"CATTLE GRAZING ON, BUT IF YOU MUST SEND CHILDREN TO SCHOOL"

The Mozambican First Lady, Maria da Luz Guebuza, said today in Chibuto, Gaza province, South of the country, or Domestic economic activity performed by children in their families, including grazing, should not prevent them from being enrolled in formal schools where they learn to read and write."Children can go graze cattle or work in the fields, but we have to give time for them to study to know how to read, write and master the science and technique," she said, speaking at a meeting held today in popular neighborhood June 25, outskirts of Chibuto, in its visit to the Gaza province, started this Monday feira.Guebuza argues that families should establish schedules for children devote themselves to household activities and also the school. "We can not stay without going to school. Today is not justified that no child can not read or write. "Currently, the illiteracy rate in Mozambique is estimated at 43.9 percent, a level that the government intends to reduce by 30 percent by 2015.Contudo, the level of adherence to literacy programs and adult education is still weak, which contrasts with dropouts, lurking to 30 cento.Na his speech, Maria da Luz Guebuza said not make sense the existence of children up to their 15 years could not read or write. So she called on all families to enroll their children and ensure that they complete at least secondary education geral.O appeal is extended to parents and guardians that not knowing how to read and write, must adhere to educational programs and adult literacy. This message is particularly aimed at men, since they are the group least adheres to these programas.Para expand the scope of education and adult literacy, the first lady suggested creating special classes to include certain social groups, as they are cases of religious, community leaders and traditional healers .

DUTCH COMPANIES AWARDED MAPUTO WATER CONTACT

The Dutch companies Royal HaskoningDHV and Vitens Evides International have been awarded a contract to work on a project to supply drinking water in Mozambique’s capital city Maputo.The two companies will design a new water distribution system for northern Maputo which will eventually supply safe drinking water to 550,000 residents and 20,000 households.The contract was awarded by Mozambique’s Water Supply Investment and Assets Fund (FIPAG) for the implementation of all services required for the development phase of the project that will be funded by the Dutch government. The contract is worth 2.2 million euros (just under three million US dollars). The water distribution system will be part of the Corumana Water Supply System, a 130 million dollar project funded by the World Bank through a loan to the Mozambique government.The Corumana Water Supply System will initially supply 60,000 cubic metres per day of treated drinking water to Maputo from the Corumana Dam on the Sabie River. This capacity will be extended during a second phase to 120,000 cubic metres per day. The distribution system will cover an area of about 900 square kilometres. Royal HaskoningDHV and Vitens Evides International will design the system with four new distribution centres and 192 kilometres of primary and secondary distribution pipes connecting 20,000 household to the water supply for the first time.The consortium will also draw up the tender documents for the construction of the distribution system.The design phase is due to end in April next year, with building work scheduled to begin before the end of 2014.The Dutch government will fund the construction phase with a grant of around 20 million euros, and will pay for the system's operation and maintenance for the first decade, costing around one million euros.According to Royal HaskoningDHV’s project director, Bob Bakker, “the new sustainable urban water supply system will provide good quality drinking water for more than half a million inhabitants in northern Maputo. The new system will improve drinking water quality and quantity, and will reduce the costs per litre for the inhabitants that now depend on unreliable sources”.Bakker added, “it is exciting to have the opportunity to provide a system that will make a real difference to the quality of lives of so many people, and help to enhance the Maputo community in such a positive way”.Currently the cities of Maputo and Matola and the adjacent areas rely on the Umbeluzi River for their water supply. But the system based on the Umbeluzi treatment station is no longer sufficient to meet the growing demand for water.The Dutch government previously contributed 18.6 million euros to the expansion of the Umbeluzi system, a project which increased the number of people benefitting from this system from 670,000 to 1.5 million.

CFM WILL ONLY CLOSE SENA LINE IF GOVERNMENT ORDERS IT

Mozambique’s port and rail company, CFM, has said that it will not close the Sena railway line to traffic unless it is ordered to do so by the government, according to a report in Thursday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”.On Wednesday, Jeronimo Malagueta, head of the information department of the former rebel movement Renamo, publicly threatened that Renamo forces would halt all traffic along the Sena railway line, from Beira to the Moatize coal basin, and its spur that goes to the sugar town of Marromeu.Malagueta justified this Renamo blockade on the ground that it intends to prevent all movements by the riot police (FIR) near the current residence of Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, at Satunjira, in Gorongosa district (even though the Sena line does not pass through Gorongosa). Reacting to the Renamo threat, the CFM director of public relations, Alvens Cumbe, said “in matters of order and security we follow the recommendations given to us by the government”.To date, CFM had received no instructions from the government concerning the use of the Sena line, and so the company has not ordered a stop to the movement of trains along the railway.The main users of the Sena line are the mining companies Vale and Rio Tinto, which send coal exports to the port of Beira along the line.  Malagueta justified his threats with the claim that Renamo is in possession of “classified government information” concerning a government plan to attack Satunjira and kill Dhlakama. But ever since Dhlakama moved to Satunjira last October, Renamo has claimed that a government attack on Dhlakama’s base is imminent.

Last Minute

A military contingent is the way to the center of the country most likely to respond to armed political tension which we live.The Canalmoz encountered a column of military vehicles apparently new that followed towards the Save River taking an average of 30 soldiers each. Altogether there are 15 trucks among which some of FIAT recently acquired. At this time six trucks and two military vehicles of Mahindra brand in the region are Chimondzo Bilene district province of Gaza because two cars are damaged. One of the brand TATA trucks following the military caravan is logistics.

Distractions caused by personal interests?

What is the reason for so much stubbornness and inconclusiveness in negotiations that would be simple to solve? Is someone waiting for contingent specialized mercenary forces or friendly governments to contribute to a quick military victory? Does the political good sense and foresight policy no longer part of the vocabulary of certain people with power to halt this drift of the political process in Mozambique? Where is the sense of political leaders and state government? The paralysis and immobility in finding solutions to real problems and concrete is dangerous for the country's political stability. You can not use strategic games poorly designed and extremely dubious consistency to direct the defense and national security. Some of the events in the sphere of defense and security ultimately convey a somewhat inappropriate to an entire sector of vital importance to national sovereignty and territorial integrity. While it may be a mere act of banditry is common to cities like Maputo is not without strangeness and wonder that a chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces is mugged in broad road, losing both the car that followed as the arms pistol and a laptop. Conspiracy theories as explanations scarce and people affected stand in silence arise. So that the external hand whenever something goes affection arrives at a moment of social saturation. There is no speech that is understood and accepted as full and sufficient explanation for some very strange facts. About the attack on the armory Savane many experts could provide authoritative explanations. But it is obvious to the layman that something went very wrong in this whole episode plus the arena of defense and security. It is up to politicians and political-military strategists bring clear and definitive answers on matters within its sphere or area of ​​interest. While there are no explanations the general public will consume so many rumors, hearsay or any other information provided by different communicators. Those who say they are friends of the truth seek to know in depth the genesis of the facts but this endeavor is not facilitated by the secrecy surrounding government affairs even in the social and economic sphere. What really is at stake is a set of procedures in obedience to some strategy that will have been elected by the ruler. Or distraction caused by so many interests and agendas in the public and private spheres someone has forgotten that it was important and fundamental outline a strategy corresponding to the actual situation of Mozambique?

Is this the case, that as in other sectors occur signs of accommodation and organic paralysis? Leaks happen in the financial sectors of the state but the reaction is almost always late. Dykes burst due to excessive rainfall and other hydraulic problems in your spare effective delay until the next full knock at the door. Rupture of stocks of medicines in public hospitals are not

safeguarded and the people suffer wearer. It's as if culture were government or they were. So much talk and assign pejorative adjectives to some extent to other rulers there who forget to think about the issues inherent in their portfolios however that public servants ...

People with this quality or profile actually fulfills a role as mediocre reality leaves vista.Afigura say that a whole experience in defense and security built over many years of war was perdida.Quem forgets his past and lessons offered by it runs the risk of repeating mistakes with serious consequences ...

Do not rely on external partners to solve problems as Mozambican government was quick to say that outside mediators are not required for the government to talk with Renamo concerns about this. Whoever wants peace struggle it without subterfuge ... (N. Nhantumbo)

Military

The Truth Newspaper (@Verdade) reporter witnessed the entry tonight, through the Port of Maputo, 50 armored military vehicles and unspecified amount of weaponry Belico.

The transit of this weaponry and equipment according to witnesses gave up the av July 24 from the 21 to the 00 o'clock hour. According to reports lorries were carrying other cars like jeeps and soldiers protecting the entire length of the avenue during the time that the operation lasted.

ENH DENIES PLANNING TO SELL ROVUMA GAS STAKE

The publicly owned Mozambican Hydrocarbon Company (ENH) has announced that it is not currently seeking to sell any of its stake in the country’s gas fields.However, it has admitted that it has been approached by companies interested in buying into Offshore Area 1 and 4, situated in the Rovuma Basin off the northern coast of Cabo Delgado province.According to the chairperson of ENH, Nelson Ocuane, cited in the daily newspaper “Noticias”, the mission given to the company by the Mozambican government is to enhance its participation and to create the basis for the company to transform itself over the next twenty to thirty years into a hydrocarbon operator.

Ocuane stressed that “we have a mandate to structure the financing and maximise our participation in the blocks, and prepare the company so that in a few years we can be a project operator in research, exploration, processing and commercialisation”.He was responding to recent media reports that ENH was considering divesting some of its fifteen per cent stake in Offshore Area 1, where the US based company Anadarko is the operator.Ocuane stated “what we have proposed to companies that have contacted us, and who would like to participate in the development of natural gas in the Rovuma Basin, is that this can be done through the stakes that are offered for sale - such as when Cove Energy sold its shares”.Asked about plans for the company’s holdings, Nelson Ocuane said that these will eventually be sold to Mozambican investors in line with the government policy of promoting the entry of nationals into hydrocarbon projects.So far, up to 65 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas has been found in the group of natural gas fields contained within Offshore Area 1. Several companies are interested in taking a stake in Offshore Area 1.On Monday the Indian state owned company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation announced that, together with Oil India Limited, it was going to buy out the ten per cent stake owned by Videocon Mauritius Energy for 2.5 billion US dollars.However, to the company’s great embarrassment, the announcement was withdrawn within hours as the deal has not been finalised.In April the Algerian state owned hydrocarbon company Sonatrach announced that it was seeking a stake in Offshore Areas 1 and 4 through bidding for a proportion of the part of the two licences held by ENH.Although ENH has made clear that it is not looking to sell, there are other options. Anadarko has indicated that it is willing to sell a ten per cent stake in Offshore Area 1.Meanwhile, planning is underway for the construction of onshore facilities in Mozambique to liquefy the gas so that it can be shipped to market. Anadarko hopes to bring this online in 2018, and estimates that it could make Mozambique the third largest exporter of LNG after Qatar and Australia.

BANK OF MOZAMBIQUE CUTS INTEREST RATES

The Bank of Mozambique on Monday decided to cut its key interest rates by half a per cent.At its monthly meeting, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee announced that the Standing Lending Facility (the interest rate paid by the commercial banks to the central bank for money borrowed on the Interbank Money Market) will be cut from 9.5 to 9 per cent, and the Standing Deposit Facility (the rate paid by the central bank to the commercial banks on money they deposit with it) will fall from 2.25 to 1.75 per cent.The Compulsory Reserves Coefficient - the amount of money that the commercial banks must deposit with the Bank of Mozambique - remains at eight per cent.A statement from the Monetary Policy Committee pointed out that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has cut its prediction for growth in the global economy to 3.1 per cent. The Committee also warned that economic activity in the eurozone in the first three months of the year fell by 0.2 per cent, and growth in Japan is slowing down.However, it was able to report that in May the consumer price index for Maputo city showed a drop in prices of 0.41 per cent compared with a rise of 0.6 per cent in April. This was driven by a fall in prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages. Prices also fell in Beira (-1.75 per cent) but rose slightly in Nampula (0.19 per cent).The Committee indicated that this shows a recovery in fruit and vegetable production following the flooding that hit the south of the country at the beginning of the year. In addition, some international commodities have dropped in price.The national currency, the metical, has stabilised against the US dollar and strengthened against the South African rand.On the last day of May on the inter-bank exchange market there were 29.91 meticais to the US dollar, which represents a monthly appreciation of 0.37 per cent.Against the rand, the metical appreciated by 11.68 per cent and was trading at 2.95 meticais per rand (compared with 3.34 per rand at the end of April).Despite the fall in consumer prices in May, the country’s annual inflation rate rose to 4.9 per cent (up from 4.79 per cent in April).The money supply expanded by 1,597 million meticais to 40.399 billion meticais at the end of May.The Committee also reported that net international reserves fell in May by 13.2 million dollars to 2,198.8 million dollars.The next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee will be on 12 July.

The population and just say it!

"This is not Frelimo Mondlane, Marcelino dos Santos, Sérgio Vieira, Óscar Monteiro and we others. Frelimo is diverted. Our objectives are fully diverted to the population and just say it! " Major Henriques Madebe, Frelimo member and former fighter, is harsh criticism of the party leadership and said that it is diverted from its ideals. "If I told you that everything is good, Frelimo is well, be treason." Speaking in an interview on 50 years of Frelimo, the former fighter says the party is dying because of the way it is being managed. "Frelimo has changed ... changed between the men of new blood and old ... changed a lot, there are problems that are not thought to be ob-proved. What I can say is that Frelimo is dying, "said Madebe, adding that" this is not Frelimo Mondlane, Marcelino dos Santos, Sérgio Vieira, Óscar Monteiro and we others. Frelimo is diverted. Our goals are totally diverted until the population reaches only says ". Madebe says that Frelimo is currently the source of all evils and injustices against which they had been created to fight. "What is wrong is governance. We struggle against capitalism, selfishness, injustice, monopolism, but now are the same things that are born strongly. When I walk in the neighborhoods'm afraid to say that I'm fighting because people speak badly of the government, to say that it is wild, "he said.

After Addis Ababa, Tokyo and Seoul ... President arrived in Maputo!

Some of Mozambique’s most prominent doctors, including three former ministers of health, have urged President Armando Guebuza to take a personal role in ending the doctors’ strike declared by the Mozambican Medical Association (AMM) which is now in its 20th day.
The first signature on the letter to Guebuza, published on the AMM’s Facebook page, is that of Pascoal Mocumbi, a founder member of the ruling Frelimo Party, and who held in succession the posts of Health Minister, Foreign Minister and Prime Minister. He remains a member of the Frelimo Central Committee.
The two other former health ministers who signed are Helder Martins and Fernando Vaz. 81 other doctors added their names to their letter, many of them well-known specialists in various fields of medicine in the national health service, and including several founders of the National Health Service.
The letter stresses that the health service is one of the most important gains resulting from Mozambican independence and that the right to health care is enshrined in the Mozambican constitution. Those who work in the health service – doctors, nurses, and auxiliary and administrative staff – are the backbone of the system, but Mocumbi and the other signatories stress that “the performance of these professionals in the battle against illness, which is an inseparable component of the fight against poverty, requires decent working and living conditions”.
Over the years, the letter adds, those conditions for health workers “have deteriorated sharply, with shortages of basic medicines and equipment in the health units, very poor housing conditions, particularly for young doctors and postgraduates, and miserable wages”.
Furthermore, the health budget, the letter accuses “has, over the past five to seven years, shrunk by about 50 per cent, while the budget for some other sectors, of much less social relevance, has increased ten times, or by 1,000 per cent! This shows the level of priority that the government grants to the health sector”.
Such concerns had long been raised, “but regrettably the response has systematically been silence”, the letter says. “As a result, health professionals feel demoralized, disrespected, revolted and suffering injustice because of the authorities’ lack of a response to their concerns which would recognize the value of their work and their efforts”.
This, the signatories state, is what has really led to the demands by the AMM in recent months and the current strike. While the letter says nothing about the specific demands of the AMM (notably for 100 per cent rise in doctors’ wages), it describes the strike as “very just and legitimate”, while admitting that it is “tough and painful” for citizens who depend on the health service.
The letter notes that the situation could deteriorate. So far, minimum services have been guaranteed in the health units hit by the strike – but this may not continue. “The resort to medical and nursing students, first aid workers and volunteers, is a dangerous and deceptive solution, which could lead to serious and irreparable mistakes”, the doctors warn. “It is not the simple use of a white uniform that grants the skills and competence to exercise the profession”.
The signatories are thus appealing to Guebuza to intervene in order “to establish an immediate, genuine and fruitful dialogue”.
“You spent your entire youth always fighting for just causes”, the letter tells Guebuza, “and so you will certainly recognize that what the doctors want is that they should be valued and that their working and living conditions should be improved. It is also a struggle for their own dignity and the dignity of people who deserve to be treated by qualified and motivated professionals. In the end, it is a struggle for the self-esteem of doctors and of other health professionals”.
The letter also attacks “situations of coercion, intimidation, dismissals and repression against health professionals involved in the strike”. Such measures are “unacceptable under the rule of law and only worsen the situation”.
In particular, the signatories condemned the detention of AMM President Jorge Arroz on 26 May. On that date, the police made a clumsy attempt to charge Arroz with sedition, but were thwarted by the speedy intervention of the Attorney-General’s Office, which ensured that Arroz was set free within four hours of his arrest.
The letter also denounced what it described as “a campaign of disinformation waged by the public sector media (which live on taxpayers’ money) and by some authorities who are trying to minimize the seriousness of the situation, hide existing problems and denigrate the just and legitimate demands of the doctors and other health professionals”.

PRESIDENT DISMISSES DANGER OF LAND GRABBING

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Sunday in Yokohama categorically denied that land grabbing could take place along the Nacala Corridor in the north of Mozambique under the ProSavana project.The President stressed that “we do not want to take land from farmers. On the contrary, the objective is to make available, with title, land for farmers and to make this land more productive for the benefit of the farmers themselves.President Guebuza is in Yokohama to participate in the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), which takes place from 1 June to 3 June.He was reacting to voices claiming to represent Mozambican farmers associations and civil society organisations. In particular, the president of the National Peasants Union (UNAC) alleged at a press conference in Yokohama that there is a “serious and imminent threat of land grabbing and the forced removal of communities”.  ProSavana, a project to transform agricultural production in an area covering about ten million hectares along the Nacala Corridor, is a tri-lateral project being developed by the Mozambican government in partnership with Brazil and Japan.The ten year project aims to transform the tropical savannahs into major areas of agricultural production.President Guebuza was speaking during a seminar entitled “Development Corridors” which was run in parallel with TICAD. He explained to the audience the importance of ProSavana for the communities, the country and region as a whole.He pointed out that the advantages that ProSavana brings to the country are firstly economic as the project will enable peasant farmers to embrace commercial agriculture and access markets. This is currently not possible because of the low level of production and high costs.ProSavana will provide fundamental services for increasing productivity such as research centres, extension services and improved infrastructure.The President pointed out that this will result in socio-economic development and will raise the standard of living of the peasant farmers.Minister of Agriculture Jose Pacheco expressed his indignation at the allegation that the project will take land from peasant farmers.Pacheco stressed that ProSavana is not an island, nor is it the first development corridor in Mozambique.He explained that ProSavana is part of an integrated political strategy for Mozambique’s development, which includes increasing productivity through improved seeds, research to enhance farming methods, and the adoption of new technology.This will allow farmers to make a quantitative leap to double or quadruple their productivity. Peasants will then no longer be preoccupied with subsistence farming as they will be able to produce a surplus for market.Transport Minister Paulo Zucula gave the example of the Maputo Development Corridor, which was the first of its type in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This project registered enormous successes in the areas of agriculture, industry and transport.Zucula pointed out that in the area covered by the Maputo Development Corridor agricultural production doubled and there were no protests about the expropriation of land – in fact farmers were able to expand the area under cultivation.He argued that the same success was achieved along the Beira Corridor where small, medium and large scale producers have continued to live in harmony.Zucula said that “ProSavana is a consolidation of the experiences we have acquired. So this is nothing new for us”.He also pointed out that in Mozambique all land belongs to the State, which licences its use based on community consultation.

HEALTH STRIKE IN THIRD WEEK: NEGOTIATIONS DEADLOCKED

With a strike by doctors and some other health workers now in its third week, negotiations between the Mozambican Health Ministry and the Medical Association (AMM), which called the strike, remain at a standstill.Each side accuses the other of responsibility for the impasse. A Monday press release from the Ministry said that it has always been open to dialogue with health professionals and their associations – but it has not found from the AMM the openness needed to solve the dispute. In the Ministry’s view the impasse is caused by the lack of respect shown by the AMM leadership for the government negotiating team, which is headed by the Permanent Secretary in the Health Ministry, Marcelino Luca, and includes national directors from the Ministries of Health, Finance, Justice and the Public Service.The AMM, however, claims that the government team is not empowered to take decisions. It has thus sent a letter to Prime Minister Alberto Vaquina requesting that the government replace members of its delegation with people who can take decisions. This looks like a veiled demand for the government to send Ministers or Deputy Ministers to negotiate with the AMM. Meanwhile, the strike is taking a heavy toll on the health service in Maputo – but seems to enjoy little support among health professionals elsewhere in the country.In the capital, out-patient appointments have been suspended because of the lack of doctors to deal with them. Other services in the main health units (Maputo Central Hospital and the Mavalane and Jose Macamo General Hospitals) are operating with the support of military doctors, volunteers from the Mozambique Red Cross, and students from the Health Science Institutes). Cited in Tuesday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, the director of the Mavalane hospital, Ussene Isse, said that, due to the absence of striking doctors, the hospital can only provide basic services such as maternity and paediatric facilities and intensive care.“In recent days, we have seen the return to work of some nurses and other support staff, so the teams on the wards seem complete. But we can’t say the same about the doctors”, he said.The Jose Macamo hospital is semi-operational, thanks largely to the presence of the medical students. “Noticias” found that the emergency services at this hospital were now functioning “with some degree of normality”. At both hospitals, the morgues are now operational, which has allowed funerals to be held normally.In the northern province of Nampula two doctors at the health centre in Ribaue town have returned to work, after a two week absence. But there are still 21 doctors in the province on strike – 20 in the Nampula Central Hospital and one in the Angoche Rural Hospital.

In Gaza province, the situation remains unchanged. Two doctors and two nurses at the Chokwe Rural Hospital remain on strike, but the other health professionals at this hospital, which serves all the northern districts of Gaza, are continuing to work.The clinical director of this hospital, Manuel Cipriano, told “Noticias” reporters that the commitment of these workers, plus the contribution made by a military doctor and nurse provided by the Interior Ministry, has allowed the hospital to operate “in complete normality”.The Gaza Provincial Government issued a press release praising most health workers in the province for refusing to join the strike, and those who, after initially taking part in the strike, have subsequently returned to work, “thus showing that life is above any other interest’.In the central province of Manica too, the situation remains unchanged with only two of the 47 doctors in the province on strike – one in the provincial hospital in the city of Chimoio, and one in the Chitobe health centre in Machaze district.The Manica Provincial Health Director, Juvenaldo Amos, told reporters that the gap caused by the absence of these two doctors has been filled by resorting to foreign doctors, and students from the local health science institute.In the northern province of Cabo Delgado not a single health professional has gone on strike. The provincial health director, Saozinha Agostinho, said that in all 17 Cabo Delgado districts the health units are operating without any restrictions, and all the health workers have presented themselves for duty as normal.