Mozambique 23 Feb: When you're in a hole, keep mining
Good afternoon. Since the last Zitamar newsletter on Friday, the police force has confirmed it has added armed escorts on the EN1 highway on the stretch between Gorongosa and Caia, the town on the River Zambezi where the province of Sofala meets Tete and Zambezia provinces, just south of the southern tip of Malawi.
Meanwhile in Malawi, Human Rights Watch has become the latest international organisation to denounce the treatment of Mozambicans who have fled across the border to escape persecution by the Mozambican armed forces.
“The Mozambique army cannot use the excuse of disarming RENAMO militias to commit abuses against them or local residents,” said Zenaida Machado, Mozambique researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The government should urgently launch an investigation into reports of abuses and ensure any disarmament operation is carried out lawfully.”
In the continued absence of such an investigation, the Mozambique government continues to act on the basis that the refugees are economic migrants. Yesterday, a government meeting chaired by President Filipe Nyusi agreed on an ‘integrated development plan’ for the Malawi border region in order to stem the tide of refugees.
While greater economic development in the region will no doubt be welcomed, it does not address the problem in hand. “Why would I leave my home, my fields, and my property to come and live in this overcrowded camp if it was safe to be in Mozambique,” one elderly refugee told HRW.
Elsewhere in Tete, the police have opened fire on civilians but for reasons unrelated to Renamo. On Friday, 19 February, the rapid reaction unit, UIR, was sent to deal with a strike at Vale’s mine in Moatize, and - according to Zitamar’s correspondent on the ground - fired bullets and tear gas. No one was hurt by the display of force which caused panic in a nearby primary school..
SEE: Police open fire on Vale strikers in Moatize, Tete
Rio Tinto is no longer in Tete, having famously sold its coal mines there for some $3 billion less than it had paid for them. The company retains a presence in Mozambique, however, through heavy sand mining prospects in Inhambane and Gaza provinces. Last year, they signed a deal with Savannah Resources, who have an adjacent plot in Inhambane, to join forces on the project. If the Mozambique government approves the tie-up and their feasibility study is positive, they plan to start construction in 2017.
SEE: Rio Tinto and Savannah mining JV awaiting government approval
On Twitter, investors in London-listed Savannah Resources are getting excited about the project, and looking forward to big returns if and when government approval is granted - despite the experience of Kenmare which is now struggling to keep its heavy sand mine in Nampula a going concern. Savannah’s investors assure us that the Inhambane prospect is easier to mine than Kenmare’s Moma project, while the tie-up with Rio gives others more comfort.
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