Mozambican businesspeople said on Thursday that the sale to state-owned companies of 91% of the state’s stake in the airline Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) is a “first positive sign” of long-awaited deep reforms.
“Since 2017, we have been calling for deep reforms in the state business park and this is the first positive sign that we are seeing,” said Agostinho Vuma, president of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique – CTA, during a press conference in Maputo.
On Tuesday, Mozambique’s government authorised the sale of 91% of the state’s stake in the airline LAM to state-owned companies, indicating that the amount will be used to purchase eight aircraft.
“The government approved the resolution authorising the sale of 91% of the state’s shares in the company LAM by private negotiation,” announced the cabinet spokesman, Inocêncio Impissa, after a session of this body in Maputo.
The approved resolution determines that only three state-owned companies – the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant (HCB), Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) and Empresa Moçambicana de Seguros (Emose) – can acquire the state’s stake in LAM.
For Agostinho Vuma, the measure will help the private sector by promoting tourism. It will also contribute to better movement of people and goods in Mozambique and the region, and it is hoped that fares will be reduced.
“This is one of those measures that we have been waiting for for a long time and we believe that in these first 100 days it can be a breath of fresh air for us as a private sector, but above all for a whole group of people in society who want mobility to be easier and easier for us as Mozambicans,” he added.
Mozambique’s government explained that the companies that will acquire LAM’s shares will have to provide periodic information to the government to analyse the impact of their intervention in the restructuring of the state-owned airline.
According to a notice consulted by Lusa, on 31 January, LAM proceeded with a procedure to try to contract the supply of Embraer ERJ190 and Boeing 737-700 aircraft.
The tender, which will run until next Friday, the 7th, involves the submission of expressions of interest by national or foreign companies or consortia for the supply of aircraft of these two models.
The aviation regulatory authority confirmed on 23 January that Mozambique returned the Boeing 737 300 cargo plane to Indonesia after a year without operating it due to the manufacturer’s lack of national certification and recognition of the aircraft’s modifications.
Mozambique’s Central Office for Combating Corruption (GCCC) opened a case to investigate alleged corruption schemes in selling tickets by the Mozambican airline and managing the company’s fleet and seized various materials.
LAM operates 12 domestic destinations and regularly flies regionally to Johannesburg, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Lusaka, and Cape Town. Lisbon is the only intercontinental destination, but it has faced successive operational problems.
Lusa
