Mozambique
International Development
Charles Walker (Broxbourne, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development
(1) what technical and financial support his Department has given to Mozambique in support of the development of its mining and mineral sectors;
(2) what technical and financial aid his Department has given to assist Mozambique develop its mineral resources in each of the last five years.
Stephen O'Brien (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, International Development; Eddisbury, Conservative)
DFID Mozambique's direct support to the Government of Mozambique (GoM) to develop its mining and mineral sectors has been very limited to date. In September 2008, we paid £51,705 for specialist technical assistance to support the Ministry of Mineral Resources (MIREM) to appraise BHP Billington's proposal to develop the Chibuto Corridor Heavy Sands. In October 2011, we commissioned a study, for our own planning purposes, on the potential for job creation and small and medium enterprise (SME) development. This study specifically examined opportunities arising from existing and emerging supply chains in the Mozambican mining sector. This has led DFID Mozambique to begin work with the private sector to involve Mozambican SMEs in mining companies' supply chains.
DFID is providing £6.5 million (2012-16) in technical and financial support to the Mozambican Ministry of Transport. This will be used to develop well-functioning transport infrastructure along the Beira and Nacala corridors. The corridor development is expected to benefit the mining sector by making coal exports more efficient. Our support will enable GoM to strengthen the regulation of transport, energy and communication infrastructure. This will increase competitiveness. It will also benefit neighbouring countries using Mozambique as a transit route for international trade.
DFID Mozambique is an active member of the Extractive Industry Working Group of development partners that support the GoM to implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) global standards. In May 2010, DFID provided £35,000 to MIREM to support establishment of the EITI in Mozambique.
The financial and technical support provided by DFID to support the development of Mozambique's mining and mineral sectors over the last five years can be summarised as follows:
| Support from DFID Mozambique | |||||
| £ | |||||
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Technical support | |||||
| Support to MIREM for a technical appraisal of the proposal on Chibuto Corridor Heavy Sands (2008) | 51,705 | — | — | — | — |
| Support to MIREM to establish the EITI Secretariat (2010) | — | — | 35,000 | — | — |
| DFID Mozambique scoping study on private sector-led employment creation and enterprise development in existing and potential supply chains for the Mozambican mining sector (2011) | — | — | — | — | 12,559 |
| Financial support | |||||
| Mozambique Regional Gateway Programme | — | — | — | — | 500,000 |
| Total | — | — | — | — | 564,264 |
In addition, DFID Mozambique is actively using the dialogue and performance targets associated with General Budget Support to promote policies that focus on inclusive growth, and the effective use of revenues from the extractive industries.