The president of Mozambique’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) said on Wednesday that the restart of the Rovuma LNG project in Cabo Delgado should address shortcomings from the past, strengthening participation and delivering concrete benefits for local communities and businesses. Speaking at a meeting on business and human rights in Maputo, dedicated to the implications,… Source
The president of Mozambique’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) said on Wednesday that the restart of the Rovuma LNG project in Cabo Delgado should address shortcomings from the past, strengthening participation and delivering concrete benefits for local communities and businesses.
Speaking at a meeting on business and human rights in Maputo, dedicated to the implications, expectations and realities surrounding the resumption of major natural gas projects in the Rovuma Basin, with particular focus on the ExxonMobil-led Rovuma LNG project, CNDH President Albachir Macassar said the process should not mean a return to the conditions that existed previously.
“The restart of Rovuma LNG should not mean going back to the point where the project stopped; it should be an opportunity to start again with the lessons learned,” Macassar said, arguing that the investment has the potential to generate revenue, jobs, skills and opportunities for national companies.
Photo: IMD – Instituto para Democracia Multipartidária
Suspended in 2021 because of terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado, and with a Final Investment Decision (FID) expected to be taken later this year, the project is one of the largest natural gas developments in Africa. Macassar said it also represented an opportunity to incorporate lessons from the previous experience and improve relations between companies, the state and communities.
“It is not enough to measure tonnes of gas, investment mobilised or jobs announced. We need to know how many young people in Cabo Delgado can actually access employment and how many national companies are sustainably entering the supply chain,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hermenegildo Mulhovo, executive director of the Institute for Multiparty Democracy (IMD), which organised the event, warned of a mismatch between the opportunities created by major projects and the ability of Mozambican companies and workers to meet the requirements set by investors, a situation that could fuel frustration and conflict.
Photo: IMD – Instituto para Democracia Multipartidária
“Companies offer opportunities in terms of employment and business, but the ability to access them, precisely because of the high standards these companies require, is also very limited nationally,” Mulhovo said, calling for stronger national skills and greater access to information about available opportunities.
The Ombudsman, Isaque Chande, argued that the state, companies, communities and civil society organisations should share responsibility for implementing the project, taking into account the security challenges and risks of human rights violations in Cabo Delgado.
Photo: IMD – Instituto para Democracia Multipartidária
“The implementation of the LNG project in the Rovuma Basin should make a significant contribution to restoring public security conditions,” Chande said, also calling for continuous human rights and international humanitarian law training for the defence and security forces.
Photo: IMD – Instituto para Democracia Multipartidária
The meeting also recommended accessible mechanisms for dialogue, complaints and early warning in communities, as well as monitoring social and human rights impacts. The CNDH said that protecting facilities and workers must go hand in hand with protecting local populations, respecting the law and establishing accountability mechanisms.
Photo: IMD – Instituto para Democracia Multipartidária
Photo: IMD – Instituto para Democracia Multipartidária
On 14 August, the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) estimated that local content associated with the project could generate income for two million Mozambicans and business opportunities for 10,000 companies.
In an interview with Lusa in July, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo expressed the expectation that the Final Investment Decision would be taken in September, describing Rovuma LNG as “the largest private investment project on the African continent”, valued at around US$20 billion (€17.2 billion).
The development envisages the construction of 12 liquefaction modules, with a combined capacity to produce 18.6 million tonnes of LNG a year, with operations expected to begin in 2031.
ExxonMobil lifted in November the force majeure declaration that had kept the project suspended since the 2021 armed attacks in Cabo Delgado, as did the other neighbouring major natural gas project in Afungi, led by TotalEnergies.
