Mozambique’s Rural Observatory (OMR) has warned that Cabo Delgado province could enter a new cycle of violence and radicalism if TotalEnergies continues to operate in an enclave model and the process of compensating communities affected by the Rovuma Basin gas project remains unresolved.
The warning was issued during the Conference on Social Exclusion, Violence and Peacebuilding, held in Pemba, the provincial capital of Cabo Delgado. At the event, the OMR expressed concern over the manner in which the gas exploration project in Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin is being managed, cautioning that the current approach risks deepening the divide between the project and local communities.
According to the organisation, the tightening of security measures around the project, combined with delays in the payment of compensation and the slow resolution of outstanding grievances, is contributing to alienating the population from the benefits associated with the megaproject and fuelling a growing sense of discontent.
‘If this attitude persists — without providing economic advantages to local entrepreneurs — what will happen is that, if all these misunderstandings and delays in compensation payments and regularisation of pending matters continue for too long, it will deepen the feeling of divorce between the population and the project. If the State remains passive in all of this, it will also be perceived as siding with the company rather than the people,’ said João Feijó, a representative of the OMR.
In his assessment, the absence of more assertive state intervention risks reinforcing the perception that the government is prioritising corporate interests over those of affected communities.
The OMR argues that this combination of factors not only intensifies social exclusion but could also create conditions for a deterioration of security in Cabo Delgado, by facilitating the recruitment of disaffected individuals by violent groups and enabling the spread of radical ideas among frustrated populations with little prospect of economic improvement.
‘This is fertile ground for the infiltration of violent individuals and radical ideas that will exploit the discontent and frustration of people who, in many cases, have nothing to lose. This will ultimately affect security, and we will enter a vicious cycle of ever-greater distrust of the population, ever-deeper enclave dynamics, and fewer benefits reaching local communities,’ Feijó added.
In response to this scenario, the OMR is calling for greater rapprochement between communities, companies, and the state, arguing that dialogue and the resolution of outstanding issues are essential to arresting the escalation of violence and radicalism in the province.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/07/28/oilgas/cabo-delgado-omr-alerta-para-novo-ciclo-de-violencia-no-projecto-de-gas-da-totalenergies/
