More top executives of Mozambique’s Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy – acronymed in Portuguese as Mireme – were sworn in last week by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Pedro Couto. Mireme was created by merging the previous Ministries of Mineral Resources and of Energy. The creation of Mireme was one of newly elected President Filipe Nyusi’s first acts. Sworn in on January 15, he created Mireme in Presidential Decree 1/2015 (that is, the first Presidential decree of the year) on the very next day, January 16.

The new officials sworn in last week include the National Director of Energy Pascoal Bacela, National Director of Hydrocarbons and Fuels Moisés Paulino, Director of Planning and Cooperation Eugénio Simbine and Director of the Legal Office Illidio Bambo. They also include National Deputy Director of Energy Marcelina Matavela and National Deputy Director of Hydrocarbons and Fuels Almirante Dimas. The other senior officials involved are Ministerial Office head Pedro Langa, Ministerial Assistant Bruno Senguaio, Ministerial advisers Afonso Mabica and Benjamin Chilenge, National Museum of Geology director Dino Milisse, Administration and Finances Department head Urbano Nhamússa and Human Resources Department head Laura Nhancale.

Meanwhile, separately, the Manica Provincial Directorate of Mineral Resources and Energy has, so far this year, sought the cancellation of 85 mining licences, because of a number of irregularities. Manica is one of Mozambique’s landlocked western provinces, bordering Zimbabwe. (The coal-rich Tete province is immediately north of Manica; the coastal province of Sofala is to the east, while the Save river is Manica’s southern border – on the other side of the river lies Gaza province.)

Provincial Mineral Resources and Energy Director Olavo Deniasse told the Notícias newspaper than 39 of the licences proposed for cancellation were in the Manica district (the area around the town of Manica; the capital of Manica province is actually Chimoio). Of these, ten have not been renewed by their owners. Other reasons for terminating licences in the province include the owners undertaking no activities in their licence areas, failure to supply infor- mation on production and the forfeiture of mining titles. Currently, in the province there are 154 prospecting and exploration licences, 12 small-scale mining licences and 27 mining concessions.

The development of the Mozambican economy could be hit by the slowdown in economic growth in China, a British consultancy has cautioned. Fathom Consulting noted that “for China, Africa provides many of the raw materials that are required to fuel its economic growth engine.” China’s slowdown has already affected Africa – in July, the continent’s exports to the Asian giant were 40% lower than 12 months earlier. The company has analysed the economic links between 19 African countries and China and has ranked them in terms of their vulnerability to economic deceleration in China.

Mozambique was ranked eighth. This is because the country’s exports accounted for 30% of its gross domestic product (GDP), while exports to China in particular came to 9% of GDP. However, Chinese foreign direct investment in Mozambique totals only 2% of the latter’s GDP. The three countries rated as most vulnerable to the Chinese slowdown were Zambia, South Africa and Liberia.