Mozambique: Cyclone Jude knocks out electricity for over 270,000 in Nampula
Total removes workers from Palma and everything returns to “square one”
3:29 CAT | 28 Mar 2021
Photo: O País
The companies involved in the gas mega-projects in the Rovuma basin are withdrawing their workers because of the terrorist attacks registered last Wednesday in the village of Palma.
This Sunday morning, a ship arrived in Pemba carrying these workers and some local people, ‘O País’ reports.
Total is withdrawing again, just as construction at the Afungi plant was to resume.
A ship that left Palma on Saturday arrived in Pemba at around 9.50 a.m. on Sunday, carrying around 1,300 people, mostly workers from multinationals involved in the natural gas mega-projects in the Rovuma basin and a small number of the local population.
The police prevented photography and expelled the press from the port enclosure, later prohibiting journalists from even the vicinity of the port. However, we were able to verify that many people remained on the ship more than two hours after docking.
Meanwhile, the road into the port was packed with local residents seeking news of relatives who have been under siege in Palma since Wednesday, when the attackers struck and communications were cut.
Muarabo Tambo lives in Pemba, the provincial capital of Cabo Delgado, but works on the Afungi peninsula where preparations are underway to start the construction of the natural gas liquefaction plant and the port where freight ships will dock.
He says that he left for Pemba on the 28th of last month on furlough, leaving his wife and children in Palma to experience the drama of the terrorists’ surprise attack on Wednesday afternoon. “I last spoke to my wife at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, and she said that the military was (counter) attacking.” It was the last conversation they had, with a communications blackout to this day, making him extremely anxious.
“I am waiting for my neighbour from Palma, but I have not yet confirmed if she arrived or not,” one woman who did not want to identify herself said, just one among many anxiously waiting for information and the departure of passengers from the port enclosure.
A strong police contingent was deployed where the local residents were waiting, along with armed soldiers, presenting a scenario of a province under tension.
Our reporting team at Pemba International Airport managed, despite the police, to take some photos of passengers disembarking from the multinationals’ buses for their airborne departure from Cabo Delgado.
In December of last year, Total withdrew its workers after an attack near its shipyard on the Afungi peninsula.
On the 23rd of March, the oil company announced the resumption of work after an agreement with the government of Mozambique resulted in the creation of a special 25-kilmetre protection zone around the LNG project.
The next day, March 24, the terrorists attacked the village of Palma, about 30 km from the gas camp. On the 27th, Total issued another statement announcing a delay in the resumption of work scheduled for April.
The course of events betrays perhaps not just a matter of chance, but a well-structured strike at the heart of the gas projects, with the aim of sabotaging their progress. Our reporting team found the current situation in other districts where attacks occurred relatively calm, implying that the advance on Palma was planned by the terrorists and their masterminds.
In its communiqué of March 23, Total committed to proceeding with work in order to deliver the first liquefied natural gas in 2024. With these new developments, it is literally “back to square one”.
By Ricardo Machava
Source: O País
Show comments
Also read
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.