HISTORY OF MOZAMBIQUE
Mozambique
was first populated by Bantu-speaking people whose
ancestors arrived in the first century AD. Arab
traders set up posts along the coast and the Portuguese
involvement in Mozambique began in around 1498 when
Vasco da Gama landed at Ilha da Mozambique en route
to India. The Portuguese interest arose from a
need to establish supply points on the routes sailed
between Europe and the East. During the ensuing
200 years numerous other stations were set up along
the coast with Ilha da Mozambique becoming the capital
and by the mid sixteenth century, ivory had replaced
gold as the main trading commodity.
In
the seventeenth century the Portuguese strengthened
their control in the country by establishing private
agricultural lands granted by either the Portuguese
crown or by conquest of African Chiefs. By
the eighteenth century slaves were being sold by
the thousands through many of Mozambique’s
ports. During the eighteenth century major
companies in Mozambique attempted to gain control
of the Zambezi Valley by forming charter companies,
the largest being the Zambezia Company. Most
failed at this attempt, but the Zambezia Company
profited through forced labor abuses and forcing
inhabitants of the area to live under harsh conditions.
This
Portuguese colony was one of the most exploited
on the African continent. After plundering
the country for gold, ivory and slaves, the Portuguese
virtually turned Mozambique over to private companies
that made profits by controlling transportation
routes to neighboring landlocked countries and
providing cheap (often forced) African labor
for the mines and plantations of nearby British
colonies. Little attention was paid to the local
economic infrastructure or the skills of the
country's population.
In
1891 the British-Portuguese treaty was signed
which set the boundaries of Portuguese East Africa
(the former name for Mozambique). Significant
events in the early twentieth century include
the large scale migration of labor forces from
the southern regions of Mozambique to South Africa
and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). Another equally
important development was the economic
growth of the southern part of the country
as ties with South Africa strengthened. In
the late nineteenth century Lourenzo Marques
(Maputo) became increasingly popular as a major
export channel and was chosen as the country's
new capital after being transferred from Ilha
da Mozambique.
In
the late 1920's Antonio Salazar came
into power and he consolidated Portuguese control
over Mozambique. The introduction
of agriculture followed, which boosted the economic
growth. Alas, conditions for Mozambicans
worsened and only a handful of schools and hospitals
existed, most of which were situated in cities
and only available to the Portuguese and other
white nationalities. In
1960 an official meeting was held at Mueda in
northern Mozambique where peaceful villagers
protested against taxes. Portuguese
troops opened fire killing large numbers of
demonstrators.
This fueled the i ndependence movement
and it quickly gained momentum.
In
1962 the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique,
known as Frelimo, was formed. After more than
a decade of civil war, Frelimo, led initially
by the charismatic Eduardo Mondlane, finally
succeeded in overthrowing the Portuguese regime. However,
when the Portuguese suddenly abandoned the country
in 1975, they did so without preparing Mozambique
for the change. Frelimo became the
new Mozambican government and decided to embrace
socialism, establishing close ties with the Soviet
Union.
The
Portuguese had left the country in a state of
chaos with few skilled professionals and very
little infrastructure. As
a result, aims at teaching 100,000 people to
read and write, the formation of banks, insurance
companies and basic health services all collapsed
and by 1983, a year which included a disastrous
drought in Mozambique, the country became bankrupt
and its money useless. Frelimo opened
Mozambique to the West for aid. Socialism
had failed miserably in Mozambique, and a group
called Renamo (Mozambique National Resistance)
launched a rebellion.
Renamo
eventually had backing from the South African
military and certain sectors in the West. The
movement had no ideology of its own and sought
the sole destruction of social and communications
infrastructures and the destabilization of the
government. During more than a decade
of fighting, Renamo was never successful in overthrowing
the government, but they did destroy a tremendous
number of roads, schools, telephone lines and
other elements of the nation's infrastructure. Most
villagers with any sort of skill were shot.
By
the early 1990’s Frelimo had abandoned
its Marxist ideology and announced a change-over
to a market economy whereby state enterprises
would be privatized and multi-party elections
scheduled. In October 1992 a formal
peace agreement was arranged and a successful
UN-monitored disarmament and demobilization campaign
was established. However, at this
time, there was almost nothing left of the country. Since
the signing of the peace accords, Mozambique
has moved forward in a quest for transforming
military conflict into political competition.
In 1994 the country
held its first free elections in years. Frelimo
won, but only by a narrow margin, with Renamo securing
almost half the votes. A free-market economy
has replaced the old socialist programs, and foreign
aid has been generous. But for all its evident
regeneration, Mozambique remains one of the poorest
countries in the world. Many of its modest
successes have been negated by droughts, famine
and, most recently, floods. Although it will
undoubtedly be a few years before substantial tourism
begins in Mozambique, the tide is turning.
In December
2004, Mozambique underwent a delicate transition
as Joaquim CHISSANO stepped down after 18 years
in office. His newly elected successor, Armando
Emilio GUEBUZA, has promised to continue the sound
economic policies that have encouraged foreign
investment.
GENERAL
INFORMATION ON MOZAMBIQUE
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Geography
Mozambique covers an area of about 800,000 sq km’s and has a coastline
of more than 2,500km’s. It has an extensive coastal plain which varies
from 100 – 2,000 km’s wide in the south. The
north of the country is dominated by plateaus and
mountainous terrain where towering granite outcrops
called inselbergs occur. While the south
coast is edged with barrier lakes, the Zambezi
River Valley is situated in the central regions
of Mozambique and creates an extensive delta region
towards the coast. Mount Binga is Mozambique's
highest peak at 2,436m, situated in the Chimanimani
Mountains on the Zimbabwean border. Other
important rivers which flow through the country
are the Limpopo River, the Save River and the Rovuma
River (the border between Mozambique and Tanzania
in the north).
Environment
Mozambique has a diverse ecosystem with
extensive wetlands, mangrove forests, off-shore
marine habitats and montane habitats including
the Chimanimani Mountains and the Gorongosa Massif
in central Mozambique. A lack of official
regulations and structures continue to hamper the
conservation of many areas. Even when boundaries
have been set, much of Mozambique’s natural
resources are being ignored or squandered. Timber
trade in the northern parts of Mozambique is an
example of how over-utilization and inappropriate
logging practices are being pulled off with large
scale damage to the surrounding environment as
neither replanting nor sustainable harvesting has
been implemented. There are however a number
of small projects which focus on the promotion
of sustainable development and community resource
management.
Climate
The main dry season runs from April to November
and during this time, daytime temperatures average
24°C. The rainy season is from November
to March and temperatures average 27°C. The
country’s
highest temperatures occur in the north around
Pemba and west towards Tete. Rainfall averages
850mm per annum along the coast while during intense
rainfall periods, up to 2,200mm can be recorded.
Benguerra Island
& Coastal Weather
Month |
Weather Notes |
January |
Hot,
28 – 35° C. Rainy season. |
February |
Hot,
28 – 38° C. Rainy season, mostly
storms in afternoon. |
March |
Cooling
down, 25 – 30° C. Rains less frequent. |
April |
Weather
settled, 25 – 30° C. Very little
rain. |
May |
Lovely
month, weather settled, 20 – 28° C.
No rain. |
June |
Fine,
settled weather, 18 – 27° C. No
rain. |
July |
Winter
months, but warm, 15 – 25° C. Long
sleeve shirts may be needed in the evenings.
No rain. |
August |
September |
Warming
up again, nice month, 18 – 28° C.
Rain unlikely. |
October |
Getting
hot again, 23 – 30° C. Rains unlikely. |
November |
Hot,
22 – 33° C. Rains could start. |
December |
Hot,
23 – 36° C. Could rain, usually
short showers. |
Flora
Flora includes some 5,600 species, of which
an estimated 250 are endemic. Two areas of
notably high biodiversity are those of the Chimanimani
Mountains and the Maputoland Center of Plant Diversity
along the South African border. The
latter area is considered a site of global botanical
significance with coastal forests and some 2,500
species of vascular plants. Common species
which occur throughout most of Mozambique include
various types of Brachystegia (Miombo) and the
tall Mopane tree. Mangrove swamps are
a common feature along Mozambique’s central
and northern coastline and cover an approximate
area of 400,000ha.
Fauna
Although most large mammal populations were
exterminated during the war period, some 200 mammal
species, 170 reptile and 40 amphibian species occur. In
most places recovery of animal populations is
slow at best; an example of which being the drastically
reduced Elephant numbers in the Gorongoza
National Park, where 3,000 animals occurred before
the war compared to 120 that occur there now. Similar
are the Buffalo population numbers which were 14,000
strong before the war and reduced to zero by 1994.
Approximately
600 bird species have been identified in Mozambique
with efforts under way to fully document the numbers. As
for marine life, mammals include the Spinner,
Bottlenose, Humpback and Striped dolphins plus
the endangered Dugong. Leatherbacked,
Loggerhead, Green, Hawksbill and Olive Ridley turtles
occur along the coastline and whales such as the
Humpback use the calm waters as breeding grounds
during the winter months. Endangered
species include the Black Rhino, Giraffe, Tsessebe,
Roan antelope and African Wild Dog. Additional
notables include the African Rock python, the Wattled
Crane and most notably, the Dugong, which occurs
in marine estuarine habitats.
National Parks
Three mainland national parks occur
in Mozambique, namely the Gorongoza, the Zinave
and the Banhine. Bazaruto National Park is
situated off-shore and, at present, is the main
attraction for visitors to the country. Both
Zinave and Banine parks are still closed, while
the infrastructure of the reopened Gorongoza National
Park is extremely limited. Five wildlife
reserves occur, namely Niassa, Marromeu, Pomene,
Maputo and Gile. Only the Niassa and
Maputo Elephant Reserve are open to tourists. Various
other Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCA’s),
which will include the use and management of local
communities, are in the pipeline to be opened.
Such areas include linking the Maputo Elephant
Reserve with South Africa’s Tembe Elephant
Reserve, the Chimanimani National Park incorporating
Zimbabwe, and the Gaza TFCA, which encompasses
South Africa’s
Kruger National Park and Zimbabwe’s Gonarezhou
National Park.
People, Education and Language
Mozambique’s
population is are concentrated in the north (53%)
and 80% live in rural areas. There are 16 main ethnic groups, most notably
the Makua (largest group), Makonde, Sena, Ronga
and the Shangaan. Roughly 1% of the
population is Portuguese and there are small numbers
of European and Asian residents.
There are two
levels of primary education (EP1 and EP2), followed
by two levels of secondary education (ESG1 and
ESG2). There are universities or tertiary
education institutes in Maputo, Beira, Nampula
and Cuamba.
Portuguese is the official language and
is widely spoken in larger towns. Of the
numerous African languages, the most common is
the Makua-Lomwe language. Sena-Nyanja is
spoken in the central regions and Tsonga is predominant
in the south.
The population
of Mozambique is estimated at 21.3 million (July
2008). Note:
estimates for this country explicitly take into
account the effects of excess mortality due to
AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy,
higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the
distribution of population by age and sex than
would otherwise be expected; the 1997 Mozambican
census reported a population of 16.1 million. It
is estimated that 12.2% of the population (1.3
million) are living with HIV/AIDS
(2003 est) and that 110,000 per year die from
the disease.
Government
Mozambique is an emerging democracy with a directly
elected President and an independent unicameral
Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica
(250 seats; members are directly elected by
popular vote on a secret ballot to serve five-year
terms).
Chief of state: President Armando GUEBUZA (since 2 February 2005).
Head of government: Prime Minister Luisa DIOGO
(since 17 February 2004) appointed by the president.
Elections: president elected by popular vote
for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
election last held 1-2 December 2004 (next to be
held in December 2009); prime minister appointed
by the president.
Election results: percent of vote by party - FRELIMO 62%, RENAMO
29.7%; seats by party - FRELIMO 160, RENAMO 90
The
Flag
Three
equal horizontal bands of green (top), black,
and yellow with a red isosceles triangle based
on the hoist side; the black band is edged
in white; centered in the triangle is a yellow
five-pointed star bearing a crossed rifle and
hoe in black superimposed on an open white
book.
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Economy
At independence in 1975, Mozambique was one of
the world's poorest countries. Socialist mismanagement
and a brutal civil war from 1977-1992 exacerbated
the situation. In 1987 the government
embarked on a series of macroeconomic reforms
designed to stabilize the economy. These steps,
combined with donor assistance and with political
stability since the multi-party elections in
1994, have led to dramatic improvements in
the country's growth rate. Inflation was reduced
to single digits during the late 1990s although
it returned to double digits in 2000-2003. Fiscal
reforms, including the introduction of a
value-added tax and reform of the customs service,
have improved the government's revenue collection
abilities.
In spite of these gains, Mozambique remains dependent upon foreign assistance for much of its annual budget, and the majority of the population remains below the poverty line. Subsistence agriculture continues to employ the vast majority of the country's work force. A substantial trade imbalance persists although the opening of the Mozal aluminum smelter, the country's largest foreign investment project to date, has increased export earnings.
At the end of 2007, and after years of negotiations, the government took over Portugal's majority share of the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectricity (HCB) company, a dam that was not transferred to Mozambique at independence because of the ensuing civil war and unpaid debts. More power is needed for additional investment projects in titanium extraction and processing and garment manufacturing that could further close the import/export gap. Mozambique's once substantial foreign debt has been reduced through forgiveness and rescheduling under the IMF's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Enhanced HIPC initiatives, and is now at a manageable level. In July 2007 the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) signed a Compact with Mozambique; the Mozambican government moved rapidly to ratify the Compact and propose a plan for funding.
The currency is
the Mozambique Metical. Recent historical
exchange rates are as follows: Meticals per US
dollar - 24,990 (12/31/2008); 23,560 (12/31/2007);
25,250 (12/31/2006); 23,720 (12/31/2005);
18,515 (12/31/2004); 23,215 (12/31/2003); 24,100
(12/31/2002); 22,890 (12/31/2001); 17,400 (12/31/2000);
13,293 (12/31/1999); 12,368 (12/31/1998); 11,633
(12/31/1997).
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