The largest industrial employer in Mozambique has told the outgoing government of President Filipe Nyusi that, unless supply to its smelter on the outskirts of Maputo is restored, it may have to pull out of the country.
This is according to a source who said Mozal Aluminium, along with 29 other companies, had a meeting with Nyusi on December 9 in a bid to secure their investments in a country that’s dangerously close to open insurrection.
The source said Mozal made it clear that unless supplies continued to reach its operations, it might have to shut down its factory for the first time since commencing operations in 2000.
Although most of the post-election violence has centred on Maputo and the border post of Ressano Garcia on the N4 Maputo Corridor, it has been reported that the Moma Sands Project south of the Port of Nacala has also been targeted by supporters of Podemos, the opposition party claiming that October 9 polls were rigged in favour of Frelimo.
It is understood that, at the meeting on Monday, Nyusi said there was not much he could do because he was about to hand over the presidency to his successor, Daniel Chapo.
If Chapo indeed becomes president, despite mounting evidence that the election was riddled with irregularities, it is anticipated that Podemos’s presidential candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, would step up efforts to destabilise the government.
Although in hiding, talk over the weekend was that he had been located and narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, sparking renewed post-poll protests.
The source, who is a service provider for logistics moving through Ressano Garcia, said although the border hadn’t officially closed, no trucks were allowed to enter the customs control area.
The control zone gates at the Lebombo Border Post in South Africa had also been closed, causing an eastbound back-up of at least 20 kilometres.
At about 14:20 on December 9, it was also reported that the border had been reopened but that nothing was transiting through the Lebombo-Ressano crossing.
“Even if there was movement,” the source said, “it will be a pointless exercise because nothing is allowed to enter the port.
“The other morning, I left my property at about 5pm and they were burning tyres on the road. When people are stopped at barricades they’re asked for 10 or 15 meticais (+/- R2.8-R4.2) before they can proceed – provided you’re a local resident.”
