Seminar: Can natural gas extraction benefit local people in Mozambique?

Mozambique has enormous offshore natural gas deposits of geostrategic importance. It now stands at the cusp of investment for its development - one of the largest ever in Africa. But for the last decades, the country has also been ravaged by internal conflict, a high degree of contestation around its other extractive industries, and overall poor governance marked by extreme corruption levels. How can Mozambique benefit from its natural riches? 

The speakers will bring fresh insights based on recent field work in the country's extractive sector. The main speaker, António Tabuela Chiziane, focusses on the South African multinational company SASOL, its exploitation of onshore gas in the Inhambane province, and the extent to which the local communities benefit from the project.  Einar Braathen will speak about the municipality of Vilankulo in Southern Mozambique, the first with an elected mayor from the opposition party Renamo. 

Speakers:

António Tabuela Chiziane (PhD-researcher, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo)

Einar Braathen (research professor at OsloMet), who collaborated on the NORHED-project Climate Energy Sustainability: Transformations and Governance (CENSU).

Intro and discussion moderator:

Aslak Orre (CMI).