Terrorists expel residents of some villages

The self-styled “Islamic State” terrorist group invaded last Wednesday, the villages of Marere, Calugo and Ulo, in Mocímboa da Praia district, in the northern Mozambican Province of Cabo Delgado, warning the local residents to leave their homes, according to a report in Monday’s issue of the independent newsheet
“Carta de Moçambique.”

According to sources cited by the paper, the terrorists said they did not want to see anyone, which means

the population had to leave the villages.

“The population in the south of the district had abandoned their villages for fear of the terrorists and of being mistaken for insurgents, since joint forces operations are underway”, said Sifa Saíde, a resident of the Aeroporto neighbourhood in Mocimboa da Praia town

Two weeks ago, the terrorist group claimed, through its propaganda channels, to have murdered 11 people, whom it described as “Christians”, in Mocimboa da Praia district.

The defence Minister, Cristóvão Chume, declared on Friday that the eradication of terrorism from Cabo Delgado demands community empowerment, and reduction in poverty and illiteracy.

He also said that governing in favour of the well-being of the population can help stop the spread of terrorist actions on the African continent, including in Cabo Delgado.

 

Three Muslims run for Municipal President

 

Four district administrators were dismissed , “as part of the ongoing movement of public administration staff in the country”, according to  a statement from the Ministry of Public Administration and Civil Service issued on Friday (September 29).

The press release states Shafee Sidat was dsimissed from the position of  administrator of Marracuene in Maputo province; Momade Ali as district administrator of Ilha de Moçambique district and Rui Chong Saw as district administrator of Mossuril district, both in Nampula province; and Issa Tarmamade as administrator of Ibo district in Cabo Delgado. On Thursday, Mozambican president dismissed Cecília Chamutota as deputy minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, appointing her Secretary of State for Sofala province, in central Mozambique, in place of Stela Pinto Novo Zeca, who was dismissed from the post on Tuesday. Stela Pinto Novo Zeca is the Frelimo candidate for mayor of the city of Beira in the municipal elections on October 11th.

Ahmad Shafee Ismail Sidat, Momade Amisse Ali, Rui Chong Saw and Issa Tarmamade are also Frelimo candidates in the October 11 elections – for mayors of Marracuene, Ilha de Moçambique, Mossuril and Ibo municipalities, respectively.

 

Saudi company to produce feed and fertilizer in Chókwè

The Saudi company Jampur Mozambique, Lda, operating in Chókwè district, in the southern province of Gaza, will produce feed to meet demand from the poultry industry and aquaculture, as part of a series of new projects it is introducing to make better use of by-products from the processing of rice, tomatoes and cashew nuts. Jampur has taken control of the Chókwè Agro-Industrial Complex (CAIC), which was once a gigantic state farm.

According to Monday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Notícias”, the company’s focus was on seeking market guarantees for locally produced rice, but now the businessmen of the Jampur Group want to broaden the range of investments to other projects, which include a production line for fish and poultry feed, fertilisers and supplements to improve the robustness of cattle. The expectation of this business group is to reduce dependence on imports to satisfy the local market for poultry and fish. In addition to food production and marketing, Jampur has other projects in the pipeline, namely the establishment of an industry to produce footwear and uniforms.

According to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jampur Group, Mohammad Shafiq, at this embryonic stage of its operations in CAIC, attention is being focused on processing and marketing. He said, without giving specific figures, that there is investment in the pipeline for a range of structuring projects in the value chain of products aimed at domestic consumption and also for export.

“We are also interested in investing in the production of poultry, fertilisers and uniforms, all here in Chókwè district,” he said.

The revival of the Chókwè Agro-Industrial Complex is the result of the National Programme to Industrialise Mozambique (PRONAI), launched in 2021 by President Filipe Nyusi, with the aim of contributing to an increase in production, stimulating agro-processing, reducing the export of raw materials and generating employment and income for the family sector. According to the governor of Gaza, Margarida Mapandzene Chongo, this is the first major step that the province has taken in agro-processing and agro-business in the light of the national industrialisation programme. She said that foreign researchers had been approached during the recent presidential visit to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, which included a delegation from the Gaza Provincial Executive Council, to relaunch the portfolio of anchor projects for the Limpopo Valley production area. She emphasised that the arrival of the investors in CAIC is an added value for boosting the province’s economy and creating more job opportunities, especially for young graduates in various areas of technical and vocational education, but also for valuing the efforts of producers who have been complaining about the lack of a market for their produce.

“Work has already begun. As they are foreign investors, there is a lot of bureaucracy in the initial procedures so that they can carry out their activities to the full, but they are very confident in the collaboration of the central government and we locally have been doing our part to make this project a reality”, she said.

 

 

Gains $500mn+ secret debt cancellation

Mozambique on Monday announced a negotiated deal with the major Swiss Bank UBS. It took over Credit Suisse after CS collapsed under a series of corruption scandals including the Mozambique secret debt. This ends only part of the case about the secret debt in the commercial count in London.

Economy and Finance Minister Max Tonela and Deputy Attorney General Angelo Matusse told a press conference on Monday that the negotiation in London resolves a large part of the Credit Suisse loan. They refused to give details, but we estimate that more than $500 mn of the secret debt has been cancelled, which is a major victory for Mozambique.

The $2 bn secret debt was borrowed by three companies owned by the government, including the security services SISE. Initially in 2013 and 2014 $622 mn was borrowed by Proindicus, $535 mn by MAM, and $800 by Ematum. Of the Proindicus loan, $118 was lent by the Russian bank VTB and the rest by Credit Suisse, which in turn syndicated some of the loans (that is, sold the loans) to investment funds.

In case of dispute, these loans are all adjudicated in the London Commercial Court, and in 2009 legal cases were brought by Mozambique, by Privinvest, and by lenders. Prininvest is the company which received all the money, allegedly for projects in Mozambique, and which is accused of bribery and over-invoicing. What is common in such proceedings in London is that the courts rule on points of law, and then the parties often negotiate a deal in secret.

With accrued interest payments and penalties, the Proindicus loan is now probably around $900 mn. The trial is due to start today in London, but UBS and Mozambique have removed most of the Proinidicus loan from the case and announced a deal this Monday morning. VTB and BCP (Banco Comerical Portuguese) are not part of the deal and are continuing with the court case. The exact deal remains secret because of the syndicated loans, but all banks and funds except BCP have accepted what is called a “haircut”. The Mozambican government has agreed to pay a small part of the syndicated loans and the banks and funds accepted a substantial loss. Thus I estimate that more than $500 mn in debt has been cancelled. Cancelling more than half the Proindicus debt seems a good deal for Mozambique. The press conference was told that Mozambique’s legal costs so far are $80 mn and will continue to rise as the trial resumes. In London Privinnvest has appealed a ruling which said that as President, Filipe Nyusi cannot be called as a witness. But it seems likely that as the court case proceeds and the evidence is laid out, other deals will be done.

 

 

Settlement with UBS was approved

The extrajudicial agreement between Mozambique and the financial group UBS on the “hidden debts” case in the British courts was approved by the Council of Ministers in June, the Mozambique Government Gazette Boletim da República dated 14 September indicates. The Supplement to the Boletim da República dated September 14, consulted on Monday by Lusa, ratifies the ‘Transaction Agreement’ signed between the Republic of Mozambique, the state-owned company Proindicus, the Credit Suisse Group and other litigants in accordance with a resolution approved by the Council of Ministers [Cabinet] on June 6th.

READ: UBS nears settlement with Mozambique govt in Credit Suisse $1.5 billion tuna bond case: Report

“The purpose of the Transaction Agreement is the global and definitive resolution of the dispute between the parties referred to in the previous article and the total and reciprocal waiver of their claims, in the dispute, in the case of the disputing parties, and outside of it, in the case of the non-litigating parties, regarding responsibilities in financing Proindicus,” the document states. 

In addition to Credit Suisse, currently part of the UBS financial group, Moza Banco, United Bank for Africa, investment funds VR Global Partners and Farallon Capital, as well as Banco Internacional de Moçambique, Banco Comercial de Investimentos and other institutions signed the agreement. However, the shipping group Privinvest, the Russian bank VTB and Banco Comercial Português (BCP) were specifically omitted from the agreement. “This deal appears to have been in the works and cooked up [over] some time,” Privinvest lawyer Duncan Mathews told the London High Court in London on Monday.

READ:  Mozambique: UBS Group reaches agreement on eve of hidden debt trial

Sunday’s settlement, struck one day before a blockbuster London trial was due to begin, prompted scores of lawyers representing Mozambique, Credit Suisse, Privinvest, three former Credit Suisse bankers, creditors and others, to gather in the High Court in London to establish how the trial should now proceed. Judge Robin Knowles said there was an imperative to ensure the three-month trial o “complicated and interwoven multi-party case” was fair to all parties and postponed the opening of the trial to at least Oct. 16. Duncan Matthews, for Privinvest, told the court that the settlement had created a “significant shift” in the burden on his clients and that they should have time to work out which claims and cross-claims remained on the table. He also noted that it was “not quite clear” whether Mozambique’s claims against three former Credit Suisse bankers had also been settled or put on hold.

READ:  London trial delayed until at least Oct. 16 as Mozambique switches focus to Privinvest in ‘tuna bond’ case

The trial is the culmination of almost four years of litigation in the British courts, to which Mozambique appealed, alleging bribery, conspiracy to harm by unlawful means and dishonest assistance to write off debts and claim financial compensation worth millions of dollars.

US$0.55 per kilogram

The official price for a kilogram of cashew nuts in Mozambique fell from 37 meticais (58 US dollar cents) to 35 meticais (55 cents) for the 2023-2024 marketing year, the committee responsible for regulating the sector has announced. The deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Olegário Banze, quoted today by Notícias, the country’s largest daily, said that the fixed price guarantees “balance throughout the nut production chain so that there are no segments [especially] harmed”.

“In order for prices not to be always dictated from the outside, it is necessary to create a more robust scenario internally that allows the national market to impose its prices, which involves increasing production and guaranteeing the processing of cashew nuts at a domestic level,” Banze emphasised. Cashew nut production is a source of income for thousands of families in Mozambique, mainly in the north of the country. According to AIM news agency, India and Vietnam are currently Mozambique’s main export destinations for cashews, and, therefore have the greatest influence on prices in the market.

                          

Balama graphite

Syrah Resources said Monday it has completed a production campaign at its Balama

operation in Mozambique, with natural graphite shipped during the September 2023 quarter. The announcement comes as the company says an Australian article on Sunday “incorrectly” stated that Syrah continues to mine and stockpile rather than sell output from Balama. Promising further details on 17 October, the company noted it has seen “increased anode production in China and improved natural graphite demand recently”.

Syrah Resources Limited (ASX:SYR) (“Syrah” or “Company”) notes that the Australian Financial Review published an article on Sunday, 1 October 2023, which incorrectly stated that the Company “continues to mine and stockpile rather than sell output”.

A production campaign has been undertaken at Syrah’s Balama Graphite Operation in Mozambique (“Balama”), and natural graphite sales and shipments were completed, during the September 2023 quarter. Ongoing strength in global electric vehicle sales has seen increased anode production in China and improved natural graphite demand recently. Further information on Balama production, as well as natural graphite sales and shipments, will be released with the Company’s September 2023 Quarterly Activities Report on Tuesday, 17 October 2023

Parliament passes revision of Law on Prevention and Combat of Money

The Assembly of the Republic this Thursday (10-08) voted in favour, in general and by consensus, on the revised Law on Prevention and Combat of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism.The revision aims to adapt and accommodate the recommendations of the Post-Observation Period Report by the International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and conform Mozambican legislation on the regime for preventing and combating money laundering, financing of terrorism, and financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Natural and legal persons, legal persons without legal personality, non-profit organisations, financial institutions and non-financial entities with headquarters in the national territory are now obliged to adopt measures to prevent and combat money laundering. The measures will now also cover non-financial entities, natural and legal persons engaged in real estate brokerage and the purchase and resale ofproperties, as well as construction entities that directly sell properties. Lawyers and all those who exercise functions of legal sponsorship and legal assistance, notaries, conservatory officials, accountants and independent auditors, when involved in transactions in the interest of their users or in other circumstances, are also covered. Service providers to trust funds and companies now also become non-financial entities obliged to adopt measures to prevent and combat money laundering.

Non-profit organisations, including non-governmental organisations and churches, must now keep records of operations relating to donations and other contributions from national and international entities for a minimum period of five years. According to the amendments voted for favourably in parliament, such records must be sufficiently detailed to allow verification that the funds received by these entities were used in accordance with the purpose of the organisation, which must make these records available to the competent authorities when requested. Another innovation of the law in question is that donations or other financial contributions to non-profit organisations must be made through bank transfer to an account opened in the name of the organisation or by cheque, with the necessary exceptions in the terms to be regulated.

Under to the revised law, engaging in money laundering crimes can engender a fine of up to 10 million meticais. In its reasoning, the government explains that legal persons and equivalent entities will be subject to a fine ranging from two to ten million meticais if the crime is committed within the scope of the activity of a financial institution. According to the same proposal, fines will also range from one million to five million meticais if the crime is committed through the activity of a non-financial entity.

 

China lifts bans on group tours to

 China on Thursday included Mozambique, Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe in a third batch of destinations to which it will allow group tourism travel. The decision, announced by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of the Asian country, covers a total of 82 countries, in addition to the 40 included in the first two batches.

Destinations popular among international travellers, such as the United States and United Kingdom, are now available again for Chinese tourists travelling in organised groups.

In early February, Beijing again allowed group tours to about 20 countries, including destinations such as Thailand or Indonesia.

Portugal was included in the second batch, approved the following month, as well as Brazil, France and Spain.

China, which was the largest source of tourists in the world until the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, kept its borders closed for almost three years as part of its “zero Covid” policy, which was abandoned last December after protests in several cities across the country.

 

AFRICA

 

The height of indecency

Indecency has phases. 

In the first, the notion of priorities is lost. This happens when it becomes more important to show that something is being done. You lose concern about what is still not well and needs attention because for millions of young people it is a matter of life or death. A deputy doesn't need to go very far to see that. As you leave the Assembly building, you see the drama of survival.

In the second phase, a lot of energy is invested in the superfluous. It is not, contrary to what many people think, lick-botism. It is a sincere attitude that manifests itself without the expectation of personal gain. The person loses track of what is important. Scouring dictionaries looking for adjectives becomes more important than investing time to understand a subject that, handled well, can change people's lives for the better. This would entail reading, talking to experts, listening to those affected, etc.

In the third, an identity is created that has nothing to do with the reason that led an individual to a certain place. Thus, the person is more concerned with asserting himself as the deputy who makes everyone laugh with his eulogies to the president. Without realizing it, he begins to give more importance to this than to his own work. It becomes more serious not to make this kind of speech than to question the rulers. The person gets silly at the party.

In the fourth, and last, the person believes that what he does is funny. He doesn't do it anymore because he wanted to show that despite everything there is work being done. He does it because he thinks it's funny, a lot of it. What they fail to realize is that making jokes in the parliament of a country where millions of people go to bed - if they have a bed and shelter - without eating is an affront to the values ​​of their own party, society and, of course, their own family. .

Now, the height of indecency is when colleagues join in the laughter, clap loudly and show no sign of embarrassment. That's where you realize that the mozes are orphans of government.

And to make matters worse, not a single decent person in this party and government has publicly and loudly distanced themselves. Maybe it's because they know that it's aimed at decent people so that they know once and for all that boçalismo rules.

(E.Macamo in facebook)

Mozambique sends fuel to malawi

The Mozambican government is sending aid of 40,000 litres of fuel to Malawi, in response to the appeal launched by Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, following the passage of tropical cyclone Freddy, which devastated southern Malawi, killing at least 438 people.The fuel will be delivered officially by the Mozambican High Commissioner in Malawi, Elias Zimba, in representation of President Filipe Nyusi.

According to Radio Mozambique, the fuel will be used in search and rescue operations in parts of Malawi flooded by the cyclone. 238 people are still listed as missing, and more than 345,000 people have lost their homes.

For Zimba, Nyusi’s gesture shows the brotherhood and friendship between African peoples, who, at times of catastrophe, need to unite their efforts to reduce the impact of natural disasters.Mozambique has thus joined Tanzania, which has disbursed a million US dollars, and made two military helicopters and 100 soldiers available to support rescue operations and humanitarian assistance in Malawi.

Malawi has also requested air support from Mozambique and Zambia for the search and rescue work. The Malawian government says that, with the improvement in the weather, it has become possible to use aircraft in the relief operations, but the country is desperately short of planes and helicopters – hence the appeal to neighbouring countries.

Civil society organisations want to destroy FRELIMO

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, speaking in his capacity as leader of the ruling Frelimo Party, on Thursday claimed that some of the country’s civil society organisations want to destroy Frelimo. Addressing a meeting in the southern city of Matola of the Frelimo disciplinary body, the Verification Commission, Nyusi said there are “intruders” in the party who want to weaken it and drag its name through the mud. He urged Frelimo members to be vigilant against all those who want to wreck the party. He called for cohesion among the membership as the only way to face challenges imposed by the forces acting against the Party.

“The Frelimo Party is operating in a world of intense political competition”, said Nyusi. “So we are called upon to perfect our methods of work in order to confront the forces that are opposed to our designs”. He warned that Frelimo’s opponents have been strengthening their methods of operation, “seeking to subvert the Party’s guidelines”.

 “Just as in the past, the main target of our adversaries is to destroy the unity and discipline of our Party”, Nyusi declared. “Tribalism, regionalism and other forms of discrimination are among the means invoked by some elements, inside or outside the party, to cover up their ambition for power, or to satisfy personal or group interests”. He stressed that Frelimo needs to reorganize itself to face the challenges of the municipal elections scheduled for October.

“This is a moment of extreme importance in the national political cycle”, Nyusi said. “Our Party has the challenge of maintaining the governance of the 44 municipalities currently under our rule, of recovering the nine that are currently run by the opposition, and of winning in the 12 new municipalities”.

He warned that such a victory can only be won on the basis of “transparency, responsibility, justice and integrity”. Above all, the Party must ensure that its election candidates are capable of attracting the support of the voters “for an overwhelming Frelimo victory”. Nyusi urged the Verification Commission to fight against corruption inside Frelimo, and in public institutions. The Commission, he said, must guarantee strict compliance with the Frelimo statutes.

Importers suspend trips to South Africa

The Mozambican Association of small scale importers, known as “mukheristas”, has decided to suspend trips to South Africa to prevent possible violence against Mozambican trucks during the current protests. According to the president of the association, Sudekar Novela, quoted by the Maputo daily “Noticias”, the action aims to safeguard the physical integrity of operators in the sector and avoid possible damage caused by the looting of goods.

Several South African services were closed on Monday, and the “mukheristas” fear that the attacks on vehicles with Mozambican number plates will worsen again with the protests called in South Africa for this week.

The protests are against the rising cost of living, and the constant power cuts, and led by the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, which is calling for the resignation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Despite this scenario, Novela guaranteed that his members have enough stock to supply the Mozambican market for short period.

“At the moment there is no reason for concern because the Zimpeto Wholesale Market in Maputo has goods to supply the city for a few weeks without any restrictions”, he claimed.

In recent days, the price of fresh products in Zimpeto has fluctuated as a result, on the one hand, of the flooding of crops in the production fields and, on the other, of rising acquisition costs in South Africa. Hundreds of people were arrested in South Africa on Monday, the first day of the EFF protests, but the country was not brought to a standstill.