Mozambique gained independence from Portuguese rule in 1975, after nearly 5 centuries of colonization. Economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, a prolonged civil war and mass scale emigration has slowed the development of the country. Marxism was officially abandoned in 1989, with a new constitution put into place in 1990 providing multi-party election and an open market economy. In 1992 the UN negotiated a peace agreement with rebel forces ending the civil war. 1999 and 2000 the economy was severely hurt by heavy flooding. Mozambique is now working towards stability and a strong economy and with all the country has to offer, the future looks bright.

Maputo, Mozambique – Authorities in Mozambique and Swaziland want to extend the opening times of border posts at Namaacha and Goba but are still discussing finer details of the plan, the Noticias newspaper has reported.

After a meeting Friday of the Mozambique – Swaziland Joint Commission, Clifford Mamba, permanent secretary of the Swaziland Foreign Ministry, said both sides want to extend opening hours of their common border crossings, “probably to 24 hours a day.”

The two neighboring states have also studied logistical, security and budget questions relating to the permanent opening of the frontier posts, he added.

The first half of the year has slipped by quickly. It is now winter in Mozambique, but still an excellent time to visit. The weather on Benguerra Island is very pleasant and guests can look forward to warm sunny days with temperatures ranging between 25 & 30ºC, and hardly any rain.

The lodge was busy in May, with many pre- & post Indaba visitors, who were treated to our unique blend of Benguerra hospitality. The personal atmosphere of the lodge, combined with the warm friendly staff and great location was what impressed most. The spacious Casitas and being spoilt by your own personal butler was also considered a special treat.
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Mozambique’s Airports Company, (ADM) said it wants to expand and improve the Quelimane airport in the central province of Zambezia, 1600 kilometres north of Maputo.

“ADM has issued a multimillion dollar tender to upgrade the Quelimane airport including the building of the new airport shops and office premises,” said ADM’s spokesperson Sandra Garcia in an interview adding that the construction is expected to take twelve months beginning January next year.
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Maputo’s publicly owned bus company, TPM, is gradually reopening old routes within the Maputo-Matola connurbation that had been temporarily suspended because of a shortage of buses, reports Friday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”.

This move is now possible because the company is purchasing 100 new buses, and started receiving them in May. The government plan is to supply 20 buses per month until October.

A first batch of 10 was supplied in May, and another 10 arrived two weeks ago. These 20 Volkswagen buses are already circulating in the streets of Maputo. The South African supplier claims that from now on it will make good its promise to supply the buses in monthly batches of 20.
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LAM-Mozambique Airlines, as part of the ongoing modernization process, has been issuing, as from 1st of June 2008, electronic tickets only.

With this measure, the national airline company complies with the guidelines of IATA-International Air Transport Association, which set 31st of May as the deadline for its members to cease issuing printed tickets, a measure IATA says will enable operators to reduce the cost of processing the historic paper tickets from approximately US$10 to US$1.

About 400 million air tickets are issued through the compensation mechanism, known in the civil Aviation Industry as BSP, every year, and the measure will allow a saving in the region of US$3 billion/annum to the industry, according to IATA.
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Santa Carolina Island, part of the Bazaruto archipelago, off the coast of the southern Mozambican province of Inhambane, will soon have a luxury hotel, thanks to a 50 million US dollar investment by the Rani Resorts Group.

The Mozambican Tourism Ministry approved in March a proposal for the building of the new hotel.

Rani Resorts, founded by Saudi businessman Adel Aujan, owns a chain of hotels in Mozambique, including the Indigo Bay Island Resort on Bazaruto, the largest island in the archipelago, the Pemba Beach Hotel, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, and luxury resorts on Medjumbe and Matemo Islands in the Quirimbas archipelago, off the northern coast.

The group is currently designing the architecture of the hotel on Santa Carolina, which should be presented to the government before the end of this year. In the meantime, work is underway to demolish the ruins of the existing hotel.
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Maputo, Mozambique, 1 July – Portuguese construction company Teixeira Duarte is this week due to start refurbishment work on the jetties of Maputo and Catembe, two projects funded by the World Bank, according to a report in Mozambican newspaper Notícias.

The paper said that the work, estimated to cost 71 million meticais (US$3 million), is due to be concluded in the first half of 2009.

The refurbishment project also includes remodelling the terminal buildings and the water and electricity supply.

Work was last done on the jetties in 1997.

The project was granted to Teixeira Duarte, in a public tender that was launched in June and July of last year.

The jetties are used by ferries transporting passengers between Maputo and Catembe.

In 2007 the governments of Mozambique and China agreed to study the possibility of Chinese funding for building a bridge to link Maputo and Catembe.

Travelling by road between Maputo and Catembe takes around two hours.