Maputo Airport:

The Police of Mozambique (PRM) last week seized an abandoned ephedrine package that was rolling along the baggage carousel of Maputo International Airport.The product is a forbidden substance, as is transporting it, due to its narcotic characteristics. The ephedrine package was found on the baggage carousel of Mozambique’s biggest airport, moments after passengers from Ethiopian Airlines had landed.So far, the Mozambican authorities have been unable to identify the individual who abandoned the drug.Ephedrine has a similar chemical structure to amphetamines, and can be used to create methamphetamine. It is thus in great demand among illicit drug dealers as a precursor for the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine.

Barclays cuts losses in Mozambique to half a million dollars

Barclays Bank Mozambique recorded a loss of 16.8 million meticais (around US$562.466) in 2014, an amount that represents an improvement over the 603.2 million meticais (around US$20.1 M) loss it reported in the previous year (2013).The results were published on Monday in a six-page advert published in State-owned ‘Jornal Notícias’. The bank considers that they reflect "the new dynamics of Barclays in Mozambique," according to a statement sent by the institution to Lusa, pointing out that "the bank managed to reverse the growing of impairments and costs, at the same time that it significantly increased revenues."
"If Barclays Bank Mozambique had not engaged in a financial effort to overcome some historically weak areas to the bank, as was the accumulated deficit in the pensions’ fund or migrating the primary processing into Mozambique, this combination (reversal of impairments and costs / increased revenues) would have resulted in a year of profitable activity" said the managing director of the bank, in a message released with the bank's report.In 2014, according to data released by the Central Bank, cited in the report and accounts, the banking system in Mozambique grew 21.4% in deposits and 25.9% in loans to the economy, which is, according to Rui Barros, "a clear indication of the capacity to promote growth that banks themselves play in the Mozambican economic fabric."The bank has about 900 employees and more than 400,000 customers, distributed by more than 43 agencies and a network of 92 ATM terminals across Mozambique.

Court declares 'minimum service' flights to Mozambique

The Portuguese arbitration court ruled on Monday on the required minimum services for the ten day long strike (1 to 10 of May) scheduled by TAP pilots. The 'very long' duration of the strike was one of the factors that weighed in the decision.In terms of the operation to be held during the strike, it has been decided that three return flights (to and from Mozambique) must occur throughout the period of the strike.And in the case of Brazil, two return flights and two back in each day strike.For the decision, the court explains that circumstances were considered as the very long duration of the strike, the fact that, from May onwards, demand on air transportation grows. The decision also argued that the agglomeration of passengers may involve security issues and the need to ensure the return of aircrafts into the Portuguese national territory.The court also pointed out the fact that in Mozambique lives a significant community of Portuguese citizens.The flights to Angola will be held daily, during the strike.

State Budget 2015: Mozambique to finance 25% of public spending through external

The Mozambican government will this year finance 25% of government expenditure through external resources, of which 15.9% will be through credit, according to the Draft Law of the State Budget (OGE, Orçamento Geral do Estado) submitted by the Executive to Parliament on Friday, April 24, Lusa reports.
In the document, the Mozambican government indicates a reduction of 6.8% on the external donations to the State Budget, a 3.0% increase in the External Credit and a rise of 3.7% in Domestic Credit.
The proposal of the Government supports that the State expenditure will be around six billion euros, a sum already reported by Mozambican media, estimating the budget deficit at 1.7 billion euros, an amount equivalent to 11.1% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product).The balance map of the Mozambican State Budget 2015 reportedly shows that 75% of government expenditure will be financed by internal resources, of which 4.1 billion euros will come from state revenues, 239 million euros from domestic credit.Public spending in the economic and social sectors will rise 10.8% to 3.2 billion euros, or equivalent to 63.5% of the state's total expenditure, compared with 52.7% in 2014.The weight of the Education sector on State expenditure will increase from 19.8% to 22.8% of the State Budget, an increase of 3.0%. The Health sector will increase from 9.1% to 10.2%, an increase of 1.1%.The Infrastructure sector will have its budget increased by 3.7%, from 12.1% to 15.8%. Agriculture and Rural Development will increase 2.9%, from 6.6% last year to 9.1% in 2015.According to the State Budget, 40.9% of the expenditure will be allocated to the Development of Human and Social Capital; 23.4% go to the Development of Economic and Social Infrastructure, 18% to the Consolidation of Democratic Rule of Law, Good Governance and Decentralization; and 13.6% are to be allocated to the Sustainable and Transparent Management of Natural, Resources, pointing out that these components are among the pillars of the Government's Five-Year Plan.The Mozambican government maintains a forecast of economic growth of 7.5% and also a forecast of an average inflation rate of 5.1%. These forecasts oppose the international projections which indicate that the rise in the gross domestic product of Mozambique will be below 7.0% due to the effects of natural disasters and the continuous fall in the prices of the main raw materials.

South Africa sells R260 Billion a year to other African countries

The continent is vital for the country's economy, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel has told factory workers."We sell R260-billion worth of goods to other African countries… That R260-billion creates more than 160 000 jobs in South Africa," Patel said. These jobs were in clothing, car manufacturing and the selling of agricultural produce to other African countries.Speaking at a general meeting with factory workers in Pretoria on 22 April, he warned workers that if South Africa cut the rest of Africa out of its economy and the rest of Africa cut South Africa out of its economy, people in the country would lose their jobs."We need to stop the attacks on fellow Africans. We need to deal with the frustrations and problems in a different way."The top countries to which South Africa's clothing industry sold were Mozambique, Zambia, the US and Zimbabwe. The top countries it sold to in the footwear and leather products sector were Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola. In the textiles sector, the top country to which South Africa sold was Zimbabwe."The attacks on foreign nationals must stop. We cannot take the law into our own hands and kill fellow human beings," Patel said. The government was addressing the problems of South Africa, including unemployment, lack of housing, the provision of water and electricity. This included managing migration properly."We must make sure at our border posts, we have proper procedures. We must make sure that people have papers if they are here legally. We must make sure we manage the numbers of people who come into South Africa."Patel called on companies to treat all workers equally, regardless of race or whether they were foreign nationals or not. "We must make it clear to companies - don't exploit foreign workers. Don't pay them less than South African workers… so much so that South African workers are put aside."Let everybody be treated equally because the law applies to everyone equally," he said.He would have a meeting with the Department of Labour to request inspections of companies to ensure they were complying with labour laws."We are going to deal with the frustrations of our people," Patel said. The country needed to address the people who were in the country illegally. "Foreign workers who are here legally belong in the union movement, in our churches, they belong in our communities.
"We've got to organise them and make them feel welcome. They are part of us," he said.

Vale reports record Q1 iron-ore output despite price rout

 Brazil-based global miner Vale has reported record first-quarter iron-ore output despite a global supply glut that wis being compounded by waning demand from China, the world’s top importer of the steelmaking ingredient. For the three months ended March 31, total iron-ore output, excluding third-party purchases, rose 5% year-on-year to 74.5-million tons. The diversified miner, which also produced iron-ore pellets, coal, nickel, copper, potash and phosphate rock said its strong operational performance in iron-ore was underpinned by the Carajás operation, the largest iron-ore mine in the world, which produced 27.5-million tons and also set a new record for the first quarter. Slower steel output growth in China and rampant oversupply, particularly in iron-ore, were responsible for holding prices down for iron-ore. In 2014, the price of iron-ore declined by nearly half to about $66/t by late December. The iron-ore price continued to slide this year, dropping to about $50/t by the end of March, with analysts expecting continued pressure until at least 2016. However, iron-ore prices jumped on Wednesday after global miner BHP Billiton reined in the pace of its expansion programme. Despite the price of the steelmaking raw material trading near a ten-year low, Vale explained that it was on track to further ramp up output after it started operations in December at the N4WS mine, at Carajás. The openpit operation would not only result in rising output, but would also lead to a lower strip ratio and a reduction in average haulage distances in Carajás. N4WS was part of the N4W orebody, a world-class asset, with 1.35-billion tons of proven and probable reserves and an average iron content of 66.5%. Excluding Samarco’s attributable production, a joint venture between Vale and BHP Billiton that produces iron-ore pellets, of 3.5-million tons, Vale’s pellet output reached 11.4-million tons in the quarter, in line with the previous three-month period and 1.5-million tons more than in the same period a year earlier, owing to the ramp-up of the Tubarão VIII pellet plant. During the first quarter, Vale shut down its ferroalloys plants in Minas Gerais as existing energy contracts expired and higher energy prices compromised the economic viability of the plants. As a result, Vale’s manganese ore operations in Morro da Mina were affected. Nickel output rose 2.5% to 69 200 t in the three months, another record for Vale in the quarter. The period was marked by a record in nickel oxide and total nickel production at Vale New Caledonia, record output from a single-furnace at Onça Puma and the positive progress in the ramp-up at Long Harbour, in Canada. In yet another first-quarter best, Vale reported a 21.1% year-over-year increase in copper output at 107 200 t. Gold output increased 9.7% over the same period last year to 103 000 oz, achieving the best performance ever, as a result of the ramp-up of the new Salobo mine. Coal output declined 5.1% over the comparable period last year, owing to the stoppage of the Integra Coal and Isaac Plains mines, in Australia, and an abnormal rainy season in Moatize, in Mozambique.

Eni CEO says Mozambique gas 'very competitive' due to low costs

Low natural gas extraction costs in Mozambique will allow Italian energy company Eni SpA to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the country that is very competitive, Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi said on Wednesday.Descalzi, speaking at IHS CERAWeek in Houston, said the company's LNG facilities would become operational in Mozambique in 2020. A final investment decision is expected before the end of 2015."Mozambique is good because the upstream side is not very expensive," he said. "It is fast and cheap, so it can be very competitive in the market."He said wells could be brought online in the space of several weeks.In a strategy update earlier this year, Eni said it plans to build an onshore LNG plant and two floating LNG plants in its giant Mamba field, with a combined capacity of 10 million tonnes per annum.Mozambique, one of Africa's poorest countries, wants to begin lucrative exports before a wave of new supply from rivals enters the market.

ENI to take FID on MOZ LNG before the end of 2015

Italian energy giant Eni expects to ship first liquefied natural gas cargo from Mozambique in 2020.The company aims to take an FID (Final Investment Decision) for the LNG export project in Mozambique, which includes a 2,5 Mtpa floating LNG unit in the Rovuma Basin, in 2015, Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi said at IHS CERAWeek in Houston on Wednesday.According to Descalzi, Eni is close to signing commercial agreements to sell 2,5 million tonnes of LNG from the floating plant. The FLNG is the first stage of the project, which will be followed by two onshore trains.“Mozambique gas is good for development because the upstream side is not too expensive,” he said.It takes only three to four weeks to drill a well in Mozambique, and production can be increased quickly, which makes Mozambique gas very competitive, Descalzi pointed out.Mozambique gas could also be shipped to Europe. The company’s gas finds in Mozambique could cover Italy’s total needs for the fuel for 30 years, he concluded.

Mozambique: Gigawatt gas power station in full power by year's end

Great progress is being made with the construction of a 100 MW natural gas fired power station at Ressano Garcia, on the border between South Africa and Mozambique.The first of 13 power generation sets arrived at Gigawatt Park in Ressano Garcia, the Mozambican border town, on April 13 2015. Each generating set consists of a 20 cylinder natural gas fuelled Rolls Royce engine manufactured at the Bergen factory in Norway and an ABB generator.Shipment of the 13 sets from Norway to Richards Bay in South Africa was completed in March and is now being transported by road to Mozambique.Civil construction of the $200m (R2.24bn) project started in August 2014 with the foundations for the engines being completed in March 2015. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract is executed by a consortium of WBHO and PB Power with TSK as the main sub-contractor.The construction of the power station is on schedule and within budget and it should be in full production before the end of 2015.Johan de Vos, CEO of Gigajoule International, based in Centurion, said the power station is a great example of the huge potential of natural gas as feedstock for power generation in southern Africa.“Natural gas has proven to be the least damaging to the environment of all fossil fuel based energy sources and it is by far more cost-effective and energy efficient than any of its counterparts, coal, oil and diesel,” said De Vos.“The short lead time and ease of construction of gas fired power stations make them ideal to help solve the energy crisis that South Africa faces – in the short medium and long-term.”De Vos said the massive natural gas reserves now discovered in northern Mozambique has the potential to meet all the energy needs of South Africa in the long-term.Gigawatt Mozambique will supply the power to EDM (the Mozambican power utility) under a long term PPA and natural gas will be delivered by Matola Gas Company, who is currently providing gas to more than 30 industries and 3 temporary gas-fired power stations in Mozambique.The plant can supply electricity to the equivalent of 250 000 households and will make a substantial contribution to the Mozambican power supply capacity.

Jaipur auction of low-quality rubies from Montepuez Ruby Mine

The latest auction of predominantly lower-quality ruby and corundum mined at Aim-listed Gemfields’ 75%-owned Montepuez mine, in Mozambique, has generated revenues of $16.1-million. About 40 companies attended the auction, which was held in Jaipur, India, from April 17 to 22.Auction attendees came from Austria, China, India, Israel, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the UK and the US. Of the 66 lots offered at the auction, 51 lots were offered on an untreated basis, while 15 lots were offered as having been heat-treated. All of the treated lots offered used industry-accepted treatment techniques and were offered and sold on a fully disclosed basis. Of the 4.03-million carats on offer, 3.99-million were sold, at an average realised price of $4.03/ct. The auction was also used to concurrently offer traded rough emeralds from Zambia and Brazil sourced by Gemfields on the open market. This material generated $1.6-million of gross revenues over and above the auction revenues from ruby and corundum.“This week's Jaipur auction has witnessed the next step in the evolution of the Montepuez ruby deposit's deep-seated and positive impact on the global ruby market. Customer response in the Jaipur market, where this was the first ever offering of such a considerable volume of nondomestic rough ruby has been overwhelming, as can be seen in the excellent auction results. “The five auctions we have hosted so far this financial year, three of emeralds and two of rubies, have yielded aggregate revenues of $124.4-million, a superb performance by Gemfields with credit due to every member of our devoted and hard-working team worldwide,” commented CEO Ian Harebottle.

Kenmare Resources moves South African workers back to Moma mine

Kenmare Resources PLC on Tuesday said South African workers at its Moma Mine in Mozambique have returned to the site having been repatriated last week amid unrest in South Africa over foreign workers.Kenmare said there was minimal disruption to operations at the mine and said the employees have now been welcomed back by the local community traditional leader.On Monday last week, Kenmare temporarily repatriated South African workers at Moma amid unrest in South Africa regarding foreign workers, which created a reciprocal unrest concerning South Africans working in Mozambique.At the time of the decision to repatriate the workers, at least six people had been killed in xenophobic attacks in Durban, on South Africa's east coast, with the violence then spreading to further areas. Many South Africans had accused migrants, primarily from other African states and Asia, of taking jobs in the country amid an unemployment rate of 24%. Migrants have moved to the country in large numbers since the end of white-minority rule in 1994.Shares in Kenmare were down 2.4% to 3.08 pence on Tuesday.

A disgusting budget: the AR and its drift spender

I scoffed parliament saying his budget for 2015 was a disgusting thing. In fact, when I read the play of Paul Fauvet with those figures deliberately presented in aggregate lines (contrary to previous practice where the items were more detailed), I suffered as Zen. And to get back, I imagined a toilet. Brand Toto. Japanese. For what? Imagine all the people of that house being pushed to the bottom of the vessel by a malicious torrent. It would be a relief, but that so eh possible in my elocubracao fictional.

And this foul odor surrounds perennial. For 2015, the RA programmed 38 million USD for you own. He did this before even discussing the atrasadissimo Estimate the state. 38 million USD !!! When I noticed the numbers, I expected also see the roster of a proposal for legislative and supervisory work to justify this amount. But glimpsed only blessings for Members. 38 million USD correspond to an increase of 35.5 percent compared to its budget of 2014. And eh money that turns the state budget that this help in the foreign debt, although part of RA funds (59 million Meticais ) will be paid for their donors.

My friend Paul Fauvet did the math. This annual budget, 323.3 million people to go to salaries of Members, a media 108,000 MT ($ 3,223) per month per Member. In this way, eh an increase of 21.75 percent over the same 2014 budget of line.

But ... the foul odor exudes even more when we read that the AR approved 77.5 million MT for subsidies of instalaccao, with expenses for entertainment, fuel, telephone, water, electricity, presence of passwords and work in constituencies. That's us, calculated Paul, 221,000 Mt per month per deputy. And the rubric of capital for 2015 comes to almost 170 million Mts, of which 90 million people to go to the new residence of construction for the President of RA, Veronica Macamo (then already alienearam the palace of Armando Tivane? Or as Mulembwe walked the drag yourself out of it that already does not serve? And builds up another palace to also be alienated after the Macamo, since in Mozambique the state of heritage is being taken by these political elites who are its owners).

And then have that can of wanting to build a parliamentary citadel in Catembe. I hope that this budget should be reviewed immediately. Also hope that civil society protested against knife perks anything to at least report this shame. A shame fed for most of the benches, with MDM to say that this budget continued to make AR a government department, when the AR approved the document even before she discuss the OE. This fight against profligacy in Mozambique and there is a song bafienta.Quando the state budget uses more credit markets, our AR increases your expenses perks. And not understand why their donors feed these tendencies, this snare of non-productivity, profligacy and corruption that characterizes our AR.

PS: Yesterday (27) Maleiane Minister, not convinced as to the external debt to feed the OE. I hope in the specialty debate clarify many things.

(Marcelo Mosse)

BUDGET DOES NOT FAVOUR SOUTHERN PROVINCES

Opposition deputies in the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, who claim that the government intends to spend more of the 2015 budget on the southern provinces than on the more densely populated central and northern provinces, have simply not read the entire budget, accused the Minister of Economy and Finance, Adriano Maleiane, on Monday.Speaking on the second day of the parliamentary debate on the budget and the economic and social plan for 2015, Maleiane said that one of the budget charts on provincial expenditure could indeed give the impression that more money would go to Gaza in the south than to the much more populous province of Zambezia in the centre.But much of public expenditure has now been decentralized not only to the provincial level, but also to the districts and municipalities. To understand the budget, all of these figures had to be taken into account, said Maleiane.When all the figures were included, he continued, it could be seen that the northern provinces (Niassa, Cabo Delgado and Nampula) receive 31 per cent of the budget, and the central provinces (Zambezia, Tete, Manica and Sofala) 41 per cent. That left just 28 per cent for the four southern provinces (Gaza, Inhambane, Maputo province and Maputo City).The most populous province is Nampula, and that accounts for 15 per cent of all projected public expenditure this year, said Maleiane. The opposition had also demanded higher wages for policemen, teachers and nurses. That was precisely what the government was doing, Maleiane replied. This year’s wage increase for the public sector was five per cent at the upper levels – but all low paid policemen, teachers and health workers have been granted an inflation busting 10 per cent rise (inflation in 2014 was less than two per cent).As for worries about the government’s increasing indebtedness, Maleiane argued that it was impossible to develop without loans. The gap between tax revenue and public expenditure could only be filled by grants and loans.Maleiane argued that the key is to ensure that the foreign debt is sustainable. That is achieved by guaranteeing that the net present value of the debt stock does not exceed 40 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. Currently the value of the debt stock stands at 37 per cent of GDP.Maleiane added, however, that it is crucial that loans should be used for capital expenditure. The country should never allow itself to fall into debt simply to cover consumption.

The surgeries are being made in the Maputo

Circurgias Mozambique recently introduced for the treatment of male sexual impotence, at a time when 20 to 30 percent of outpatient visits complain symptoms of impotence.The medical specialist in Urology, in Maputo Central Hospital, the largest health facility in the country, Igor Vaz, said the surgery include the placement of implants in men with erection problems, a technique first applied in the country.Cited by "Radio Mozambique," public broadcaster, Igor Vaz said that the surgical techniques allow individuals who have no erection can have it and meet their sexual partners.According to Vaz, are very ancient techniques. Mozambique, had not yet been introduced for lack of conditions.Currently, only two individuals benefited from this technique for face sign. Costs range from $ 30,000 5.000la Americans.Speaking on Thursday in Maputo, on the sidelines of a seminar on Urological Reconstructive Surgery, attended by 45 foreign medical experts and 15 national, Igor Vaz explained that the National Health Service is not able to enter on a regular basis, prosthesis, due to its high cost.