Mozambique: Reduce dependence on imported fuel, says Frelimo – AIM

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Mozambique: Reduce dependence on imported fuel, says Frelimo – AIM

10:11 CAT | 30 May 2022

Screen grab: TVM

Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo Party has recommended that the government reduce the country’s dependence on imported petrol and diesel and rely more on its own reserves of natural gas.

Speaking on Saturday at the end of a meeting of the Frelimo Central Committee in the southern city of Matola, President Filipe Nyusi said it was now urgent to switch to massive use of natural gas.

Vehicles should be converted to use gas rather than liquid fuels, all over the country.

This is not the first time such an appeal has been made, but to date only a small number of vehicles have been converted to run on gas, and the filling stations where compressed natural gas can be purchased only exist in the Maputo area.

“The Central Committee appreciated positively the work undertaken by the government and has called for a substantial reduction in dependence on diesel and petrol”, Nyusi said.

He blamed the rising cost of living on increases in the price of fuel and other imported goods, such as wheat and fertilizer, which he regarded as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

He praised the government for coordinating with private businesses in taking measures intended to mitigate the impact of international price rises on the lives of citizens. These measures included reductions in fuel taxes, profit margins, and storage and logistics costs. The government has also exempted kerosene and cooking gas from value added tax (VAT).

“With these measures, our government is ensuring that fuel prices in our country are much lower than in other members of SADC (Southern African Development Community)”, claimed Nyusi.

He stressed that Mozambique has enormous reserves of natural gas offshore, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado and the southern province of Inhambane. For more than a decade, natural gas from the Pande and Temane fields in Inhambane has been exported to South Africa – but the government admits that use of this fuel domestically has been minimal.

One matter that the Central Committee seems not to have discussed is the possibility of a third term of office for Nyusi.

In the public statements at the start of the meeting, on Friday, only the Frelimo youth wing, the OJM (Mozambique Youth Organisation), called for a further five year term for Nyusi at the helm of the party. No such call came from either the Mozambique Women’s Organisation (OMM) or from the Association of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle (ACLLN).

Nyusi did not mention the question, in either his opening or his closing speech, and it did not feature in the press release issued at end of the Central Committee meeting.

The Mozambican constitution does not allow the President of the Republic to hold three consecutive terms of office. The Constitution can be changed, if two thirds of the parliamentary deputies vote for the amendment. Frelimo enjoys a two thirds majority in the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic – but it is by no means certain that a majority of the Frelimo parliamentary group would vote for such a change.

As for Nyusi remaining President of Frelimo while someone else is elected head of state, this is possible, but unlikely. The two posts have always been held by the same person in the past.

Source: AIM