations
become law, the decline and possible
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extinction in the wild of rhinos will be in
the interest of rhino breeders, who will
then control the world market.
The back story to the announcement is
that last year the moratorium on sale was
challenged by private sector rhino
breeders who won on a technicality.
Minister Molewa took the result on appeal
to the Constitutional Court. Then, on 8
February – possibly anticipating losing the
Constitutional Court appeal – she
announced new draft regulations, giving
the public a mere 30 days to make
representations or objections.
The effect, if the regulations become law,
is that South Africa will be an almost open
market for trading and even exporting
rhino horn. This is a slap in the face for
the overwhelming majority of countries
that voted against the trade in horn at the
CITES CoP17 meeting in Gauteng last
year and a huge victory for the very few,
extremely wealthy, rhino farmers and
potential traders who have been lobbying
Minister Molewa for years.
The draft regulations seek to justify the
trade through the fiction that it may only
be traded for personal purposes, but
leaves out what “personal” may mean. In
a lengthy statement on Monday 27
February, none of these issues were
addressed by the DEA.
In terms of Article III of the CITES
Convention, as long as the import is “not
for commercial purposes”, import and
export permits are allowed. If the purpose
is “personal” there is no limit to the
number of specimens involved. There is
also the exception (for residents) allowing
for export of personal and household
effects (Article VII).

According to Environmental attorney
Cormac Cullinan, “by requiring exports to
be for ‘personal purpose’ (whatever that
means) the DEA is obviously trying to
create the impression that it is not
contravening CITES by permitting trade
for commercial purposes”.
In answer to my question about the
difference between “trade” and “for
commercial purposes” upon which the
export regulations would hang, the DEA
responded:
“An import permit can only be issued if the
CITES authority of the state of import is
satisfied that the specimen (rhino horn) is
not to be used for primarily commercial
purposes.
“Primarily commercial purposes are
defined in a CITES Resolution adopted at
the 15th Conference of the Parties, which
requires that the terms ‘commercial
purposes’ should be defined by the
country of import ‘as broadly as possible’
so that any transaction which is not wholly
‘non-commercial’ will be regarded as
‘commercial’. It is … not the South African
government’s responsibility to prove that a
country has the necessary legislation.”
As the CITES definition goes, you could
fly a Boeing through that without touching
sides, which seems what the DEA plans
to do. The only place the South African
draft regulations clearly exceeds CITES’
dictum is by stating that an export permit
can be issued on the basis of a letter from
the importing country rather than a proper
import permit. This not only contradicts
CITES but South Africa’s own CITES
Regulations.
A possible scenario in terms of the
regulations could be that a private owner
in South Africa wants to sell a large
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number of horns to a buyer in Vietnam. To
avoid the restrictions regarding foreigners,
he sells the rhino to the buyer. The rhinos,
of course, stay in South Africa.
Once the foreign buyer has title to the
rhinos, he can then, once the required
import and export permits are in place,
import their horns without being bound by
the two-horn limit. He may even (this is
not clear) be able to import horns
previously removed from the rhinos he
owns as part of a dehorning operation.
Of course, the possibility of ensuring use
is personal and tracking this use into
foreign countries after export is another
fiction. What rhino traders will hope for is
that the regulations will give the
appearance that the trade is under control
and non-commercial, but that once the
horns reach (say) Vietnam, everyone will
nudge, wink and look the other way. The
huge black market value of horn will
ensure that uncontrolled cheating will take
place.
A 2014 report by the DEA warned that
“one of the most important hurdles South
Africa will need to overcome in order to
legalise national trade in rhino horn is to
prove to CITES that internal effective
trade controls have been implemented
and are sufficient to prevent the
laundering of illegally obtained rhino
horn”. The DEA appears to now consider
that they are sufficient, but has not
detailed what they are.
In Parliament, Minister Molewa explained
there had been a moratorium on rhino
horn sales since 2009 simply because the
department needed to “clear its house”.
But all the orders and regulations “are
now in place and people are asking why
we need a moratorium”. Those people are
clearly rhino farmers.

Minister Molewa did not give details of the
“orders and regulations” that would
warrant ending the moratorium. In fact,
the draft regulations suggest a need for
future regulation, calling for a limiting of
exit ports to OR Tambo Airport and a raft
of DNA, microchip and document
checking which the DEA has still to put in
place.
Its presentation failed to answer a number
of pertinent questions:
 Who did the minister consult in
drawing up the draft regulations
and how did she arrive at a figure
of two horns per person?
 How will an already stretched and
under-funded regulatory and
policing force cope with monitoring
internal trade?
 How will she ensure that the horns
will not enter the illegal
international markets?
 Is this the first step towards South
Africa putting forward a proposal
for full international trade in rhino
horn at the next CITES conference
in 2019?
Much appears to hinge on the
Constitutional Court finding on the
legitimacy of the private challenge to the
moratorium. If it finds against the Minister,
it is probable that the moratorium on rhino
horn sales will be lifted and trade will
begin.
According to Cullinan, “When you
consider that South Africa, as a signatory
to CITES, has undertaken to work with
other countries to ensure that international
trade does not threaten endangered
species like rhino, these regulations are
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particularly nefarious as they directly
undermine CITES. We should be trying to
eliminate demand for rhino horn, not
stimulate it”.
Lifting the trade ban would, of course, not
be good news for rhinos because there’s
a demonstrable link between the sale of
farmed wildlife and poaching. It would
serve to stimulate almost limitless Asian
markets through the sale of limited goods
which would not take long to bleed into
illegal procurement through poaching.
Source: Daily Maverick
Something’s not right in the DEA
On 8 February, the government of South
Africa announced new draft regulations
permitting the internal trade in rhino horn.
This follows a decision in November 2015
when the North Gauteng High Court,
Pretoria overturned the previous
moratorium on the trade in rhino horn.
Author, investigative journalist and
environmental activist, Don Pinnock,
suggests in articles published in the Daily
Maverick and in Independent Online that
the moratorium on the trade in rhino horn
was overturned on legal a technicality.
The “technicality” he refers to was the
Department of Environmental Affairs
failure to properly advertise the measure
for public comment as required in terms of
the applicable law and its failure to
provide the public with sufficient
information about the proposed measure
so as to allow us a reasonable opportunity
to acquaint ourselves with its complexities
and to have an adequate say about them.
However, the Constitutional Court does
not see this failure as a mere technicality.
It has ruled repeatedly that the obligation

to consult is fundamental to our system of
participatory democracy. The Court has
held that a proper consultation process is
essential so that citizens not only to have
a chance to speak on the laws that
government makes but also to enjoy the
assurance that we will be listened to. This
is seen as vital to the process of
transforming South Africa given the fact
that so many South Africans were
“historically silenced”.
This is probably explains why two courts
have already refused to grant the
Department of Environmental Affairs leave
to appeal the judgement.
However, it does not explain why the
Department now seeks to legalise the
trade in rhino horn. After all, the court
found that the idea of a moratorium on the
trade of rhino horn was rational and could
be legally enforced provided this was
done properly. This change in approach
is no doubt why conservationists are
outraged that trade in rhino horn will now
be legalised within South Africa.
It is surprising, given this controversy that
the Department of Environmental Affairs
has still not provided supplementary
information that explains why these
regulations are necessary, what they are
intended to achieve, or what the
anticipated cost and benefits will be. This
failure means that these regulations can
also be challenged on the basis that a
proper consultation process was not
followed.
This failure to get it right yet again invites
a much more important question and
opens a very big can of worms.
The question is how is it possible that the
Department of Environmental Affairs has
got it wrong again? I think the answer lies
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in the difficulty conservationists have in
seeing the environmental right as a
human right. I think this failing prevents
them from understanding the importance
of consultation.
Section 24 of the Constitution gives us the
right to an environment that is not harmful
to our health and wellbeing. Government
is obliged to take reasonable legislative
measures to protect our environment for
the benefit of present and future
generations.
The environment when used in this sense
is not nature but rather the impact nature
has on our health and wellbeing. South
African law explicitly states that all
environmental law-making and
environmental management, including
laws that promote conservation, must put
human health and wellbeing uppermost.
The legislated environmental principles
which must inform environmental law
making and environmental management
are largely directed at achieving this.
However South Africa’s environmental
tradition is strongly, one might even say
fundamentally, conservationist in its
outlook.
This has not changed since 1994 with the
result that conservationist thinking and
values still dominate South Africa’s
environmental space despite laws that
require a broader perspective. These
values misalign with the new constitutional
order and its values.
The result is that we have seen the
development of a body of conservationist-
orientated environmental law and
regulations over the last 20 years or so
that often ignore the broader social and
economic context in which these laws
should be framed. This style of

environmental law increasingly misaligns
with the Constitution and the principles
which ground the rule of law in this
country. This, in turn, is making our
environmental laws increasingly difficult to
implement and increasingly vulnerable to
legal challenge.
The fact that many of our environmental
laws can be set aside on account of the
Department of Environmental affairs
failure to consult properly is the can of
worms.
What makes this particularly troubling is
that this has not been accidental. The
Department of Environmental Affairs has
until very recently ignored warnings about
the legality of its consultation process
preferring, instead to adopt a “take us to
court” approach.
I think urgent steps need to be taken to
remedy this problem least environmental
law and environmental management
collapses under the weight of its own
inherent weaknesses. So, while I think
that the Department needs to be
congratulated for considering that a lawful
trade in rhino horn may contribute both to
the survival of rhino and our health and
wellbeing, it must also be criticised for the
manner in which it proposes executing
this initiative.
Source: Politics Web
What drives the demand for rhino
horns?
Reports in February that the South African
government was considering lifting the
2009 domestic moratorium on trade in
rhino horns brought into focus something
that is not necessarily obvious to those
outside of that country: there currently
exist in South Africa numerous large
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stockpiles of rhino horns, nearly all legal,
all potentially extremely valuable.
Farming rhinos:
Some stockpiles come from rhinos who
have died of natural causes, others are
contraband seized at customs or
confiscated from poachers, and many
arise from dehorning programmes
undertaken by both government and
individuals. Rhino farmers in South Africa
dehorn their rhinos to discourage
poaching and therefore protect the
endangered species, but breeding and
dehorning rhinos also creates a potential
cash crop.
Conserved, inventoried, often micro-
chipped and secured in strong rooms and
safes, rhino horns are stockpiled largely
because of their future market value. That
future value rests on an assumption that
the current high demand for rhino horn,
predominantly for use in Vietnamese
medicine, will continue indefinitely, and
cannot be overcome or countered. That
assumption itself rests in part on
characterising the demand for rhino horns
as “traditional”.
No one disputes that medicinal and
recreational use of rhino horn, mostly in
Vietnam, is directly responsible for high
levels of poaching in southern African
countries, which continues to threaten the
species with extinction. But while it is true
that rhino products are mentioned in a
variety of traditional Vietnamese medicine
texts, the scale of the Vietnamese market
has risen hugely over the past 15 years:
this demand is a modern phenomenon.
Influenced in part by rumours of a
prominent senior government official
being cured, sick and dying cancer
sufferers and their families are directly

targeted by unscrupulous vendors. In
addition, over the past decade and a half
rhino horn has become, a party drug, a
health supplement, and a hangover cure –
a luxury product conspicuously consumed
by newly wealthy elites.
It is often argued that (as with other high-
demand products such as narcotics)
regulation rather than prohibition is the
best solution, and one that will best
safeguard animal and human welfare, and
habitat. This argument rests on an
assumption that the Vietnamese market is
far more culturally established than it in
fact is. The contemporary medicinal
consumption of rhino horn is presented as
a traditional practice that people are
culturally committed, indeed almost
obliged, to perpetuate.
Rhino horn: a modern fad?
The fact that rhino horn medicine lacks
scientific or medical validity leads rather
too quickly to an implication that its
consumption must be “traditional”
(‘medieval’ is another variant). However,
the world is full of beliefs and practices
which are irrational, superstitious, or
without scientific validity, but that does not
mean that they are necessarily traditional:
they can be all these things and still be
modern or even post-modern, perhaps
high-tech, and without historical
precedent.
It is often the case that promoters of a
medicine or foodstuff might have an
interest in giving it a historical or
traditional pedigree, but such claims need
to be critically assessed rather than
uncritically reproduced. Believing in the
restorative or curative properties of the so-
called palaeo diet, for instance, is clearly a
belief held by parts of our modern society,
and is a recent invention. It would be odd
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for us to claim that the palaeo diet is
traditional, and it would be even more odd
for us to claim that if it is traditional it will
always exist: the palaeo diet is very
obviously both modern and a fad.
Devastating as it is to the welfare and
survival of rhino species, the Vietnamese
market for rhino horns is both faddish and
reversible. Education and marketing
campaigns that try to make its
consumption socially unacceptable are as
achievable in Vietnam as campaigns were
the UK to make once popular practices
like as drink-driving socially unacceptable.
This has been done for rhino horns
before: in the 1970s and 1980s, the
Yemeni demand for rhino horn dagger
handles also had a devastating effect on
rhino populations in southern African
countries. A mixture of legal measures
and social pressure, sometimes from the
highest levels of the Yemeni state,
coupled with awareness campaigns about
harm done to rhinos in the wild, were fairly
effective in making the practice of gifting
daggers with rhino horn handles socially
unacceptable.
Whether rhino horn dagger handles were
“traditional” or not, it was clearly possible
to confront the practice.
There are many good arguments for both
ending the stockpiling of rhino horns and
for destroying current stockpiles. Given
that this is not happening, we should ask
who it is that has an interest in ensuring
the perpetuation of a Vietnamese demand
for rhino horn. Vendors, traffickers and
poachers, of course, have an interest in
the market continuing.
A 2012 report in the Oxford Review of
Economic Policy made the intriguing and
worrying suggestion that a speculator

lawfully stockpiling large quantities of
wildlife commodities might have an
interest in “depressing” wild stock in order
to maximise profit: banking on extinction
in the wild, in other words.
Having a monopoly on supply is one way
of controlling a market, but maintaining
demand is also crucial. Who is currently
speculating in rhino horn stockpiles, and
why? Confronting and correcting the belief
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that modern faddish behaviour and the
peoples who engage in it are a modern,
traditional, or incapable of change, would
be helpful in reducing demand for rhino
products, but those who farm and
stockpile might have reason to present
rhino horn consumption in Vietnam as a
more established and venerable practice
than it in fact is.
Source: The Guardian