TETE PROVINCE DECLARED FREE OF LAND MINES

The western Mozambican province of Tete on Wednesday was formally declared free of land lines.According to Alberto Augusto, director of the National Demining Institute (IND), speaking at a ceremony in Chitima, in Cahora Bassa district, during the demining operations, 74,915 anti-personnel mines were destroyed, and about five million square metres of land (equivalent to 467 football fields) was released for productive use.The operations also discovered three anti-tank mines, 389 other items of unexploded ordnance, and 134 small caliber munitions.In its National Mine Action Plan for 2008-2014, the IND described Tete as the most mined province in the country. The mines uncovered in Tete account for about 85 per cent of the mines destroyed throughout the country.There were two main areas where the land mines were concentrated – along the 11 kilometre perimeter protecting the Cahora Bassa dam, and along a stretch of 15 kilometres on the border with Zimbabwe. The lengthy and complex demining operations in Tete involved the three main humanitarian mine clearance operators working in Mozambique – Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), the Halo Trust and Apopo – and more than ten commercial operators.Eight provinces and 123 districts have now been declared free of mines. The mine-free provinces are Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane, Tete, Zambezia, Nampula, Niassa and Cabo Delgado.According to Augusto all that remains to be done is to clear “a few square metres of land where the presence of anti-personnel mines is suspected in five districts in Manica and Sofala provinces”. He expected the work in Manica and Sofala to end in the first quarter of 2015. Mozambique is a party to the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines. It ratified the treaty in 1999, and had ten years to completely demine the country. This proved impossible, and so Mozambique sought and was granted a five year extension, to 2014.

MUNICIPAL BUS COMPANY RUNNING AT HEAVY LOSS

Maputo’s publicly owned municipal bus company, EMTPM, made a loss of over 174 million meticais (about 5.5 million US dollars, at current exchange rates) in 2013, according to the company’s report and accounts for that year, published this week.This result was a dramatic shift in fortune, since in 2010 EMTPM had run at a profit of slightly more than 98 million meticais.The main problem faced by the company has been a sharp fall in the number of passengers. In 2012 the company’s buses carried 41.9 million passengers, but in 2013 this figure slumped to 21.4 million, a decline of 49 per cent.EMTPM blames this on the congested Maputo roads, which slow the buses down, so that they made fewer journeys in 2013 than in 2012. The average daily number of journeys fell by 32.7 per cent and the distance travelled by 36.5 per cent.The company has also faced irregular supplies of spare parts, particularly for buses of the Indian mark Tata. This was due both to EMTPM’s financial difficulties and to the failure by some suppliers to meet deadlines. In particular, the company that won the tender to supply tyres, provided them late.56 per cent of the buses are from Tata, and the report describes them as “fragile”. Their constant breakdowns have a severe impact on the company’s productivity. The rest of the operational fleet come from Volkswagen (26 per cent) and from the Chinese company Yutong (18 per cent).At the end of 2013, EMTPM had 349 buses, of which 258 were operational and 89 were off the roads. During the year the company had hoped to recover 45 of the buses that were out of order, but only managed to repair 14 of them. The total number of buses in operation rose slightly – from 256 in 2012 to 258 in 2013.EMTPM does not hold out much hope of recovering the other 89 buses. The report states that repairing them “is not viable, in most cases, due to their advanced state of decay”.

METICAL RESULTS OF DEPRECIATION "PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS" POST - ELECTION

The Governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Ernesto Gove said that this sharp depreciation of the metical, the national currency against the US dollar, the result of several factors including the "psychological" resulting from the post-election aftermath.Speaking today in Maputo, during the year-end toast with representatives of the institutions of the financial system, Gove said that to bring political and social instability elements, the aftermath post - election conveys nervousness and negative expectations."It transmits to the markets, nervousness and negative expectations regarding the maintenance of the pillars supporting macroeconomic stability, leading to some operators anticipate payments of imports, while exporters feed higher earnings expectations in a high depreciation of the currency environment" Gove said.Indeed, according to the governor, the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market data (MCI) for the closure last November show that the US dollar was quoted at 31.22 meticais, "which corresponds to a monthly depreciation, accumulated and annual metical 1 04; 4.24 and 4.31 percent, "respectively.However, the operations of commercial banks with economic operators and the general public is no record of a further depreciation of the metical, "a monthly variation of 3.78 percent and accumulated 13 percent, up to ten current December".'We must all work together to keep our country as a champion of lower inflation in the region and highlighted the stability and world economic growth, "said Ernesto Gove, a clear reference to all stakeholders, including politicians who express opinions that negatively influence the market .

The Bank of Mozambique put in the forex market, by 12 December, a total of 1,114 million dollars, against 615 million in the same period 2013, causing the balance of international reserves to settle at around 2.8 billion dollars ."In terms of gross reserves, this balance can cover about four months of imports of goods and non factor services, while excluding transactions of major projects," said Gove.The governor associated wear the reserves in 2014, with increasing making liquid fuels that the dynamics of the economy demand, including electoral character issues, pressures in anticipation of imports and currency fluctuations arising from "a stronger dollar in international market relative to other assets that are denominated in our international reserves (gold and Euro). "In his speech, Gove said that Mozambique have told, this year, with more - gains of transactions by some dealers who exploit mineral resources with non-resident companies, amounting to 520 million dollars, a sum which "allowed cushion the adverse impact on international reserves. "Even at the level of the external sector, the balance of payments data indicate that, despite the global economic environment present less favorable, with the fall of the main tradable goods prices, Mozambique remains a preferred destination of foreign direct investment, together with the projects to exploit the coal and hydrocarbons.The country received in the first nine months of this year, a flow of capital in the form of foreign direct investment nearly 3,316 million, compared with 4,885 million in 2013, most of which, 52 percent, for the major projects the extractive industry.

That's what Mozambicans ask you.

Sometimes look back and sides helps you navigate. It is clear that things are complicated in Mozambique. Against this were the last elections and the various "pronouncements" of competitors and electoral bodies, is divine-difficult times for the country.The legalistic arguments and constitutional express a cause despair and a graceful exit attempt at a situation that has no consensus.A thank you visit by Afonso Dhlakhama raises or puts very strong questions that cement the belief that the "curious" who come to their rallies are Mozambicans who believe that he and his party won the elections.If a parliament moves a containment strategy based on the financial accommodation and protocol of a leader who repeatedly declared winner, but the electoral bodies refuse to recognize, in the country breathes an air of well-founded suspicions that things can skidding the worst.Who was accustomed to maneuver and to make electoral and political engineering has reason to be worried because it seems that the patience of the "defeated" run out.Reveals the naked eye that Mozambique and its people want change and that this was expressed by their vote.When it was said that without an assembly or handling of elections realization of all conditions would be too complicated for Frelimo to stay in power, some voices of "scholars" were multiplying in "pronouncements" and looking analyzes prove otherwise.Without the strategic assistance of PRM / FIR, it is known and it is believed that even the past municipal elections would have produced different results announced. Without the difficulties of access to polling stations surgically defined and implemented, the city of Maputo Municipal Assembly meet a different costume. Mocuba would have a president of the municipality of another party, and Milange too.Due to the results of these local, it was clear that the party of change in power was a very possible and next question.Renamo, after the end of the last political and military hostilities, it raises up-and showed that she was alive and dynamic. In the ride of your leadership and the experience, organized in record time and took part in the elections in dispute.MDM, galvanized by their local victories, set up his machine and showed that it is a party to take into account the country.Faced with these two opponents weight, Frelimo and the government had to change strategies and devise methods that would ensure their stay in power.That's where we can see it was voted the strategy of mixing methods. With the judiciary under its control, it was easy to refuse outright the opposition claims. With the help of PRM / FIR, tried to take scene nuisance opposition activists. With full participation of STAE, it was possible to delay the opening of the polls and eventually disappear notebooks. To complicate the picture further, district notices are untraceable. The professional and experienced machine STAE failed or was all premeditated?

When repeatedly says that the "procurement" electoral account, some ignore. When we say that it is dangerous to the operating space, some say they are prepared, but in the end it turns out that missed.When it is said that the mass media is skewed and biased to favor the ruling party, this is understood as something of little importance.Mozambicans of all latitudes and political spectrum want peace as ever.But what with playing strategists connected to the ruling party, what usually has been used as a weapon infallible, repeat that Renamo and MDM do not know lose, is not having traction or legs to walk.The use of important figures in national politics, as Joaquim Chissano, striking low blows on an opponent who knows, and that prevented militarily and politically defeated, is symptomatic. This is not to launch "campaigns of terror." "Lawyers of the devil" arise and multiply the national level and in the diaspora. All seek to defend its share, and do not mind the media.Meanwhile, entrepreneurs rulers subscribed in full swing concession agreements and attribute operating licenses to all that is company and project.There is a widespread perception that AEG needs to remain in control at least of their party machine to ensure that your business empire will not collapse. What happened to the acolytes of Joaquim Chissano may well happen to him once out of the picture. The other wards or sensitivities within the Frelimo understand that it is time to unite and defend "nails and claws" its political dominance. That is why even those who were criticized yesterday for not being "gem of Mozambicans" are united in their discursive campaign supported by the media aligned with this agenda.It is felt that the characteristic mediocrity of some leading figures of the regime, in different segments of national life, not resist a transparent competition situation.For some it is the "all or nothing", even praise the opponent every day. Saying "opponent" please, because in their design, it is actually the enemy to beat.There will be enough wisdom and patriotism to circumvent the pitfalls and take the boat to fruition?

There will be calm and coolness to within the competing parties to find a formula that ensures good governance and political stability?

When the PR spokesman trasveste irreducible constitutional, as we have used, there is reason to stay grounded concerned.Mozambique does not need nor in a similar situation to Angola, where José Eduardo dos Santos has remained in power even without the completion of the presidential election that was to rival and opponent Jonas Malheiro Savimbi.AEG does not sleep and certainly that, as astute politician, has all options open and on the table.But as a political and nationalistic should be equating output that guarantees peace.That's what Mozambicans ask you. Ask Joaquim Chissano. Ask Afonso Dhlahkama. Ask Simango.What are Mozambique and Mozambican expect from their leaders. To lead thinking about what people most want and not what you bring more personal benefits.Halting the indecision and prevent political barbarism is in your hands. (N.Nhantumbo)

GUEBUZA INAUGURATES NACALA AIRPORT

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Saturday officially inaugurated the new international airport in the northern port city of Nacala, costing over 250 million US dollars, and built with the financial support of Brazil.Guebuza declared that the imposing new buildings are yet further proof that “there are people committed to the construction of a prosperous Mozambique, and who oppose those who only know how to make speeches which incite to violence and destruction”. In a clear reference to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo, Guebuza said he hoped that those who make such speeches will stop doing so “in order that Mozambique and its people may attain the well-being they long for”. The President stressed that this airport, which can accommodate planes of any size, “shows that the development of Nacala is unstoppable”. The airport, he added, was one of several major investments in Nacala. These include the new coal terminal at Nacala-a-Velha, and the railway connecting it to the Moatize coal basin in Tete province, the expansion of the existing Nacala port, and two new hotels nearing completion.

Guebuza said that, in the almost ten years of his two presidential terms of office, a great deal has been done to build the infrastructures which will form the basis for the accelerated development of Mozambique. Nacala is the fourth major civil aviation investment of the past decade. The others are the complete reconstruction of domestic and international terminals at Maputo airport, the rehabilitation of Pemba airport in the far north, and the transformation of Vilamkulo airport, in Inhambane province, into an international airport, aimed essentially at the tourist trade. The first airline using the new airport is Mozambique’s publicly owned carrier, LAM (Mozambique Airlines). As from last Monday, LAM has been operating the Maputo-Nacala route three times a week. There are also tentative plans to fly from Nacala to Dubai and to the Indian city of Mumbai.During the ceremony, Transport Minister Gabriel Muthisse praised the work Guebuza in transport and communications, which he described as a continuation of the work he had done when he held that ministerial portfolio bretween 1987 and 1994. He stressed Guebuza’s leadership in the construction and rehablitation of rail and port facilities which are “a major lever for the country’s development”.

EU KEEPS MOZAMBICAN AIR COMPANIES ON BANNED LIST

The European Commission has kept all Mozambican air companies on its black list of airlines that are not allowed to operate in the air space of the European Union.In a press release issued in Brussels on Thursday, the EU Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, said that Mozambique was one of several countries were “progress has been made”. “Hopefully this progress can lead to a positive decision in the future”, she said. Mozambique is one of 21 counties whose airlines, with a few exceptions, are completely banned from European air space. The EU says that countries are on the list, either because their airlines “are considered not to be able to respect international aviation safety standards”, or because their civil aviation authorities “are deemed unable to provide the necessary safety oversight as foreseen by international aviation safety rules”.Mozambique was first put on the list in 2011, and the problem has always been, not with the country’s airlines, but with the regulator, the Mozambique Civil Aviation Authority (IACM), which the EU deems does not meet its standards.Asked about the continued ban on Saturday, Transport Minister Gabriel Muthisse was clearly angered by the EU position and declared “I don’t work for the Europeans, I work for the Mozambicans. Our work to improve the airports, to acquire new aircraft, and to upgrade the capacity of our regulatory authority are not for the Europeans”.Cited by the independent daily “O Pais”, he added that the government is not worried by the EU decision since the national carrier, LAM (Mozambique Airlines), has no intention of flying to Europe in the near future.

SOLDIERS CAUGHT SELLING GUN

The Mozambican police on Monday announced the arrests of three members of the armed forces (FADM) who were caught trying to sell an AK-47 assault rifle.According to the spokesperson for the Maputo City Police Command, Orlando Madumane, the incident took place on Sunday in the municipal district of Katembe.The men arrested are a lieutenant and two privates (whose names were not released). They were attempting to sell an AK-47 and two ammunition clips. The police arrested the three after receiving a tip-off.Mudumane said the three men had been in the armed forces for at least two years. He suspected they had stolen the gun from an FADM arsenal.He showed reporters the seized gun, and pledged that the police are doing all in their power to ensure a peaceful festive season in the capital.

DHLAKAMA ACCUSED OF VIOLATING CEASEFIRE

The Mozambican government on Monday accused Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo, of violating the agreement on cessation of hostilities that he had signed with President Armando Guebuza on 5 September.Speaking at the end of the 89th session of the dialogue between the government and Renamo, the head of the government delegation, Agriculture Minister Jose Pacheco, declared that the rallies Dhlakama has been addressing in central and northern cities constitute incitement to violence and thus violated the terms of the agreement.During these rallies, Dhlakama has repeatedly called for the formation of a “caretaker government” to run the country for the next five years – even though the results of the 15 October general elections have not yet been validated and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law. He has threatened that, if the ruling Frelimo Party rejects his demands, he will form his own government and “make a revolution”.“The agreement is being violated by the Renamo president in his travels to the various provinces in premeditated and repeated incitement to violence, at a time when the competent bodies are still analyzing the election dossiers”, said Pacheco. He accused Dhlakama of trying to usurp the powers of the electoral bodies and “spreading disinformation about the political, economic and social reality of our country”. “We repudiate this behaviour”, he stressed, “and once again we call on the Renamo president to respect the Constitution of the Republic, and to respect the undertakings which he has signed”. Pacheco also said that 20 members of the Renamo militia (referred to delicately as “residual forces”) who had come from the northernmost province of Niassa, were intercepted by the armed forces when they tried to march to the south. He said that Renamo failed to notify the government that it was moving these men. “When a movement of forces is made, notification should be given”, he said. “When no notification is given, it’s a violation of the agreement’. This round of the dialogue failed to break the impasse on disarming Renamo and integrating its “residual forces” into the FADM and the police. 

Once again Renamo refused to deliver the list of names of the people it wishes to see him the army and the police. Pacheco said Renamo was still making integration of its forces dependent on a share-out of senior military and police positions. Renamo is demanding a division of the military leadership between itself and the government, which the government rejected as unthinkable weeks ago. For his part, the head of the Renamo delegation, Saimone Macuiana, denied that Dhlakama had violated the agreement. “He is urging all Mozambicans to be calm”, he claimed – although anyone who watches televised coverage of Dhlakama’s rallies knows that he has threatened to set up a parallel government.He said the 20 armed men mentioned by Pacheco had indeed left Niassa, but had been allowed to continue their journey and were now with Dhlakama in Vilanculo, in the southern province of Inhambane.He also attacked the National Elections Commission (CNE) accusing it of “not presenting the results sheets” (from the elections). He thought the public prosecutor’s office should investigate “to understand how this body is unable to present the results sheets”.In fact, the results sheets were fixed on the doors or walls of the polling stations immediately after the count on the night of 15 October. Copies were given to polling station monitors of the political parties, including Renamo. Other copies of the same results sheets were sent to the district and provincial elections commissions, for tabulating the results at those levels.According to the CNE, the results sheets used to calculate the provincial results are now all stored in a Maputo warehouse, and the keys are in the possession of CNE members appointed by the three main political parties, Frelimo, Renamo and the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM).

CONTRACT FOR SALE OF GAS TO EDM

Mozambique’s National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH) will sell two million gigajoules of natural gas a year to the publicly owned electricity company, EDM, which will be used to generate power at the Ressano Garcia thermal power station (CTRG), on the border with South Africa.A contract to this effect was signed in Maputo on Monday by the chairpersons of the two companies, Nelson Ocuane of ENH and Gildo Sibumbe of EDM According to an ENH press release, the contract is for the 2015-2017 period, and is renewable. The release did not disclose how much EDM will pay for the gas.The CTRG, built at a cost of 250 million US dollars, was inaugurated in August, and is 51 per cent owned by EDM and 49 per cent by the South African petro-chemical giant Sasol.It can generate 180 megawatts, which represents 23 per cent of the total energy consumed in the country, and 42 per cent of the power consumed in the southern region (excluding the Mozal aluminium smelter).CTRG ends the power deficit, of about 150 megawatts, in southern Mozambique, and eliminates the need to import power from South Africa, which was costing EDM about 26 million dollars a year.The gas comes from the fields at Pande and Temane in Inhambane province, which are operated by Sasol. EDM is the largest consumer in Mozambique of the Inhambane gas. The gas is already used to generate electricity for the districts in the north of Inhambane, and EDM is described as “a strategic client” for the Maputo and Marracuene Gas Distribution Network, inaugurated by President Armando Guebuza in September, and now in its second phase of implementation. The ENH release declares that the company “is a pioneer in the distribution of natural gas on the Mozambican market and has been committed to increasing the consumption of this energy resource to promote the country’s growth”.

Last Day for CNE deliver notices

Ends today, Monday, the deadline of 48 hours given by the Constitutional Council for the National Electoral Commission to send notices of centralization and tabulation of election results produced by the Provincial Committee of Elections and by the CNE, as "elements necessary for education and decision of the validation process and announcement of the results of the elections of 15 October 2014 ". The "Canalmoz" contacted, yesterday afternoon, the president of the CNE, the "sheik" Abdul Carimo to see if had been able to gather the notices. But the "sheik" did not accept make any statement."Call me tomorrow. Today I can not answer, "said the president of the CNE. Available information indicated that, until yesterday, the CNE had managed copies of required notices, with the exception of Maputo province and the city of Maputo. According to our sources, to late yesterday the CNE worked in order to verify the authenticity of the signatures of the notices sent by the provinces.The CNE was notified on Friday. A Note / Case 17 / CC / 2014 held by the "Canalmoz", dated December 11, lodged at the CNE. The order of the Constitutional Council shall be signed by the judge John André Ubisse Guenha (elected by Parliament in August this year, a nominee of parliamentary party Frelimo) and the officer Samuel Chaguala steps. The Constitutional Council also requests the district tabulation notices or city election results, drawn up by the Election Commissions of the city of Quelimane and High Molócue districts, Ile, Inhassunge, Lugela, Maganja da Costa, Milange, Mocuba, Namacurra, Namarroi , Nicoadala and Pebane, all of Zambezia province.On the other hand, the Constitutional Council, taking account of the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 44 of Law 6/2006, of 2 August, ordering the delivery of the original copies of the notices considered improcessáveis, referred to in paragraph a) of paragraph 8.2 craft 85 / CNE / 2014 of 11 November, sent by the CNE to the Constitutional Council.Finally, the Constitutional Council calls for "clarification on the issue of alleged disappearance notices, repeatedly raised by the newspaper" the Mozambique Channel "in particular edition of December 10, 2014, page 2.The "Canalmoz" was found in CNE sources that this body did not send notices to the Constitutional Council, having only sent the minutes signed by the members and the results, which now leads the Constitutional Council to ask the notices.Nine of the eleven edicts of provincial establishments still missing warehouses STAE.CNE sources said, on Friday afternoon, the central warehouses of the Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat were opened to respond to the request of the Constitutional Council. In warehouses, only found edicts of provincial clearance of Nampula, Zambezia and Manica, and were reported missing the edicts of provincial memoranda relating to the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Niassa, Tete, Sofala, Inhambane, Gaza, Maputo and city Maputo. Since Saturday night, the CNE and STAE were calling the center to the provinces, requesting the submission of copies of the notices. There are indications that copies of notices of provincial establishments and Zambezia districts are already in Maputo, to be delivered today, Monday, by the CNE to the Constitutional Council.The Constitutional Council is currently assessing the results of the central clearance of 15 last October elections. It should in principle produce the final judgment today, 15 December, which gives the victory to Frelimo party and its presidential candidate, Philip Nyusi.According to independent and opposition according to observers, the elections were seriously flawed, which led Renamo and the MDM, the two main opposition parties, to reject the results. (B.Alvaro and A. Mulungo)

NEWs!!!

LOAN FROM KOREA FOR QUELIMANE HOSPITAL

The South Korean government is to make available to the Mozambican authorities an additional loan of 25 million US dollars for the construction of Quelimane Central Hospital, in the capital of Zambezia province.To this end, notes on the project were initialed in Maputo on Wednesday by Deputy Foreign Minister Eduardo Koloa, and by the South Korean ambassador, Hee-yoon Kang.The total estimated cost of building the hospital is 56 million dollars, co-financed by the Mozambican and South Korean governments.Construction of the hospital, which will contain 600 beds, began in 2013. It is being built by a consortium of the Korean companies Sammi Construction. Co ltd and Yul trading corporation, and should be completed within 24 months (i.e. by the end of April 2015). The hospital will provide services that can be found nowhere else in Zambezia, and so, as from 2015, patients who previously had to be sent to the central hospitals in Maputo, Beira or Nampula, can be treated in the new hospital.Speaking at the signing ceremony, Koloma said the agreement reflects the “excellent cooperation” between Mozambique and South Korea.“The Republic of Korea has supported Mozambique in various sectors that are contributing to the development of the country”, he said. “I would like to express our satisfaction at the growing positive evolution of our cooperation with Korea at all levels”.

 MAPUTO PORT HITS NEW RECORD

 Maputo port expects to handle about 19 million tonnes of cargo this year, which is a new record, according to the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) which holds the lease on operating the port.The figure is an increase of around ten per cent on the figure for 2014, when the port handled 17.3 million tonnes. Speaking in Maputo on Wednesday, when presenting the company’s 2014 report, MPDC Executive Director Osorio Lucas said that the increase in cargo handled this year was due to investment in port improvements and expansion, sub-leases and dredging, the cost of which was estimated at 35 million dollars.Lucas added that with capacity now installed in the port for handling ferro-chrome, the amount of cargo could rise still further. Among the main goods handled by Maputo Port are coal, chrome, iron ore, vehicles, and grain. Lucas said that in recent years the volume of minerals handled (mostly from South Africa) has risen considerably when compared with containerized cargo. Indeed, of the 19 million tonnes handled this year, 13 million are minerals.But Lucas declined to reveal the MPDC financial results, on the grounds that an internal audit is still under way.“We cannot give a figure for our total profits this year, otherwise we would be breaking the rules, but in due time we shall announce the figures”, Lucas promised. But he added that he expected net gains to rise “a little” when compared with the figure for 2013 of 20 million dollars in profit. Lucas said that 2014 was dedicated to expanding and renovating the port, citing as examples the conclusion of the vehicle terminal, the paving of areas beside the warehouses, and the start to rehabilitating the paving of the container terminal. Maintenance dredging is currently underway at the quays, to remove about 27,000 cubic metres of sediment and restore the water depth at the quays to its original levels. The dredging should be concluded by the end of this month.Lucas pointed out that when the government handed the port over to private management in 2001, it was only handling about four million tonnes of cargo a year.He said that the great challenge facing the port now is environmental, “due to the type of cargo it is handling. We are updating the environmental plan and introducing measures to mitigate the impact of dust”.“We think the development of the port should not be at the expense of the environment”, said Lucas.

GOVERNMENT APPROVES NEW POWER STATIONS

The Mozambican government on Tuesday approved the terms and conditions for the construction of two hydroelectric power stations at Chemba, on the south bank of the Zambezi river, in the central province of Sofala.The approval by the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) paves the way for a public private partnership to build the two plants (Chemba I and Chemba II) on the Zambezi.Chemba I will produce 600 megawatts of electricity and Chemba II 400 megawatts. It is estimated that construction will cost 2.55 billion US dollars.Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Henrique Banze explained that the concession will go to the publicly owned electricity company, EDM, and the private company Hidroeléctrica de Tambara.Banze added that the government believes that the two projects will attract more investment through increasing the energy supply.He pointed out that the project will improve the living conditions of people living in the region, especially through improved water supply and irrigation.Banze explained that the Council of Ministers last year authorised the Minister of Energy, Salvador Namburete, to negotiate the terms and conditions for implementation of the project. These terms have now been approved by the Cabinet.

CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL REJECTS RENAMO QUELIMANE APPEAL

The Constitutional Council, Mozambique’s highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law, has rejected a second electoral appeal from the country’s main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo.Renamo was appealing against a decision of the Quelimane City Court which threw out Renamo’s call for missing data from 39 of the city’s polling stations to be included in the results of the 15 October general elections.Renamo had wanted the court to oblige the electoral bodies to include the missing data. The polling stations concerned, it said, covered about 15,000 voters.The Renamo protest was against the intermediate count of the city’s results, announced by the Quelimane City Elections Commission on 20 October. The court ruled against Renamo, and the Constitutional Council upheld the court ruling, because, as in previous election appeals, Renamo had not obeyed the principle of “prior impugnation” – that is, when a party believes an abuse has occurred, it must present its protest there and then. Renamo had not protested during the intermediate count, and so its later appeal, first to the City Elections Commission and then to the City Court, could have no legal effects.The Council pointed out that the electoral law allows political party election agents to attend the intermediate count, and if they believe that any irregularities are taking place they may protest at once, and the City Elections Commission must take an immediate decision. If the decision is not to the liking of the party, it may then appeal to the Provincial Elections Commission.At the end of the count, minutes and results sheets are immediately issued, which must include any claims and protests made by the parties. But the minutes from the Quelimane intermediate count contained no such claim or protest from Renamo.Renamo only made its protest to the City Commission the following day, which guaranteed that it could not be considered.Renamo also protested against alleged irregularities at one of the Quelimane polling stations. This time it did lodge its protest, on time, on polling day itself, with the polling station staff, who rejected it.Renamo then had the right to appeal to the City Court within 48 hours of publication of the polling station count. Assuming that the results sheets were posted on the station walls in the early morning of 16 October, the appeal should have reached the court by 18 October. In fact, Renamo did not submit its appeal to the court until 21 October, thus ensuring that it would be thrown out for missing the deadline.The Council declared that the Quelimane court had taken the right decision and so rejected the Renamo appeal. The seven judges of the Council were unanimous in this decision, including Manuel Franque, the judge appointed by the Renamo parliamentary group.The Renamo claim that data from 39 of the 180 Quelimane polling stations was missing is different from earlier Renamo claims which spoke of 39 missing results sheets. Since each station had three results sheets (one for each election – presidential, parliamentary and provincial), the number of stations completely missing from the count could not be 39.

Cuamba

Renamo, the main opposition party in Mozambique, and its candidate for the by-elections scheduled for December 17 in the town of Cuamba, the northern province of Niassa, Manuel Buanacasso, occupy the first position on the ballot paper.In the draw held today in Maputo, by the National Elections Commission (CNE) put also the Frelimo candidate, the ruling party, Zechariah Philip, in second position, and the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), the second largest opposition force, Tito Crimildo, third.However, the campaign for these interim take place between 3 and 14 of the current month.The by-election follows the death on 14 September, Vicente Lourenço da Costa, the mayor considered the economic capital of Niassa, due to illness.The representatives of the three political parties say they are prepared for the elections in that municipality and that the positions do not determine, in any way, the results."The draw was transparent. Frelimo party with will and determination to participate in this process. We are in the second position, but this is not the most important. This in itself has no impact and implication to what is the performance of our party, "said the representative of Frelimo, Julius Manhiça.In turn the representative of MDM, Eduardo Elias said that "it was a good and peaceful draw and what matters is Aboca the urn. Work and win. ""We are pleased with the results of the draw was made today and we are already working for our candidate," said the representative of Renamo, André Majibirre.