Welcome to a free edition of the new-look Mozambique Daily Briefing from Zitamar News, bringing you the top headlines from Zitamar and the rest of the Mozambican media every Monday to Friday.
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Agenda
- Today: Parliament’s standing committee to consider President Nyusi’s request to make a state visit to E-Swatini (formerly known as Swaziland)
- Today: President Nyusi starts a four-day working visit to Tete province
The latest from Zitamar News:
Mozambique gas companies take defensive action amid Cabo Delgado insurgency
Oil and gas companies in Cabo Delgado are taking to the skies as one way of avoiding security risks on the ground
Mozambique’s EDM wants coal power on grid by 2023, says developer
However, Ncondezi Energy said that plans for its own 300MW power plant are being delayed
The best of the rest:
- New insurgent attack in Cabo Delgado
- Renamo refuses to hand over reintegration list until the military rehires its members
- Renamo names António Muchanga as its candidate for Matola mayor
- Graphite exploration in Niassa to begin soon
New insurgent attack in Cabo Delgado (MediaFax)
After two and a half weeks of relative calm, Cabo Delgado insurgents attacked again on Sunday morning in the village of Chitolo, in Mocímboa da Praia district. The attack, launched against Mozambican security force positions near the village, resulted in a two-hour firefight. Insurgents killed one soldier and stole some military equipment.
No insurgent casualties were reported, but security forces did prevent insurgents from entering the center of the village and no civilians were injured. False reports circulated on Twitter over the weekend of a separate attack in Montepuez, apparently originating from American terrorism-tracking website the Terrorism Resource and Analysis Consortium (TRAC). TRAC also reported a non-existent attack in Quionga, Palma district earlier this month.
Renamo refuses to hand over reintegration list until the military rehires its members (O País)
The president of Renamo’s National League, Maria Inês, said on Saturday that the party will not hand over its list of fighters to be integrated into the Mozambican military and police, as part of the demilitarisation deal reached between Renamo and the government, until the state military rehires Renamo members that joined as part of the 1992 peace deal and who have subsequently been dismissed. Inês said that returning the former military members to their jobs was part of the deal between Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi and the late Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, and said Renamo will turn over the list as soon as the rehiring is complete. In a deal between Nyusi and interim Renamo leader Ossufo Momade, Renamo was supposed to submit the list on 21 July.
Renamo’s political wing cannot be happy with this delay. Failure to turn in the list threatens municipal elections scheduled for 10 October, in which Renamo stands to make substantial gains, particularly in the light of recent mass defections to the party from the MDM. Inês’s statement will likely be seen as foot-dragging by Frelimo, particularly since the 11 July declaration of a deal on reintegration between Momade and Nyusi made no mention of rehiring former Renamo members of Mozambique’s military. But Renamo’s military wing is clearly keen to ensure that its interests are preserved in a deal which mainly benefits the political wing.
Renamo names António Muchanga as its candidate for Matola mayor (Notícias, Lusa)
On Friday, Renamo presented the high profile MP and former party spokesman António Muchanga as the head of its Matola list for October municipal elections. At the same ceremony, Renamo also announced Carvalho Bembe as head of list for Manhiça, João Marissane as head of list for Boane, and Jeremias Cumbe as head of list for Namaacha.
Frelimo has not yet announced their mayoral candidate for Matola - the party promises to release their candidate lists for all 53 municipalities this Friday - but it is likely that Muchanga’s opponent will be the popular current Matola mayor Calisto Cossa, who will be hard to beat - even for Muchanga who is one of Renamo’s few recognisable figures.
Graphite exploration in Niassa to begin soon (O País)
Niassa governor Arlindo Chilundo said Saturday that a company will soon begin exploration for graphite in the province’s Nipepe district. Chilundo said that the company expects to find some 5 million tonnes of graphite, of which 50% is pure graphite, which could keep a mine in business in the province for 27 years.
There is a graphite rush already on in neighbouring Cabo Delgado province, where the resource is said to be of exceptional quality - and closer to ports than a mine in Niassa province would be. If the mine is close to the Nacala rail line, however, it would make logistics easier.
