By Estácio Valoi
The people of Palma no longer want Totalenergies in Palma due to alleged injustices and exclusion in the Mozambique LNG Project, led by the French multinational Totalenergies.
Among the causes of frustration among communities directly affected by gas exploration in Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin are unfair compensation for lost lands, resettlement problems, broken promises, and exclusion of indigenous people. But most seriously, AFUNGI is completely isolated.
Some people have not yet received compensation for their lands, and the amount being paid is far below what was supposedly agreed. Even the compensation process for fishermen who can no longer fish in the project area remains open. Young people are frustrated by the lack of jobs, which are being filled by people coming from outside Palma. Worst of all, TOTAL ENERGIES has completely isolated AFUNGI and turned it into a FORTRESS accessible only by plane or boat.
For all this and much more, the locals want Totalenergies out of Palma and, with a sarcastic nostalgia, alluding to the good times, the exploration phase, the narrative phase in which Anadarko or gas would bring a better future to the communities. A time when the multinational hired almost everything, from shoemaking, tailoring, laundry, cleaning, and gardening. Some people still managed to earn some money instantly, even though it didn’t generate development in the communities. At the time, they didn’t feel the isolation they feel today. “Without interaction or communication with the communities, they demand the return of the North American multinational ANADADARKO Petróleo Corporation, which is sorely missed in Cabo Delgado.”
The Palma natives are demanding a meeting with the President of the Republic and the owners of Totalenergies to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. This case is leaving the population weary and frustrated with a Mozambique LNG project that was supposed to bring prosperity to the country. Instead, it has fueled the flames of civil unrest. And while local residents struggle to survive, a small group of elite vendors from the homeland has found success amidst the rubble.
It was March 2013. In Cabo Delgado, the signs of Rovuma gas exploration gleamed divine. Ships of all sizes, their lights of all colors, shone like Christmas trees at night, arriving or docked at the port of Pemba, in Cabo Delgado. Vehicle engines roared with joy through the streets, employees walked around with their pockets full, and new buildings to accommodate the gas crews sprang up everywhere like mushrooms. Entrepreneurs invested their millions in the construction of hotels, houses, and apartments. The race for the long-promised jackpot of trillions upon trillions of cubic meters of gas offshore Mozambique was here. A few years later, the American company ANADARKO, in exchange for several million dollars, left everything and everyone in the hands of Totalenergies, the French company having committed to continuing the processes previously agreed upon with the communities.
The promise was nothing more than a mere promise, leading to utter discontent among the people of Palma, who don’t even want to see their neighbors closed off in the “green perimeter” of Afungi. “Everything here is being concentrated within Afungi. Businesses that were previously outside, even hotels, have no customers because everything is inside Afungi. Even the movement of shops and stalls is no longer visible. We are separated, even security is there, but not for the people,” shouted people from the Palma community.
According to the Palma district’s statement, an attempt to bring both parties—the people of Palma and Total—to the table for another negotiation on August 12th failed due to the absence of Total representatives. However, the meeting between the parties was rescheduled for the 21st of this month.
(Moz24h)
