Activities of
- Conflict in
Mozambique's Cabo Delgado region has been widely reported, including an insurgency by Islamic militants. - The conflict may, at least in part, be related to a large land concession near the town of Palma controlled by a gas consortium called
Mozambique LNG Consortium , which is led by French-based multinational company,TotalEnergies . TotalEnergies commissioned a report, written by a respected human rights activist, to examine the "socioeconomic, humanitarian and human rights situation in the Palma-Afungi-Mocimboa area" of Cabo Delgado.
The activities of an American cashew nut company are questioned in a report on the humanitarian plight caused by the displacement of communities by a gas consortium in northern
The report commissioned by
The report examines the various initiatives by the gas consortium to mitigate the direct impact on farmers and fishers who are removed from their traditional land and fishing grounds, the impact of the displacement on surrounding villages, and the threat of economic inequality caused by development related to the pending gas boom in an area bereft of infrastructure and services.
There are a host of international and local non-profit organisations involved in initiatives such as boat-building, irrigation for produce to be purchased by Mozambique LNG, a sewing factory to produce personal safety equipment for gas workers, and micro-credit to support women-led projects, amongst others. Many of these projects, partly necessitated by the displacement from the gas processing site, are insufficient, incomplete, or badly managed.
This includes the relocation and compensation under the Resettlement Plan initially developed by
There were "reservations" expressed by the population about a lack of consent or information, the assessment of damages, compensation, and the payment of compensation. "Most of the people we met expressed their concerns," state Rufin and Glowacki.
Contracts were drawn up in Portuguese although most families spoke Swahili, and draft deeds which would allow families to defend their interests, were not issued.
Read the full report on
There were also displaced families that had been assigned to new land in neighbouring communities. This was on the basis that these neighbouring communities would give up this land and be compensated for it. But they have not received their compensation and have thus refused to release it, meaning the displaced families cannot cultivate it.
There is also the impact on fishers who have been shifted inland and are now transported to the coast by shuttle bus.
"This system creates scheduling constraints and is not compatible with the irregular nature of fishing practices," notes the report.
It also meant all the fishers were having to fish at approximately the same place, reducing catch and over-exploiting marine resources at that location.
"It would be more reasonable to equip these populations with autonomous means of transport (tuk-tuks), allowing them to go to the coast at a time that is convenient for them," state Rufin and Glowacki.
Special cases
Sunshine Nuts's cashew production project is singled out as one of two special cases.
According to the report, the US-registered Sunshine Nuts set up the
But the report states the CEO of the foundation is also the CEO of the Sunshine Nuts company, and while the company's involvement may be accompanied by "socio-economic actions" it is, strictly speaking, "a commercial activity".
The report states the production of the cashew trees and the construction of "the plant" are commercial in nature, but the agreement is between Mozambique LNG and the foundation, which is a non-profit organisation. The foundation purchases the cashews from farmers at a price regulated by the state.
In response to emailed questions,
Larson said the company provides roasting operations in
Larson said, "All activities, whether our
The report also questioned the
The consortium elected to leave about 2,000 hectares outside the Afungi site's fenced area, and the report notes that about 500 hectares of this is used by the
The report notes one of the difficulties of resettlement is providing land to compensate those who have been displaced, resulting in neighbouring villages having to give up some of their territory.
"Why take the territory of neighbouring villages rather than using these lands not occupied by the (gas) project?" ask Rufin and Glowacki.
Larson said "every person who had a piece of land" had already been compensated elsewhere, and the 500 hectares within the gas consortium site was allocated to the
"In many ways,
Lastly, the report noted the
However, Larson said most of the 92 people the foundation employed were Muslim, and staff were not forced to take part in any religious activity. No Christian proselytising took place and Muslim staff were given time to conduct Islamic prayers, work times were altered during
Relationship with the army
The other special case highlighed in the report is the relationship between Mozambique LNG and the Mozambican army.
The gas consortium inherited an agreement between
The agreement included the provision of accommodation, food and equipment for the soldiers, as well as individual bonuses which would be withdrawn in the event of any human rights violations.
Originally, the JTF was needed to protect the Afungi site from Islamic insurgents who attacked Mocímboa da
"Poorly equipped, unprotected and without supply, the Mozambican army troops were at the time vulnerable," notes the report. "Their low pay could encourage abuses against the civilian population. The mechanism of a bonus was aimed at reducing this risk and providing an immediate sanction in case of non-compliance."
However, the situation has since changed. Following insurgents taking over Palma in
However, Mozambique LNG remains saddled with the Mozambican soldiers, with whom, through the payment of conditional bonuses, it has individual financial relationships.
"In the event of human rights violations, this link directly engages the responsibility of the consortium without it being able to act either in relation to the command or the sanctions applied to those responsible for these violations."
A permanent link between Mozambique LNG and the Mozambican army would make the consortium party to the conflict under international conventions.
A way forward
Following cyclones Kenneth and Idai, and the attacks by insurgents, operations at Afungi are suspended by force majeure. With security returning to the region, the lifting of the force majeure would "more than likely" result in "a massive influx of people" seeking work, particularly in construction of the gas plant. The report says it is necessary to complete the resettlement process to reduce the impact of such an influx on local communities.
Following recommendations from the report,
The foundation's programmes would have a multi-year budget of
The foundation would have a supervisory board made up of civil society and Mozambique LNG representatives, with community liaison officers recruited from all affected communities.
Copyright GroundUp. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source