Mozambique: Fuel pump owners surprised at charges they aid terrorists

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Mozambique: Fuel pump owners surprised at charges they aid terrorists

2:48 CAT | 26 Aug 2022

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

The Association of Fuel Retailers and Resellers in Mozambique (AROMOC) expressed surprise on Friday at the accusations by the president of Mozambique that operators in the sector have financed armed groups operating in the north of the country.

“We believe that if the president spoke in those terms, it is because he has information, but on the other hand, we understand that the matter is confidential, as [Filipe Nyusi] did not find it appropriate to indicate names,” of petrol stations that sponsor armed violence in Cabo Delgado province, said the president of AROMOC, Nelson Mavimbe, speaking to Mozambican weekly Savana.

Mavimbe pointed out that the authorities are responsible for the workings of petrol stations operating in the country, as the state licences petrol stations.

READ: Mozambique: Nyusi accuses fuel pump owners of financing terrorism – AIM report

“There are responsible public entities. They are the ones who must verify who applies for these businesses, their suitability and their monitoring,” he said.

AROMOC, he continued, has asked the government to be part of the licensing process for petrol stations, but has yet to receive a response.

“This [lack of response] causes people to show up, go to the government to ask for licenses and open pumps without our participation or knowledge,” Nelson Mavimbe stressed.

There are 600 fuel retailers operating in the country, but only 60 are affiliated with AROMOC.

On Monday, the president denounced the existence of petrol station owners in Sofala province, in central Mozambique, who use the business for money laundering and financing terrorism in Cabo Delgado, in the north.

“There is a proliferation of fuel pumps in your province, I am not prohibiting it. But that they use legal methods […], We have information of people who use these means to subsidise terrorism,” the president said.

Filipe Nyusi was speaking during a meeting with the state’s executive and representative councils in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, where he is on a working visit.

According to Nyusi, some of these businessmen suspected of financing terrorism are on the run.

“Some people, owners of fuel pumps, have fled. When we went to look for them, they had disappeared. They owned some pumps [petrol stations],” said Nyusi, calling for more vigorous inspection by the Tax Authority.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas but has been terrorised since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

There are 784,000 internally displaced people due to the conflict, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Since July 2021, an offensive by government troops with Rwandan support, later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), has allowed areas where there was a rebel presence to recover, but their flight has provoked new attacks in other districts used as a passage or temporary refuge.

Source: Lusa