Administrative Tribunal orders Mozambican government to release information on ProSAVANA

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Administrative Tribunal orders Mozambican government to release information on ProSAVANA

2:28 CAT | 27 Sep 2018

The Administrative Tribunal in Maputo, seen here behind Samora Machel's square. File photo: Lusa

The Administrative Tribunal (AT) of the City of Maputo has today ruled that the Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture should provide all information of public interest on ProSAVANA, the agrarian development project promoted by the Mozambican, Brazilian and Japanese governments.

The ruling, made public today by the Mozambican Bar Association, adds that the ruling was unanimous.

The AT urges the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MSA) “to make available to the public in general all information of public interest relating to the organisation, operation and decisions likely to interfere with the rights and freedoms of citizens, particularly those relating to land, food and nutrition of communities covered by ProSAVANA”.

The tribunal gives the ministry ten days to comply with the decision.

The ruling was triggered by a lawsuit brought by the Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) in 2017 in response to the lack of information on the functioning of the project and decisions affecting the rights and freedoms of communities covered by ProSAVANA.

Specifically, the OAM is of the opinion that the Mozambican government has not shared sufficiently with civil society information on how the 14.5 million hectares of community land destined for ProSAVANA will be managed, and whether communities’ land rights are assured.

ProSAVANA is still in the study phase. The project results from a joint initiative of the governments of Mozambique, Brazil and Japan concerning the development of commercial agriculture in central and northern Mozambique.

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Source: Lusa