It’s been a busy week at Zitamar News — and this newsletter is packed with content for paying and free subscribers alike.
- New Zitamar Podcast
- Exclusive news on Cyclone Gombe, Mozambique LNG, Maputo Port, and more
- New Cabo Ligado Weekly and Monthly reports
Zitamar Podcast
On this week’s Zitamar Podcast, Mozambican journalist Fernando Lima joins Zitamar editor Tom Bowker to discuss the latest developments in the country.
Geopolitical realities — though still being denied in some quarters — are leading to sharp rises in the price of fuel and wheat, which will hit standards of living in Mozambique. The terrible effects of Cyclone Gombe on the country will make things even harder in the short term.
The rise in gas prices however could boost Mozambique’s prospects of becoming a major fossil fuel exporter. That could affect how TotalEnergies and its consortium partners view their LNG project in Palma — a district to which some semblance of security has returned, even as the brutal insurgency continues elsewhere in Cabo Delgado province.
That reality — of progress being made in the Cabo Delgado conflict, but with much more still to be done — has been used by some supporters of President Nyusi to argue that he should continue leading the country beyond the end of his second mandate which ends in 2024. The question of who will be Frelimo’s presidential candidate in those elections is hanging over the ruling party — but a senior party official said this week that we should not expect a decision on a candidate at the party Congress in September this year. That will at least allow Nyusi a few more months before he becomes a ‘lame duck’ once his successor is anointed.
His main priority is to avoid power swinging back to the wing of the party loyal to his predecessor, Armando Guebuza — and the trial of former minister Helena Taipo, which started this week, can be seen through that lens.
Tune in to understand how.
On Zitamar News this week:
- Insurgents and state forces claim victory in bloody battle for Matemo island (FREE)
- Beira flooded by a year’s worth of rain in two days, as Cyclone Gombe returns (£)
- Eskom and Mozal in talks with EDM to buy Temane power (£)
- New citrus terminal to open at expanding Maputo Port (£)
- Ousted country head threatens Pathfinder with legal action (£)
- TotalEnergies Mozambique head visits Mocímboa da Praia port (FREE)
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Cabo Ligado Latest
Monthly Report: February 2022
Vital Trends
- Insurgent activity continued in Nangade and Macomia districts, while Palma remained under the control of Mozambican and Rwandan forces
- In Macomia, insurgents targeted positions of the Mozambican security and defense forces, to lethal effect
- President Nyusi continued a diplomatic offensive to drum up support for fighting the insurgency
In This Report
- Tanzania frees long-standing detainees facing terror charges, and takes in more refugees, in moves to mollify local communities and international partners
- An analysis of the Cabo Delgado insurgency’s links to international jihadi movements
- How the Mozambique government responded to the insurgency’s expansion to Niassa
- A run-down of President Nyusi’s recent attempts to win international financial support for Rwandan and SADC military assistance
Cabo Ligado Weekly: 7-13 March 2022
And in Portuguese
