Mozambique / Attacks: NGO considers security agreement with French Total to be discriminatory

 On August 24, Total announced a review of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Mozambican Government for the operation of a joint force for the security of the natural gas project of the Area 1 consortium in the Rovuma basin, northern Mozambique.

In an analysis of the agreement, CIP understands that the Mozambican executive and Total ignored the impact of the armed conflict elsewhere in the province of Cabo Delgado, by focusing geographically on the understanding in Area 1 - Afungi, district of Palma.

"As this is an important document that provides for measures in the face of the conflict in Cabo Delgado, with a view to protecting the investments made in that province and guaranteeing the benefits of the exploitation of resources in general, it would be expected that it would involve other companies that also operate in that part of the country ", defends the CIP.

On the other hand, the text continues, the districts and localities plagued by the action of armed groups are interconnected, a situation that requires greater coverage of security strategies in the face of armed violence.

"It is also important to emphasize that the memorandum of understanding [between Government and Total] will have a direct impact on the lives of local communities, the provincial business community, on the inspection capacity of the National Petroleum Institute [INP], of the National Institute of Mines [Inami] and in the lives of Mozambicans, in general ", observes the CIP.

The organization also points out that the agreement affects Mozambique's national sovereignty, because it dellegates national security matters to a company that pursues strictly private interests.

CIP emphasizes that the expenses resulting from the agreement must be regulated, taking into account that the costs will encumber the investments of the consortium project and lower the tax revenues of the Mozambican State.

"The fact that the memorandum of understanding is kept as a confidential document makes it even more difficult for the regulator to monitor recoverable costs," says the CIP analysis.

The organization considers Total's concerns about the security of its enterprise in the Rovuma basin understandable in the face of armed attacks in the region, but stresses that any initiative in this area must be "comprehensive".

In this sense, he continues, the approach to security must deserve greater coordination between state institutions and companies in the extractive sector, namely in the response through "joint force".Following the agreement in August, in clarifications to Lusa, the French oil company said that "the revision of the safety memorandum reflects the increase in activities during the construction phase and the mobilization of a larger workforce".

The province of Cabo Delgado has been the scene of armed attacks for three years by forces classified as terrorists.

The violence caused a humanitarian crisis with more than a thousand deaths and about 365,000 internally displaced persons.