- TotalEnergies has appointed Nicolas Cambefort as the new Mozambique LNG Project Manager to replace Stéphane Le Galles.
Cambefort, who is already in Maputo, will take over the leadership at a time when the resumption of the project remains constrained by security issues and political instability in the country.
Protesters are contesting the results of the 9 October elections, which allowed the ruling Frelimo party to extend its 49-year rule. Daniel Chapo, the Frelimo candidate, was officially declared the winner of the elections with over 71% of the vote. The protests, primarily led by young people, have resulted in violent clashes with the police, mass prison breaks, and at least 248 deaths.
Mozambique’s main opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, returned from self-imposed exile last week on Thursday 9th January saying he still rejects the results of a disputed election. Mondlane had called for a three day protest this week. Chapo is set to be officially sworn in as president today.
Cambefort, is an engineer trained at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers and has over 30 years of experience in major international projects including offshore wind. He has gained experience in projects in Norway, Indonesia, Venezuela, and the United States.
The restart of the US$ 20 billion Mozambique LNG project, located in Cabo Delgado province, remains in doubt amid the regional security threat and national political instability. In April 2021 an insurgent attack in Palma forced TotalEnergies to declare “force majeure” on its nearby Alfungi plant which was under construction at the time. Read more
Paula Cristina Roque writes that Mozambique is not experiencing a coup – “it’s a people’s revolution of unprecedented proportions demanding electoral truth and justice for assassinated activists. It’s a march against poverty, exclusion, violence, and the arrogance of a ruling party that decides, without consent, the fate of 33 million people, denying them a voice, a platform, a role in the democracy that camouflages Frelimo with a mantle of credibility.
Mozambique’s ruling party has lost legitimacy, it’s in disarray and without a political solution to the post-election crisis sparked by mass fraud. It’s time for Frelimo to step down and begin a transition of power where opposition parties led by Podemos, and civil society can recalibrate governance and open the way for a new political order based on the rule of law, socioeconomic justice, and accountability.” Read more
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
