Mozambique 11 May: Bankers, boats, and bullets
Good afternoon. Today, Zitamar News leads with the story of the Credit Suisse banker who – having arranged the EMATUM and ProIndicus deals which indebted Mozambique to the tune of $1.5 billion – promptly took up a new job working directly for the man who sold Mozambique the boats.
FREE TO READ: Revealed: The Credit Suisse banker now in the pay of EMATUM ship-builder
The story is written by the same team that – thanks to a grant from the European Journalism Fund – last Friday published a feature article in Foreign Policy magazine about the increasing evidence that Mozambique is back at civil war. That too was the clear message of Human Rights League head Alice Mabota who told journalists in Maputo yesterday that the government is committing crimes against humanity.
SEE: Mozambique Human Rights League condemns ‘crimes against humanity’
Opposition party MDM succeeded on Monday in persuading parliament to set up inquiries into both the mass graves and the hidden debt issues. Renamo, however, boycotted the session which had been called in order to authorise President Nyusi’s upcoming trip to China.
SEE: Mozambique parliament to investigate public debt and alleged mass grave
Nyusi may hope that the government in Beijing can provide him with some leverage against the traditional western donors, who have now formally suspended general budget support. On Monday, they delivered a letter to finance minister Adriano Maleiane setting out their reasons – and giving a wide-ranging critique of the way Mozambique is being governed.
SEE: Donors and civil society slam Mozambique government in wide-ranging critiques
In the teeth of a crisis, this does not seem the best time to be trying to sell assets in Mozambique. That however is what the administrators of Australian graphite mining company Triton Minerals are attempting to do – with expressions of interest due in this week.
SEE: Mozambique graphite asset sale deadline this week
We’ll be back on Friday.