Some members of the Provincial Assembly of Cabo Delgado expressed this week their desire to expand their powers to include the oversight of large-scale mineral resource exploration projects taking place in the province. These projects are currently under the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Assembly, as established by Law No. 6/2019.
According to O País newspaper, this proposal was raised during a capacity-building workshop on decentralized governance, the extractive industry, and human rights, held in the city of Pemba.
The provincial deputies say their goal is to ensure greater transparency in the exploitation of natural resources and to effectively protect the rights of local populations — who are often affected by poorly managed resettlements, disputed compensations, and alleged environmental and labor violations.
“All members of the Provincial Assembly want to understand what’s happening with the resettlement and compensation processes in Palma district, due to the gas projects; in Balama, where graphite is being mined; and in Montepuez, because of ruby extraction. But right now, that oversight is only carried out by the National Assembly.
Our intervention is limited to what’s written in the law. This demand stems from the many complaints we’ve received from affected communities,”
said Abácio Silamo, president of the Planning and Finance Commission of the Provincial Assembly of Cabo Delgado.
Local parliamentarians’ concerns focus mainly on the social and environmental impacts of the extractive industry and on the alleged exclusion of decentralized structures from the monitoring processes. They argue that this weakens oversight and widens the gap between companies and communities.
“We would also like to inspect the Coral Sul platform in the Rovuma Basin to understand what’s happening with the workers from Cabo Delgado,”
added Silamo.
Data shared during the event revealed that, over the past ten years, more than 10,000 people have been directly affected by mineral resource exploration projects in the province. For the deputies, this underscores the urgency of strengthening the role of provincial institutions in monitoring these processes — in the name of social justice and respect for human rights.
Source: Diário Económico
