Could this be it? After years of discussion with no concrete decisions, the Government now says it intends to submit the Local Content Law to the National Assembly before the end of the year. Its success, however, will depend less on the final wording and more on how it is implemented.
Debate around the need for a local content law in Mozambique has intensified in recent years, driven by hopes of growth in gas, oil, and mining megaprojects. Regarding those already underway, there is a widespread perception that benefits are not being sufficiently shared with national companies.
The creation of specific legislation is seen as essential to ensure that Mozambican companies—especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—are chosen as suppliers in the value chains of major projects. Key expected benefits include the creation of local jobs, increased national production capacity, technology transfer, and reduced external dependence, promoting a more diversified and inclusive economy.
At the 1st Local Content and Procurement Conference, held in Maputo at the end of May, António Manda, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, announced that the Government has nearly completed a draft of the Local Content Law.
“Those who have wealth underground should not live in poverty. The new administration wants a local content law that works, has impact, and creates real opportunities for Mozambicans,” Manda stated, adding that the creation of a regulatory agency is also planned, tasked with overseeing and ensuring the law’s future implementation.
Public Debate and Inclusive Model
According to Manda, before reaching Parliament, the draft law will be shared with the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) and the Chamber of Mines, among other organizations, to incorporate diverse input. A public conference is also planned to grant legitimacy and transparency to the legislative process.
“Many of our laws were drafted under strong influence from foreign consultants who didn’t always have national interests in mind. We need to follow Tanzania’s example, which successfully reformed its mining legislation with a local focus,” Manda argued.
Current Legislation Is Insufficient
Representatives from the National Institute of Mines (INAMI) and the National Petroleum Institute (INP) acknowledged that although there are political guidelines on local content, the absence of binding legal instruments has hindered the inclusion of Mozambican companies in major projects.
“There are principles in the 2014 Petroleum Law that encourage partnerships between foreign and national companies. However, there are no mechanisms to enforce them—especially given the weak capacity of our SMEs,” said Reinaldo Almeida from INP.
The solution, Almeida noted, lies in ongoing technical training, implementing mandatory national hiring quotas, and creating more predictable and transparent contracts in the extractive sector.
SMEs Continue to Be Marginalized
One of the most striking moments of the event came from Inocêncio Paulino, president of the General Assembly of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises of Mozambique (APME), who sharply criticized how the local content agenda has been handled.
“Local content should mean national content. What we’re seeing is the systematic exclusion of our companies from megaprojects. Many miss out due to lack of information, training, or simply because they can’t compete with foreign companies registered locally but that aren’t genuinely Mozambican,” he said.
Paulino urged that low-complexity contracts, such as gardening, transportation, or site assembly, be reserved for national companies, without imposing disproportionate requirements that exclude them.
Experts Warn of Structural Exclusion
During the conference’s technical panels, several experts agreed that excluding national SMEs from large public and private contracts is a structural obstacle to Mozambique’s development.
“Tenders are designed to exclude. The criteria are unclear, and many processes are decided behind closed doors,” denounced Vicente Sitoe, of consultancy SDO Mozambique, calling for serious procurement reforms.
Sitoe also emphasized that the local content concept should not be limited to the oil and gas sectors, but extended to banking, transport, telecommunications, aviation, and other strategic sectors.
Lack of Long-Term Industrial Planning
Economist Bruno Chicalia, with over two decades of experience in major projects such as Vale’s coal mining in Tete, argued that the country still lacks a clear long-term industrial vision. Companies continue to be created just to respond to short-term contracts, without a strategy for national industrialization.
“We’re still creating companies for one-off services, but we don’t have a clear idea of where we want to be in 20 or 30 years. Real industrial capacity isn’t being developed in Mozambique,” he said.
Another key point raised was the digital transformation of SMEs, considered essential for their inclusion in value chains. Almunir Abdulmalique, a specialist in industry-related technologies, warned of the lack of internet, digital literacy, and certifications in many companies, which prevents them from accessing opportunities in major projects.
“We need to ensure connectivity in places like Topuito,” he said, citing a remote location where internet signal must be available. “And we need to prepare companies today with ISO certifications so they’re able to compete tomorrow,” he explained.
Almunir also called for legislation on digital certification to legally recognize electronic signature tools, facilitating contract recognition, for example.
A New Beginning?
Could a new Local Content Law mark a turning point in Mozambique’s economic development policy? As several speakers stressed, the law’s success will depend less on its final draft and more on its execution.
“Good speeches are no longer enough. Communities want results. And those results will only come if there is political will, strict oversight, and real capacity-building for our companies,” concluded Vicente Sitoe.
With the promise of public debate, intersectoral coordination, and a focus on local development, the Government appears determined to correct one of the country’s main structural economic imbalances. What remains to be seen is whether the National Assembly will turn this ambitious proposal into law — and, more importantly, whether that law will be enforced.
Text: Nário Sixpene • Photo: D.R
