Terrorist attacks in Mozambique threaten Africa's biggest investment yet
Mozambique is fingering the biggest investment in Africa so far. The French company Total is looking to make a gas project worth almost 16 billion dollars a reality, although the value of the entire plan is estimated at 23 billion, according to the Spanish version of the Sputnik agency. The main obstacle the French consortium faces is the terrorist threat in the region from the Daesh. The company needs to move thousands of tons of equipment through a territory where armed groups linked by the Islamic state, which is outlawed in many countries, live.
In the last year these groups have carried out increasingly daring attacks. At the end of June they assaulted and occupied the town of Mocimba da Praia for three days, a location situated only 60 kilometres south of the sites explored by Total. This place is a crucial centre of exchange, since it has a port. At least nine workers from the subcontractor Fenix Construction Services were killed in the attack, African analyst Jasmine Opperman wrote on her Twitter account.
Nearly 1,300 were killed in violence and another 220,000 were displaced since the first attack in Mocimboa da Praia by armed groups affiliated with the Islamic state. Daesh has openly stated in one of his weekly newsletters that it would be "delusional" to believe that the Mozambican Government could protect investments and has warned other countries not to get involved in the gas plant project.
Mozambique's private military company hired security in April 2020 to ensure air support for government troops who have fought to quell the violence. Helicopters armed with machine guns have even been deployed to deal with the violence. Other countries, such as South Africa, the United States and Portugal, have offered their help to Mozambique to fight the Islamic State's allies.
"The insurgency is a challenge, but we are happy that our armed forces have contained the violence. All Mozambicans must fight against external attacks," said Max Tonela, Mozambique's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, in a statement reported by Bloomberg. One of the main problems in the region, with a mainly Muslim population, is the lack of opportunities for young people. The terrorist insurgency is taking advantage of the desperation of people without a future to recruit them to its cause, said Saide Habibe of the Institute of Social and Economic Studies in Maputo, in statements collected by Sputnik.
"There is a lot of work to be done. The first batch of liquefied natural gas should be ready in 2024. And we are on the right track," said Ronan Bescond, the French chemical engineer appointed by Total as project leader. To carry out this initiative, Total plans to hire 14.000 people when construction reaches its peak. Of these, 5,000 will be Mozambican citizens, and many others will come from the same region, Bescond said. It is estimated that over 25 years, Mozambique will earn $50 billion in direct and indirect income for its economy, which is currently only $15 billion a year.
