11/09/2004 MOZAMBIQUE
The probably victory of Armando Guebuza in the presidential election in December 2004 has sown panic among the clan of the outgoing president Joaquim Chisssano.
The probably victory of Armando Guebuza, the general secretary of Frelimo (ruling party), in the presidential election in December 2004, has sown panic among the clan of the outgoing president Joaquim Chisssano. In Maputo there is widespread speculation on the true extent of the riches of the man who has acquired the nickname ?Guebusiness?: freight (interests in the running of the ports of Beira and Quelimane), banking (BMI), transport (TRAC), printing (Academica), press (Diario de Moçambique), construction, import-export, fishing, tourism, consultancy, the list of domains where Guebuza is active, via companies or consortia, is long (ION 1001). His latest hobbyhorse: television. Guebuza is believed to have contacted Daniel David, chairman of STV, a private television channel launched in Maputo in 2003 in head-on competition with the national TV, to acquire a stake in his communication company Soico. Since the disappearance, at the beginning of 2004, of TV Africa, a South African production company which was a shareholder in Soico, Daniel David has been looking for new partners. This has not escaped the notice of the general secretary of Frelimo, who is nevertheless well pampered by the national TV broadcaster.
Chissano resists. Whereas an atmosphere of an end of a reign is noticeable in Maputo, Guebuza and his entourage continue complaining about the attitude of the outgoing president, who is keeping information on certain sensitive dossiers to himself. Guebuza's advisors are wary that the tandem formed by Chissano and the prime minister Luiza Diogo make the most of their last months in government to tie up certain important financial dossiers, such as that of the Hidroélectrica de Cahora Bassa. Furthermore, the attribution of the second mobile telephone licence to the South African operator Vodacom has still stuck in Guebuza's throat, as he had himself put forward a much more solid proposal with Portuguese partners. Guebuza's coming to power will therefore undermine Chissano's clan, beginning with the eldest son of the outgoing Head of State.
Nyimpine in bad books. Implicated in the affair of the murder of Carlos Cardoso, Nyimpine Chissano is suffering from heart problems linked to his excessive alcohol consumption. He has therefore adopted a low profile and, along with his brother and partner Naite, has organised the transfer of his travel agency Expresso Tour. Last May, the former director general of this agency, Antonio Malo, set up Golden Travel, in which he owns 95% of the shares, the remaining 5% being held by Celso Muthemba, son of the fishing minister Cadamiel Muthemba and nephew of Octavio Muthemba, who was responsible for the spectacular failure of the Banco Austral in 2001. These last few months, Golden Travel has recovered almost the whole of the assets of Expresso Tour and a portion of its staff. The Chissano brothers have also withdrawn from their company Tristar which rented cars for the African Union summit in July 2003 in Maputo: 95% of the share of Tristar went to Apolinario Pataguane, a close friend and until then partner in Nyimpine and 5% to Antonio Malo. Nyimpine could then be planning to go and live in Brazil or Pretoria, where he has recently bought a house.
The Chissano clan. It is now Apolinario Pataguane, son of Francisco José Pataguane, a former governor of Inhambane province and friend of the Head of State, who represents the interests of the Chissano family. He is a shareholder in Vodacom, via the company Emotel, at the head of which is another confidant of the current regime, Hermenegildo Gamito. The latter is a Frelimo MP and could have his margin for manoeuvre reduced in the future. Another shareholder in Vodacom is Bruno Morgado, eldest son of Carlos Morgado, the Minister of Trade and Industry; he is also the owner of Nova FM, a commercial radio station in Maputo. The Morgado son is keen on communication; he had considered setting up a private TV station but made do with the security business, setting up the company Moseg in 2003. Another member of this Chissano clan linked to Vodacom is Lucas Chachine, the discrete former director of Cegraf, the privatised national printing company.
THE INDIAN OCEAN NEWSLETTER N° 1101
