As Gas Companies Invest Billions, a Mozambican Province Struggles to Stay Afloat

By: Julian Mok

Lexington —The northeastern province of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique is in the midst of yet another crisis. While still recovering from the devastation from Cyclone Kenneth last April and heavy rains and flooding in January, citizens now face an uptick in violence by extremist insurgencies.

There have by 28 attacks by armed militants since the beginning of the year. Despite massive investments into the energy-rich province by industry giants like ExxonMobil and Total, Cabo Delgado remains stuck in conflict, poverty and corruption.

Cabo Delgado is a province of about 1.7 million people, where 57% live below the poverty line. Agriculture is the main livelihood for its citizens, although illicit underground markets for gemstones, ivory, coal and heroine are another form of income for the province’s active criminal networks.

The agricultural nature of the province leaves residents severely susceptible to extreme weather events like droughts and flooding. Cabo Delgado lost an estimated 4000 hectares of farmland from the heavy rains in January. The floods also destroyed fishing boats, electrical infrastructure and bridges. This catastrophic weather became the backdrop for the recent spike in violence by extremist groups like the Islamic State (IS) and al-Shabaab (a religious sect not to be confused with Somalia’s al-Shabaab of the same name).

There is no clear connection between the IS and al-Shabaab – both citizens and researchers believe that the two groups are simply operating in the same region with different objectives. Some experts speculate that the mounting attacks by the IS are a publicity stunt to prove that it is still relevant even after the collapse of the caliphate.

Al-Shabaab, meaning “youth” in Arabic, has been active in Cabo Delgado since October 2017 and has launched about 370 attacks since then resulting in 909 fatalities. Many believe that al-Shabaab emerged when religious extremists from neighboring countries married into Mozambique communities to propagate their ideology.

A house is ransacked by the conflict. Since the violence began, approximately 100,000 people have been displaced. Cr: Source

Al-Shabaab has been extremely successful in recruiting and retaining membership. Members abide by a dress code – the men have shaved heads, long beards and wear white turbans and black gown with short trousers. Al-Shabaab women wear burkas. Members also regularly attend lectures and children attend madrasas, religious schools.

Religious extremism may not be the group’s only objective, however. Some onlookers believe that the increasingly brazen violence of the religious sect is driven by other reasons like greedy criminal networks, corrupt elites and poverty.

Whatever the reason, citizens in Cabo Delgado live in fear, unable to make reason of the violence around them.

There is little that the Mozambican government can do to stop the insurgency. Mozambique’s security forces were so unsuccessful that President Felipe Nyusi hired Russian security contractors to stabilize the situation in Cabo Delgado. They seemed to be of little help, as 100,000 people have been displaced from the province and those left are being recruited into al-Shabaab, enticed by the promise of a monthly wage.

While President Nyusi would have preferred to keep Cabo Delgado isolated from the rest of the country; one thing keeps him from doing so: the district of Palma, the base of the growing energy sector located in Cabo Delgado.

An estimated $50 billion worth of gas fields are located just offshore of the province. Multinational companies have been vying for the opportunity to exploit the substantial gas deposits, which were discovered in 2010.

ExxonMobil invested $30 billion in Mozambique, hoping to jumpstart the promising energy sector. Italian company Eni and American company Andarko are also significant investors in the emerging industry. According to estimates, energy will be harvested starting in 2022 and Mozambique will receive profits by 2028. These dates, however, could be significantly delayed as militant attacks continue to rise and disrupt any progress.