Army captures aide-de-camp to Nhongo

The Mozambican Defence and Security Forces captured three men close to the leader of the Renamo dissident group, Mariano Nhongo, one of whom was his field assistant, the Mozambican President announced on Tuesday.

“After the Renamo Military Junta attacked the car of the National Statistics Institute in Mossurize [Manica] without victims on 11 December, the Defence and Security Forces captured three men from the junta in the Mafambisse [Sofala] area, one of whom was a field aide to Mariano Nhongo and two others,” Filipe Nyusi said.

The President was speaking during a ceremony to allocate patents to officers of the National Migration Service in the Presidency of the Republic, in Maputo. According to Nyusi, the three men confessed that they were part of the dissident group of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), accused of carrying out armed attacks in central Mozambique. “The Defence and Security Forces are still on the ground searching the enemy, Filipe Nyusi stressed, recalling that attempts to negotiate with the Renamo Military Junta have failed. Nyusi said the actions of this group are being instigated by “well-served people”, who have the “individual ambition” to weaken democracy in the country.

The Renamo Military Junta, led by Mariano Nhongo, a former guerrilla leader, is accused of carrying out armed attacks against civilians and government forces on roads and villages in the provinces of Sofala and Manica, central Mozambique, incursions that have caused the death of at least 30 people since August last year. The Nhongo group demands better conditions for reintegration, the renegotiation of the 2019 peace agreement between the government and Renamo, and the resignation of the current president of the main opposition party, Ossufo Momade, accusing him of having diverted the negotiation process from the ideals of his predecessor, Afonso Dhlakama, a historic leader who died in May 2018.

On Sunday, the representative of the United Nations secretary-general in Mozambique, Mirko Manzoni, said that the leader of the Renamo dissident group had expressed his willingness to negotiate. “Despite the difficulties for a physical meeting, I can confirm contact with him and thank him for his willingness to engage in dialogue and his proposal to send his representatives to begin such dialogue,” Mirko Manzoni said in a statement.

 

 

Companies move closer to stabilisation

The monthly Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) prepared by Standard Bank Mozambique has found that, as in October, private sector companies in Mozambique in November continued to recover from the crisis caused by the spread of the new coronavirus. The analysis supports its recovery diagnosis with the fact that levels of production and volume of new orders from companies are close to stabilisation, suggesting a decrease in the impact of Covid-19. The headline PMI rose to its highest level in eight months, at 49.4 (in November), up from 48.1 in October, and closer to the 50.0 neutral threshold. As a result of this recovery, the Standard Bank analysis reads, firms raised workforce numbers in the month under review at the strongest pace since February, albeit only modestly. Increased workloads, shop openings and marketing efforts were all reported among businesses seeing a rise in employment. Nevertheless, the lack of purchasing power constrained efforts to expand inventory levels, even as pressures on the production costs continued to fall, confirming the first decrease in since June.

“Businesses were more confident that activity would increase over the coming 12 months in November. The degree of optimism ticked up for the first time in four months, with approximately 37% of respondents giving a positive forecast. Hopes were often linked to new investments and expectations that the COVID-19 pandemic will end. By contrast, only 2% of companies predicted a fall in output by November 2021,” the PMI reads “Decreases in stocks of inputs were registered for the eighth successive month during November. Where firms cut inventories, this was linked to falling sales and a lack of purchasing power. That said, despite accelerating from October, the rate of depletion was the second-slowest in the aforementioned sequence,” the report reads. On a more positive note, “there was a further improvement in supplier performance as lead times shortened for the third month in a row”, the document emphasises. Despite the recovery, the PMI reports that “cost pressures continued to weaken in the latest survey period, led by a fall in supplier input prices. This supported renewed discounting efforts, as average prices charged decreased for the first time in five months”. Standard Bank Mozambique’s PMI is based on responses to questionnaires sent to the purchasing directors of a panel of about 400 companies in the private sector. The panel is stratified by specific sector and company size in terms of number of employees, based on contributions to gross domestic product. The sectors covered by the survey include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail and services.

• You may read the full report, in English, HERE.

Graphite mines in Australia

POSCO, the world’s fifth-largest steelmaker by output, is considering buying stakes in graphite mines in Australia and Mozambique, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.The move is part of POSCO’s efforts to diversify import sources of graphite, a material required in making anodes, he said.An anode is a key material in a battery that preserves lithium coming from the cathode and generates electricity while releasing lithium.A cathode is one source of lithium in a lithium-ion battery and is also a key component for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Currently, POSCO imports all of the graphite it uses to produce anodes from China. POSCO said the envisioned stake purchases in graphite mines in Australia and Mozambique would lower its heavy reliance on China to less than 50 percent in the medium to long term.The official did not provide further details on the possible stake purchases in graphite mines in Australia and Mozambique.POSCO said it plans to import 220,000 tons of lithium and 100,000 tons of nickel per year by 2030 to ensure its affiliate, POSCO Chemical Co., can produce 400,000 tons of cathodes and 260,000 tons of anodes by 2030. POSCO Chemical has said it plans to supply cathodes to EV battery facilities in South Korea, Europe, China and the United States.The EV battery market has been on a roll as automakers around the world race to go electric and eco-friendly due to tightened regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are to blame for global warming.

45 YEARS LATER ?

Some in Portugal want to prove their position on the conflict by sending soldiers back to their former colony. On January 1, 2021, Portugal assumes the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, and some military and government officials are increasingly using this circumstance to push for the EU's military involvement in Mozambique, with an important Portuguese presence.

A few days ago, Defense Minister João Gomes Cravinho (who will be in Maputo in a few days and was the penultimate ambassador in Maputo)) said that Portugal could send troops to help Mozambique fight terrorism. Former President Ramalho Eanes also said: "The answer will be easy as long as there is strength and initiative and action to mobilize Europe and the United Nations, and it is very easy, with specialized forces and drones, to resolve the situation". About 10 days ago, Portuguese PM, António Costa, called the President of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, saying that “Portugal is in solidarity and ready to support Mozambique's efforts to fight terrorism in Cabo Delgado, bilaterally and within the framework of the EU ”(Público - Lisbon - 1 Dec). Portugal's ambassador to Maputo, Maria Amélia Paiva, said last week that a Portuguese delegation is coming to Mozambique this week specifically to discuss Cabo Delgado.

"It is undeniable that the barbaric attacks have increased in recent weeks", writes Michael Hagedorn in Público (Lisbon). “However, the Mozambican government continues to refuse to address the multiple causes of this conflict, of which a considerable part is its responsibility. Thus, it avoids, in addition to a military offensive, that other important measures are taken to deal with the causes of the conflict, namely to give the local population perspectives of a dignified life ”.

(Portuguese colonial army on the front against the guerrilla of the Liberation Front of Mozambique, 1960s and 1970s)

Hagedorn concludes: “Portugal and the EU would do better to face the situation in all its complexity, than to exclusively and unconditionally support the Frelimo government and its narrow military vision for the solution of the conflict in Cabo Delgado”.  President Filipe Nyusi said recently that "terrorism is not combated unilaterally" and that Mozambique "is open to any kind of support that can be given in matters of terrorism". (JH)

World Travel Awards

LAM inflight magazine Índico attracted the highest number of votes from readers, mostly passengers, customers, professionals and specialists in the aviation and tourism sectors. Director General of LAM (Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique/Mozambique Airlines) João Jorge expressed satisfaction with the achievement and gratitude to all the magazine’s fans and users of the company’s services. “A feat of this nature shows how vital the stability that shareholders give to the company is, being the driving force for professionals to give their best to the company. We express our immense gratitude to market and other interested parties, and particularly the public, who have done so much for LAM,” he enthused. Índico was created in 1988 and is the oldest trade magazine in Mozambique. With a focus on staying current and following the trends and dynamics of the civil aviation industry, in tandem with standing out in differentiating factors, it invests in innovative editorial projects. The magazine  is currently its fourth series and is now produced by Executive Mozambique.

Índico was voted at  the World Travel Awards for the In-Flight Magazine shortlist last year, and has already been lauded in Mozambique as “Best Tourism Partner”, in a 2013 Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators of Mozambique (AVITUM) initiative. Índico is also seen as a reference in the field of education as a result of its variety of articles, and as a means of promoting cultural dialogue, with texts published in both Portuguese and English, expanding its readership and the understanding of matters covered. The magazine focuses on Mozambique, while also covering other LAM destinations.

‘Revamp’

Vale Moçambique is to ‘revamp’ its mining complex in Moatize in Tete province, with the aim of increasing production to 15 million tons in 2021. The general maintenance of the mining complex is based on sustainable and safe operation, this being a crucial company value. Work started this month and will continue until the beginning of March 2021. Maintenance usually implies a decrease in coal production, but work in the mine will not stop, and all the miners will be actively involved during the project. Given the scale of the operation, Vale has had to hire around 1,300 temporary workers for the duration of the project – mostly Mozambicans, but also from countries such as Brazil and South Africa.

Maintenance at coal processing plants is based on the restoration of basic equipment conditions and the implementation of improvements in conservation, operation and production processes. Structural actions, such as a strategy review, will also be put in place, along with maintenance and operation plans and procedures and the training of operation and maintenance teams. The objective is to strengthen the operation and maintenance processes to ensure the sustainability of results after the ‘revamp’. Vale’s priority is its people, so the entire maintenance operation will be subject to the highest levels of safety, including the prevention of the new coronavirus. Despite the constraints caused by the pandemic worldwide, Vale has kept on its entire workforce, as crucial both for the company’s business and for the well-being of its employees.

Rail link to Malawi

Mozambique’s publicly owned ports and railway company (CFM) will invest 30 million US dollars in the rehabilitation of the Dona Ana-Vila Nova da Fronteira railroad spur, in the central province of Tete, to re-establish the rail connection with Malawi, according to a report in Monday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”.

Augusto Abudo, the managing director of the CFM central division, said the money will be disbursed by the company and the groundwork for the project, meant to end in September 2021, is underway. The branch line is 115 kilometres long, of which 44 kilometres are on the Mozambican side between Dona Ana and Vila Nova da Fronteira, and the remaining 71 kilometres on the stretch from Vila Nova da Fronteira to Nsange-Bangula in Malawi.The next phase, said Abudo, will consist of clearing the bush from the route of the line. Work on this has already begun on the Malawian side. When operational, the railway will connect Malawi to the central Mozambican port of Beira “When the line is working, cargo to and from Malawi will be ferried along the Sena Rail line to the Port of Beira,” said Abudo. He stressed that the line bring great benefits not only to CFM but also to the country because of the jobs and related businesses it will create.

The resumption of the rail link follows the understandings between the Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, and his Malawian counterpart, Lazarus Chakwera, in October, when the two leaders met in Tete. The rail connection between the two countries was interrupted in the 1980s at the height of the war of destabilisation, pitting the government against the apartheid-backed Renamo rebels.

Seven of nine community radio journalists

Seven of the FORCOM radio journalists who fled into the bush when their village, Muidumbe, was attacked are now safe, director of the Community Radio Forum (FORCOM) Ferosa Zacarias has announced. “Of the nine journalists who were in the woods, seven are now supposedly safe. I say supposedly, because there is no true security where there is hunger and no roof over one’s head,” Zacarias reports. “Some are in Nampula, others in Montepuez or in the capital of Cabo Delgado, Pemba, and in Mueda. But they are very weakened physically and psychologically.” The journalists fled into the bush when terrorists raided Muidumbe on October 31, destroying the São Francisco de Assis community radio station.

Read more: Mozambique attacks: Community Radio journalists have been hiding in the woods for 10 days, with  families – NGO

There followed about 12 days of distress, in which the journalists reported difficulties surviving in the woods while grieving relatives beheaded by the terrorists.

FORCOM director Ferosa Zacarias

Where are the other two?

But the wait is not over, Zacarias noting that “two other [journalists] are unreachable, and we do not know what condition they are in”.

“They cannot be located, we have no information. We do not know if they are alive, and are very concerned. They are both married and have fled with their families,” Zacarias says.It is not the first time that São Francisco de Assis Community Radio, which is supported by the Pemba diocese of the Catholic church, has been closed down. In April this year, terrorist attacks forced the team to stop broadcasting and seek temporary refuge in a safer parts of Cabo Delgado province.

In view of the insurgents’ recurring attacks, will the station close indefinitely?

Radio coordinator Father Edegard Silva Junior says that, “the reopening of the mission will depend on the guidance of the bishop. For security reasons, the reopening of the radio will depend on circumstances and on the radio president, Bishop Luiz Fernando Lisboa”.Two other fundamental factors will have to be taken into account: the equipment, “which was probably stolen or destroyed”, and the electricity supply.“We have been without power for many months. And no one is going to put the team’s life at risk or open the radio until appropriate conditions exist,” the priest says.The violence in the north of the country has prompted FORCOM to observe that the state is responsible for guaranteeing the safety of its citizens, warning that the closing-down of community radio stations in conflict regions jeopardises the population’s right to information guaranteed by the Constitution.

Prominent trader murdered

Unidentified assassins murdered a prominent trader, Issa Ayubo (also known as Goromico) on Thursday night at his home in Nangade, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, according to a report in Monday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”. He was shot three times, and the official version is that this was a robbery. “He was found in the living room of his house at about 20.00 on Thursday”, said one local source. “He was hit with three bullets, in the chest, and the abdomen”.

On the day of the murder, he had sold a significant amount of cashew nuts, which means he was probably still in possession of the money from this sale. There are reports that he may have resisted handing over the money when his assailants demanded it. Earlier this year, the defence and security forces detained Goromico on suspicion that he was financing the islamist terrorists operating in Cabo Delgado. He was questioned for almost a month and was then released without charge. In addition to cashew nuts, Goromico made his living by selling spare parts for bicycles, motorcycles and electrical equipment. Meanwhile, the country’s Roman Catholic bishops, in the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique (CEM), have described the situation in the Cabo Delgado district of Muidumbe as “critical” and “highly unstable”.

At a Maputo press conference on Friday, the CEM spokesperson, the bishop of Chimoio, Joao Carlos, said “the perception we have is that it’s a very desolate situation which needs a rather forceful intervention to clarify what’s going on. But first we must find a way of accommodating all the people who are fleeing from the district”. The attacks in the northern districts of Cabo Delgado, said the bishop, constitute “a real humanitarian drama”, characterised by death, the burning of villages and the destruction of economic and social infrastructures. Vast numbers of displaced people are fleeing, he said, describing the situation as “a flagrant assault against human rights”. Reports from Muidumbe over the past week suggest that the terrorists struck at 11 Muidumbe villages between 31 October and 11 November. 20 young men were reported murdered when the jihadists attacked an initiation rite in 24th March village. A second initiation rite was attacked in a nearby village (which was not named), causing the deaths of 31 people. The raiders also destroyed two community radio stations, as well as schools, health centres and homes. The internet portal “Pinnacle News” reported that a football field in Muatide village had been turned into an execution ground, where the jihadists beheaded their captives and dismembered their bodies.

700 million dollars for new Zambezia

The Mozambican government hopes to mobilise over 700 million US dollars to build a new dam at Mugeba, in Mocuba district, in the central province of Zambezia. According to the Minister of Public Works, Joao Machatine, cited in Monday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, the dam is part of the government’s National Infrastructure Development Plan for the period 2020-2040. An environmental impact study on the Mugeba dam was completed last year.Machatine said this will be one of the largest investments during this government’s term of office (2020-2024). The dam will be able to store 658 million cubic metres of water. He believed it would be crucial for flood control on the lower reaches of the Licungo river. The Licungo regularly floods the downstream districts of Namacurra and Maganja da Costa.

The new dam, the Minister said, will also conserve water for human consumption and for irrigation, and will generate electricity. The dam will be one of the main themes of an International Investors’ Conference for the Development of Zambezia, to be held on 26-27 November. Speaking in Namacurra, Machatine said the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) has just set up an economic team to provide technical assistance and advice to the province, in order to transform its natural resources into real wealth. There were enormous challenges ahead for Zambezia in addition to the Mugeba dam, he said, including building the new port at Macuse, and the railway linking it to Chitima in Tete province, exploiting agricultural value chains and investing in new irrigation systems. He expected projects set up under the government’s flagship agricultural development programme, Sustenta, to create 10,000 direct jobs in Zambezia.

26th on Ibrahim Index

Mozambique ranked 26th on the 2020 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), showing a deterioration trend, it has emerged today. Mozambique scored 49 points, 0.2 less than ten years ago, with declines in the categories of “Participation, Rights and Inclusion” and “Security and the Rule of Law”. At the same time, the country has in the past year improved its “Foundations for Economic Opportunity” and “Human Development” scores significantly. The annual Ibrahim African Governance Index (IIAG) measures the quality of governance in 54 African countries by compiling statistical data from the previous year.

The 2020 Ibrahim Index of African Governance highlights a decline in African governance performance for the first time since 2010. The 2019 African average score for Overall Governance falls by -0.2 points below that of 2018, registering the first year-on-year score deterioration since 2010.

Veterans of the independence war defeat jihadists

The Mozambican defence and security forces claim to have killed 270 islamist terrorists in the region of Awasse, in Mocimboa da Praia district, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, according to the website “Noticias de Defesa de Mocambique”, which acts as an unofficial mouthpiece for the Defence Ministry. The Awasse fighting lasted from Friday through to Sunday, and the Mozambican forces did not lose a single soldier. On Sunday the force that drove the terrorists out of Awasse returned to Mueda, where the headquarters of the Northern Operational Command is located. The troops took with them seven trucks loaded with equipment captured from the jihadists.

According to a report in the independent newssheet “Mediafax”, the force that took Awasse consisted not only of members of the defence forces, but also of veterans of Mozambique’s national independence war who have a deep knowledge of the area.

The fighting extended to Chinda village, at the Mbau crossroads, on the road to Macomia district.

One fighter, in a taped interview circulating on Mozambican social media, said “We’ve come back clean. The material we seized is coming with the soldiers who accompanied us. The insurgents are nothing, we’ve killed them”.

Clearing the jihadists out of Awasse looks like the prelude to an offensive to regain control of Mocimboa da Praia town and port, which have been in terrorist hands since mid-August. The capture of Awasse follows the terrorists’ failure to capture Macomia town last Wednesday. A numerically superior Mozambican force, estimated at 200 troops, drove back the 80 or so jihadists. There are no figures on how many islamists or members of the government forces died in this attack. Unable to take the town, the jihadists have continued to raid villages in Macomia district. According to the newsheet “Carta de Mocambique”, the terrorists on Sunday beheaded two people in Ntapaula village, six kilometres from the town.

African Energy Chamber

Mozambique and Germany have a special relationship, that was formalised when the German Democratic Republic established diplomatic relationships with the then newly independent Republic of Mozambique in 1975. Since then, a great many Mozambicans have been educated in Germany. Another 20,000 were employed in Germany as contract workers. Since the 1980’s, Germany has spent more than USD 1 billion in development aid to Mozambique. Whilst this is laudable, this relationship must evolve to change focus away from aid and towards investment, in response to the numerous opportunities in gas development and other sectors.

German companies need to invest in the development of new gas prospects, in the servicing of the existing developments and in the building of a petrochemical sector in Mozambique. Germany has a strong petrochemical industry that can take advantage of the opportunities in Mozambique with Africa’s USD 1.2 Billion population providing a ready market for such an industry. This will ultimately lead to a win-win situation for both countries. It will not only help to generate economic growth, but will also ensure the creation of good paying jobs, skills developing apprenticeships and the transfer of technology to Mozambique.

Gas is fast establishing itself as a key player in the global energy transition dynamics as nations seek to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other air pollutants. The realisation, that developed economies like Germany and fast-growing economies like China can only realistically meet their emission targets without forgoing economic prosperity by adopting gas as a major source of energy has put countries with large gas resources, like Mozambique in the focus of investors. The share of gas as a primary source of energy has been steadily growing since the 90’s, and this trend is expected to continue. In China, gas now accounts for over 7% of primary energy use from about 1% in 1990. In Germany, gas accounts for 27% of primary energy use from about 15% in 1990.

German demand for gas is projected to continue its rapid growth as the country steadfastly continues to implement its in 2010 adopted energy transition strategy known as the Energiewende. According to the plan, greenhouse gas emissions are expected to reduce by at least 80% in 2050 when compared to 1990. Gas is currently Germany’s second most important energy source after oil. It imports nearly all of the gas it consumes, from Russia (40%), Norway and the Netherlands with only 5% sourced domestically. Domestic production is expected to run out within the next decade, setting Germany up for even more imports from outside. There is therefore, a general consensus in Germany that even more gas resources must be secured from abroad to ensure Germany’s economic growth prospects. Plans to source more gas from Russia have however earned the government heavy criticism, including from Germany’s American allies who see this as leading to an over-dependence on Russia and creating potential National security threat to Germany. Diversifying Germany’s sourcing of gas, from new producers like Mozambique therefore presents an attractive proposition for Germany as a nation and German companies in particular.

Mozambique holds 100 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proved natural gas reserves. It ranks 15th globally, however the country is still largely underexplored. As the government continues to encourage exploration, it is likely, that the proven reserves will increase in the coming years to rival that of more established gas frontiers. Oil Majors Total, ENI and Exxon are leading development efforts expected to initially cost a combined USD 30 Billion. Committed off-takers, include EDF of France, Tokyo gas of Japan and Centrica from the UK who have all committed to be off takers for the next two decade. Notable however, is the absence of German companies either as operators or major off-takers, despite Germany being one of the world’s largest gas importers.

“It is time for German companies to play a greater role in the development of Mozambican gas industry. Germanys needs gas and in exchange, our companies can provide investment capital, technical Know-how, technology and education” said Sebastian Wagner, Executive Chairman of the German African Business Forum.

In November 2019, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the creation of a USD 1.1 Billion investment fund during the ‘Compact with Africa’ summit in Berlin. This fund, and other institutions in Germany like the KFW development bank offer various instruments to ease German investments in Mozambique. However, there is an increasing realisation, that such government initiatives to invest in Africa in general and in Mozambique in particular are best implemented by channeling the funds through private sector German and Mozambican companies. In a recent online conference organised by the German African Business Forum, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s personal representative to Africa, H.E Günter Nooke called German companies to take advantage of these opportunities.

Now more than ever, both countries must take the opportunities presented by the development of gas to strengthen their special bond. Mozambican exports to Germany currently stand at USD 270 Million USD yearly and are dominated by aluminium. This amounts to just 3% of total exports. According to Verner Ayukegba, SVP of the African Energy Chamber, there is room for growth and a significant demand for German technology and investments in Mozambique. “Mozambique is one of the most prized investment destinations in Africa at the moment. Mozambican companies are prepared to partner with their German counterparts to service the nascent gas industry.” “We have a golden opportunity here to strengthen both Country’s economies, whilst at the same time making significant strides towards the reduction of greenhouse gasses with the promotion of gas consumption to the detriment of heavier polluters like coal”, Verner concluded.

Airlink to restore three more routes to Mozambique

South African private-sector airline Airlink announced that it was adding three more destinations in Mozambique to its regional network, which is being reactivated following the phasing out of national lockdowns instituted in Southern Africa to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. The new destinations are Beira, Pemba and Vilanculos. The new services will all be operated from Johannesburg and, the airline affirmed, link seamlessly with its Johannesburg/Cape Town and Johannesburg/Durban operations. Connections will also be possible with Airlink’s other destinations in South and Southern Africa.

The Pemba route will be restarted on October 28 and the Beira and Vilanculos routes will both recommence on November 10. Each of these routes will be operated twice weekly. The Beira route will be flown on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Pemba on Wednesdays and Fridays, and Vilanculos on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Airlink highlights that people wishing to travel to Mozambique must complete a health questionnaire before they arrive in the country (this is available on the airline’s website). Mozambique is currently not issuing visas on arrival (except for people with written authorisation from the required authorities). Leisure travellers must show proof of their confirmed hotel bookings when they check in for their flight. Business travellers need to have business visas.

The health and safety of its passengers and personnel is the airline’s number one priority. The cabins of its airliners are fitted with high efficiency particulate air (Hepa) filters, which block 99.97% of particulate matter, including the coronavirus which causes Covid-19. The Hepa filters continually sterilise the air in the cabins, which is also completely changed every three minutes. Airlink describes itself as “Southern Africa’s largest (measured by flight movements) independent airline”. It operates more than 50 commercial jet airliners and last year it operated 55 routes to 39 destinations in nine African countries plus St Helena island, in the process carrying two-million passengers (spread across 63 000 flights).