Tag Archives: Filipe Nyusi

Business, Malawi, Regional

Malawi, Mozambique sign bilateral Petroleum deal

Lloyd M’bwana

MAPUTO-(MaraviPost)-Malawi and its neighboring Mozambique have signed a bilateral Petroleum and Related Products Agreement which is expected to enhance the access to electricity to Malawians as well as significantly reducing the landing cost of fuel in Malawi.

The agreement was signed in Maputo earlier this afternoon soon after the visiting Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera held bilateral talks in camera with his Mozambican counterpart Filipe Nyusi.

Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola signed the deal on behalf of Malawi Government as the two presidents keenly watched.

The signed pact comes barely three weeks after a trainload of diesel fuel had arrived in Malawi for the first time in 21 years, following a newly refurbished rail from the Indian Ocean Port of Nacala by the Chakwera-led government.

Meanwhile, President Chakwera has described the signing of the Petroleum agreement and also his visit to Mozambique as “pleasant, memorable and successful,” stressing that it will help reduce pump prices while also helping increase access to electricity across the country.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) Chief Executive Officer Clement Kanyama said the signed fuel agreement will help in lowering the landing cost of fuel in Malawi in the long-run

“Nacala to Lilongwe is just 36 hours, and the same volume from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) takes four to five days which means that with the agreement in place, we can now save more money as we will have more fuel flowing into the country by rail,” he said

Malawi is currently consuming 51 million liters a month, but has a storage capacity of 60 million litres lasting for 35 days cover (for NOCMA facilities) and 92 million storage capacity if Oil Marketing Companies are included.

Malawi

Malawi leader Lazarus Chakwera calls for SADC’s robust regional integration; elected to chair SADC from 2021

Maneno Chimulala
Malawi leader Lazarus Chakwera presenting his speech at SADC meeting

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—President Lazarus Chakwera has challenged Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) member states to strive for robust regional integration if they are to live the dream of economic freedom, an aspiration championed by the grouping’s founding leaders.

The President was speaking at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe during the 40th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) hosted by Mozambique virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The Malawi leader said the country is in solidarity with all member states in pursuing the SADC agenda.


“I believe that the combination of strengths and shared values between us in this present moment represents a unique opportunity to achieve this within the next few years, an opportunity worth seizing. I also believe that it is a divine opportunity, for it is by the Providence of God that we are bound to one another by history, culture, and a shared journey of liberation.

“For us as Malawians, we feel this undeniable bond whenever we travel beyond our border, which is why I have never accepted that Malawi is land-locked, but rather land-linked, for we are inextricably linked to our SADC brothers on all sides, and I can assure you that we would not have it any other way,” Chakwera said.


“From this perspective, I humbly request you, the In-coming Chairman, my brother and neighbor, Your Excellency Felipe Nyusi, to give us all no rest during your tenure until we join hands in honoring the legacy of Late Benjamin Mkapa by fully liberalizing trade across the SADC region and unlock the economic possibilities that our peoples dream of,” he added.


The outgoing SADC Chair John Pombe Magufuli, who is also president of Tanzania, applauded efforts by member states for maintaining peace and focusing on development agenda.


He singled out Malawi and the Kingdom of Lesotho among others for following peaceful processes in conducting elections. He further called on development partners to lift economic sanctions against Zimbabwe.


Newly elected SADC Chair, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, said he will work closely with the member states to fulfill the mission of SADC for economic liberation of the region.

“I accept the mandate to take the mantle of Chairmanship of SADC which has just been entrusted on me in this memorable ordinary session of our virtual summit with humility and high sense of responsibility for the mission.

Nyusi added: “The people of Mozambique are by nature resilient and hardworking therefore we commit to fulfill the mission and obligation with support of each member state.”


He paid tribute to the founders of SADC “whose contributions and vision led to the political and economic liberation of the region. We are certain that we will drive our organisation to new heights of a shared future, prosperity and well being for which we have always strived.”

Malawi President Chakwera was later elected as the incoming Chairperson of SADC for one year from August 2021.


SADC was established in Lusaka Zambia in 1980 with overarching objective of achieving development, peace, security, economic growth, to alleviate poverty and enhance the standard and quality of life of Southern Africa citizens.

Regional

Mozambique: Partial results put Nyusi and ruling party ahead

Maravi Post Reporter
Filipe Nyusi
Filipe Jacinto Nyusi (Portuguese pronunciation: [fi?lip? ???s?tu ??usi], born 9 February 1959), also spelled Nyussi, is a Mozambican politician serving as the fourth President of Mozambique, in office since 2015.

Partial results from Mozambique’s general election put President Filipe Nyusi and his ruling Frelimo party ahead. The results were released on Friday by the National Electoral Commission (CNE)….

Nyusi’s Frelimo party prior to the voting was widely expected to prolong its hold of power in Mozambique.

The party has ruled the southern African nation for 44 years since independence in 1975.

The CNE’s running website tally showed that Nyusi won 75% of the 830,000 votes counted so far with just 6% of the country’s 13 million registered voters – in the presidential election.The candidate of the main opposition party Renamo, Ossufo Momade, had garnered 20% of the votes counted so far.

For the parliamentary election, ruling Frelimo was also shown to be leading with 70% to Renamo’s 22% out of 750, 000 votes counted.

But not everyone is happy with the conduct of the presidential and local level elections.

The third biggest party Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) has slammed what it called the “shameful electoral process”.
“We confirm that there has been fraud. These elections were not fair, free or transparent,” the MDM said in a statement on Friday.

The electoral commission is expected to announce the result of the provincial elections on Monday.

The final results of all the polls must be published however within 15 days of the vote.

Source: Africafeeds.com

Malawi

Mozambique withdraws MOU on Shire-Zambezi Waterway Project; not commercially navigable as it is

Maravi Post correspondent

Nsanje port

MAPUTO-(MaraviPost)- The Mozambique Government has withdrawn from the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Malawi and Zambia on the much-touted Shire-Zambezi Waterway Project. This follows the study that highlights the initiative as not commercially navigable in its natural state.

According to Reuters, Mozambique’s withdrawal from the MOU is effective June, 2017 after a study done by an international consultancy firm, Hydroplan found the project not economically viable.
Maputo made the announcement on the project last week at press briefing held in that country on the future of the initiative.
News reports quoted senior Zambian Transport Ministry official Jafar Ruby, who said that the project was neither viable nor sustainable in the short, medium, and long-term.
Dubbed as Nsanje World In-Land Port, which the Malawi Government launched in October 2010, after it spent US$ 3.9 billion for its construction; but now the infrastructure has turned into a bush, and it will be unattainable dream.
Despite reports of the Mozambique withdrawal, Malawi Government insists that the project is viable, and has allocated funds to the project in the current 2017/2018 national budget.
Malawi Minister of Transport Jappie Mhango, remains adamant on the project, arguing that it is viable, and that Maputo has not officially notified Lilongwe of the MOU withdrawal.
“Mozambique did not withdraw from the MOU. Earlier, there was a meeting here, where three presidents met, Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi, Zambia President Edgar Lungu, and our own President (Peter Mutharika). The beauty of it is that we have a ministerial meeting this month, on resolutions slated for Lilongwe,” Mhango said.
The development has however, raised eyebrows among his fellow lawmakers who argue that continued funding to the project, was a leeway to siphoning of public funds for political reasons.
Chairperson for the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, Rhino Chiphiko, described as irregular for the Mutharika Administration to continue allocating funds on a project, which is not viable.
“Government knew that the project is not viable, more especially with the coming in of railway transport, which has a capacity of five million tons of extra cargo, rather than just coal, which the country can use more economically.
“This is a scam for Government to be stealing money. We don’t have economies of scale. We don’t have enough cargo to spend a lot of money for actually make that route economically feasible and viable. Even the cost of dredging every time there will be siltation, is very expensive,” challenged Chiphiko.