The Forum of Civil Society Organizations of Cabo Delgado Province (FOCADE) has expressed concern and disapproval over the government’s decision to choose Maputo to host the initial phase of training for Mozambique’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) academy, arguing that the initiative should take place in the province where the project will be implemented.
The Mozambique LNG Academy was created at the initiative of TotalEnergies, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Matola Industrial Institute, and the Maputo Commercial Institute. The first phase of the program will involve the training of 260 young technicians selected to attend the courses.
Once the training is complete, participants will move on to practical training at the Mozambique LNG project facilities in Afungi, in the Palma district of Cabo Delgado province. The project is part of the technical and vocational training programs and local content initiatives promoted by TotalEnergies.
The oil company leads the Mozambique LNG project, valued at approximately $20 billion. The initiative was suspended in 2021 following the terrorist attack on the town of Palma but has since resumed after security conditions improved.
In a statement, FOCADE expressed concern that the initial phase of the training is taking place outside the province where the project is located. The organization maintains that Cabo Delgado, particularly the city of Pemba, has the institutions, infrastructure, and technical capacity to host this initiative.
According to the organization, the decision raises doubts about the true extent of the commitment to local content and the inclusion of host communities. “Local capacity building should not be limited to hiring Mozambican workers; it must also ensure that opportunities for training, knowledge transfer, and institutional strengthening directly benefit the regions where the main investments are being implemented,” the statement reads.
The document adds that initiatives of this scale should also contribute to strengthening existing training institutions in Cabo Delgado, enabling the province to build a technical base capable of meeting the current and future needs of the gas industry.
FOCADE further believes that “conducting this training in Maputo represents a missed opportunity to boost Cabo Delgado’s local economy, encourage the use of provincial services, and bring young people closer to the reality of the project that, ultimately, is generating these opportunities.”
For this reason, the organization calls on the government and TotalEnergies to review the next phases of the program, ensuring greater decentralization of training opportunities and prioritizing Cabo Delgado as a strategic location for developing skills related to the project.
“A province that bears the impacts, challenges, and expectations associated with major investments must also be a hub of knowledge, training, and opportunities. Local content must be experienced by the host communities, not merely proclaimed as a principle,” the statement concludes.
