The Mozambican government today admitted that there is a conflict of interest between groups that want to ‘hijack’ the state-owned Mozambique Airlines (LAM), interfering with the restructuring plan for the flag carrier.
‘All the delays [in the restructuring] we have had so far are the result of a conflict of interests, of a conflict between groups seeking to hijack the company, and the government will never allow that,’ said Transport and Logistics Minister João Matlombe on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony for three locomotives in Maputo.
On 5 February, the government authorised the sale of 91% of the state’s stake in the airline Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) to state-owned companies, indicating that the proceeds will be used to purchase eight aircraft, as part of efforts to restructure the company within the first 100 days of government.
The resolution approved by the Mozambican executive stipulates that only three state-owned companies – Hidroelétrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) and Empresa Moçambicana de Seguros (Emose) – may acquire the state’s stake in LAM.
Speaking to journalists, Minister Matlombe denounced internal and external ‘pressure’ on the restructuring of the company, saying that it aims to ‘maintain the current stage, the way the company continues to operate’.
‘We will let the shareholders work on implementing the guidelines given by the government. Unfortunately, we hoped to accomplish this mission within 100 days, but given the complexity of the mission itself, the government had to make the decision to cancel the entire process that was being carried out because it realised that there is a lot of conflict of interest,’ explained Matlombe.
The Mozambican government expects to achieve operational stability at LAM within three years, after selling state shares in the company to public companies, due to its high level of indebtedness.
LAM has been facing operational problems for several years related to a reduced fleet and lack of investment, with a number of non-fatal incidents reported, which experts have linked to poor aircraft maintenance.
Recurring problems at the flag carrier, including constant flight cancellations, led to the hiring of South African company Fly Modern Ark (FMA).
This contract ended on 12 September 2024 and had been in force since April 2023, when FMA was called in to implement a strategy to revitalise the company after years of operational problems related to a reduced fleet and lack of investment, with some non-fatal incidents reported, which experts attributed to inefficient aircraft maintenance.
When FMA took over the management of the state-owned airline, it acknowledged that LAM had an estimated debt of around US$300 million (€269 million at the current exchange rate).
Last week, the Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) announced the opening of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the signing of an agreement between the FMA and Mozambican authorities to restructure the state-owned LAM.
The MP also said that the investigation into alleged corruption in the sale of LAM tickets, for which no suspects have yet been named, is still ongoing, with the aim of identifying the ownership of the automatic payment terminals used to sell tickets, assessing the losses and identifying those responsible.
On average, LAM currently has 915 passengers per day flying to domestic and regional destinations.
