Zimbabwe's Economy Hit By Mozambique Crisis
The ongoing civil unrest in Mozambique is negatively impacting Zimbabwe, which relies on the country’s Beira port for exporting minerals and importing essential products such as fuel and grain.
The turmoil in Mozambique began shortly after the October 09, 2024 elections, which were won by the ruling FRELIMO party but disputed by the opposition.
The protests in Mozambique have also affected Zambia and Malawi, both of which heavily rely on Mozambican transport corridors, including the Beira and Maputo trade routes.
In an interview with NewsDay, National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) spokesperson Andrew Kunambura acknowledged that the disruption has led to increased transportation costs, delayed shipments, and a scarcity of essential commodities, including fuel and raw materials for industries. Said Kunambura:
The Mozambique conflict started soon after elections sometime in October last year. Mozambique is our major export and import route via the Beira Port and Maputo Port.
We move chrome, lithium, coal, sugar, and granite from Zimbabwe to both Maputo and Beira.
From Maputo, we are importing grains, fuels and fertilisers and to a limited extent coal from Maputo to Zambia.
The conflict has resulted in occasional stalemate in traffic flow as authorities in Maputo regularly cancel train operations when the problems intensify.
From the port movement of fertilisers into the country was affected, movement of imported grains also stalled.
From a business perspective, these stoppages meant that NRZ would not realise railage from customers, hence impacting negatively on the financials.
On a broader scale, this means the national economy is adversely affected since the movement of export products that earn the country foreign currency is disrupted in a major way, as much as the imports.
As an example, we are in the middle of the farming season and we need lots of fertilisers whose movement into the country has slowed down because of the protests.
On Sunday, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held a virtual Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organ Troika to discuss the post-election situation in Mozambique.
During the meeting, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said the unrest is hindering regional trade, particularly in the energy and transport sectors. He called for collective action to restore peace and stability in Mozambique.
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