Welcome to Zitamar’s daily Mozambique briefing for 14 September, 2017.

The latest from Zitamar News:

Frelimo’s ‘Congress of change’ to be most radical in country’s history – Chipande
Party members in Mozambique’s central provinces are being asked to support Nyusi’s peace process that could result in them losing power to Renamo at the provincial level in the 2019 elections.

World Food Programme launches $167 million five-year plan for Mozambique
The new five-year plan will prioritise in-country procurement of food as well as climate change resilience.

Wentworth progresses northern Mozambique gas stake sale
The Canadian independent expects to ink an agreement with a new partner before starting more drilling onshore Cabo Delgado next year.

The best of the rest:

Nyusi nominated for second term as Frelimo president (AIM)
Frelimo’s Political Commission, the ruling party’s top committee of bigwigs, yesterday nominated Filipe Nyusi for reelection as president of the party, which should happen after the party Congress that runs from 26 September to 1 October. Nyusi is so far the only nominee for the post which he took over from Armando Guebuza in March 2015, three months after succeeding him as president of the country.
The president of Frelimo is de facto always the party’s candidate for president of the country, though some argue it would be wiser to separate the two roles. The final choice of party president will be made by the 300-strong Central Committee which will be chosen by the 3,500-strong Congress at the end of this month. Other candidates may still emerge, but Nyusi is the odds-on favourite to stay in place – with sycophantic messages of support for the Political Commission’s decision already starting to arrive from around the country. Nyusi is expected to alter the makeup of the Political Commission, assuming he – as expected – consolidates his grip on power during the party Congress.

Frelimo taking money from teachers’ salaries to pay for Congress (DW)
The heads of various schools have denounced deductions from their salaries taken by Frelimo to help pay for the 11th Congress. The deductions have been as high as 75 euros, according to Deutsche Welle.
A number of similar stories have emerged recently of civil servants, who are de facto expected to be Frelimo members, being leant on heavily to contribute to the costs of the Congress. It’s particularly hard to take when Frelimo’s mismanagement of the economy has caused the financial crisis which in turn has led to salary freezes and late payment for civil servants.

Beira offshore ‘liquefied gas’ terminal to start operating in January 2018 (Diario de Mocambique)
A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal offshore the port city of Beira should go operational in January next year, state petroleum company Petromoc told energy minister Leticia Klemens yesterday during her visit to the city. The project, being financed by the Exim Bank of India, will have three tanks with capacity to store 3,000 tonnes of LPG, also known as propane or butane, used in cooking and in gas-powered vehicles.
Diario’s article makes it sound like it’s an LNG terminal under construction – but it is in fact Petromoc’s LPG terminal project which, according to the company’s website, was originally scheduled to be operational this year.

Sugar factory nears completion in Chemba, Sofala (Diário de Moçambique)
Work to build a sugar factory in Chemba, Sofala province, should be completed in November, according to a report in Beira-based newspaper Diário de Moçambique. The plant, owned by a group called Ecofarma Moçambique, will be able to produce 50 tonnes of sugar per day, grown on 3,490 hectares of land. The facility will be Sofala’s third, along with the Açucareira de Moçambique, in Mafambisse, Dondo, and the Açucareira de Sena, in Marromeu. Another is being rebuilt in Búzi, Diário de Moçambique says.

Mozambique state owes 29bn meticais to private business (MediaFax)
The Mozambican government owes around 29 billion meticais – almost $500m – to the private sector for goods and services provided between 2009 and 2017, according to the business association CTA. The government has promised to pay around 17% of the debt by the end of this year, CTA says, but adds that its members are particularly worried that 9bn meticais worth of invoices have still not been authorised for payment by the Administrative Court (Tribunal Administrativo, TA).

Happening Today

• General Assembly of business association CTA, to elect the president and vice-president of the national business council.

Bank of Mozambique exchange rates as at 09:30

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