Vale and Mitsui lose Nacala Port concession to CFM; ENH seeks new partner to replace Erik Prince's FSG in Mozambique
Vale and Mitsui lose Nacala Port concession to CFM; ENH seeks new partner to replace Erik Prince's FSG in Mozambique
Welcome to Zitamar’s daily Mozambique briefing for 18 December
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Agenda:
19 December: The Minister of National Defense, Atanásio Salvador M´tumuke, will attend the Ministerial Meeting of the 12th Meeting of the Specialized Technical Committee of Defense and Security of the African Union in Cairo, Egypt
23 December: The Constitutional Council will announce the results of the general and provincial assembly elections, held on 15 October this year, at 11.00 at the Joaquim Chissano International Conference Center.
The latest from Zitamar News:
Vale and Mitsui lose Nacala Port concession to CFM
State-run port and rail company CFM is taking back control of Nacala port from Vale and Mitsui, who still run the rest of the Nacala Logistics Corridor
ENH seeks new partner to replace Erik Prince's FSG in Mozambique
ENH Logistics is looking for a new partner after Erik Prince's Chinese company FSG pulled out of a joint venture -- and a partnership with a subsidiary of Angola's Sonangol was rejected
ENH close to bringing on partner for Mazenga oil and gas exploration block
Mozambique’s state oil and gas company ENH is close to finding a partner to fund oil and gas exploration of the Mazenga onshore licence in Inhambane province, chairman Omar Mithá told journalists on Tuesday
The best of the rest:
Cabinet approves powers for provincial ‘state secretaries’ (Carta de Moçambique)
New company wins concessions for Maputo bridge and ring road, and EN6 (AIM)
Civilian-military clash leaves one dead and two wounded in Cabo Delgado (Lusa)
Sahara named Mozambique’s new fuel supplier (Carta de Moçambique)
Nyusi’s son bought R4m Cape Town house, eventually with hidden debts money (CIP)
Cabinet approves powers for provincial ‘state secretaries’ (Carta de Moçambique)
The Council of Ministers has approved the powers that will be held by state secretaries, the Presidential appointees who will govern provinces in parallel with elected provincial governors. The position was created as part of the decentralisation process under the peace agreement signed between Renamo and Frelimo this year. The cabinet approved the legislative package supporting the decentralisation process, government spokeswoman Ana Comoana said yesterday — including a decree establishing the legal framework under which the decentralized provincial governing bodies and their local authorities will work.
The detail on how powers will be divided is still eagerly awaited — as is the identity of the new state secretaries, who will be appointed after President Nyusi takes office for his second term on 15 January. The state secretaries are likely to be more powerful than the elected governors; one newly-elected governor told Zitamar he expected to be the public face of the provincial government but to have little in the way of real power.
New company wins concessions for Maputo bridge and ring road, and EN6 (AIM)
A new company, Rede Viária de Moçambique (Revimo) has been given a 20-year concession to manage the Maputo-Katembe Bridge, the Maputo ring road, and the EN6 highway connecting Beira to the Zimbabwean border at Machipanda, the government announced yesterday. Revimo will charge tolls and maintain, expand and develop the roads, according to a statement from the Council of Ministers.
Little is known so far about this company. AIM says it was established in September 2018, but that appears to be a mistake in the government gazette announcing its establishment in September 2019. That announcement contains no clues as to who owns the company which will toll the three roads.
State-owned company Maputo Sul was created to oversee construction of the bridge and ring road and was expected to run the tolling — the proceeds of which would pay back the Chinese construction company. That now looks unrealistic, and the government will be hoping that toll revenue can cover maintenance of the roads at least.
Civilian-military clash leaves one dead and two wounded in Cabo Delgado (Lusa)
One person died and two others were injured following clashes between local residents and the Mozambican Armed Forces in Muidumbe district, Cabo Delgado province, witnesses told Lusa on Tuesday. On Sunday, people from the village headquarters of the Chitunda administrative post used sticks and other objects to expel the military personnel stationed there, claiming they do nothing to protect the village. Hours after the army left, an unknown group attacked the village, burning houses and other buildings, including a chapel. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense said they were not aware of the clashes.
Sahara named Mozambique’s new fuel supplier (Carta de Moçambique)
Sahara Energy will be the new fuel supplier to Mozambique in the first half of 2020, announced the national director of hydrocarbons and fuels, Moisés Paulino. Sahara is replacing Finergy, which had suffered some delays supplying fuel due to an alleged lack of experience and financial competence. Sahara submitted the cheapest bid, offering to import 960,000 metric tons of petrol, diesel and jet fuel — 60,000 metric tons more than currently — at a price of $45.8 per metric ton, $12.58 cheaper than the current supplier's offer.
Carta says Sahara is a Canadian company, but this appears to be a confusion with a Canadian oil and gas junior rather than the West African company that will be supplying fuel to Mozambique.
Nyusi’s son bought R4m Cape Town house, eventually with hidden debts money (CIP)
Transparency watchdog CIP has published documents showing that the president’s son, Jacinto Ferrão Filipe Nyusi, bought a R3.9m property (at the time worth $373,252) in cash in an elite neighbourhood in Cape Town, in July 2014, when he was 21 years old. The house was likely bought with money from the $2bn hidden debts scandal, as email exchanges between António Carlos do Rosário, the chairman of EMATUM, ProIndicus and MAM, and Nyusi, reported by Canal de Moçambique, discussing the purchase of luxury cars and houses suggests. Nyusi sold the property in October 2017 for R4m, just after details of the scandal started coming to light through the Kroll report. Around two dozen defendants are awaiting trial in Maputo for their involvement in the hidden debts, but Nyusi’s children are not included.
