Sunday, July 18, 2021
Mozambique delivers good performance
Tongaat Hulett’s results for the year ended March 31 showed continued progress in the turnaround strategy, notwithstanding some headwinds along the way and a challenging trading environment arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, the company says. Revenue from continuing operations decreased by 3% year-on-year to R14.92-billion, while operating profit from continuing operations declined by 44% to R1.82-billion. The group’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) from continuing operations was R2.50-billion. Lower headline earnings were mainly the result of hyperinflation in Zimbabwe and the reduction in property sales.
The Mozambique sugar operations delivered a good performance, with significant revenue growth on the back of ten-year-high local sugar sales. The Zimbabwean operations continued to perform well, with R323-million in dividends received from Zimbabwe during the year under review. The South African operations delivered a strong performance, with sales volumes up 15%; revenue 3%; and refining production 39%, while average working capital management reduced 44%; and market share strengthened. Property operations were the most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. About R215-million in deals were successfully concluded. The group also continued fulfilling legacy infrastructure obligations but Covid-19 resulted in Deeds office delays and delayed or cancelled deals owing to market uncertainty. The South African sugar operation’s performance was, meanwhile, also negatively impacted on by a one-off refinery loss, the group notes. It made a decision to ramp up the local refinery output in response to significantly higher demand. This decision increased the group’s local sugar production by 39% over the yearly plan, to exceed 450 000 t. While this improved local supply and mitigated potential deep-sea imports, this extra throughput unduly pressured the refinery, leading to increased production costs and process inefficiencies that resulted in a loss of about 27 000 t of sugar. Steps have been taken to rectify and enhance the refinery processes and prevent a reoccurrence and the learnings have been taken throughout its operations, Tongaat says.
The business made significant progress in
its efforts to reduce debt, decreasing net debt by 42% from R11.35-billion to
R6.57-billion, through the successful conclusion of several asset disposals, as
well as reduced costs and improvements to the working capital cycle.
Tongaat also finalised the refinancing of its South African debt and signed credit-approved term sheets to conclude its Mozambican debt restructure, creating greater certainty in terms of funding. Tongaat says it remains committed to large and small-scale empowerment farming.
“Our turnaround plan commenced just under
two years ago, and our efforts continue to yield positive results, despite some
headwinds along the way. The results are presented against a backdrop of
unprecedented and challenging times triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Our
focus has been on continuing operations and the safety of our people. “Although
tangible progress has been made, we continue repairing and rebuilding what was
a fragile organisation, with remnants of substantial debt, constrained cash
flows, and a legacy of poor operational and cultural practices which has been
challenging to navigate. “We remain confident that the ongoing execution of our
strategy will enable the achievement of our business objectives,” CEO Gavin
Hudson says.
Suspension leaves users’ nerves on edge
The sanction applied by the Bank of Mozambique to Standard Bank and two of its top managers , two weeks ago, continues to irritate the bank’s customers, and many others, Carta de Moçambique reports. Most recently, it was the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) who went public and complained that the suspension of the Standard Bank’s activities in the foreign exchange market had created uncertainty and speculation in the business sector and the banking fabric generally. Private sector businesspeople also say that the central bank’s announcement found them unprepared, given that there was no prior notice of the central bank’s decision or of any offence that Standard Bank might have committed.
Another critic of the Bank of Mozambique’s
heavy sentence is economist Roberto Tibana. On his Facebook page, Tibana
criticises the inconvenience of the available alternatives in the context of
the suspension, but, above all, condemns the lack of clarity in the Bank of
Mozambique statement. “In my opinion, the Bank of Mozambique has not yet
explained the real causes of Standard Bank’s suspension from foreign exchange
operations, much less mentioned why Standard Bank customers, [who are] not
involved in the problem, should suffer inconveniences not adequately prevented,
and losses not reimbursed,” the economist writes. The lack of clarity that
Tibana refers to is the failure to detail the actual irregularities committed
by Standard Bank and its managers, although he does not rule out that the
involved parties might have broken the law. “I am not saying here that Standard
Bank and its managers did not commit irregularities. This I don’t know,
because, despite saying that there were irregularities, the Bank of Mozambique
does not specifically tell us what they were. Nor am I saying that Standard
Bank should not be sanctioned, if it has committed any irregularity,” Tibana
writes.
“The Bank of Mozambique says that one of the offences committed by Standard Bank and some of its executives includes the (I quote ): ‘i) fraudulent manipulation of the exchange rate’. The question is, what actually did Standard Bank do that constitutes manipulation, and fraudulent, too, of exchange rates? In which market segments did Standard Bank manipulate the exchange rate? In the interbank [rate], that is, between itself and other banks including the Bank of Mozambique?
“For example, GAIN, an NGO, which has US
dollars in Standard Bank, cannot convert them into meticais to pay salaries,
nor can it transfer these US dollars to other banks. How is an international
organisation going to open accounts at other banks and bring in money from
abroad? Vodacom, which only worked with Standard Bank, has numerous invoices to
pay suppliers, which it cannot now do. And so on. At least the US dollars that
are sitting in Standard Bank should be made available to other banks through
the intermediation of Bank of Mozambique, otherwise we will be creating an
artificial stress on the exchange rate,” Osman concludes.
Respect human dignity
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday urged prison guards to wield their knowledge and skills to better serve the prison population across the country, as well as ensuring that they are treated with full respect and dignity. Nyusi made the appeal as he addressed the closing ceremony of the 17th basic training course for prison guards from across the country, in Maputo province. Since December 2020, the new prison guards have undertaken training which includes paramilitary instruction, prison management, and general training that covered fields of non-custodial sentences, penal law, human rights and much more.
“Our commitment to regular training and
capacity building for prison guards is part of government policy under a
general vision which attaches great importance to the value of human capital
for the country’s development,” Nyusi said.
As Mozambicans, Nyusi declared, the
leaderships at various levels, including the prison service, must all denounce
and repudiate any violation of human rights. Under no circumstances, he added,
should prisons become stages for gross abuses such as those recently uncovered
at the Maputo Special Penitentiary for Women (EPEMM), better known as the
Ndlavela Women’s Prison, where women inmates were forced into prostitution.
“Your presence in the prisons in
partnership with your experienced colleagues must generate positive synergies
which contribute for a better service delivery to our brothers and sisters
under rehabilitation to facilitate their social reintegration when the time has
come,” stressed Nyusi.
Nyusi advised the new prison guards to
take the path of honesty and avoid corruption. He acknowledged that prison
wages remain very low, but that is what the country so far can offer. “Do not
seek to earn more through illegal means, otherwise you will see how the guard
may become a prisoner”, he warned. Corruption, he said, has harmful
consequences for the country’s social and economic development and the
performance of the new prison guards will be assessed through the work they do
for the prison population. The country expects a firm, proactive and
technically competent presence from the new staff, he insisted.
11 million doses of vaccines against
Speaking last night (Thursday 15 July) President Filipe Nyusi announced much stricter Covid-19 rules.
The night curfew is in effect from 9 pm to
4 am and applies to all provincial capitals, all cities, all municipalities and
all towns. Restaurants, take-aways and home delivery services are open from
6:00 am to 6:00 pm. Stalls selling food products are open from 6:00 am to 5:00
pm, but the ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages remains. Shopping centres
are open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm from Monday to Saturday and from 9:00 am to
1:00 pm on Sundays and public holidays. Bottle stores are open from 9:00 am to
1:00 pm from Monday to Saturday and are closed on Sundays and public holidays.
Bakeries and pastry shops are open from 5:00 am to 6:00 pm
Public institutions are open from 8:00 am
to 2:00 pm, except for essential services, and the private sector is encouraged
to follow the same measure.
Classes in primary, secondary and higher
education are suspended for 30 days in the greater Maputo metropolitan area,
including Manhica, and in Xai-Xai, Inhambane city, Beira, Chimoio, Tete city
and Dondo. Pre-school education is suspended for 30 days nationwide. All
religious services and celebrations, and conferences and meetings are suspended
and theatres, casinos, cinemas, concert halls are closed. All private social
events are prohibited, except for civil and religious wedding ceremonies, which
must not exceed 20 people. The number of participants in wakes and funerals is
reduced to 20 people, except in cases where there was death by COVID, where the
maximum number of participants is 10. Meetings in public and private
institutions must not exceed 15 people in closed places and 30 people in open
places, without exceeding 50% of the capacity. Restrictions are tightened on
foreign travel. All passengers arriving in Mozambique must present a PCR test
done 72 hours before departure, even if they have a vaccination card. The
validity of PCR tests for short cross-border trips is now only 7 days By
August, 11 million doses of vaccines against COVID-19 will arrive in the
country, Nyusi said.
Monday, July 5, 2021
Parliament Speaker tests positive for Covid-19
The Chairperson (speaker) of the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, Esperanca Bias, has caught the Covid-19 respiratory disease, and has urged those who have been in contact with her over the previous 72 hours to follow the recommendations of the health authorities, including going into quarantine.A press release from the Assembly said that Bias undertook a Covid-19 test on Friday as part of her preparations for a visit abroad. The test showed that she was positive for the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
“Currently she is showing no symptoms,
and is in home isolation”, said the release.
Bias urged all Mozambicans to follow
preventive measures against Covid-19, such as frequent washing of hands, social
distancing, wearing masks in public, and avoiding crowds, Over the past week,
Bias made working visits to the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula.
On Wednesday, in the Cabo Delgado provincial capital, Pemba, she delivered a
donation for victims of the terrorism that has struck the province since
October 2017, and has displaced over 700,000 people from their homes. On
Thursday, she visited the Corrane camp in Meconta district, Nampula province,
which is accommodating about 4,000 displaced people who have fled from the
terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado. She visited houses, tents and the medical
centre at Corrane, and held a meeting with a representative group of the
displaced people and leaders of the host community. Currently, 3,969 people are
living at the Corrane centre, only 1,633 of whom are adults.
Geographical distribution of active cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours
THIN CABLE: 33
NIASSA: 116
NAMPULA: 46
ZAMBEZIA: 37
TETE: 1,513
MANICA: 393
SOFALA: 573
INHAMBAN: 150
GAZA: 148
PROVINCE OF MAPUTO: 1,064
CITY OF MAPUTO: 3,536
TOTAL: 7,609
No Mozambican victims in protests
The government says no Mozambicans are among the victims of the violent demonstrations ravaging the Kingdom of Eswatini since last week. Speaking to ‘Notícias’, the director of the National Institute for Mozambican Communities Abroad (INACE), Armando Pedro Muiuane, said on Friday, July 2, that no Mozambicans were even involved in the demonstrations that resulted in the destruction of social and economic infrastructure, both public and private.
“Mozambicans are doing well, and did not get involved in the demonstrations. They are far removed from that,” Muiuane said.
The INACE director pointed out that the areas where most of the Mozambican community lives did not see disturbances, in contrast to the larger urban centres. Regarding contacts with the High Commission of Mozambique in Eswatini, Muiuane said that he had not received any requests from fellow citizens interested in leaving the country because of the prevailing situation. He renewed his appeal to all Mozambicans residing in Eswatini to remain calm and in their homes for the duration of the wave of demonstrations, which has already killed 40 people.
“Mozambicans must not deviate from the
focus,” he said, stressing that INACE is in permanent contact with Mozambique’s
diplomatic missions abroad and representatives of Mozambican communities. “If
there is anyone who wants to return [to Mozambique], they have only to go to
our diplomatic mission to receive assistance,” he stressed. In the same vein,
Domingos Tomo, a representative of the Mozambican community in Eswatini, said
that none of the property vandalised by demonstrators belonged to Mozambicans. Most
Mozambicans live in Manzini, Matsapa and Mbabane, and carry out activities such
as informal trade, carpentry, construction, mechanics and farming.
Illegal miners threatening
A total of 42 illegal diamond diggers have been sentenced to between eight and 14 months in prison, plus fines, after being caught red-handed near the Gorongosa National Park, a conservation area in central Mozambique, the government said on Monday. Illegal mining in search of various resources such as gold is a problem affecting several areas of the country’s interior, destroying land in a disorganised and unsafe way. In this case, the joint operation of the park’s inspection and the police caught the miners red-handed on 24 June, “illegally extracting mineral resources,” in Nhandzeia, Gorongosa district, a buffer zone of the nature reserve. According to a statement from Gorongosa Park, the miners had previously been verbally warned: “to abandon that location and activity”.
“They promised to leave but did not do
so: they opted to continue and intensify their activity, even acquiring new
machinery,” the park described.
In addition to equipment, “they also
possessed products that were highly toxic and harmful to the environment, which
were used in the mining process.”
“Illegal mining and deforestation are
the main threats to the park’s survival, as they directly affect the rivers”
that run through that protected area. The court also decided that all the
material seized should revert in favour of the state for the conservation area.
The Gorongosa National Park is today one of Mozambique’s main conservation
areas, with a wide variety of wildlife. It is located in Sofala province, at
the southern end of the East African Rift Valley, and covers about 4,000 square
kilometres.
France supports fight against money laundering
“We are aware that our financial
system is exposed to the risks of money laundering and of financing terrorism,
which makes it imperative that we increasingly strengthen the mechanisms to
identify and combat this evil”, he declared.
Zandamela wanted the central bank to
adopt a regulatory framework in line with the current challenges, and with the
strategic orientation to implement a more effective and comprehensive
monitoring system.
“As the central bank, we shall
continue to mobilise our cooperation partners in order to improve the necessary
technological capacities, in order to respond better to the challenges imposed
by money laundering and terrorism”, he added. Speaking to reporters, French
ambassador David Izzo said he hopes that, with this support, the Mozambican
banking system will become more robust and prepared to control illicit flows of
capital intended for terrorist groups. “This cooperation with the Bank of
Mozambique is at the heart of our support against terrorism”, he said. “We know
that there is no terrorism without finance and that there are links between
trafficking of all kinds in which transfers of money are not screened”.
“Our desire is that this collaboration
should bring innovative elements, which make it possible to strengthen the
surveillance systems and control resources of the Bank of Mozambique, while
strengthening the development of technical skills concerning the fight against
money laundering and the financing of terrorism”, said the ambassador.
Fisheries limit new licensing
The Mozambican Ministry of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries has decided to limit new fishing licenses, in an attempt to curb biodiversity devastation by illegal fisherman at the Cahora Bassa reservoir, in the central province of Tete, according to a report in Saturday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”. The Ministry’s Director of Operations, Leonid Chimarizene, said that despite the efforts to combat fishing by illegal operators, the situation has spiked over the last few years. The authorities want to halt the threat and ensure a sound and healthy growth of the fish species.
The move, however, has unleashed an increase of illegal fishermen who also resort to harmful fishing gear, including mosquito nets which sweep away the larvae and juveniles, thus jeopardising the continuity of the species. (The main target species is the Lake Tanganyika sardine, known in Mozambique as “kapenta”). A joint operation carried out by the Ministry, the Tete Provincial Economic Activities Services, the Maritime Administration, and the coastal and inland water guards not only led to the arrest of illegal fishermen but seized three semi-industrial fishing vessels and 216 mosquito nets.
“Such
practices represent a great risk for the communities who may not have fish in
the future for their sustenance, and also pose an environmental and economic
threat,” Chimarizene cautioned, adding that unspecified quantities of juveniles
have been returned to the water, and fines of over two million meticais (about
31,000 US dollars, at the current exchange rate) have been imposed. And in
order to keep full control of the situation, authorities have declared “closed
fishing”, which consists of allowing only a limited number of vessels onto the
lake. The authorities will conduct further joint operations and cooperate with
other entities at places such as markets and transit points, especially
airports and land borders.Illegal fishing is a well known problem at Cahora
Bassa reservoir and in 2016/17 the authorities seized 70 vessels which are now
for sale at public auction.
Some customers unable to access their salaries
The suspension of all Standard Bank activities involving the conversion of foreign currency in Mozambique is leaving clients with foreign currency accounts without access to their salaries, people affected by the measure told Lusa.
“We receive salaries through these accounts, and now they are blocked. In our case, most of the workers at our institution have accounts at Standard Bank and receive [their salaries] in foreign currency. Now nobody is able to touch their money,” said one bank client, who requested anonymity. At issue is the decision by the Bank of Mozambique, announced a week ago, to suspend Standard Bank from all activities involving the conversion of foreign currency in the foreign exchange market, following “findings obtained during an on-site inspection in progress”, according to a statement from the regulator, which does not provide further details. Another bank customer affected by the suspension, who also requested anonymity, told Lusa that the problem was aggravated by a lack of information from the bank, adding that he only realised the seriousness of the situation after visiting the bank two days after the central bank’s announcement.
“I went to the bank and they told me that one solution was to open an account at another bank so that the amounts could be transferred. But my money is in that account and I don’t have any other bank. I will have to try to open one, but in the meantime how am I going to survive?” he asked.
Lusa contacted Standard Bank, whose management met
yesterday. They promised a statement soon. Data from the Mozambican central
bank released in April pointed to Standard Bank as the third on the list of
three banks of systemic importance in Mozambique, in a list led by Banco
Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI), with the International Bank of Mozambique
(Millennium Bim) in the second position. In the ratio that measures the
importance for the sector, known by its English acronym D-SIB, BCI tops the
list with 278 points, followed by Millennium Bim with 257 and Standard Bank
with 159.
Nyusi visits victims
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Monday paid a visit to Maputo Central Hospital (HCM), the country’s largest health unit, where victims of the deadly accident on Saturday night on the main north-south highway (EN1) in Manhica district, Maputo province, are receiving specialist health care. At the hospital, Nyusi visited several wards, especially the orthopedic ward, where most of the victims of the road accident have been admitted, and received detailed explanations from Health Minister Armindo Tiago, and from the hospital management.
“I have visited various wards in the
hospital as I wanted to assess the problem,” Nyusi said. He added that the most
important thing at the moment was to find out why road accidents are so
frequent so that they can be avoided in the future. Nyusi said that, at its
weekly meeting on Tuesday, the cabinet will assess the accident and give
indications on how the government will handle the problem.
The Saturday night tragedy involved three vehicles. A bus, carrying passengers from Beira to Maputo, attempted to overtake a truck carrying construction sand, at a point in the road where it is clearly marked that no overtaking is permitted. The bus smashed head on with an articulated lorry travelling in the opposite direction. In a desperate attempt to return to the correct lane, the bus also hit the truck it had been overtaking. 31 bus passengers died on the spot, and 11 seriously injured people were taken to Maputo Central Hospital where one subsequently died. Briefing reporters, the Director of the HCM Emergency Services, Madalena Manjate, said the ten survivors were still regarded as at risk. “Among the patients we admitted, three underwent urgent surgery performed by the orthopedic staff and are now receiving medical care after the fractures. We have another patient in the Intensive Care Surgical Unit who suffered serious head injuries,” Manjate said.
She added that there is also another
patient admitted to the maxillofacial ward, two others are in general surgical
ward, and a two year old child will undergo paediatric surgery.
The hospital had successfully
performed several blood transfusions after the accident, but this has depleted
the hospital’s blood supplies. Manjate appealed to blood donors to come forward
and donate the lifesaving liquid.
She urged motorists to avoid excessive speed and not to take the steering wheel after drinking alcohol or when overwrought and exhausted. The causes of the accident are still under investigation, but the police believe the bus driver, who is under arrest, was driving much too fast, and attempted to overtake at an inappropriate place. It is also known that there was only one driver on the bus. By road, Beira is over 1,200 kilometres from Maputo, and even under good conditions the journey would take over 16 hours. It is thus more than likely that the driver was suffering from fatigue. The bus is owned by the company Nhancale Transport which, according to the independent television station STV, has not provided any assistance for the injured passengers.
