Mozambique: Prawns fishing closed for four months

The Mozambican government has imposed a closed season for prawns fishing from 01 November to 14 March next year.

The closed season covers five zones. The first is the Sofala Bank, which includes the provinces of Sofala, Zambézia and Nampula, in the central and northern region of the country.

The second zone includes Maputo Bay, the third the mouth of the Limpopo River, which goes as far as town of Quissico, Zavala district, in Inhambane province in the southern region of the country.

In view of the pressure in Inhambane, the government has decided to extend the closed season for the entire province.

According to the General Director of the National Fisheries Administration, at the Ministry of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries (MIMAIP), Cassamo Júnior, the closed fishing season is intended to enable the reproduction of fish species.

“As for prawns fishing, we will impose a closed season for industrial and semi-industrial fishing starting on 1 November and ending on 31 December and from 1 January until 14 March we will impose a closed season for industrial and semi-industrial surface prawns, said Júnior to a Maputo press on Friday.

The closed also includes artisanal fishing, but does not prevent fishing other marine species.

‘It must be clear that we are not banning fishing activity. Fishermen who use trawls nets cannot fish, if they want to fish they can use another fishing gear,” he warned.

For mangrove crabs, Matsinhe explained that the closed season starts from 01 November to the 31st of December of 2022.

“The closed season for mangrove crabs fishing will last two months, and on January 1, 2023, fisherman will be allowed to resume fishing”, Matsinhe assured.

Matsinhe explained that the northern province of Cabo Delgado is exempt from a closed season because recent studies carried out in the region have shown that there is no need so far.

In terms of catch volumes industrial and semi-industrial and artisanal fishing managed to reach 5,727 tonnes of prawns in 2022 down from 5,901 tonnes in 2021, a negative variation of 200 tonnes.

According to the source, was due to the low operability of the fleet and increase of fuel price.

Fishing of mangrove crabs show a one per cent increase from 6,900 tonnes in 2021 to 7,000 thousand tonnes in 2022.

In another development, Matsinhe warned companies to declare their production by 31 October, otherwise they risk to be banned.

To boost security, Matsinhe said, besides satellite surveillance, the authorities have set up multisectorial teams, made up of technicians from the National Marine Institute (INAMAR), the Coastal, Lake and River Police; the Navy; and the municipal police, to prevent the sale of prawns during season.

Source: AIM 

Government reiterates payment of the Single Salary Table in 28 days

 

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Max Tonela, reiterated, this Friday, the availability of resources for the implementation of the Single Salary Table (TSU).

Tonela was speaking after the approval of the new Single Salary Table by the Assembly of the Republic.

It should be noted that the approval of the revision of Law No. 5/2022 was by consensus.

The Assembly of the Republic (AR) approved, by consensus, the Single Salary Table (TSU), Law  No 5/2022 that defines salaries for members of public bodies and holders and members of the bodies of the Administration of Justice. (RM)

Nigerian investment in Mozambique tops US$44 million in 5 years, expected to grow in the near

Nigerian High Commissioner in Mozambique, Yamah Mohammed Musa, said the Nigeria-Mozambique Business and Investment Forum would open space in the trade area so that more business can arise, thereby consolidating the economy of both countries.

“We are using this forum to invite Nigerian private entrepreneurs to come and explore business opportunities in Mozambique, because there is a lot of potential and a lot of resources which foreign investors can use as a source of financing for various investments in the country, and also showcase Nigeria’s potential,” Musa said.

Massingue.ccm_.fb_

Photo courtesy: Câmara de Comércio de Moçambique

One of the main goals of this business forum is to stimulate the growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with strategies to this end already being implemented by some Mozambican entrepreneurs.

“We want, firstly, to make Nigerian entrepreneurs aware of the potential of Mozambique, secondly, to promote exchanges between entrepreneurs from the two countries, thirdly, to promote business partnerships and exchanges of services between Nigerian and Mozambican entrepreneurs, to promote investment and boost the economic development of micro, small and medium-sized companies in Mozambique and Nigeria, through the internationalisation of their products and services, and finally, to stimulate business between Africans, that is, intra-African business,” declared Álvaro Massingue, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Mozambique.

Interviewed by ‘O País Económico’, Otieno Salimu, a Nigerian businessman who works in Mozambique, stressed that Mozambique had a positive business environment, making it worthwhile continuing to invest.

“For me, Mozambique has a good business environment and can profit from Nigeria’s experience in the areas of oil and petroleum, given that the country has developed in these areas, and I believe that it can take advantage of these areas, as well as in agriculture,” Salimu said.

The Business Forum in Maputo, which brings together businesspeople from Nigeria and Mozambique, runs under the motto “Creating Opportunities for Partnership, Investment and Economic Growth”, and ends this Friday.

O Pais.

“Bank of Mozambique must find solutions against the violation of banking secrecy” -António Niquice

The Assembly of the Republic's Planning and Budget Commission demands that the Bank of Mozambique quickly find solutions against violations of bank secrecy.

Parliamentarians understand that the lack of bank secrecy is one of the aspects that have proliferated kidnappings, as the kidnappers have information about the monetary values ​​available in the victims' accounts.

The President of the Planning and Budget Commission, António Niquice, wants to see those linked to the banking system that have provided the victims' data accountable. 

The President of the Planning and Budget Commission, António Niquice, was speaking this Thursday, in Maputo, in consultation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the proposed Law on bank accounts, which proposes the creation of a Single Bank Identification Number, NUIB. . (RM)

Niassa. Health Sector wants massive involvement of young people in vaccination against covid-19

The Health sector in Niassa reiterates the appeal to parents and/or guardians to mobilize young people to take the vaccine against covid-19.

The appeal was reiterated this Friday at the official launch of the vaccination campaign against covid-19, an act that took place at Eduardo Mondlane Secondary School, in the provincial capital, Lichinga.

In this campaign, the province of Niassa hopes to immunize more than 300 thousand young people from 12 to 17 years of age.

The director of the Provincial Health Services, in Niassa, José Manuel, said that with this measure the aim is to eliminate the serious forms of contamination of the viral pandemic, with particular emphasis on this target group. (RM)

Government wants to ensure proper ordering and management of artisanal fisheries and aquaculture in the country.

To that end, the Ministry of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries launched, last Friday, in Maputo, the Census that will allow the collection of data on artisanal fisheries and aquaculture, and also contribute to the development of the national economy.

The Minister of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries, Lídia Cardoso, said that the Census will also provide information on the number of fishermen in the country, the number of vessels in use, as well as the number and type of fishing gear. used. (RM)

Bank of Mozambique raises monetary policy interest rate to 17.25

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Mozambique decided today to increase the monetary policy interest rate, the MIMO rate, from 15.25% to 17.25%.

A communiqué received in our editorial office states that the measure aims to ensure the return of inflation to single digits, in the medium term, in a context in which it is expected that the volatility of the prices of energy and food products will continue at international level, in view of the prolongation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

According to the document, forecasts of economic recovery in 2022 and 2023 are maintained, despite the prospects of a slowdown in external demand sustained by the execution of energy projects in Inhambane and in the Rovuma basin and by the start of liquefied gas exports, in the context of implementing the program with the International Monetary Fund and resuming external assistance from cooperation partners. (RM)

Watch announcement by Banco de Moçambique on YouTube

Mozambique wants to increase electricity production capacity

By next year, Mozambique will increase its capacity for domestic production of electricity and supply to South Africa.

The initiative aims, in part, to respond to the energy crisis in that neighboring country.

 This could result in the installation of a thermal power station in the Beluluane Industrial Park, in the district of Boane, with a production capacity of two thousand megawatts, equivalent to the capacity of the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Power Plant.   

The infrastructure, valued at US$2.8 billion, will comprise a gasification plant, to be installed in the port of Matola, with a pipeline for transporting gas to neighboring South Africa and a branch to the Beluluane Thermal Power Plant. .

The director general of MozParks, Honório Boane explains that with the Beluluane power station, the conditions will be created for the development of the second phase of the project to expand the Industrial Park and the consequent attraction of more industrial investments to the country. (RM)

Campaign to inspect the use of electricity, in Nampula

 Power company, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), in Nampula, has been launching, since the beginning of this month, a campaign to monitor the use of electricity in this part of the country. 

In this first phase, the focus is on condominiums, commercial establishments and mills, to assess the legality of energy consumption.

The director of EDM, customer service area of ​​Nampula, Eduardo Pinto, informed that the last inspection campaigns carried out made it possible to reduce the levels of financial losses caused by illegal consumption.

During Thursday's inspection, a milling industry that used electricity illegally was dismantled in Namicopo, in the city of Nampula.

Source; Radio Mozambique

"Minister of Economy and Finance will be heard this Thursday by Parliamentary Committees - Rádio Moçambique

    Rádio Moçambique 

 

Minister of Economy and Finance, Max Tonela, will be heard this Thursday by the Committees on Constitutional Affairs, Human Rights and Legality, Planning and Budget and Public Administration and Local Power of the Assembly of the Republic.

A document states that the Proposed Law that Defines the Rules and Criteria for Setting the Remuneration of Public Servants, Holders or Members of Public Bodies and Holders and Members of the Administration of Justice Bodies within the scope of implementation will be discussed at the hearing  (RM)

Niassa Province experienses surge in tourists.

More than twenty-two thousand national and foreign tourists visited the province of Niassa in the first eight months of this year. 

This number represents an increase in relation to the more than thirteen thousand who visited this region in the same period last year.

 The data was presented this Tuesday in Lichinga by the director of the Niassa Governor's Office, Mauro Pius, at the end of the World Tourism Week. 

Mauro Pius said that the increase in the number of tourists is due to the slowdown in preventive measures against covid-19. In his words, tourists preferred the beaches of Lake Niassa, conservation areas and historical places. 

On the occasion, Mauro Pius reiterated that the province of Niassa has favorable conditions for the various forms of tourism. This year, World Tourism Week was celebrated under the motto “Thinking about Tourism

Beira: Reconstruction after cyclone Idai

  This year, in  Beira City the reconstruction works of several public buildings destroyed during the passage of tropical cyclone Idai in March 2019 will comence as announced by the executive director of the Post-Cyclone Reconstruction Office (GREPOC), Luís Mandlate.

These are the Provincial House of Culture, Provincial Service of Justice and Labour, 1st Civil Registry Office, Provincial Library, 1st Notary Public, Sports Pavilion, National Public Safety Service, Regional Public Emergency Warehouse, the Office of the Secretary of Sofala State and Provincial Directorate of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources.

The works are covered by financing from the World Bank, to the tune of 12 million dollars. Likewise, they will be applied in 37 other projects in the districts of Nhamatanda, Dondo and Búzi and 21 located in Cabo Delgado province, all affected by the Kenneth storm in 2019.

New equipment increases handling capacity at Port of Beira – Notícias

File photo: Notícias

The port of Beira has substantially increased its cargo handling capacity, as well as reinforcing safety, with the acquisition of new equipment valued at US$10 million.

Jan Laurens de Vries, Chief Executive Officer of Cornelder de Moçambique, which manages the Beira port complex, announced that the port’s cranes had been modernised with the installation of the ‘C-Gate’ computer system, which is already boosting the competitiveness of the Beira Development Corridor.

The process, he explained, permits the real-time automation of access control for trucks, as well as the registration of the drivers, vehicles and containers which routinely access the container terminal.

This project, whose ultimate goal is total automation, is still in its first stages, de Vries said.

Source: Notícias

XII Frelimo Congress. The members of the new Central Committee are already known

The members who make up the new Frelimo Central Committee, elected at the twelfth party congress, that is in progress  in the city of Matola and which are due to close today, are already known.

The new body was elected on Monday night, after a voting process, which involved around 1,500 delegates at the party's twelfth Congress, which  is in progress  in the city of Matola, Maputo province.

The two hundred and fifty members elected to this body will be presented this Tuesday, according to Frelimo spokesman Caifadine Manasse:

 “These are positive results, this is an internal electoral process within our party and the candidates know that when advancing towards this process, there is 60 percent continuity and 40 percent renewal. 

It means that some cadres could be left out of the Committee and others would join and this is a process that happens whenever there is an election. 

We look at this process as the one in which the cadres are reinforced in the party, because there is an injection of new blood and Frelimo maintains its vitality, because it accompanies this type of processes in which there is continuity and renewal”, he said.

Mozambique: Maputo hosts Mphanda Nkuwa Project Bidders’ Conference

 Government of Mozambique, through the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME), represented by the Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project Implementation Office (GMNK), is holding a conference in Maputo on Tuesday, September 27, with potential pre-qualified Strategic Investors, within the scope of the tender process for the selection of the partner for the development of the Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project and associated energy transport infrastructure.

The conference will constitute a technical, interactive session for clarification of project and tender issues, and a stage for reviewing and updating technical, environmental, economic, financial and market studies, including issues of legislation, associated regulations and the legal and institutional structures in the sector.

During the conference, the project’s partner international financial institutions, such as the World Bank (WB) group and the African Development Bank (AfDB), will talk about their role in the project, address issues of financing and guarantees for the venture. In the two days following two days the conference, the competitors will visit the sites in Tete province where the project will be implemented.

This program is included in the Specifications of the Strategic Partner selection tender and will allow investors to find out about the natural conditions of the project implementation site, data fundamental in the preparation of technical, economic and financial proposals in response to the tender process.

Called the Mphanda Nkuwa Project Bidders’ Conference, the event will bring together MIREME, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), the Ministry of Land and Environment (MTA), the Agency for the Promotion of Investment and Exports (APIEX), the GMNK, and the project’s partner international financial institutions such as the World Bank, AfDB and potential pre-qualified project investors.

With an estimated cost of US$4.5 billion, the Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project includes the development of a run-of-river dam 61 kilometres downstream from Cahora Bassa on the Zambezi River in Tete province. 

A hydroelectric power plant with an installed power production capacity of up to 1,500 megawatts and a 1,300 kilometre energy transmission line from Tete to Maputo are envisaged.

The project is being implemented in strict compliance with internationally accepted global standards and tools for social, environmental and governance (Environmental Social and Governance – ESG) compliance for mitigating negative impacts and maximising positive aspects, evaluation and certification of the project, and which prioritise the creation of opportunities for local communities, minimise and mitigate the adverse impact on the biodiversity heritage.

The Mphanda Nkuwa project will be a lower-cost power generation option which will position Mozambique as a regional energy hub, and contribute to universal access, industrialization, job creation and technical training while generating tax and concession fee revenue. 

The project is fundamental for the energy transition and decarbonisation of the Southern region of the African Continent.

Mozambique: Conditions for IMF support – A Verdade

Mozambique must, under the agreement with by the IMF , reduce its wage bill, eliminate VAT exemptions, roll out e-taxation, transact all state expenditure through e-SISTAFE and cease accepting non-concessional loans

To start receiving money from the new Economic and Financial Program with the International Monetary Fund, the Mozambican government will be obliged to “better manage the cost of employment in the public sector and [cap] the wage bill at around 10.8% of GDP”.

 It must also eliminate some VAT exemptions and zero rates, “extend e-taxation to all taxes and all fiscal units”, incorporate all stages of the state expenditure chain in e-SISTAFE, and further strengthen budgetary transparency and the management of risks to the state budgets.

 Finally, Mozambique is prevented “from granting new guarantees or entering into new external financing contracts on non-concessional terms”.

Mozambique’s return to world financial markets and the resumption of direct support to the State Budget by Cooperating Partners after suspension in 2016 due to the discovery of the illegal debts of Proíndicus, EMATUM and MAM will oblige the government headed by Filipe Nyusi, and by whoever succeeds him in the presidency in 2025, to “adopt strong fiscal policies” dictated by the IMF and aimed at “supporting economic recovery and, at the same time, responding to debt and structural challenges, that are contributing to macroeconomic vulnerabilities and generating protracted needs in terms of the balance of payments”.

These obligations are contained in the Memorandum on Economic Policies signed by the Executive and the IMF which details, among various policies, the imperative to reduce the current wage bill of the Civil Service from 13.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021 to 10.8% of GDP by 2026, regardless of the implementation of the Single Salary Table (TSU).

 “This exceptional increase will be offset, in part, by not raising public sector salary levels in 2022 and replacing only one out of every three employees leaving the civil service, except for the education, health, justice and agriculture sectors.”

The Memorandum, made public this week by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), indicates that “the Government will implement other measures to reduce the pressure on the wage bill, including: assessing the functional structure in the public sector (ministries, local government structures , public institutions) with a view to reducing duplication of activities and institutional overlap; formulate a policy to encourage early retirement; implement the reforms in the EGFAE Statute [General Statute of State Employees and Agents] recently approved by the Assembly of the Republic which determines the retirement age.

 If savings fall short of expectations, complementary measures will be considered to ensure the convergence of the wage bill/GDP ratio with the averages in the region and the group of homologous countries”.

In order to start making the US$470 million available, the International Monetary Fund also obliges the Executive to reform the Value Added Tax (VAT) by eliminating some exemptions and zero rates, safeguarding “the exemptions and zero rates in basic goods” to minimise the impact on the most vulnerable families. “The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) will submit a proposal to amend the VAT Law to the Assembly of the Republic by August 2022 to limit to 12 months the deadline for taxpayers to request a VAT refund. After this period, the refund will be carried forward and will be credited against future VAT obligations. In parallel, the MEF will present a strategy, by the end of December 2022, to settle the current stock of VAT refund arrears,” the memorandum details.

“The Tax Authority continues its efforts to modernise tax collection through an integrated system of electronic taxation (e-taxation)” the memorandum stipulates, foreseeing the extension of “e-taxation to other taxes (Tax on Vehicles, Tax on National Reconstruction, Stamp Duty, SISA [property transfer] Tax and Inheritance and Donation Tax) by the end of 2022. In addition, the Tax Authority will implement transversal modules (tax enforcement, bankruptcies, instalment payments, risk profiles, claims and appeals, refunds and compensation, litigation and tax audits) by the end of 2023. In parallel, the Tax Authority will extend e-taxation to all taxes and all tax units by the end of 2023 (structural benchmark)”.

The IMF requires the Government to incorporate “all stages of the expenditure chain into e-SISTAFE (the financial management system) by the end of 2022 with a view to improving budget execution control and budget discipline and transparency” and to further increase budgetary transparency and budgetary risk management by including information on Public-Private Partnerships in the Medium-Term Fiscal Scenario, in the Debt Management Report and in the Fiscal Risks Report

Mozambique is prohibited “from granting new guarantees or entering into new external financing contracts on non-concessional terms, with the exclusion of debt contracted through the National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH) related to the liquefied natural gas development projects already identified, in line with the Policy on Indebtedness Limits and taking into account the expected high social and economic returns from LNG and the absence of concessional financing”.

By Adérito Caldeira

Source: A Verdade 

Mozambique: Government to extend VAT to private education and health services – Carta

  Tvm photo

As part of its Economic Acceleration Program (PAE) measures, the government promised to reduce the VAT rate from 17% to 16%. The announcement was welcomed by the private sector. A few weeks later, the government has just published a matrix with the proposed Amendment to Law 13/2016 (Value Added Tax Code).

The government now intends to withdraw VAT exemptions from private health and private education services, with the introduction of VAT at the rate of 16%. VAT will also cover rent for commercial and industrial purposes in rural areas, and will be applied to financial, banking and insurance operations that are not subject to stamp duty.

The government proposal also contemplates the application of VAT to bicycles, with the exception of simple bicycles with up to four gears. Garbage removal services will only be exempt from VAT when performed by public entities and contracted by them. Private entities so engaged will be liable.

Source: Carta de Moçambique

Standard Bank Mozambique expects a slight reduction in inflation

O País filé photo

Standard Bank Mozambique expects a slight reduction in inflation, which has been rising in recent months, but adds that this will happen before the end of the year, when it is forecast to reach an average of 11.7%. The peak, estimated at 12.2%, might have already occurred in August.

Standard Bank Mozambique’s chief economist, Fáusio Mussá, says this scenario is due to a series of internal and external shocks to which the national economy has been exposed, with the emphasis on the impact of climate change on the price of food and of the war in Ukraine on fuel prices, with ripple effects on other prices in the economy.

To respond to these threats, Mussá explains, the government announced, for example, its intention to subsidise transport, as well as a fuel import component designed to guarantee price stability, “especially because the most vulnerable layers of our society are the who are most affected by the impact of rising fuel prices”.

“In this scenario, our expectation is that the Bank of Mozambique will maintain the current 15.25% monetary policy reference interest rate (MIMO) until the end of the year, but there is no guarantee of this, especially if there is any surprise that translates into higher than expected inflation,” Mussa underlined.

Source: O País

Twelfth FRELIMO Congress kicks off.

Photo credit: Radio Mozambique

About 2,000 people, including delegates and guests, will participate as of this Friday, in the Twelfth Frelimo Congress, to be held at the Frelimo Central School, Matola city, Maputo province.

, fifteen hundred are delegates and the remaining five hundred are invited to the Twelfth Congress.

Frelimo's Secretary General, Roque Silva, justified, at a press conference, that the small number of participants results from the observance of preventive measures against covid-19.

“Because of the covid-19 situation, which is still a reality in the country and in the world, about fifteen hundred will be delegates.

 Of the 500 guests, we want to highlight those coming from 24 friendly parties and organizations from other corners of the world, that is, foreign guests. 

The fundamental agenda has to do with the approval of instruments that will guide the Party over the next five years, the election of a new Central Committee, this Central Committee that will be responsible for electing the General Secretary, the new Central Committee Secretariat and the new Verification Committee”, he said.

On the occasion, the Frelimo Secretary General assured that the conditions were in place for the start of the twelfth Frelimo Congress, to take place from this Friday until the 28th of September.

Party spokesman Caifadine Manasse says that Frelimo is holding the twelfth Congress to address the concerns of Mozambicans.

“We can say that we are doing well, as a political party, but we need to continue working to increasingly meet the expectations of Mozambicans. 

Because we will only be satisfied as Frelimo, when every Mozambican wakes up in the morning and has bread, has cassava, has sweet potatoes, has something to eat and is healthy, then yes, we will all be happy and say yes, we have arrived! ”, he stated. (RM)

Mozambique -Thailand Trading Partnership

The Mozambican Chamber of Commerce (CCM) recently met the ambassador of Thailand, Soradjak Puranasamriddhi, with the aim of establishing trade partnerships.

President of the Mozambican Chamber of Commerce, Álvaro Massingue, said that the CCM was the means by which Mozambican and Thai businesspeople could best connect.

“We are available to cooperate with and provide support to [Thai] entrepreneurs who want to invest in Mozambique, in various sectors, especially the agricultural sector and processing technologies,” he said.

With prospects for substantial bilateral business in view, the parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding that includes the transfer of Thai rice production technology to Gaza province and the continuation of aquaculture projects already being implemented in various parts of the country.

“The partnership will help us to implement the agriculture projects promoted by the Mozambique Chamber of Commerce and Investment (CCMI) in Chockwé, Gaza province,” Massingue stressed.

In turn, the Thai ambassador said he was open to cooperating with the CCM and its financial arm, promoting investment in the national market through business missions, revitalising the export of goods and services by Mozambican businesspeople, and attracting new foreign investment.