Mozambique 6 May: Still in the global spotlight
Good afternoon. Mozambique currently finds itself at the centre of international attention, and the foreign correspondents who jetted in to file stories about the hidden debt crisis now have a new news cycle to occupy them - the rotting bodies found in the woods of central Mozambique. Bad news is good news in our trade, so Mozambique can expect to remain in the headlines for some days to come.
For now, the government is trying to undermine journalists’ reports that there are mass graves in the district of Gorongosa, and deny that the bodies that have been found have anything to do with the conflict with Renamo. Human rights organisations agree that what is needed, and what has not yet happened, is a credible investigation to find out the truth. In the meantime, Zitamar has summarised what we know so far - and kept our article outside the paywall.
FREE TO READ: Calls intensify for ‘credible investigation’ into Mozambique mass grave rumours
Seasoned observers have feared that the military-political crisis in Mozambique had to get worse before it got better, but perhaps as the international spotlight turns to the discovery of atrocities in the worst-hit areas, it will now focus minds on finding a solution.
Mozambique today is far from being a “magnet for foreign direct investment”, but ENH head Omar Mitha told Zitamar News in the second part of our interview that if ExxonMobil buys into the country’s gas sector, all that could change.
SEE: Exxon entry would make Mozambique a ‘magnet for FDI’, says ENH head
Mitha’s interview also covers the question of whether Anadarko is going to make use of the controversial Pemba Logistics Base. Today we report that the US oil and gas company is seeking to outsource part of its logistics operation in Mozambique - the kind of business opportunity that has proven frustratingly thin on the ground for the services companies that flooded into Mozambique over the past few years in anticipation of the gas industry taking off.
SEE: Anadarko set to outsource Mozambique transport contract
The gas sector still excites potential foreign investors, however, and was the focus of discussions for a Dubai business delegation which was in town this week to open a chamber of commerce - Dubai’s third such institution in Africa.
SEE: Dubai’s third African chamber of commerce opens in Mozambique
Being home to the main - perhaps only - supplier of EMATUM and ProIndicus military hardware, the United Arab Emirates is unlikely to quit Mozambique over the recent hidden debt revelations. Likewise China, which we reported on Monday is making Mozambique a “priority partner” for investment.
On Thursday we revealed that the mystery suitor for a significant stake in Kenmare’s heavy sands mine in Nampula province is a Chinese company, despite being registered in the British Virgin Islands. Further details remain elusive, however.
SEE: Chinese trader eyes $100 million stake in Mozambique heavy sands mine
Have a great weekend.