The final blow in Renamo

The Armed Forces of Mozambique made a hold, the act of a major offensive to assault Mount Gorongosa. This offensive would begin today, and aims to destroy guerrilla bases of the forces of Renamo around the mountain that will culminate with the final assault the residence of its leader, Afonso Dhlakama and central base Maringué. According to unofficial sources and lacking confirmation there was a large concentration of troops and heavy weapons in the town of Gorongosa since last week for a large-scale offensive against the strongholds of the green Renamo opposition party men who also has in Parliament 80 Members electives.No 27, the armed forces were positioned in the vicinity of the Renamo bases and managed to enter successfully a few kilometers inside the perimeter of the enemy's defenses without facing any combat.They were strategically forced to retreat after realizing that blocking the exits leading to a fight serrate Nhaulanga and Colomazi. There were 60 dead, several dozen wounded and subsequent defections between the forces of Renamo and popular Exercito. Confirm the existence independent source of corpses in the woods and are to be removed. There was also great material loss between bazookas, mortars, AK47 machine guns, bulletproof vest, helmets and some portable radios, etc.

After Mozambique’s spending, the reckoning

President Nyusi has inherited a poisoned chalice: he now has to cut spending, deal with the IMF and manage an elite grown fat through patronage politics.In March, Mozambique will have to repay another $100m tranche of an opaque and roundly criticised bond deal. The money could have been used to build four hospitals. Instead, it will repay a wildly overinflated contract for tuna-fishing boats. In the words of the country’s former prime minister Luísa Diogo: “Something has gone wrong.”Back in 2007, Mozambique was feted in ballrooms and boardrooms. Bankers pointed to stellar growth rates and the sound macroeconomic management that had led the fastest turnaround of a post-conflict country since Vietnam. Former president Joaquim Chissano won the inaugural Mo Ibrahim Prize for good governance that year.Today, it seems like a rerun of Africa in the 1980s: rising debt, a pile-up of white elephant projects, murky finances and a balance-of-payments crunch requiring an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.

Mozambique is not the only African country experiencing economic turbulence at the end of a commodity and credit boom, but the impact is more painful than in most after a decade of reckless spending and borrowing. Fixing the problem will mean tackling the corruption that underpins some of that recklessness.That leaves President Filipe Nyusi on the horns on a dilemma. If he fails to act against the shady elements of his predecessor’s regime – that of the free-spending Armando Guebuza – his credibility will be undermined. Push too hard, and he risks revolt or worse from the powerful former single party, the Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo).Under Guebuza, president from 2004 to 2014, and finance minister Manuel Chang, the way in which Mozambique managed its finances changed fundamentally. State spending increased in the double digits almost each year, foreign aid declined and the government took on deficit financing.

Capital spending rose and was covered by foreign debt. Funding gaps for the recurrent budget were financed on domestic markets, and domestic debt rose 28% per year between 2001 and 2013 to Mt30bn ($1bn).By 2015, sovereign debt had risen more than 200% since Mozambique’s international debt relief in 2000, including a 53% increase in the last two years Guebuza was in office.Debt will continue to rise as projects are implemented and to finance government expenditure, including a budget deficit of $1.1bn in 2015, or about 6.5% of gross domestic product (GDP). By 2020, debt is projected to double again to more than $16bn.With debt markets drying up, this leaves little wriggle room for Mozambique’s financial planners. Various shades of austerity loom. According to Standard and Poor’s analyst Gardner Rusike, Mozambique’s case is not entirely unusual: “A number of African countries that had fast-paced growth also have expanded fiscal positions and higher debt to GDP ratios – this has not led to greater creditworthiness.”Under Guebuza, Mozambique became a country that could increase state spending, pay higher wages and develop prestige projects that appeal to national pride. However, the government also discarded the difficult market reforms and macroeconomic stability that were the basis for growth in the post-civil-war period.The government halted privatisations and encouraged poorly performing parastatal companies to assume ambitious nation-building roles. These companies now run substantial losses and are a growing drain on public finances. This was made possible, according to Fernando Lima, the publisher of independent newspaper Savana, “by the belief that resource riches through gas and coal were imminent and that we should not be afraid to take on debt.”

But the world-class gas deposits in the Rovuma Basin, discovered by multinationals Anadarko of the United States and Eni of Italy, are not the resource bonanza Frelimo’s leadership was hoping for, especially with the current global slump in gas prices.Analysts forecast that production is unlikely to begin before the first half of the next decade, a longer time horizon than official estimates of 2020. Even then, revenue-sharing terms mean that foreign companies will recoup their investment costs first in the early years of production.The chimera of gas cash also offered the ability to end restrictions on sovereignty that came through oversight in Western aid relationships. “Guebuza and his group believed that we could do whatever we wanted and didn’t need to listen to anyone. As a result, we got a confrontational relationship with donors. Friendly countries like China, Brazil, India, Vietnam and South Africa were supposed to replace the Western donors,” says Lima.State spending then became politicised and inefficient. The largest projects include the $725m Catembe bridge over Maputo harbour to undeveloped land and a $300m Maputo ring road.There is a new Chinese-built international airport in Maputo, new ministerial buildings and, soon, a new parliament in Catembe. Brazil financed a $144m international airport with capacity for half a million passengers in Nacala, an isolated northern city, a project that was costly and ill-conceived.Most contracts were untendered and sole-sourced. The government often did not disclose its terms, and in some cases there are questions about inflated prices. These deals were often taken on as sovereign debt and involved commercial rather than concessional financial terms, contrary to undertakings made for debt relief through the previous international debt-relief programme.There are also suspicions about corruption. Manuel de Araújo of the Movimento Democrático de Moçambique and mayor of Quelimane explains: “These investments could have been done on low interest rates or for lower cost, but he [Guebuza] was not interested in the economic viability of projects or rational planning. Nobody can explain why we needed a bridge to Catembe or a new parliament and why these were priorities. They were ideas that came from nowhere.”

De Araújo argues that Guebuza was more interested in the political symbolism of projects and careless about their costs. “The interests of the ruling party were elevated over the state, and so the party was strengthened and the state weakened. Public investment projects had to be useful to the party elite. We have so many big projects now because these are the easiest way to distribute benefits,” he says.The largest and most expensive sovereign liability is the Empresa Moçambicana de Atum (Ematum) state fishing company and related naval contract backed by a $850m commercial bond that was Mozambique’s debut on international capital markets in 2013.

Questions over a lack of transparency and alleged irregularities include that it was negotiated in secret outside of normal government channels – neither parliament or cabinet were informed – and with the involvement of close associates and family of former president Guebuza.The bond has had disastrous consequences. Ematum is unviable as a company and cannot service its debts, which have been taken on as a public liability. With that move, Mozambique’s annual debt-service bill doubled overnight to $400m. Some donors ended budget support entirely or cut aid over concerns about corruption and fiscal irresponsibility.The government is in talks on restructuring the loan, something Standard and Poor’s Rusike says would “mean a commercial default”. The ratings agency downgraded Mozambique in July and assigned a negative outlook, with an Ematum default being a possible catalyst for a further downgrade.The consequences of a credit binge and years of ignoring macroeconomic advice came together in the last quarter of 2015 in an economic crisis that has still to reach its peak. In October, the authorities were forced to turn to the IMF for a $284m bailout package.Balance of payments problems were worsened by a first, $100m, payment to Ematum bondholders in September and another is due in March. Falling foreign reserves and foreign exchange scarcity have led to a currency crash, including a 21% fall for the metical against the US dollar in one week in late November when the central bank was said to have temporarily run out of dollars.

The metical depreciated 64% in nominal terms against the dollar in 2015 – one of the worst records of any developing-market currency. Even against the South African rand, the currency of Mozambique’s dominant trade partner and also one of the weakest global currencies, the decline was 32%.Savana publisher Lima adds: “There were voices in Frelimo questioning these policies, but they were silenced. [Guebuza’s] party leadership style created a chorus of approval around his decisions, which were celebrated, not questioned.”Nyusi’s government, now facing mounting debt and a funding gap, is pursuing economic stabilisation with the IMF. Negotiations are under way over tough targets in the 2016 budget involving fiscal consolidation estimated at 2% of GDP.The government has also acted to patch up relations with donors and halt the decline in foreign aid. The efforts have been well received, and early budget support commitments for 2016 at $312m are already up on the $273m of 2015.According to one Western donor with much experience in Mozambique, the present reset with Nyusi is a final opportunity: “The country now has a window of about five years to put in place the systems and financial controls to account for resource wealth.”The question is, should Nyusi be interested, could the slump in revenue be used as political cover for an anti-corruption drive? It is a vulnerable period for those in Guebuza’s camp.However, it is unclear that Nyusi has control over the military, let alone the police and judiciary. Some members of his Makonde ethnicity – with a group led by Alberto Chipande – believe they are owed something for their electoral support and are pushing for spoils.For those looking for positive signals, the public dressing down of defence minister General Atanásio Mtumuke, another Makonde, shows that Nyusi is preparing to assert himself. He will need to control Frelimo’s top body – the political commission, which is currently packed with Guebuza loyalists – before he can unpick the web of state corruption dragging the country down.

90% of Mozambicans prefer Mother Language to Portuguese

Portuguese became the official language of Mozambique shortly after independence in 1975, but 90 percent of Mozambicans use another language as their mother tongue.According to world language catalogue Ethnologue, Mozambique has 43 languages, including Portuguese and sign language, although the Mozambican Language Studies Unit only recognizes 22.Manica-born RFI journalist Celestina Jose knows what it’s like. “In my family we speak two national languages: Cibalke and Cinyungwe”. According to Jose, a Mozambican will probably study, work or live with Mozambicans who speak a national language, and the tendency is always “to learn, so as not be excluded from the group.”In the 2007 census, 25 percent of the population put Emakhuwa as their mother tongue, making it the most widely spoken in the country.Abenito Nhamucho is a fruit vendor in the capital. He was born in Inhambane province. With his family, he speaks Emakhuwa, the language he learned as a child. “At home with my brother, my uncle and my nephew, we just use our mother tongue.”When it comes to linguistic diversity, Radio Mozambique is something of a poster boy. Created in 1975, the state-owned broadcaster transmits in Portuguese, English and 19 other national languages.According to Mozambican-languages director António Ndapassoa, with illiteracy in the country at 80 percent at the time of independence, “it was necessary to ensure the flow of information to the people” and use language they could understand.Radio content is produced at the headquarters in Maputo and the ten stations in the provinces. “The information, when it is produced, is delivered to professionals who translate content into the various languages,” the director says.

Mozambicans enter ranking

Mozambicans are among the five biggest spenders at tax free shops in Portugal, according to a report published yesterday in Portuguese newspaper Publico. Visitors from Mozambique spend on average 227 Euros, behind only Angolans, Brazilian, Chinese and American tourists.In 2015, Chinese tourists spent 641 Euros per head on purchases – the most among non-European visitors. According to Global Blue, a company that manages tax-free operations, the Chinese are the third most important nationality when it comes to increases in retail and tourism spending. In 2011, for example, the average purchase of these visitors amounted to 560 Euros well above cruise ship passengers arriving in Lisbon in 2014, at 193.49 Euros.With regard to the tax-free shopping, the Chinese represent 14 percent, behind Angola (43 percent) and Brazil (16 percent).Compared with 2014, the number of transactions grew 73 percent and the total amount spent rose 18 percent. But the surprise in 2015 was not Chinese expenditure, but the entry of the United States and Mozambique in the list of the five top markets, along with the exit of Russia, until now a major player in retail tourism, especially at the luxury end.“The Americans and the return of Mozambicans are a great novelty. Russians have not been doing much retail tourism since the conflict [in Ukraine] and the devaluation the ruble. They are abandoning shopping abroad and buying more domestically,” explains Renato Lira Leite of Global Blue, Portugal. The company estimates that the number of purchases by Russian tourists in Portugal fell 42 percent last year.With the dollar’s increase in value, US purchases grew 42 percent compared to 2014 and the average value per purchase of 493 euros rose 29 percent. “It was big news,” said Leite. Visitors from Mozambique, whose spending accounts for four percent of the total, spent 227 Euros on average, the number of purchases rising 23 percent and the total amount spent by 27 percent.Visitors from Angola continue to form the majority of those who ask for the return of VAT on their purchases. The oil crisis brought hard times to the Angolan economy and the average tourist expenditure was 273 euros, down from 350 euros in 2011. Number of purchases fell 8 percent and the total amount spent dropped by 11 percent compared to 2014.“Not surprisingly, Angola remains the main market, due to the historical ties that unite the two countries. Portugal is a favourite destination for shopping, despite the devaluation of the Kwanza and the oil price crisis. Angolan weight in the Portuguese market remains huge, but it was more significant in 2014 when it accounted for 46-47 percent,” the Global Blue executive explains.Luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Prada attract high-spending tourists but domestic brands still have “pulling power” and are growing. Leite says that tourists look for unique items they can show off when they get home. “There are a number of domestic brands offer unique items that make all the difference to Chinese and American tourists,” he says, citing Machado Jeweller and Maria João Bahia.

Mozambican Sasol workers

Mozambican workers at Sasol Petroleum Temane (SPT) are demanding wage increases and a review of their employment contracts.The South African multinational, which has processed natural gas in Inhambane province for 12 years, says it “hardly generates any profits in Mozambique and employs only 147 workers”, reports A Verdade. Mozambican workers at Temane feel that their “social and working conditions have been deteriorating steadily due to the ways the management has been managing work activities,” according to a protest note sent to the company which A Verdade has seen.Workers demand “salary adjustment in accordance with the salary scale in force at Sasol Pande e Temane (SPT) in the last five years, which the management of the company keeps secret, creating an increasing lack of transparency in wages”.The workers say it is necessary to “review employment contracts as a result of changes in working conditions unilaterally imposed by the employer”.They are demanding that use of temporary labour be curtailed and that the manager and the human resources consultants be dismissed because they “use delaying tactics to drag the workers into poverty”.Workers had scheduled a strike at SPT for Monday February 22, but A Verdade has ascertained that the strike was suspended following negotiations that began over the week-end.Although the South African multinational has invested US$1.2 billion, the Survey on Household Budget 2014/2015 found that not many jobs were created for Mozambicans in Inhambane province. From 2008/2009 to 2014/2015, the mining industry in Inhambane registered an increase from only 0.2% to 0.8% of jobs.Earlier this month, Sasol was approved by the government as operator of the first oil well in Mozambique. It is not yet known how many jobs will be created or the details of the production sharing and production agreements governing the new US$2 billion venture.

Nacala-Porto, Mozambique, to boost tourism

New Nacala-Porto administrator Amade Ussene is intent on boosting the tourism sector and exploiting the region’s resources to stimulate social and economic development. Ussene took up his position recently in Nampula, and spoke to the media after being sworn in by the provincial governor, Victor Borges. He said the Nacala international airport was a major asset in maximizing tourism revenues in Nampula, and that the port, currently is in the second phase of a rehabilitation process, was another substantial asset.The airport has now been certified for national and international flights by the National Institute of Civil Aviation of Mozambique, putting the region on the tourist map both domestically and internationally.“We need to create conditions to promote tourism in Nacala-Porto, exploring the potential that the sector has for social and economic development. The development of tourism can have a major impact in our district,” Ussene said.The implementation of the Special Economic Zone in Nacala-Porto is attracting substantial national and foreign investment, and kick-starting a remarkable degree of economic development. The new district administrator is keen to involve all social stakeholders in the decision-making process, and will be prioritising dialogue.

DEFENCE AND SECURITY COUNCIL BACKS NYUSI-DHLAKAMA MEETING

Mozambique’s National Defence and Security Council (CNDS) met in Maputo on Wednesday, and gave its support to the proposal by President Filipe Nyusi for a face-to-face meeting between the President and Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the rebel movement Renamo.The Council called for measures to “strengthen” Nyusi’s invitation to Dhlakama. Since August, Dhlakama has repeatedly refused to meet with Nyusi, and also in August Dhlakama unilaterally suspended the dialogue between Renamo and the government which had been under way since April 2013.This month Renamo has gone back to violence with a string of ambushes against civilian vehicles on roads in the centre of the country.Dhlakama has cited concerns over his personal security as one of his reasons for declining Nyusi’s invitation. The CNDS thus decided that security conditions must be created for the meeting between the President and the Renamo leader “in order to put an end to the attacks and consolidate definitively the environment of peace and stability, in order to favour the continual socio-economic development of the country”. The CNDS is a body that advises the President on national security and sovereignty, territorial integrity and the defence of the democratically instituted power. It is chaired by Nyusi and its other members are the Prime Minister; the Ministers of Defencc, the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Transport and Justice; the General Director of the State Information and Security Service (SISE); the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (FADM) and the General Commander of the Mozambican Police.Also sitting on the Council are two members appointed by Nyusi, and five appointed by the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic (three by the parliamentary group of the majority Frelimo Party, and two by Renamo). The brief statement from the CNDS did not reveal whether all its members had attended the meeting, or whether any votes were taken.

1992 agreement is the solution to conflicts

The retired archbishop of Beira Jaime Gonçalves, mediator of the agreement sealed in 1992 the war in Mozambique, argues that the document is still the solution to conflicts in the country and should be revisited by the Church. "The document of the General Peace Agreement remains the most current and is still light to the solution of conflicts in Mozambique," he said in an interview with Lusa the mediator of the Mozambican Bishops' Conference and the Vatican on the understanding reached on 04 October 1992 in Rome between the government and Renamo (Mozambique National Resistance) .More than two decades after the historic agreement, which marked the end of 16 years of civil war in Mozambique, the country lives under the threat of new conflict between the same protagonists and Jaime Gonçalves believes that the Catholic Church is not entitled to ignore "appeared new conflict and, at this time, people ask the question: where is the Catholic Church.", said the retired archbishop of Beira, adding that every day sees the Anglican Dinis Sengulane a central role in mediating the crisis between the government and Renamo but elements of their confissão.

O people Mozambique expects a new dialogue but also questions "where are those who have made the reconciliation," said the prelate, noting that the Rome agreements " were the work of the Catholic Church. "" that is why we speak of the Catholic Church must renew our commitment to reconcile the Mozambican people ", stated Jaime Gonçalves, remembering at the same time these processes have" their slowness ".The opposition Renamo does not recognize the results of the general elections of October 2014, won by Frelimo (Mozambique Liberation front), in power since independence and threatens to take by force six provinces of the center and north of the country, and request mediation of President south African President Jacob Zuma, and the Catholic Church. For Jaime Gonçalves, the roots of worsening political violence in Mozambique began, however, more cedo.Após the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the United Nations advised that there was only one army under threat of new war, made up of men from both sides and that Renamo could keep an armed security to protect their leaders until the first democratic elections in 1994.This security problem, according to Jaime Gonçalves, "remains today," arguing that the entry of Armando Guebuza, in 2004, to Mozambican presidency, replacing Joaquim Chissano, who sees himself as a "moderate", led to the breakdown of the Renamo.

Guebuza men, chief negotiators of the government in Rome, "never accepted the dialogue" and, with his rise to power, he said Archbishop emeritus, "Renamo men who had been integrated into the United Nations to unify the army were all put off" and the armed opposition safety was never desmantelada.Neste scenario, according to the mediator of Rome, Renamo was "a shirtless movement "with his men at home and" Guebuza did not accept, "a policy that classifies as" cunning and compromise "to the opposition" he began to ask? what a joke is this? '. "According to the Mozambican religious, serious clashes in 2013 in Maringué in the north of Sofala province, they were caused by men who should be in the defense and security forces "but removed from there" and that Jaime Gonçalves is located as a landmark resumption of political violence in the country. "you can not realize the difficulty of dialogue, you can not understand this problem without Maringué" observou.Para former mediator, recent events make it clear that "the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is not being practiced Frelimo "and that incidents involving Afonso Dhlakama is the demonstration that prevails a hard line in the ruling party and the aim of eliminating the opposition leader." for me it was a terrible humiliation the President [Filipe Nyusi], the highest magistrate of the nation, go to Angola to learn how to kill Savimbi, "added the author of" the Peace of Mozambicans ".

"Political capital to manage conflict of interest"

There was much anticipation for the first Central Committee (CC) of the Frelimo party led by Filipe Nyusi, as President of the political formation that governs our country for over 40 years. But the meeting last February 5th is for the story to have lasted only one day and limited to restructure the secretariat.

 "We were hoping that would be major reforms, but the indicators that existed did not provide for major reforms, and nor can there be such a major reform" because, according to the teaching of Political Science, João Pereira, President of Mozambique has no political capital to make major reforms within his party. "If I were in the President Nyusi position maybe also do the same thing," says João Pereira in an interview withVerdade and said "instead of making a complete break, he must have made a deep analysis of what was going on there, and he wants to go in a row to put virtually all in the same place, doing games there, because then to break that already exists within the company, with the wounds that this country has in social and economic terms, with indexes so great poverty, with the question of the Renamo party, if he makes another break within the Frelimo I think it will be the end of the President himself Nyusi ". According to assistant professor in the Political Science Department and Public Administration at the University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), "one thing is you get out of a process that by its internal strength to be a natural leader, charismatic, which mobilizes and brings together, another thing is to go out and be done by leading path within the state apparatus, the party networks for ten or twenty years, then you have enough legitimacy to make a deep split within the party. "President Nyusi not leave these leadership profiles," says political scientist who noted that the Mozambican Head of State does not have a school party structure even grown within the state apparatus under their own power, "he (Nyusi) hardly know the functioning of State".

"This journey of leadership that comes from within the party within the party political structure, then proceeds to the State gives enough luggage to person primarily a party and Frelimo and a state as Mozambique, where there is a clear separation between party and state, it gives the possibility of the person creating the political capital that President Nyusi not have to make major reforms within the party "explains João Pereira, who is also Director of the Office of Support Mechanism Management Civil Society (MASC ).Therefore, according to the teaching of Political Science, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi "have to make the management of" ambassadors "of former combatants, those who have to give him the necessary legitimacy to protect you in case of any eventuality. It is no coincidence that we see, the behavioral analysis, Chipande own, while sitting next to the President, he is appearing there. This clearly shows that the whole process. 

" Indeed, during the Second Extraordinary Session of the Party CC Frelimo, Alberto Chipande was sitting on the podium to the left of the party chairman, Filipe Nyusi, who had on his right Eliseu Machava, the secretary-general who inherited Guebuza. On the podium, the three were slightly detached from the remaining members of the Political Committee.

Our interviewee also mentions another important aspect, "while Guebuza and Chissano President had a historical legitimacy, were the foundation of Frelimo, and had developed a very strong political career within the party itself and within the state, had made that whole journey, they had standing to get in there and say this is what is my line of thought. "

João Pereira argues that it is because of this legitimacy that no one questioned the former Mozambican Head of State, and also former president of the Frelimo Party, Armando Guebuza, "he had the legitimacy and political capital necessary to say that it is this line, and from this line, you come or not come. And those who decided they were not going that line came out and he continued on his line. " Os new secretaries elected by the Central Committee held in the city of Matola are Bias (Secretary for Administration and Finance), Augustine Thirty (Secretary for Organization and Training frames), Helena Muando (secretary for the coordination of Social Organizations) Chaquila Abubacar (secretary for economic area) and Antonio Niquice (Secretary for Mobilisation and Propaganda). For Professor of Political Science and Public Administration of EMU, "(...) however much they change things where are the alternatives within their own party Frelimo, who are the Frelimo political elites that can be an alternative to itself, has to be among those ".

After the election of new secretary Filipe Nyusi, the party chairman, he reaffirmed the need for unity, "there are many challenges that await you as secretariat and one of the secrets to face them successfully is the internal cohesion. As we did yesterday, we have to continue to invest in cohesion to meet the challenges of today. "According to João Pereira this gap and appeal to the union speech is a form of the President of Mozambique to try to please all sides who are influential within his party. "I think he (Nyusi) will reach the conclusion that it is not a good dancer to these accommodation games of various interests, and may be lost in this type of conflict. But it also has to do this kind of level of patronage networks games that were developed with the state, I do not know if he can sleep, "concludes the political scientist.

Political dialogue

Renamo presented yesterday at a press conference , evidence showing that the South African President , Jacob Zuma , received his letter of request for mediation of the political dialogue .The proof is an official copy with stamp of the South African authorities , who acknowledge receipt of the letter sent by Renamo.The position of the largest opposition party in Mozambique leaves fall down the statements of the South African Foreign Minister Maite Mashabane , who assured last week that Jacob Zuma had not received the request from Renamo.In the letter, Jacob Zuma says it only accepts mediate political dialogue if the Mozambican government accept. The spokesman Renamo , Antonio Muchanga , says the party is also waiting for the "yes" of the Mozambican authorities .Besides Jacob Zuma , Renamo proposed that mediation dialogue was directed by the Catholic Church .

Lost 540 million.....

Mozambique loses at least 540 million US dollars as a result of illegal timber exports, mainly to China, during a period of ten years (2003- 2013).A study carried out by the organization WWF Mozambique, and quoted by the newspaper "Diario de Mozambique", reveals that this figure relates only to the illegal export of logs to China.The report points out surveillance deficiency and high levels of corruption in the public sector as some of the factors that most contribute to the unsustainable situation of exploitation of Mozambican forest resources.Compounding the scenery is great demand for wood fuel, shifting cultivation, uncontrolled fires and even non-use plans and land use."At a time when complaints arise public, WWF considers it urgent state intervention for the control of logging activities in the country," the document said.The study indicates that the WWF-Mozambique is supporting a trial initiative timber forest operators, hoping this will allow the suspension of the agents acting outside the norms prevailing in the country.With technical and financial support from WWF-Mozambique, the operation was initiated by the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development (MITADER) involving brigades composed of frames that institution, non-governmental organizations and journalists.Billed as an unprecedented initiative by the involvement of civil society, the action took place between November 2015 and January 2016, and received a grant of $ 100,000 from the Swedish Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique through the WWF.The evaluation course was targeted at a wider debate between public bodies and timber forest operators, collecting the approval of all parties involved in a meeting organized by MITADER in Manica, the November 13, 2015.The initiative falls within the framework of the Forestry Reform that the Mozambican government is developing, and recognizing the environmental, social and economic impacts of illegal logging in Mozambique.

“A VERY IMPORTANT COUNTRY FOR UK”

The Secretary of State for Scotland in the British government, David Mundell, told reporters in Maputo on Monday that Mozambique “is a very important country for the UK, which is why we have invested so many resources here”.Mundell explained that the main purpose of his visit is to support the development of a memorandum of understanding between the Scottish city of Aberdeen and the northern Mozambican port of Pemba, the city nearest to the massive discoveries of natural gas off the coast of Cabo Delgado province.The memorandum of understanding, laying the ground for a formal relationship between the two cities, is expected to be signed later this year.Mundell noted that, prior to the discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea, the Aberdeen economy had depended on farming and fishing. Now it is effectively the capital of the British hydrocarbon industry. He believed that Pemba can benefit from Aberdeen’s experience, as the Mozambican natural gas industry takes off.The business community, he said, should work with the Mozambican and UK governments “so as to make the most of the opportunities presented by gas”.Mundell believed that the Mozambican offshore gas discoveries were “a huge opportunity” for Scottish energy companies.

 He regretted that the scale of these discoveries is not yet widely known – in particular, Mozambique has the potential to become the world’s third largest producer of gas (after Qatar and Australia), and the reserves discovered so far could last for 70 years.A release from Mundell’s office declared that “the Aberdeen oil and gas hub model, built on lessons learned from 40 years of North Sea operations, sets the highest standards in governance, transparency, value for money, quality and environmental responsibility”.Mundell believed that the partnership between Aberdeen and Pemba “will not just help protect existing jobs and businesses – it is a chance to develop new opportunities and markets and create new sources of employment for people in the north-east and Scotland as a whole”.“This is a win-win situation because Mozambique can benefit greatly too”, he said, “with an injection of expertise which can help it in taking the next step towards becoming a major gas producer”.A second goal of Mundell’s visit is to protect Scotch whisky producers from imitation drinks. He is lobbying the Mozambican government to grant Scotch whisky “geographic indication (GI) status”, in order to help genuine whisky producers to market their products and be protected against imitations.

CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION CALLS FOR DIALOGUE

A visiting delegation from the US Congress declared on Monday that the only tool that can guarantee Mozambique’s continued growth is a dialogue leading to an effective peace.The leader of the delegation, Republican Senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, made this claim immediately after an audience granted by Mozambican Foreign Minister Oldemiro Baloi.“We are pleased with the legislative advances the country has made in recent years”, Flake said. “It is in our interest that peace be established, so that various sectors of society are not compromised”. The United States wants Mozambique to continue growing in a favourable environment, and to remain a safe destination for investment. “That’s why we are calling for urgent dialogue between the parties involved, since this is the best path for solving conflicts”, said Flake. He also praised advances made in the fight against poaching. “We have witnessed an improvement in the strategies for combating poaching”, said Flake. “We note that work is being done so that the parks and reserves become less vulnerable to poachers”. He recalled that Mozambique had gone through very difficult times during the war of destabilization “and this scenario must not be repeated, because it may compromise the economic development of the county, particularly the quality of life, the development of infrastructures, and the growth of tourism, and could put at risk all the advances made in recent years”. “Tourism is one of the sectors that most needs peace”, said Flake. “People need security for tourism. So we shall continue to redouble our efforts to guarantee the positive role of our intervention in attaining peace. We repeat that there is an eminent need for understanding”.