Mozambique’s gas scheme leaves villagers unheard and worried about making a living
A giant refrigerator will replace the village Jonas Alide Saide has called home for 70 years, and he is not happy about it. As Mozambique’s plans to export natural gas gather pace, Saide’s northeastern settlement of Quitupo will make way for a plant planned by companies including Anadarko Petroleum. Located on a site larger than Manhattan, the facility will extract and liquefy the offshore gas and generate most of the $49bn the government expects from sales of the fuel over the next three decades. But for Saide, the elder in the village of 1,500 people who are due to be resettled nearby, the $20bn project has brought only anxiety. "We no longer have the strength and power to say anything — our opinions are not heard," he said in an interview under the shade of a mango tree. "We depend on fishing. We will no longer have access to the sea." How the government and energy companies handle such communities may be key to thwarting an emerging Islamist insurgency in the Cabo Delgado provin...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.