A heavy past that weighs on the youth
Mozambique does not have an easy history, after five centuries of Portuguese colonization and long, bloody wars of independence and civil war, which cost more than 65,000 Mozambicans their freedom and nearly a million more their lives in a fratricidal struggle. Naturally, scars remain. Today, Frelimo is still in power in relative stability, with current president Filipe Nyusi re-elected in 2019 against Ossufo Momade, leader of the opposition party. Here, culture is now a real rebound for the underprivileged classes. The Mozambican people are traditionally creative. Sculptors (especially the Makonde), musicians, painters, designers, stylists, craftsmen... Mozambique's youth are interested in these trades, and Maputo is teeming with concept stores, concert halls, bars... if they can't study or reach the upper echelons of the country's economic life. Mozambique remains one of the world's poorest countries, and life is difficult for its inhabitants, who lack the means to follow training courses adapted to the country's dynamism, which is still concentrated in Maputo. As a result, many young people who have become tourist touts try to earn a little money in the seaside resorts, while others come to look for work in hotels and restaurants.
Coal and water resources
Bags of coal for sale line the roadsides. In the west of the country, Tete province may contain one of the world's largest untapped coal reserves. This is where the Moatize mine, run by a Brazilian and a Japanese, and the Benga mine, run by an Anglo-Australian, are located. To facilitate exports to China and India, the railway line connecting Tete province to the port of Beira was extended in 2016. At the same time, a railway line linking Nacala to Moatize was created. This infrastructure could make Nacala the future major coal port of the north. In the same area in the north-east, coal-fired power stations are being built. Although only 20% of the population has access to electricity, Mozambique is a major producer, particularly in the Zambezi hills at the Cahora Bassa dam. But two thirds of the exploitation is exported via a high voltage power line to South Africa. This potential has prompted the country's authorities to consider the construction of other dams.
The way to a high end ecotourism
The country seems to be gradually realizing the value of its lush natural environment. It's a luxury that's priceless, given that so many of the country's coasts, some of them quite exceptional, have been concreted over in a destructive mass tourism drive. Fortunately, a number of national parks have managed to protect the country's natural wealth of flora and fauna, both on land and at sea: the Bazaruto, Quirimbas, Gorongosa and recently Maputo national parks. With its extraordinary natural spaces, Mozambique is a promising destination overlooking the Indian Ocean. For several decades, initiatives have been led by numerous NGOs, mainly South African investors and the country's national parks. However, the boom in tourism has been hampered by the frequency of cyclones, the fear of jihadists in Cabo Delgado and Covid-19 in recent years. By developing its rather luxurious ecolodges and safari tourism, repopulating its land parks, trying to preserve its assets and build new roads, the country seems to be on the right track. Two new addresses for star-struck tourists have just opened on the Bazaruto archipelago at over €5,000 a night. These are ultra-luxury ecolodges that few destinations can attract with their natural assets, as virgin islands are becoming a rarity these days!
A promising but destabilizing gas field
Mozambique is one of the world's ten poorest countries, and the discovery of a huge gas field in Cabo Delgado off the Quirimbas Islands has created both great ecological fear and great hope, as Mozambique could become one of the world's top 3 producers of liquefied gas by becoming... a rich country. The plans of multinationals, including Total's $20 billion project, have not been accepted by some of the local population, who refuse to allow their beach and island environment to be degraded, their land expropriated in return for promises of jobs and forced relocation. The initially sporadic insurgent rebellion began in 2017 before affiliating with Daesh in 2019, now deployed throughout the region. Extremely bloodthirsty, killing, raping and conscripting children as soldiers in the Swahili villages of this Muslim region, EI terrorists have killed nearly 6,500 people, including women and children, creating more than 800,000 refugees across the province. However, the situation is improving thanks to a Southern African armed coalition, the SADC, an innovative "African solution to African problems". In August 2021, the Rwandan army recaptured Mocimboa da Praia, which had been in the hands of terrorists for a year, creating a security bubble that has enabled some refugees to return. An encouraging victory which lacks the support of the international community. All the more so as the refugee camps lack everything, but above all water and food, leaving displaced families living in extreme malnutrition (see the Arte report "Les déplacés du Cabo Delgado").
The Muslim population is terrorized by these mercenaries, some of whom come from elsewhere in Africa, creating a worrying regional instability. The Wagner group, with its unorthodox practices, has also been sending men since 2019, under contract to the state to fight against the EI. In February 2023, a Tanzanian battalion from the SADC came to the aid of the struggling coalition towards its border, allowing Kigali's soldiers, whose numbers have been boosted, to concentrate on the Pemba area. The UN has indicated its willingness to support SADC, but for the moment funds have not been released, as all eyes remain on Ukraine.
