By Estacio Valoi
“Public Consultation or Formality? When Communities Say “No” and Nobody Wants to Listen”
This week, consultations have been held in the province of Inhambane, specifically in Inhassoro yesterday and Vilanculos today, for the presentation of the Environmental Pre-feasibility Study and definition of the scope of a 3D Offshore Seismic Research project in the Save Basin. The project was proposed by Searcher, in partnership with the National Petroleum Institute (INP).
The concessions awarded to the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) cover the offshore areas Save (S6-A and S6-B) and Angoche (A6-G, A6-D and A6-E), with the joint participation of the National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH). The corresponding contracts were approved by the Council of Ministers on March 26, 2024, and signed in the same year, but have not yet progressed to the drilling phase.
Taking note of the announcement made by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy during the African Mining Indaba that CNOOC would begin drilling in March of this year, the communities, in an apparently public invitation, were “addressed only to the tourism area in Inhambane,” according to local sources.
According to Minister Estêvão Pale, the Government does not, for now, intend to launch a new round of auctions for gas and oil blocks. “Not now, because we believe there are still many areas for direct negotiations, which were part of the last round and were not developed. We now have the opportunity to continue discussions and see if we can find another potential partner,” he stated.
“They will start very soon. In March, they will begin preparing to start exploration,” declared the official, adding that the initial work includes five to six blocks located in deep waters of the Rovuma basin, in the northern region of the country.
(Video Transcript
What’s going on now? Why are they asking us if we already have shirts and we’re saying we don’t want it? We already have shirts that concern us, that we don’t want this research project.
In November 2025, President Chapo brought us a big project for Tourism, didn’t he?
Now, where does this other project come from? President Chapo says that Vilanculo is the cradle of Tourism. At the national level, will there be research and Tourism?
Look, yesterday I was on the Island, an American showed up who had never caught a dorado. I went fishing yesterday, I caught a dorado, he was so satisfied that he had never seen one in his life, because we preserve this.
This Big Five that Bazaruto has, when a foreigner comes from Europe, has never seen a whale, never seen a dolphin, never seen a turtle, and he arrives and says: I want to see a turtle. We take him to the place where there are turtles. He wants to see a whale, we take him where there are whales. Want to see dolphins? We’ll take you where there are dolphins… with these machines, will there be more dolphins?
Noooooooo
Look, please… let’s see if we want Tourism or we want Oil. Oil has its consequences. Our brothers are fleeing in Cabo Delgado, they can’t sleep because of this same Oil. Do we want to extract more here?
Nooooo
Please, let’s resolve our issue and stop thinking about the single project that President Chapo brought us in November, which was Tourism. We have two large-scale projects that will start working in Santa Carolina and here in Cugnet. When this project is over, no more will come.
I want to explain something that people don’t know: Tourism encompasses all social classes. The barefoot person, the one who went to school very little, the one who went to school a lot, also has a place to work in tourism. The older women are working, and the young men who are giving jobs to the government today are working. Now, this research thing, even she said that there aren’t any Mozambicans who will work there. Where will those who are working there end up?
My last statement, I know it won’t please some people, but I have to say this: if there’s a commitment to the multinationals, it’s saying that the people don’t want it, please. If the government has a commitment to these oil owners, it’s saying that the people don’t want it.
They don’t spend all their money here all the time. This consultation is the 4th time and we say NO… but it seems we’re not talking to people who don’t have ears. Why?
Many excuses, that’s what I wanted to say here. Let’s work, let’s see where there are opportunities and where there aren’t. All these people here live off fishing and tourism, nobody from SASOL.
Is there anyone from SASOL here?
Nooooo
All these people here live off tourism and fishing. Where is SASOL? Raise your hand if you’re from SASOL. Where are you?
There isn’t one.
Please, let’s see where the masses are. Thank you very much)
Found in the opposite direction
From yesterday and this morning, a consultant who intended to have only a very small number of people, only from the tourism department, at the meeting was surprised by a massive participation from the community who say “No” to this project.
The communities, in contact with Moz24h, dressed in t-shirts with the words and order “SAY NO TO SEISMIC TESTING…Protect Bazaruto,” showed that the intelligence officers were more concerned with the origin of the t-shirts than with the concerns of the communities.
“Government intelligence officers are going around asking questions about shirts that are from the Sasol era. Everyone’s been through this before. There are no new shirts. People returning for their third meeting in six years. At 9 am they moved the location to another conference room.
47 members from the Quewene community, 40 from Benguerra Island, 71 from the mainland. Not 6 people as the government expected! They had to move all the tables! One of those present asked if they had a sign-in sheet and they said they hadn’t brought any paper!
Now they have a clipboard to sign. Just a living/standing room.
All CCP members. We’re all waiting for the meeting to start. Easily 250 people in this room. I see CCP members who came directly here in ordinary clothes. About a dozen businessmen. A hotel employee brought more chairs (half the room is empty space for sitting and standing) and they told him “no chairs.” The MC began speaking at 10:10 AM.
The communities added that CONSULTEC and the government intended for the consultation to be restricted.
“Once again, none of these people or entities were formally invited as required by law. CONSULTEC, Consultores Associados, Lda sent very few invitations.
As far as we know, Consultec sent an invitation a few days ago only to the Tourism Association and said they sent the invitation to the local administration.
It seems that it is illegal for the consultation to transfer its obligation to the local government,” said the communities at the meeting.
The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which does not possess an environmental license to drill, much less conduct an environmental impact study and consult with communities this week in Inhambane, Beira, Govuro, Inhassoro, and Vilanculos regarding the Environmental Pre-Feasibility Report and Scope Definition, was confirmed by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Estêvão Pale, on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa.
The concession contract granted to CNOOC violates the principle of due process, which stems from the principle of prevention and the rules of international custom, as well as the Environmental Law, which establishes that the environmental license precedes and conditions all other types of licenses or decisions on activities that impact the environment.
In the room, complaints and questions from the communities continued: “And what about the International Tourism Conference where it was announced that Inhambane is the tourism capital?” The Provincial Director of Environmental Services stood up and said, “Chapo knows about this project,” and the room erupted.
