The Palma district hosted a meeting last Saturday (6) between the Director-General of TotalEnergies in Mozambique, Maxime Rabilloud, and representatives of the local private sector. The objective was to discuss the participation of regional companies in the activities of the Mozambique LNG project, valued at approximately 1.3 billion meticais (20 billion dollars).
The meeting took place just hours after the official inauguration of the Quitunda–Senga road, a 15-kilometer infrastructure built with an investment of around 169 million meticais (2.6 million dollars), as part of the social responsibility initiatives associated with the project.
During the meeting, Palma businesspeople expressed concerns about the alleged exclusion from procurement processes and the supply of goods and services to the multinational, as well as the confinement of workers in the Afungi camp, which, they claimed, has stifled local economic activity.
Pedro da Silva, representative of the Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) in Palma, stated bluntly that “Palma has been forgotten; it is dead.” He added that the district, once a symbol of anticipated prosperity, no longer reflects the promises associated with natural gas exploitation.
“The problem is that the company closed its doors, and local entrepreneurs were left out, without any knowledge or information. If the company had been open and explained how it would operate, we wouldn’t have all these problems,” he said. Momed Omar, a hotel-sector entrepreneur, supported this view, lamenting the decline in local demand. “We have accommodations and restaurants without clients because the workers are confined in Afungi. This limits the dynamism of the local economy,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Ema Salimo, a logistics operator, highlighted the need for greater transparency: “There is a perception that not all products purchased by the project come from local entrepreneurs. We need real opportunities to participate.”
In response to these concerns, Maxime Rabilloud acknowledged shortcomings in the communication mechanisms between TotalEnergies and local economic actors. “It was an important meeting. I noticed that there are communication gaps. I want to be clear: there is no intention to reduce purchases from local entrepreneurs. On the contrary, with the lifting of Force Majeure, we will increase local economic participation,” he assured.
He explained that a significant portion of the food consumed by the roughly 2,000 workers at the Afungi operations center is already supplied by local producers and traders. Rabilloud reaffirmed the company’s commitment to ensuring that the benefits of the project are shared with host communities. Regarding the confinement of workers, he clarified that it is a standard procedure in large-scale projects, particularly for security reasons. “People working on project construction need to stay within the camp, and this will continue. This may have led to the impression that no one else can work with us, which is not the case,” he said.
Despite the explanations, businesspeople left the meeting without major expectations being resolved. A new working session is scheduled for September 11, during which a technical team from TotalEnergies will hear individual proposals from entrepreneurs and present concrete solutions. Maxime Rabilloud also committed to returning to Palma before the end of the month.
TotalEnergies reported that preparations are underway for the formal removal of the Force Majeure clause, which suspended the project in 2021 following armed attacks in Cabo Delgado. Full resumption of operations could occur soon, amid growing local anticipation.
Text: Felisberto Ruco
