Mozambique: President wants an end to “inferior revenues” from mining sector

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Mozambique: President wants an end to “inferior revenues” from mining sector

5:18 CAT | 11 Feb 2025

Photo: Jornal Moçambique

The Mozambican president said on Monday that the state should not accept continuing to receive “inferior revenues” from the mining of resources and criticised the lack of basic services in areas where megaprojects are being exploited.

“We shouldn’t continue to have communities in large project areas always clamouring for quality schools and health centres or other living conditions. Our passage through Tete, Palma [Cabo Delgado] and Inhambane shows this reality. Nor should we accept that the Mozambican state receives lower revenues for resources that are its sovereignty,” said Daniel Chapo during the inauguration of the executive leader of the Office for the Coordination of Reforms and Strategic Projects( GCRPE), João Osvaldo Machatine.

Chapo emphasised that Mozambique is a country rich in strategic resources, including areas of arable land, water resources, a large exclusive economic zone and soil and subsoil riches, advocating “bold decisions” to ensure that the resources serve the country’s economic and social development.

“It’s up to our generation to break the cycle of imbalances that perpetuate dependence on foreign aid. We urgently need to change the prevailing extractive model that has been in place until now. Only in this way will we achieve the economic independence that is at the heart of our governance,” he said, advocating the training of human resources to control the exploitation of resources and their application in Mozambique’s industrialisation.

In the same speech, the Mozambican president asked the executive leader of the Office for the Coordination of Reforms and Strategic Projects for actions and partnerships to speed up the country’s economic and social development.

“This Office must be a catalyst for profound changes in our economy and society. We need to change the current reality, rooted in our colonial heritage, in which our economy is still centred on the export of raw materials and logistics corridors,” said Chapo.

The GCRPE will be run by a Coordinating Council chaired by Chapo, including representatives from private business and from civil society

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Mozambique has three development projects approved to exploit the natural gas reserves in the Rovuma basin, classified among the largest in the world, off the coast of Cabo Delgado.

In addition to these, there are other major coal exploration projects underway in the central province of Tete and natural gas extraction in the province of Inhambane, in southern Mozambique.

In 2023, the Mozambican state transferred more than 77.1 million meticais (€1.1 million) to community development programmes with resources obtained from mining and oil extraction, according to official figures. According to the report Conta Cidadão (Citizen’s Account) 2023, from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, this is funding for local projects that stem from the “social responsibility of mining and oil companies”, Lusa reported on 23 December.

The community of Nyamanhumbir, in the district of Montepuez, had received the most, according to the document, with funding of 21,405,750 meticais (€322,500) in 2023 for local projects, resulting from the exploitation of rubies in that community in Cabo Delgado province.

The report also states that 15,260,670 meticais (€230,000) was transferred in 2023 to the community of Benga, in the district of Moatize, a coal mining area in Tete province, while 7,333,680 meticais (€110,500) was transferred to the community of Pande, where natural gas is extracted in the district of Govuro, in Inhambane province.

In 2023, Mozambique decided to allocate 10% of tax revenues from mining and oil production to structuring projects in the provinces and to support local communities.

Source: Lusa