MAPUTO, Mozambique — A former Madagascar president says he has been unable to return to his homeland since participating in talks in Mozambique that angered Madagascar's current leader.
Attempts to reach Albert Zafy in Maputo were unsuccessful Friday. Mozambican officials say he remains in their country.
Zafy told Mozambican state radio earlier this week that Andry Rajoelina refused to allow his return. Rajoelina told The Associated Press he had not blocked Zafy, though his supporters may have.
Rajoelina overthrew democratically elected President Marc Ravalomanana in March.
Ravalomanana and his two predecessors, Zafy and Didier Ratsiraka, met in Maputo and named ministers for a unity government Tuesday. Rajoelina boycotted the negotiations, and says the outcome amounts to a coup.
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hfV75EHUookBtBk2OlprGZBpDTzgD9CH449O0
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Norway Supports Mozambique's Environment Sector
MAPUTO (Mozambique), Dec 12 (Bernama) -- The Norwegian government has pledged US$1.3 million to the Mozambican Environment Ministry for a strategic evaluation of the coastal zone, Mozambique's news agency, AIM, reported.
An agreement to that end was signed here on Wednesday between Mozambican Environment Minister Alcinda Abreu and the Norwegian Ambassador, Tove Bruvik Westberg.
At the signing ceremony, Abreu explained that this agreement will deepen further the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, specifically in the area of the environment and climate change.
"With this agreement we intend to give priority to the appraisal of the environment in the coastal zone and the assessment of environmental impacts", she said. "This will permit the management and monitoring of environmental and socio-economic aspects, of the individual and cumulative impacts of the use and exploitation of natural resources, and of the impact of climate change".
The main challenges for the environment sector include ensuring that development initiatives are preceded by environmental impact assessments, and mitigating the negative impacts of climate change, said Abreu.
For her part, Westberg said that her country's government is happy about the strong commitment of the Mozambican authorities to the building of knowledge and management of the environment.
"It is important to increase the expertise and capacity in the various sectors dealing with the environment", she said, adding that "the signed agreement also envisages the development and transfer of technologies in the environment sector".
Source:bernama.com/
An agreement to that end was signed here on Wednesday between Mozambican Environment Minister Alcinda Abreu and the Norwegian Ambassador, Tove Bruvik Westberg.
At the signing ceremony, Abreu explained that this agreement will deepen further the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, specifically in the area of the environment and climate change.
"With this agreement we intend to give priority to the appraisal of the environment in the coastal zone and the assessment of environmental impacts", she said. "This will permit the management and monitoring of environmental and socio-economic aspects, of the individual and cumulative impacts of the use and exploitation of natural resources, and of the impact of climate change".
The main challenges for the environment sector include ensuring that development initiatives are preceded by environmental impact assessments, and mitigating the negative impacts of climate change, said Abreu.
For her part, Westberg said that her country's government is happy about the strong commitment of the Mozambican authorities to the building of knowledge and management of the environment.
"It is important to increase the expertise and capacity in the various sectors dealing with the environment", she said, adding that "the signed agreement also envisages the development and transfer of technologies in the environment sector".
Source:bernama.com/
Madagascar negotiators marooned in Mozambique
ANTANANARIVO — Envoys from three Madagascan rival political movements were marooned Wednesday in Mozambique when air authorities in Madagascar denied them a plane home, an aviation source said.
"We're still in Maputo, we're waiting for a solution to try to return to Madagascar," Ange Andrianarisoa, an aide to former president Didier Ratsiraka, told AFP in Antananarivo by telephone.
Andrianarisoa said that the Mozambican government, which is trying to help bring about an end to a political stalemate in Madagascar, "has taken us in hand and has put us in a hotel."
On Tuesday in Maputo, the three Madagascan movements agreed on the sharing out of posts in a transitional government, and left some key portfolios for the fourth faction, headed by strongman Andry Rajoelina, who was not in Maputo.
But Rajoelina reacted furiously to this arrangement on Tuesday and issued a statement in Antananarivo accusing his rivals of "high treason," because they allegedly "desire to remove Andry Rajoelina from the helm of the country."
His rivals had been due to fly back to Madagascar on a specially chartered Air Madagascar plane on Tuesday night, but this flight was not authorised by the civil aviation authority, a source in the authority told AFP.
"The Madagascan aviation authority "sent a note to ban all air exchanges with Mozambique," added the source, who asked not to be named.
Ousted president Marc Ravalomanana and former presidents Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zafy had ended five days of talks in the Mozambican capital with an agreement on how to divide ministries in a new government meant to lead the Indian Ocean island out of crisis.
Though they left portfolios for Rajoelina, who seized power with the backing of the army last March, the latter rejected the accord, apparently because it demoted him to the same level as other faction leaders in the proposed transitional administration.
Among those stuck in Maputo were consensus prime minister Eugene Mangalaza and the two co-presidents of the presidential council set up under a previous agreement in Addis Ababa in November.
Ratsiraka and Ravalomanana, who both live in exile, left the Mozambican capital after the negotiations, which were mediated by Mozambican former president Joaquim Chissano.
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gfgv8NBbiZfjuw7YO2KCtYayMmHg
Mozambique: CMH "Best Company" in Country
Maputo — The Mozambican Hydrocarbon Company (CNH) was "the best company" in Mozambique in 2008, according to the consultancy and auditing firm, KPMG, in its annual survey of the Mozambican economy.
Previously the KPMG annual publication, "The 100 Top Companies in Mozambique", has looked at companies solely in terms of their size, and has made no value judgments. This year it added a list of the 100 "best companies", using an index combining growth of revenue, growth of revenue per employee, return on revenue, return on equity, financial autonomy and general liquidity.
CMH is the vehicle for Mozambican participation in the exploitation and processing of natural gas at Temane, in the southern province of Inhambane. CMH is thus the Mozambican partner of the South African petro-chemical giant SASOL, which has the rights to the Inhambane gas fields. A condition of the deal with SASOL was always that Mozambicans would have the right to participation of up to 25 per cent.
The largest shareholder in CMH is the publicly owned National Hydrocarbon Company, with 70 per cent of the shares, followed by the Mozambican state itself with 20 per cent, while private companies and individuals own the other 10 per cent.
In 2008, CMH had revenue of 48 million US dollars, and profits of around 20 million dollars. The CMH managing director, Estevao Pale, told reporters "We are a small company, but with great financial rigour. We are working to make the most of the money of our shareholders".
The top ranking in the KPMG list "is a recognition of work we have been undertaking in recent years. We are trying to keep a light structure in the company".
In the more orthodox ranking of the 100 top companies by revenue the MOZAL aluminium smelter remains top of the list, with revenue of 1.3 billion US dollar (but because of the fall in the aluminium price in 2008, this is a decline of 16 per cent on the 2007 figure).
In second place, and a long way behind MOZAL, comes the publicly owned mobile phone company M-Cel with revenue of 277.8 million dollars, followed by the state-owned fuel company Petromoc, with 277 million dollars.
In fourth place is Hidetoelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), the company that operates the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi, with total 2008 revenue of 239 million dollars.
When companies are measured in terms of their profits, MOZAL is still in the lead, but the second position is held by HCB. In third position is the country's largest bank, the Millennium-BIM, while the brewing company CDM has the fourth largest profits. The same companies headed the ranking by profit in the 2007 survey.
The survey has some methodological problems. Participation is entirely voluntary, and there is no way to compel companies to take part. Nonetheless, a respectable 207 companies answered this year's questionnaire from KPMG. The survey also relies on the companies telling the truth about their performance. There is no independent confirmation of the figures.
Despite such reservations, the KPMG annual survey brings together in one place a wealth of statistical information that covers most of the main players in the Mozambican economy.
Addressing the Thursday ceremony at which the survey was unveiled, Prime Minister Luisa Diogo called on Mozambican businesses to use their capacity, and their innovative and proactive spirit to reduce poverty.
"The business class can contribute to poverty reduction by making the best use of the country's natural resources", she stressed.
Source:allafrica.com/
Previously the KPMG annual publication, "The 100 Top Companies in Mozambique", has looked at companies solely in terms of their size, and has made no value judgments. This year it added a list of the 100 "best companies", using an index combining growth of revenue, growth of revenue per employee, return on revenue, return on equity, financial autonomy and general liquidity.
CMH is the vehicle for Mozambican participation in the exploitation and processing of natural gas at Temane, in the southern province of Inhambane. CMH is thus the Mozambican partner of the South African petro-chemical giant SASOL, which has the rights to the Inhambane gas fields. A condition of the deal with SASOL was always that Mozambicans would have the right to participation of up to 25 per cent.
The largest shareholder in CMH is the publicly owned National Hydrocarbon Company, with 70 per cent of the shares, followed by the Mozambican state itself with 20 per cent, while private companies and individuals own the other 10 per cent.
In 2008, CMH had revenue of 48 million US dollars, and profits of around 20 million dollars. The CMH managing director, Estevao Pale, told reporters "We are a small company, but with great financial rigour. We are working to make the most of the money of our shareholders".
The top ranking in the KPMG list "is a recognition of work we have been undertaking in recent years. We are trying to keep a light structure in the company".
In the more orthodox ranking of the 100 top companies by revenue the MOZAL aluminium smelter remains top of the list, with revenue of 1.3 billion US dollar (but because of the fall in the aluminium price in 2008, this is a decline of 16 per cent on the 2007 figure).
In second place, and a long way behind MOZAL, comes the publicly owned mobile phone company M-Cel with revenue of 277.8 million dollars, followed by the state-owned fuel company Petromoc, with 277 million dollars.
In fourth place is Hidetoelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), the company that operates the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi, with total 2008 revenue of 239 million dollars.
When companies are measured in terms of their profits, MOZAL is still in the lead, but the second position is held by HCB. In third position is the country's largest bank, the Millennium-BIM, while the brewing company CDM has the fourth largest profits. The same companies headed the ranking by profit in the 2007 survey.
The survey has some methodological problems. Participation is entirely voluntary, and there is no way to compel companies to take part. Nonetheless, a respectable 207 companies answered this year's questionnaire from KPMG. The survey also relies on the companies telling the truth about their performance. There is no independent confirmation of the figures.
Despite such reservations, the KPMG annual survey brings together in one place a wealth of statistical information that covers most of the main players in the Mozambican economy.
Addressing the Thursday ceremony at which the survey was unveiled, Prime Minister Luisa Diogo called on Mozambican businesses to use their capacity, and their innovative and proactive spirit to reduce poverty.
"The business class can contribute to poverty reduction by making the best use of the country's natural resources", she stressed.
Source:allafrica.com/
Mozambique can unwind stimulus measures in 2010: IMF
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mozambique can start unwinding temporary fiscal and monetary policy measures as of next year in the face of an expected pick-up in economic activity, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.
In a review of Mozambique's performance under a one-year $176 million IMF loan, the Fund said the economy had shown "unexpected resilience" during the global economic downturn of the past year.
It said it expects economic growth in the southern African country to strengthen to 5.5 percent next year from about 4.5 percent in 2009.
Overall, the country's performance under the one-year Exogenous Shocks Facility has been on track, the IMF said.
"Most of the key quantitative targets for end-June 2009 were met -- though net credit to the government and reserve money growth were higher than envisaged -- and there has been good progress in implementing structural reforms," the IMF said.
Source:af.reuters.com/a
Mozambique: Sena Line Suffers Further Delays
Maputo — The deadline for concluding the reconstruction of the Sena railway line, linking the central Mozambican port of Beira to the Moatize coal basin in Tete province, has been extended yet again, this time from December to the end of January.
According to the director of the Sena Line Reconstruction Brigade, Candido Jone, cited in Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias", work on the line is now going at a "very bad" pace, sometimes coming to a halt for days at a time, because the contractor, the Indian consortium Rites and Ircon International (RICON), has run out of material.
The main problems are the shortage of concrete sleepers and the delay in supply trains reaching the work front.
The Sena line is 574 kilometres long, and there are just 32 kilometres left before the reconstruction reaches Moatize. But there has been a drastic slowdown in recent weeks. Since the last week of October, only 22 kilometres of track has been relaid, instead of the target of 1,400 metres a day.
Jone said that the production of reinforced concrete sleepers in factories in the towns of Dondo and Sena has fallen because of a shortage of steel. Only this week did supplies of steel for the two factories arrive at Beira port on a ship from India.
Once the line does reach Moatize, that is far from the end of the job. Putting the finishing touches to track alignment, the drainage system and the rehabilitation of some of the bridges could continue throughout 2010, said Jone.
The Sena line was completely paralysed for 26 years, due to sabotage by the apartheid-back Renamo rebels in the early 1980s. The reconstruction has allowed the line to reopen to passenger trains between Beira and the Dona Ana bridge over the Zambezi. In addition the branch line to the sugar town of Marromeu has also reopened.
But the publicly owned ports and rail company, CFM, is less than happy with RICON's performance. Jone says the contractor was told to rebuild the stations, provide houses for the rail workers, and a water supply and sanitation system by 15 December.
But so far none of this has been done, he added, even though 2.5 million dollars was available.
"The stations have not been rehabilitated, there are no shelters for the passengers, and there are no decent working conditions for the staff", protested Jone.
Source:allafrica.com/
According to the director of the Sena Line Reconstruction Brigade, Candido Jone, cited in Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias", work on the line is now going at a "very bad" pace, sometimes coming to a halt for days at a time, because the contractor, the Indian consortium Rites and Ircon International (RICON), has run out of material.
The main problems are the shortage of concrete sleepers and the delay in supply trains reaching the work front.
The Sena line is 574 kilometres long, and there are just 32 kilometres left before the reconstruction reaches Moatize. But there has been a drastic slowdown in recent weeks. Since the last week of October, only 22 kilometres of track has been relaid, instead of the target of 1,400 metres a day.
Jone said that the production of reinforced concrete sleepers in factories in the towns of Dondo and Sena has fallen because of a shortage of steel. Only this week did supplies of steel for the two factories arrive at Beira port on a ship from India.
Once the line does reach Moatize, that is far from the end of the job. Putting the finishing touches to track alignment, the drainage system and the rehabilitation of some of the bridges could continue throughout 2010, said Jone.
The Sena line was completely paralysed for 26 years, due to sabotage by the apartheid-back Renamo rebels in the early 1980s. The reconstruction has allowed the line to reopen to passenger trains between Beira and the Dona Ana bridge over the Zambezi. In addition the branch line to the sugar town of Marromeu has also reopened.
But the publicly owned ports and rail company, CFM, is less than happy with RICON's performance. Jone says the contractor was told to rebuild the stations, provide houses for the rail workers, and a water supply and sanitation system by 15 December.
But so far none of this has been done, he added, even though 2.5 million dollars was available.
"The stations have not been rehabilitated, there are no shelters for the passengers, and there are no decent working conditions for the staff", protested Jone.
Source:allafrica.com/
Mozambique: No Shortages in Festive Season, Pledge Businesses
Maputo — Mozambican businesses on Friday promised that they are able to supply all the requirements of consumers during the coming festive season.
This promise was made at a meeting between the Ministers of Agriculture and of Industry and Trade, Soares Nhaca and Antonio Fernando, and representatives of poultry farmers, importers and informal sector vendors.
A representative of the poultry producers, Telma Churi, said that the price of chickens at the farm gate varies between 90 and 100 meticais (at current exchange rates, there are about 27.3 meticais to the US dollar). So the retail price of Mozambican chickens should not be more than 110 meticais each.
She urged consumers not to pay speculative prices, and to denounce anyone selling chickens at exorbitant prices. "We guarantee that this year we will have enough chickens and at a price not higher than 110 meticais", she said. "We have decided to set up sales posts so that producers can sell chickens directly to consumers".
The president of the Association of Informal Importers and Vendors (Mukhero), Sudecar Novela, guaranteed that his members could meet the needs of the market, but did not put any figures on this. "Our imports will be in line with demand", he stressed.
The chairperson of the Association of Mozambican Micro-Importers (AMIMO), Fernando Matusse, guaranteed that his members will put 700,000 sacks of potatoes, 500,000 sacks of onions, 50,000 crates of tomatoes, and 100,000 crates of eggs on the market.
He said all attempts would be made to prevent price increases. However he made the unlikely claim that at this time of year there is a shortage of foodstuffs on the South African market, where the imports come from, because of rains and holidays of the farm workers.
Antonio Fernando promised that the customs duties that are still charged on some foodstuffs imported from South Africa, despite the SADC (Southern African Development Community) free trade area, would not be a problem, since customs will work on the basis of a favourable "reference price" for these goods. This should end the frequent claim by importers that they are charged duty based on unrealistically high prices.
Fernando said that the trade inspectorate will continue to monitor the situation on the ground in order to avoid speculation, and to check on any shortages n the markets.
Source:allafrica.com/
This promise was made at a meeting between the Ministers of Agriculture and of Industry and Trade, Soares Nhaca and Antonio Fernando, and representatives of poultry farmers, importers and informal sector vendors.
A representative of the poultry producers, Telma Churi, said that the price of chickens at the farm gate varies between 90 and 100 meticais (at current exchange rates, there are about 27.3 meticais to the US dollar). So the retail price of Mozambican chickens should not be more than 110 meticais each.
She urged consumers not to pay speculative prices, and to denounce anyone selling chickens at exorbitant prices. "We guarantee that this year we will have enough chickens and at a price not higher than 110 meticais", she said. "We have decided to set up sales posts so that producers can sell chickens directly to consumers".
The president of the Association of Informal Importers and Vendors (Mukhero), Sudecar Novela, guaranteed that his members could meet the needs of the market, but did not put any figures on this. "Our imports will be in line with demand", he stressed.
The chairperson of the Association of Mozambican Micro-Importers (AMIMO), Fernando Matusse, guaranteed that his members will put 700,000 sacks of potatoes, 500,000 sacks of onions, 50,000 crates of tomatoes, and 100,000 crates of eggs on the market.
He said all attempts would be made to prevent price increases. However he made the unlikely claim that at this time of year there is a shortage of foodstuffs on the South African market, where the imports come from, because of rains and holidays of the farm workers.
Antonio Fernando promised that the customs duties that are still charged on some foodstuffs imported from South Africa, despite the SADC (Southern African Development Community) free trade area, would not be a problem, since customs will work on the basis of a favourable "reference price" for these goods. This should end the frequent claim by importers that they are charged duty based on unrealistically high prices.
Fernando said that the trade inspectorate will continue to monitor the situation on the ground in order to avoid speculation, and to check on any shortages n the markets.
Source:allafrica.com/
Valero Bets on Biodiesel from Jatropha
Carlos Litulo/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
A worker in Mozambique holding jatropha seeds. Valero Energy entered into a deal to gain access to jatropha-based biodiesel.
Valero Energy, the largest American refiner, is taking another step towards building up its renewable fuel supplies. The San Antonio-based company on Friday agreed to a five-year deal with an Australian biofuel refiner to obtain biodiesel made from jatropha.
The deal also allows Valero to buy a 25 percent stake in the Australian company, Mission NewEnergy.
Mission will supply Valero with up to 60 million gallons of biodiesel per year, starting next year. Under the terms of the agreement, Valero can double that amount and extend the contract by an additional five years. The value of the contract could be as high as $3.5 billion, Mission said in a statement.
Jatropha is a family of oil seed plants that can grow on marginal soil without displacing land used for food supply. While there has been a lot of interest in the plant recently, efforts to develop biofuels from jatropha have been mixed.
For Valero, the deal is another step toward diversifying its fuel supplies. Earlier this year, the company acquired distressed assets from VeraSun, an ethanol refiner in the United States, including seven ethanol refineries.
Source:greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/
Mozambique sees higher-than-expected growth of 6.5 pct, central bank says [ 2009-12-10 ]
Maputo, Mozambique, 10 Dec – The Mozambican economy has resisted the impact of the world financial crisis, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 6.5 percent, above the projected 5.9 percent for 2009, said a central bank executive Wednesday in Maputo.
“The global impact of the financial crisis has affected our country’s economy but despite this real GDP growth is above our initial projections,” said Bank of Mozambique executive, Waldemar de Sousa.
De Sousa noted that the Mozambican central bank had projected, at the end of last year, economic growth of 5.9 percent, for this year, a target that was later changed to 4.3 percent.
“But what we have seen is that in the first quarter of this year GDP grew by 5.9 percent, 6.1 percent in the second quarter and 6.5 percent in the third. That is, GDP growth is, in fact, in line with initial projections in the (Mozambican) Government’s Economic-Social Plan, which forecast growth of around 6.5 percent,” he said.
De Sousa, who is also the spokesman for the central bank said that GDP growth of around 6.5 percent was a “success” in a situation of global financial crisis.
The sectors to post greatest growth in Mozambique were financial services with 18 percent, public administration with 13.3 percent, agriculture (9.6 percent), hotels and restaurants (8.6 percent), construction (8 percent) and transport and communications (4.3 percent).
However, manufacturing industry, based on drinks, tobacco and cement "is seeing negative growth of 5.2 percent," de Sousa said.
“We are still investigating the reasons for the sub-sectors that are leading manufacturing to a performance well below that of other sectors,” he said.
Source:macauhub.com.mo/
Mozambique launches international tender to attract high quality tourism investments
Maputo, Mozambique, 11 Dec – The Mozambican National Tourism Institute (Inatur) has launched an international public tender for construction and exploration of tourist resorts on the islands of Casuarina and Epidendron, in Zambezia province, the institute told Macauhub.
The tender launched by Inatur, an executive arm of the Tourism Ministry, is part of the programme known as “Anchor Projects” for investment in the tourism sector.
The two islands are home to native forests and are set in crystal clear waters surrounded by large coral reefs, which provide conditions for diving, whale watching and big game fishing.
The Mozambican government, with the technical support of the International Financial Corporation (IFC), of the World Bank group, came up with and designed the “Anchor Projects” for tourism investment, and the islands of Epidendron and Casuarina together with the Gilé reserve were selected to be home to those investments of no less than US$50 million.
Mozambique currently has four anchor locations for development of high quality tourism, namely Crusse/Jamal on the Nampula coast, in northern Mozambique, Gilé in Zambezia province, central-north, Inhassoro in Inhambane province in the south of the country and the Elephant reserve in Maputo province.
Tourism is one of the most important sources of income for Mozambique. (macauhub)
Source:macauhub.com.mo/
Mozambique tourism revenue doubles
Mozambique's beaches are the major attraction for tourists.
Photograph by: Tom Shaw
Credit: Getty Images
Mozambique's tourism revenue more than doubled in the past five years, hitting R1,5-billion in 2009 for the first time ever, the country's tourism minister announced.
Some 1.5 million people visited the southern African country in 2009, also more than double the 2004 figure, Minister Fernando Sumbana Jr was quoted by the weekly Canal de Mocambique newspaper as saying.
In 2004, the former Portuguese colony earned only R682.7-million from tourism.
With its nearly 2,500 kilometres of Indian Ocean coastline, Mozambique was a premier tourist destination before the country's 16- year civil war, which killed around 1 million people and wrecked basic infrastructure by the time it ended in 1992.
In recent years, tourists have begun returning to the country's seaside resorts, game parks and colonial cities.
The government aims to attract 4 million tourists a year by 2020. Central to its plans is the World Cup in South Africa next year: Mozambique hopes to lure many of the football fans for a short visit across the border
Source:timeslive.co.za/
Mozambique: U.S. Funds Programmes in Zambezia and Nampula
Maputo — The United States Embassy in Mozambique announced on Wednesday the launching of two development programmes in Zambezia and Nampula provinces that will cost about 50 million US dollars during the next five years.
These programmes, named "Strengthening Communities through Integrated Programming" (SCIP), are to provide integrated health services, including HIV/AIDS prevention, support for rural enterprises, hygiene and sanitation, among other services, to be carried out in partnership with the beneficiaries and the US government.
The SCIP was launched this Tuesday in Zambezia, where the consortium of partners is headed by the US-based NGOWorld Vision, states the embassy release.
On Wednesday it was the turn of Nampula, where the provincial governor, Felismino Tocoli, inaugurated the programme, in the presence of the director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Mozambique, Todd Amani.
A photograph exhibition is due to be opened in the National Ethnology Museum in Nampula on Friday to mark 25 years of partnership between Mozambique and US.
The photos to be exhibited show the various programmes financed by the US in Mozambique. These cover areas such as health, sanitation, mine clearing, natural disasters, agriculture, education, defense, human rights and good governance.
Source:allafrica.com/
These programmes, named "Strengthening Communities through Integrated Programming" (SCIP), are to provide integrated health services, including HIV/AIDS prevention, support for rural enterprises, hygiene and sanitation, among other services, to be carried out in partnership with the beneficiaries and the US government.
The SCIP was launched this Tuesday in Zambezia, where the consortium of partners is headed by the US-based NGOWorld Vision, states the embassy release.
On Wednesday it was the turn of Nampula, where the provincial governor, Felismino Tocoli, inaugurated the programme, in the presence of the director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Mozambique, Todd Amani.
A photograph exhibition is due to be opened in the National Ethnology Museum in Nampula on Friday to mark 25 years of partnership between Mozambique and US.
The photos to be exhibited show the various programmes financed by the US in Mozambique. These cover areas such as health, sanitation, mine clearing, natural disasters, agriculture, education, defense, human rights and good governance.
Source:allafrica.com/
SPORT STONES: Thank God and Mozambique, we are in South Africa
The first person to
call me after the Super Eagles qualified for the World Cup was the
Chief Standards Editor of NEXT, Gbemiga Ogunleye.
A diehard Gunner, I
take pleasure in teasing Mr. Ogunleye each time Arsenal kids are taught
one or two lessons in football by Manchester United, Chelsea, or any of
the Cities, Hull, Stoke, Birmingham, or Bolton.
But Mr. Ogunleye is
also a diehard supporter of the Super Eagles. After our 2-2 draw
against Tunisia in Abuja, his number one concern was our chances of
qualifying for the World Cup. Each time he asked, I always told him
that ‘blessed are the hopeful, for they will not be disappointed’. I
was cocksure that the Eagles could not qualify after throwing that
opportunity away and was already thinking of 2014 World Cup.
Converted by a trip to Mozambican border
Penultimate week, I
was in South Africa for a training workshop at the University of
Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg. After the programme, a few of us
decided to travel to Mpumalanga province. The farther we explored the
province, the closer we got to Mozambique. At most bars and
restaurants, we foundd a lot of Mozambican tourists and immigrants, and
the only subject of discourse was the match between Mozambique and
Tunisia and how imperative it was for them to win the match and qualify
for the Nations Cup which is taking place in their region.
They told me the
Super Eagles were going to lose in Kenya, so they needed to win their
match to avoid the embarrassment of missing out of the Nations Cup and
watch Kenya on television.
The Mozambicans
could not understand how Nigeria escaped from Maputo with a point, and
how they left Abuja without a point after playing so well.
Given the zeal with which the Mozambicans played, I knew the best the Tunisians could get was a draw.
Back in Nigeria
When I entered the
newsroom last week and told my colleagues that the Eagles would
qualify, Nnamdi Okosieme said ‘Kay you don’t change, abi na you go pay
the Kenyan and the Mozambican the Gbalamu or you are now in charge of
tactical for NFF”. Many of my colleagues could not understand where my
optimism was coming from and they advised me not to come to work on
Sunday. It was the same story in the neighbourhood where I live, as
they all told me to pack and start looking for another accommodation.
During the match
when the Eagles were a goal down, Okosieme called me, “Kay, Kenyans don
score, your prediction has failed.” I advised him to relax, that the
game was 90 minutes and not 45 minutes.
At the end of the day, the Eagles qualified, and the Mozambicans also made it to the Nations Cup.
But apart from the
ambition of the Mozambicans and the crisis in the camp of Kenya, the
prayer of Nigerians, especially the General Overseer of the Redeemed
Christian Church Of God, Pastor Adajare Adeboye, were answered. Paul
Bankole wrote in Next last Tuesday that we would qualify because God
would intervene on our behalf.
What next ?
Now that we have qualified, the NFF and its spin doctors will go to town and start claiming the glory that belongs to God.
Super Eagles coach,
Shaibu Amodu, should be humble enough to admit that he has not got what
it takes to handle the Super Eagles. Amodu’s selection, tactics and
everything about the Eagles coach, are faulty. It is not enough for us
to qualify for the World Cup, we must go there and prove that we are
one of the best.
Our number one need
is a good coach. Many football buffs and fans would say that we don’t
have players again, that the last time we had quality players was
USA’94.
Check the pedigree
of the players we have today and the ones we used for the USA’94 World
Cup; you need not be an Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho to know that we
have better players today.
The Eagles, under
Amodu, are like England under Steve MaClaren. A bunch of uncommitted
players who are not giving their best because they are untouchable; who
will play for the national team irrespective of their form and
performances in training. The same set of players that could not
qualify for the EURO 2008, qualified for the World Cup with two matches
to spare.
With a Capello-like coach, the Eagles will make a huge impact in
South Africa. One hopes Sanni Lulu, Bolaji Ojo-Oba and Taiwo Ogunjobi
are reading.
Source:234next.com/
Principals To Announce Talks Outcome
HARARE, December 11, 2009 – Zimbabwe’s political leaders are on Monday expected to announce the outcome of the latest round of talks whichwere called by the SADC troika in Maputo, Mozambique early last month.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Thursday evening the three principals will meet on Monday to consider the outcome of the negotiations and make a possible announcement.
“I am hoping that we would be able to announce some position as towhat has been the outcome of the negotiating process as well as ensuring that some of the outstanding issues are resolved,” Tsvangirai said, as he received the new United States ambassador to Zimbabwe,Charles A. Ray at his house in Harare’s low density Strathaven suburb.
“The principals are scheduled to meet on Monday and we have both been briefed by our teams, so we will meet to consider the reports andwhere there are deadlocks, we try to find a political solution to it.Certainly we cannot go on and on for ever and this is the message that has been communicated to us by the South African facilitation team andwe hope we will be able to announce them.
“We must be conscious that we do not break our own deadlines and thatis what I was communicating to the facilitators and the facilitators are also anxious to ensure that we have credibility in the process andso we have a further meeting with the principals to try and receive reports from our various negotiators.”
However, Tsvangirai could not be drawn into revealing what issues would be announced although it is expected that the issues like theZimbabwe Media Commission and the Electoral Commission would be announced.
A South African facilitation team that was appointed by PresidentJacob Zuma has twice been to Zimbabwe in as many weeks to press Zimbabwe’s parties into respecting the November 5 deadline set by SADC.
The MDC seeks the reversal of all unilateral appointments made by President Robert Mugabe after the signing of the GPA in September last year.
They include those of the Attorney General, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, provincial governors and ambassadors.
The MDC also wants its treasurer general Roy Bennett, who is currently being tried for terrorism, to be unconditionally sworn into his position as deputy minister of agriculture.
It is also seeking a stop to continued invasions on productive farmsby Zanu PF supporters, state media bias, the failure by the National Security Council to meet regularly and the continued arrest of its activists.
Zanu PF wants the MDC to unequivocally commit itself to making calls for the lifting of western imposed targeted sanctions on its officials and businesses and the dissolution of the so-called parallel government structures.
But Tsvangirai said the removal of sanctions was a collective responsibility as opposed to that of his party alone.
“It is wrong to imply that MDC has liability over those issues. This is a collective liability as a nation and therefore that collective liability must be resolved collectively especially when it comes to ensuring that we comply with the benchmarks set by those people who set out those restrictions,” said Tsvangirai.
Source:radiovop.com/
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Thursday evening the three principals will meet on Monday to consider the outcome of the negotiations and make a possible announcement.
“I am hoping that we would be able to announce some position as towhat has been the outcome of the negotiating process as well as ensuring that some of the outstanding issues are resolved,” Tsvangirai said, as he received the new United States ambassador to Zimbabwe,Charles A. Ray at his house in Harare’s low density Strathaven suburb.
“The principals are scheduled to meet on Monday and we have both been briefed by our teams, so we will meet to consider the reports andwhere there are deadlocks, we try to find a political solution to it.Certainly we cannot go on and on for ever and this is the message that has been communicated to us by the South African facilitation team andwe hope we will be able to announce them.
“We must be conscious that we do not break our own deadlines and thatis what I was communicating to the facilitators and the facilitators are also anxious to ensure that we have credibility in the process andso we have a further meeting with the principals to try and receive reports from our various negotiators.”
However, Tsvangirai could not be drawn into revealing what issues would be announced although it is expected that the issues like theZimbabwe Media Commission and the Electoral Commission would be announced.
A South African facilitation team that was appointed by PresidentJacob Zuma has twice been to Zimbabwe in as many weeks to press Zimbabwe’s parties into respecting the November 5 deadline set by SADC.
The MDC seeks the reversal of all unilateral appointments made by President Robert Mugabe after the signing of the GPA in September last year.
They include those of the Attorney General, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, provincial governors and ambassadors.
The MDC also wants its treasurer general Roy Bennett, who is currently being tried for terrorism, to be unconditionally sworn into his position as deputy minister of agriculture.
It is also seeking a stop to continued invasions on productive farmsby Zanu PF supporters, state media bias, the failure by the National Security Council to meet regularly and the continued arrest of its activists.
Zanu PF wants the MDC to unequivocally commit itself to making calls for the lifting of western imposed targeted sanctions on its officials and businesses and the dissolution of the so-called parallel government structures.
But Tsvangirai said the removal of sanctions was a collective responsibility as opposed to that of his party alone.
“It is wrong to imply that MDC has liability over those issues. This is a collective liability as a nation and therefore that collective liability must be resolved collectively especially when it comes to ensuring that we comply with the benchmarks set by those people who set out those restrictions,” said Tsvangirai.
Source:radiovop.com/
Mozambique: Overhaul of Anti-Corruption Strategy Needed
Maputo — No government agency can, on its own, take responsibility for fighting corruption, prominent Mozambican jurist Abdul Carimo, director of the government's Legal Reform Technical Unit (UTREL), warned on Wednesday.
Speaking at Maputo commemorations of World Anti-Corruption Day, Carimo argued that "only a network of public institutions, each playing their role in dissuasion, denunciation, investigation and punishment of corrupt practices" could defeat corruption.
"The battle can only be won if public and private institutions act together and with the single purpose of guaranteeing that corruption does not subvert governance", he added.
Although corruption involves larger sums of money in rich countries than in poor ones, corruption is a worse problem in Africa than in Europe, because African countries "lack a system that reacts to the presence of corruption".
Such a system was the equivalent of the human immune system that reacts rapidly to infection. "Africa in general has not yet developed this defence system, which makes it hard to fight against the virus of corruption", said Carimo.
Certain basic conditions were required, he added. One was "political will, expressed not just in speeches but in concrete acts", and a second was a legal environment "that grants effective powers of investigation and clear rules of evidence, which helps to prosecute and judge crimes of corruption".
Carimo also called for "a clear, complete and coherent strategy for the fight against corruption". This would include not only the effective application of the law, and a fight against impunity, but also the elimination of opportunities for corruption.
This meant, for example, scrapping discretionary powers, "administrative improvisation", excessive centralisation and "obsolete management systems".
Carimo also called for educating the public about corruption, since "no authority can combat corruption without the support of citizens".
The objective of an anti-corruption strategy, he said, should be "on the one hand, to reduce corruption to the point where it does not undermine the construction of the state, the functioning of institutions and the transparency of business, and on the other to bring the people to regard it as a threat and to protect themselves from it".
The current anti-corruption law needed a major overhaul. Carimo pointed out that it is in conflict with other legislation, including the Penal Code, and does not cover certain types of crimes, that would normally be regarded as corruption, such as trafficking in influence, and illicit enrichment.
Furthermore the law is so poorly drafted that it only punishes people who are successfully corrupt, and not those whose attempts to demand bribes fail. The current law also deals exclusively with the public sector, and does not deal with corruption in the private sector.
So Carimo suggested that a new law should be passed covering all types of corruption, including within the private sector, and covering such issues as conflict of interests, abuse of public office, abuse of trust, and trafficking in influence. The legislation should be harmonised, so that the country did not possess laws that contradicted each other.
Carimo thought there should be provisions to encourage criminals to confess. Thus people who admit to corrupt behaviour, repay any stolen money, and blow the whistle on others involved in corrupt networks, should be pardoned or receive a suspended sentence.
Carimo also argued that the powers of the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption (GCCC), which operates out of the Attorney-General's Office, should be covered in a separate law. This should allow the GCCC not only to investigate cases, but also to prosecute them.
This would end the current anomaly whereby the GCCC, although consisting of prosecutors, cannot itself prosecute cases, but must hand them over to the provincial attorneys. The GCCC should also be empowered to take preventive measures to seize assets, preventing those suspected of corruption from selling off possessions they may have illicitly acquired.
A further new piece of legislation suggested by Carimo was for the protection of witnesses and whistle blowers. This was required, not only in cases of corruption, but in all forms of organised crime, including money laundering, and drug trafficking.
Source:allafrica.com/
Speaking at Maputo commemorations of World Anti-Corruption Day, Carimo argued that "only a network of public institutions, each playing their role in dissuasion, denunciation, investigation and punishment of corrupt practices" could defeat corruption.
"The battle can only be won if public and private institutions act together and with the single purpose of guaranteeing that corruption does not subvert governance", he added.
Although corruption involves larger sums of money in rich countries than in poor ones, corruption is a worse problem in Africa than in Europe, because African countries "lack a system that reacts to the presence of corruption".
Such a system was the equivalent of the human immune system that reacts rapidly to infection. "Africa in general has not yet developed this defence system, which makes it hard to fight against the virus of corruption", said Carimo.
Certain basic conditions were required, he added. One was "political will, expressed not just in speeches but in concrete acts", and a second was a legal environment "that grants effective powers of investigation and clear rules of evidence, which helps to prosecute and judge crimes of corruption".
Carimo also called for "a clear, complete and coherent strategy for the fight against corruption". This would include not only the effective application of the law, and a fight against impunity, but also the elimination of opportunities for corruption.
This meant, for example, scrapping discretionary powers, "administrative improvisation", excessive centralisation and "obsolete management systems".
Carimo also called for educating the public about corruption, since "no authority can combat corruption without the support of citizens".
The objective of an anti-corruption strategy, he said, should be "on the one hand, to reduce corruption to the point where it does not undermine the construction of the state, the functioning of institutions and the transparency of business, and on the other to bring the people to regard it as a threat and to protect themselves from it".
The current anti-corruption law needed a major overhaul. Carimo pointed out that it is in conflict with other legislation, including the Penal Code, and does not cover certain types of crimes, that would normally be regarded as corruption, such as trafficking in influence, and illicit enrichment.
Furthermore the law is so poorly drafted that it only punishes people who are successfully corrupt, and not those whose attempts to demand bribes fail. The current law also deals exclusively with the public sector, and does not deal with corruption in the private sector.
So Carimo suggested that a new law should be passed covering all types of corruption, including within the private sector, and covering such issues as conflict of interests, abuse of public office, abuse of trust, and trafficking in influence. The legislation should be harmonised, so that the country did not possess laws that contradicted each other.
Carimo thought there should be provisions to encourage criminals to confess. Thus people who admit to corrupt behaviour, repay any stolen money, and blow the whistle on others involved in corrupt networks, should be pardoned or receive a suspended sentence.
Carimo also argued that the powers of the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption (GCCC), which operates out of the Attorney-General's Office, should be covered in a separate law. This should allow the GCCC not only to investigate cases, but also to prosecute them.
This would end the current anomaly whereby the GCCC, although consisting of prosecutors, cannot itself prosecute cases, but must hand them over to the provincial attorneys. The GCCC should also be empowered to take preventive measures to seize assets, preventing those suspected of corruption from selling off possessions they may have illicitly acquired.
A further new piece of legislation suggested by Carimo was for the protection of witnesses and whistle blowers. This was required, not only in cases of corruption, but in all forms of organised crime, including money laundering, and drug trafficking.
Source:allafrica.com/
Angola, Mozambique approve media cooperation accord
Luanda – A cooperation accord between Angola and Mozambique in the domain of social communication has been in force since October 07, 2009, following the release of the Cabinet Council contained in the series 190 of the Gazette that reached Angop on Sunday.
The source mentions the friendship and cooperation relations between the two governments, based on the reciprocal and respect of the principles contained in Charter of the African Union Organisation.
Moreover, the accord has also taken into account the fraternal, historical ties between the two peoples and the desire to promote and increase cooperation.
The source mentions the friendship and cooperation relations between the two governments, based on the reciprocal and respect of the principles contained in Charter of the African Union Organisation.
Moreover, the accord has also taken into account the fraternal, historical ties between the two peoples and the desire to promote and increase cooperation.
Amnesty urges justice in Mozambique police deaths
MAPUTO — Human rights group Amnesty International criticised Mozambique on Monday for failing to investigate and prosecute police officers suspected of unlawful killings.
Amnesty released a report criticising what it called a lack of justice in police brutality cases in the southern African country, where the organisation says at least 46 people have been unlawfully killed by police since 2006.
Amnesty called on Mozambique's government to take a tougher stance on excessive police violence and ensure justice for victims' families in cases of unlawful police killings.
"The government seems to have permitted and even encouraged a number of obstacles to be put in the way of victims' families as they sought justice," said Erwin van der Borght, head of Amnesty's Africa programme.
"The families of victims face almost insurmountable challenges and only the most persistent and well-off have been able to get some small measure of justice."
Amnesty blamed police officers' tendency to "protect their own" for contributing to a lack of justice in extra-judicial police killings.
The report recommends the government launch impartial investigations into police killings, make autopsies mandatory in police shootings and pay reparations to victims' families.
Mozambique is one of the world's poorest countries, and has struggled with police corruption and brutality in the face of low wages, high crime rates and a back-log of criminal cases.
The Mozambican Human Rights League has called on authorities to improve police training and implement law enforcement reforms in order to put an end to cases of torture and summary execution at the hands of police.
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gUJWvd16_RGqSyQkBcwGbu_QOHYw
Mozambique opposition rejects election results
MAPUTO — Mozambique's main opposition party Renamo said Tuesday it rejects the southern African country's recent general elections and called on officials to annul the results of the vote.
Renamo lost the October 28 poll to Frelimo, the party that has ruled Mozambique since independence in 1975. Official results gave Frelimo 75 percent of the vote to 18 percent for Renamo.
Renamo accused Frelimo of stuffing ballot boxes and other "electoral crime," and submitted a formal complaint to the country's national elections commission asking for the poll to be annulled.
"Renamo calls on the good sense of the elections commission in analysing the questions posed by our party to decide for the annulment of the presidential, legislative and provincial elections," said the complaint, quoted in the independent newspaper O Pais.
"We are looking at an electoral crime," Renamo spokeswoman Ivone Soares told reporters.
"In the face of all these deliberate and intentional irregularities committed by election officials, under Frelimo's orders, Renamo ... will not accept the results of the October 28 elections."
The elections commission has acknowledged the vote was marred by polling station workers who intentionally invalidated ballots by making extra ink marks on them.
The commission also excluded more than 100,000 ballots, according to an analysis by the Mozambican Public Integrity Center and the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa.
The groups, which have been monitoring the counting process, said the decision amounted to an implicit recognition of ballot box stuffing.
But the elections commission said the irregularities were not enough to affect the outcome of the poll.
Former rebel group Renamo, which fought the Frelimo government in a 16-year civil war following independence, has made allegations of electoral fraud following each of Mozambique's four national elections since a 1992 peace agreement ushered in the country's first democratic polls.
Renamo has never won a majority in parliament, and long-time party leader Afonso Dhlakama has run unsuccessfully for president in each election.
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jU2dHeVa9DKkZku8slfqULRrRmlg
Mozambique: Major corruption trial begins
MAPUTO, Mozambique — A former Cabinet minister and four other defendants are standing trial in the biggest corruption case to go to court in Mozambique since independence in 1975.
In the trial that began Monday, former Transport Minister Antonio Munguambe and four former officials of the company that runs this southeast African country's airports are accused of stealing nearly $2 million from the company. They face sentences of between eight and 12 years in prison.
Munguambe was appointed in 2005 and fired last year — not because of the corruption scandal, but because of riots in Maputo over the high price of fuel.
Another corruption trial, involving former Interior Minister Almerino Manhenje, will be held sometime next year.
Mozambique passed an anti-corruption law in 2004. President Armando Guebuza, who first came to power in 2005 and won re-election last month, has promised to root out graft.
But Marcelo Mosse, an independent Mozambican anti-graft campaigner, said, "It does not mean that things will change just because the case is on."
Mosse said corruption is too entrenched within Guebuza's Frelimo party, which has ruled Mozambique since independence from Portugal in 1975. He said most of the accused in what is known here as the Airport Case are linked to the party, which controls state businesses.
The judge trying the Airport Case, Dimas Marroa, told reporters Tuesday some of the stolen funds went into Frelimo's coffers.
Prosecutors say the thefts from the airport company took place between 2005 and October 2008. The judge said he believes even more may have been taken.
Mosse said corruption undermines development in one of Africa's most impoverished countries, because even aid money from abroad is being stolen.
Mozambique ranked among the 50 most corrupt countries in the world the watchdog Transparency International said in its annual Corruption Perceptions Index released Tuesday. Mozambique was tied with countries like Nigeria and Libya in the ranking that measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in 180 countries, drawing on surveys of businesses and experts.
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g3TYIVL1rx2e4tIZdjKUuib2-R_wD9C1DA780
In the trial that began Monday, former Transport Minister Antonio Munguambe and four former officials of the company that runs this southeast African country's airports are accused of stealing nearly $2 million from the company. They face sentences of between eight and 12 years in prison.
Munguambe was appointed in 2005 and fired last year — not because of the corruption scandal, but because of riots in Maputo over the high price of fuel.
Another corruption trial, involving former Interior Minister Almerino Manhenje, will be held sometime next year.
Mozambique passed an anti-corruption law in 2004. President Armando Guebuza, who first came to power in 2005 and won re-election last month, has promised to root out graft.
But Marcelo Mosse, an independent Mozambican anti-graft campaigner, said, "It does not mean that things will change just because the case is on."
Mosse said corruption is too entrenched within Guebuza's Frelimo party, which has ruled Mozambique since independence from Portugal in 1975. He said most of the accused in what is known here as the Airport Case are linked to the party, which controls state businesses.
The judge trying the Airport Case, Dimas Marroa, told reporters Tuesday some of the stolen funds went into Frelimo's coffers.
Prosecutors say the thefts from the airport company took place between 2005 and October 2008. The judge said he believes even more may have been taken.
Mosse said corruption undermines development in one of Africa's most impoverished countries, because even aid money from abroad is being stolen.
Mozambique ranked among the 50 most corrupt countries in the world the watchdog Transparency International said in its annual Corruption Perceptions Index released Tuesday. Mozambique was tied with countries like Nigeria and Libya in the ranking that measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in 180 countries, drawing on surveys of businesses and experts.
Source:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g3TYIVL1rx2e4tIZdjKUuib2-R_wD9C1DA780
Cove Energy eyes start of four-well programme offshore Mozambique
Oil and gas group Cove Energy today said a drillship was on its way from port in Mozambique to begin a four well drilling programme on the Rovuma Offshore Area 1.
The programme is expected to get underway in the next few days with the initial plan to set surface casing for the Collier well and then move to and drill the Windjammer well before returning to Collier. The offshore Rovuma Block is operated by Anadarko Petroleum and 8.5% held by Cove.
Elsewhere, Cove said that Anadarko had encountered hydrocarbon shows during the drilling of the Mecupa 1 commitment well on the Rovuma Onshore Concession in Mozambique. Pending further evaluation of the well data, the decision has been taken by the partners to plug and abandon the well at this time. Cove holds a conditional 10% participating interest covering the Rovuma onshore area.
John Craven, the chief executive of Cove Energy, said: “The information seen in the Mecupa well is positive for the onshore block, in that the well encountered excellent reservoir sands and indications of hydrocarbons at various intervals.”
In September, Cove agreed a deal with French group Maurel & Prom for the two sides to farm-in to three oil and gas interests held by Canadian company Artumas. Two of those included Rovuma Offshore Area 1 and Rovuma Onshore Concession and the other was the Mnazi Bay project in Tanzania.
Source:smallcapnews.co.uk/
The programme is expected to get underway in the next few days with the initial plan to set surface casing for the Collier well and then move to and drill the Windjammer well before returning to Collier. The offshore Rovuma Block is operated by Anadarko Petroleum and 8.5% held by Cove.
Elsewhere, Cove said that Anadarko had encountered hydrocarbon shows during the drilling of the Mecupa 1 commitment well on the Rovuma Onshore Concession in Mozambique. Pending further evaluation of the well data, the decision has been taken by the partners to plug and abandon the well at this time. Cove holds a conditional 10% participating interest covering the Rovuma onshore area.
John Craven, the chief executive of Cove Energy, said: “The information seen in the Mecupa well is positive for the onshore block, in that the well encountered excellent reservoir sands and indications of hydrocarbons at various intervals.”
In September, Cove agreed a deal with French group Maurel & Prom for the two sides to farm-in to three oil and gas interests held by Canadian company Artumas. Two of those included Rovuma Offshore Area 1 and Rovuma Onshore Concession and the other was the Mnazi Bay project in Tanzania.
Source:smallcapnews.co.uk/
Will GU, Santos alter Botswana fortunes?
Will Gaborone United (GU) and Uniao Flamengo Santos change the fortunes of Botswana football in African club competitions?
The question might seem frivolous after the draw for the CAF Champions League pitted GU against South African giants, Orlando Pirates and Santos against Mozambique's seasoned campaigners, Costa Do Sol in CAF Confederations Cup. Barring a major upset, the two Botswana sides seem doomed. They are not likely to better or equal the record of Notwane as the only Botswana club to reach the last 16 of an African club competition.
In the current campaign, the match to watch for Botswana fans is GU against Pirates.Even if they are tossed out, GU might be smiling all the way to the bank as the South African side command a huge following even in Botswana.
If properly marketed, the game should easily attract a full house in Gaborone, hopefully to the National Stadium. GU have said they want the game to be played at the giant stadium as it can accommodate a large crowd. But the stadium is under renovation and it is not clear if it will be ready when the preliminary round tie is played on the weekend of February 12 to 14.
In all respects, Pirates are miles ahead of GU. Formed in 1937, Pirates is South Africa's oldest club and has won everything on offer on the domestic scene. They are the only southern African team that wears a kit with a star above their badge - symbolic of their triumph in the 1995 Champions League.
Pirates started the 2009-2010 well, winning their first nine matches before hitting a rough patch. However, they still boast some of the best talent in South Africa, including the talismanic, Tsholofelo 'Teko' Modise. Local fans should be salivating at the prospect of watching former Township Rollers' player, Phenyo Mongala in action against his homeboys. Other big names at Pirates include goalkeeper, Moneeb Josephs, Dikgang Mabalane, Terror Fanteni and Lucas Thwala. Their coach Rudolf Krol of Holland is however under pressure after the poor run of form and it is not clear if he will still be around come February. Judging by history, Pirates are favoured to progress through to the first round.
The Buccaneers qualified for the CAF Champions League after finishing second behind Super Sport United. South Africa has been allocated two slots in the Champions League.
Botswana has only one slot taken by GU, which won their first national title last season after nearly 20 years. Formed in Gaborone in 1967, the club became a dominant force in the country and earned the nickname, 'the Money Machine' in the 1980s because of its brutal dominance in cash-laden cup competitions. There was a turbulent time when the club dropped to the First Division for five years but bounced back to claim their first league title in 19 years last season.
They have participated twice in the CAF Champions League - in 1987 and 1991. They went out in the preliminaries and would be looking for a change of fortunes this time around. They participated in the CAF Confederations Cup once in 1984. GU boasts good players in Sageby Sandaka, Ronald Chikomo, Ofentse Nato and Joseph Phethego. Driven by the underdog tag against fancied Pirates might work in their favour.
In the CAF Confederations Cup, Santos is a young side both in talent and history. The club was formed in 2003 and boasts of youthful talent. They won their first major title when they bagged the country's premier knockout cup competition, the Coca-Cola Cup, defeating seasoned campaigners, BDF XI in the final.
Santos are making their debut in continental club competitions. Though they are on a learning curve as first timers, they are expected to hit the ground running. In Thato 'Yellow' Bolelweng, Mogakolodi 'Tsotso' Ngele and Godfrey Ngele, the Gabane side boasts of talented youngsters.
But there is need for experience to guide the young players. Thapelo Sethebethe can provide guidance but lacks international experience.
Santos opponents Clube de Desportos Costa Do Sol of Maputo was formed in 1955 and has participated in numerous CAF competitions. The club has made 11 CAF Champions League appearances, reaching the group stages in 2002. They reached the quarterfinals of the then African Cup Winners' Cup twice in 1996 and 1998. With their rich history, Costa Do Sol start as favourites against Santos.
Source:mmegi.bw/
We are ready for Mozambique – ‘Madze’
SOCCER – NATIONAL Under 20 squad’s head-coach Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga has warned that their opening Metropolitan COSAFA Under 20 tournament’s group match against Mozambique would be the toughest today.
Interviewed on the eve of this important match, Bulunga observed that after watching the Mozambicans in action against Madagascar on Monday, he noted some very strong points in their style of play.
“They are definitely not an average team and we need not fool ourselves about that. As far as I can see, this is definitely going to be one of the toughest matches for us and we need to be well prepared for that battle.
“Even Madagascar is also very good technically and we dismiss their next game against them as a walkover,” he warned.
The Umbelebele Cosmos’ mentor, however, sounded confident that his charges would not fail him and the Swazi nation against the Mozambicans.
“I can safely say we are ready for the game. We have done everything to ensure that our players are physically and psychologically ready for the game. They are now ready to play the game,” he said.
support
Bulunga also emphasised on the importance of emotional support, urging all Swazis to travel to Johannesburg and rally behind the local boys.
“Countries like Zambia have a lot of supporters in South Africa and this motivates even their players in the field of play. I’m sure it would really motivate our players to see some Swazis in the crowd, supporting them,” he appealed.
Captain Ncamiso ‘Mbhonyo’ Dlamini, who is Umbelebele Cosmos’ goalkeeper, also assured that they have done their homework after two consecutive defeats against South Africa and Botswana.
“We made a lot of mistakes in those games but we have worked on them and are ready to win against Mozambique. We have been warned by the coaches not to be complacent after what happened against Botswana and I can safely say we are focused on the game now,” he said.
Source:observer.org.sz/
Mozambique: Airports Case - Witness Complains of Pressure
Maputo — As a major corruption trial resumed in Maputo on Monday, another witness confirmed that in 2007 the then chairperson of the Mozambican Airports Company (ADM), Diodino Cambaza, had paid 20,000 dollars to purchase a property in Marracuene district, about 30 kilometres north of Maputo.
Luisa Mucovelo, wife of Joseldo Massango, the man who was selling the property, confirmed to the court that she and her husband had jointly signed the declaration that they had received the money from Cambaza.
Massango had earlier testified that, although he had only wanted 20,000 dollars, Cambaza paid him with a cheque for 25,000. When he cashed the cheque, he gave the extra 5,000 dollars to Cambaza who pocketed it.
The money came from ADM, via its subsidiary, the catering company SMS (Mozambique Services Company), and Cambaza had claimed that the money was to pay for unspecified expenses of the ruling Frelimo Party.
During the investigations, Cambaza had denied any knowledge of Joseldo Massango, and claimed that before his arrest he had never met him.
But Mucovelo told the court that Cambaza had repeatedly sent messengers to her, trying to persuade her to change her story. They wanted her to sign a document saying that she had sold the Marracuene property for 500,000 meticais (about 18,300 dollars).
This would have suppressed the fact that in fact Cambaza had paid for it with 25,000 dollars which his colleagues at ADM and SMS believed had gone to Frelimo. Cambaza's envoys, according to Mucovelo, offered her a bribe of 50,000 meticais which she rejected.
The final envoy from Cambaza was his lawyer, Vasconcelos Porto, accompanied by the head of the ADM legal department, Salvador Taimo. They went to see Mucovele last Thursday.
"He (Vasconcelos) said he wanted to talk with me about his client (Cambaza), but when he discovered that I was the wife of Massango, he didn't say anything else", said Mucovele.
This peculiar incident, which might easily be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate a witness, infuriated the presiding judge, Dimas Marroa. For it is a gross violation of legal ethics for a lawyer representing an accused, in the middle of a trial, to take one witness round to the house of another witness, without so much as informing the court.
During Monday's proceedings, it also emerged that Vasconcelos and Taimo had been to visit the Marracuene property purchased by Cambaza, again without the knowledge of the court.
"The trial had already begun - so with what mandate did you go to the land in Marracuene and to the house of Massango's wife?", Marroa asked Taimo.
Taimo could only respond "I didn't ask Vasconcelos that question".
Since both Vasconcelos and Taimo have law degrees, they should know very well that the only investigations that can be undertaken while a trial is in process are those authorised by the court.
The excuse offered by Vasconcelos was that he had gone to the house in search of another witness. He claimed the court had asked him to locate some of the witnesses he wished to call.
Marroa categorically denied this. "I didn't ask you to intervene", he told Vasconcelos. "In the dispatch I issued there's no request of that sort".
On Monday the court also took evidence from Martins Matola, the secretary of the ADM trade union committee. When a group of workers denounced Cambaza to the anti-corruption office, Matola led a counter-offensive in defence of Cambaza.
He traveled across the country and collected 281 signatures of ADM workers to a petition praising Cambaza for his efforts to improve workers' conditions. The petition was sent to President Armando Guebuza, Prime Minister Luisa Diogo, Attorney-General Augusto Paulino, and other authorities.
Matola told the court that the group who denounced Cambaza "had no legitimacy to speak in the name of all ADM workers".
Marroa asked him if he had ever heard of the fight against corruption. Matola replied that he thought any problem in the company should be debated between the workers, via their trade union committee, and the management. He seemed unable or unwilling to grasp that blowing the whistle on a crime does not depend on a trade union stamp of approval.
Source:allafrica.com/
Luisa Mucovelo, wife of Joseldo Massango, the man who was selling the property, confirmed to the court that she and her husband had jointly signed the declaration that they had received the money from Cambaza.
Massango had earlier testified that, although he had only wanted 20,000 dollars, Cambaza paid him with a cheque for 25,000. When he cashed the cheque, he gave the extra 5,000 dollars to Cambaza who pocketed it.
The money came from ADM, via its subsidiary, the catering company SMS (Mozambique Services Company), and Cambaza had claimed that the money was to pay for unspecified expenses of the ruling Frelimo Party.
During the investigations, Cambaza had denied any knowledge of Joseldo Massango, and claimed that before his arrest he had never met him.
But Mucovelo told the court that Cambaza had repeatedly sent messengers to her, trying to persuade her to change her story. They wanted her to sign a document saying that she had sold the Marracuene property for 500,000 meticais (about 18,300 dollars).
This would have suppressed the fact that in fact Cambaza had paid for it with 25,000 dollars which his colleagues at ADM and SMS believed had gone to Frelimo. Cambaza's envoys, according to Mucovelo, offered her a bribe of 50,000 meticais which she rejected.
The final envoy from Cambaza was his lawyer, Vasconcelos Porto, accompanied by the head of the ADM legal department, Salvador Taimo. They went to see Mucovele last Thursday.
"He (Vasconcelos) said he wanted to talk with me about his client (Cambaza), but when he discovered that I was the wife of Massango, he didn't say anything else", said Mucovele.
This peculiar incident, which might easily be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate a witness, infuriated the presiding judge, Dimas Marroa. For it is a gross violation of legal ethics for a lawyer representing an accused, in the middle of a trial, to take one witness round to the house of another witness, without so much as informing the court.
During Monday's proceedings, it also emerged that Vasconcelos and Taimo had been to visit the Marracuene property purchased by Cambaza, again without the knowledge of the court.
"The trial had already begun - so with what mandate did you go to the land in Marracuene and to the house of Massango's wife?", Marroa asked Taimo.
Taimo could only respond "I didn't ask Vasconcelos that question".
Since both Vasconcelos and Taimo have law degrees, they should know very well that the only investigations that can be undertaken while a trial is in process are those authorised by the court.
The excuse offered by Vasconcelos was that he had gone to the house in search of another witness. He claimed the court had asked him to locate some of the witnesses he wished to call.
Marroa categorically denied this. "I didn't ask you to intervene", he told Vasconcelos. "In the dispatch I issued there's no request of that sort".
On Monday the court also took evidence from Martins Matola, the secretary of the ADM trade union committee. When a group of workers denounced Cambaza to the anti-corruption office, Matola led a counter-offensive in defence of Cambaza.
He traveled across the country and collected 281 signatures of ADM workers to a petition praising Cambaza for his efforts to improve workers' conditions. The petition was sent to President Armando Guebuza, Prime Minister Luisa Diogo, Attorney-General Augusto Paulino, and other authorities.
Matola told the court that the group who denounced Cambaza "had no legitimacy to speak in the name of all ADM workers".
Marroa asked him if he had ever heard of the fight against corruption. Matola replied that he thought any problem in the company should be debated between the workers, via their trade union committee, and the management. He seemed unable or unwilling to grasp that blowing the whistle on a crime does not depend on a trade union stamp of approval.
Source:allafrica.com/
Mozambique: Maputo Council to Invest in Reorganizing Suburbs
Maputo — The Maputo Municipality is to implement, as from next year, an integrated development project for the Chamanculo 'C' neighbourhood, with Italian and Brazilian cooperation, declared the city's mayor, David Simango, on Monday.
According to the plans, it will take 24 months to implement this project, and it will cost 2.7 million US dollars.
"In practice, we want to urbanize this neghbourhood, and have well identified plots, to open roads, to build drainage and sanitation systems, in order to improve the lives of the residents", said Simango.
'We want to use the case of Chamunculo 'C' as a pilot experience to be extended to all of entire Chamanculo, Mafalala, and Maxaquene suburbs, which are the suburbs with most problems of access roads and population resettlement", he added.
Simango was addressing the opening session of a four day meeting on cooperation between Mozambique and Italy in this specific area of urban planning. Representatives of various departments of the Brazilian government, as well as the Italian government attended.
The meeting is to approve the final document of the project and actions to mobilize the communities and carry out the necessary plans for the technical studies in the field.
Preparations for the document in question started about a year ago, and brought a number of specialists from Italy and Brazil to Maputo, and a delegation from the Maputo municipal council visited Brazil to exchange experiences and learn methods of how to implement the project.
Simango said that expectations are that the meeting will find consensus to ensure "the success of the project in its methodological, technical and financial aspects, and also in the mechanisms of technical inspection and financial management".
As for the need to resettle some families, whose houses may have to be demolished to give way to the implementation of the project, Simango said "the approach is to move families only when justified. It is not to move everyone. The idea is not to destroy everything and clear up the zone afterwards".
"Obviously, we will do so whenever necessary to open roads, and that may affect some people", said Simango. "But we have the experience of building urban roads where we move the minimum number of people when necessary".
In such cases, the people moved would be compensated - not monetarily, but providing them with "a new plot, and conditions for a new house, sometimes better than the one they had before", said the mayor.
Source:allafrica.com/
According to the plans, it will take 24 months to implement this project, and it will cost 2.7 million US dollars.
"In practice, we want to urbanize this neghbourhood, and have well identified plots, to open roads, to build drainage and sanitation systems, in order to improve the lives of the residents", said Simango.
'We want to use the case of Chamunculo 'C' as a pilot experience to be extended to all of entire Chamanculo, Mafalala, and Maxaquene suburbs, which are the suburbs with most problems of access roads and population resettlement", he added.
Simango was addressing the opening session of a four day meeting on cooperation between Mozambique and Italy in this specific area of urban planning. Representatives of various departments of the Brazilian government, as well as the Italian government attended.
The meeting is to approve the final document of the project and actions to mobilize the communities and carry out the necessary plans for the technical studies in the field.
Preparations for the document in question started about a year ago, and brought a number of specialists from Italy and Brazil to Maputo, and a delegation from the Maputo municipal council visited Brazil to exchange experiences and learn methods of how to implement the project.
Simango said that expectations are that the meeting will find consensus to ensure "the success of the project in its methodological, technical and financial aspects, and also in the mechanisms of technical inspection and financial management".
As for the need to resettle some families, whose houses may have to be demolished to give way to the implementation of the project, Simango said "the approach is to move families only when justified. It is not to move everyone. The idea is not to destroy everything and clear up the zone afterwards".
"Obviously, we will do so whenever necessary to open roads, and that may affect some people", said Simango. "But we have the experience of building urban roads where we move the minimum number of people when necessary".
In such cases, the people moved would be compensated - not monetarily, but providing them with "a new plot, and conditions for a new house, sometimes better than the one they had before", said the mayor.
Source:allafrica.com/
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