Mozambique: Can Current Conflicts Put Pressure on the Economy?

Joaquim Alberto Chissano, former President of the Republic of Mozambique, talks about the impacts of the current conflicts on the country’s economy and investments.

“Mozambique did not have peace after its declaration of Independence, yet there were companies that still didn’t leave the country. They were firmly here even during the war, and in those days enemy forces didn’t care if they destroyed whatever there was in Mozambique. But they persisted, and some small investments came even during the war, which increased significantly once peace arrived. This is just to illustrate that even in the worst case scenario, the economy can still keep going; not necessarily thrive, but still maintain some operations”, says Joaquim Chissano.

“In the current case, I don’t believe this is a war. It’s not spread across the country. There’s a focus of disturbance, in an attempt to put pressure on the Government, and it seems to me that the opposition now realises that the economy cannot be altogether destroyed. They can’t go and attack the coal mines, if they ultimately wish to rule; they also can’t destroy the power lines, as they did during the first days of this destabilisation – which I now don’t think can go very far, because their argument is that they want to come to power, and they want to come to power in order to rule. I honestly don’t think they can imagine that on getting there they’ll rebuild all that they’re out to destroy”, he adds.

“We have power lines that are thousands and thousands of kilometres long. It took us whole years to build these, and the Government is still building another branch or more. They must clearly realise that if they come and rule, they need this infrastructure in place. This also applies to bridges. They can’t just think about destroying them. Anadarko, Vale and ENI are here, and I don’t see the insurgents destroying their platforms. Therefore, if these partners had a part to play, it would be more a contribution to better sense, aimed at those seeking to destabilise the Government. This allows for a space to search for solutions, and they could themselves intervene positively”, he concludes.