TIPS Project | Stories of Change
Permanent Dialogue Integrated Throughout Inhassoro to Prevent Conflicts
Located 335 kilometers from the provincial capital, Inhassoro is the focal point of the Temane Thermal Power Plant Project operated by the South African oil company Sasol. Historically marked by extractive industry activities, the district has grappled with resettlements, community demonstrations against rights violations by mining companies, and recurrent arrests by government forces.
Júlio Chima, journalist and President of the Forum of Civil Society Organizations of Inhassoro, also a project participant, credits the ‘Towards Peaceful and Inclusive Societies’ (TIPS) project for strengthening communities’ awareness of their rights and empowering them to engage in meaningful dialogue with companies and the government on natural resource extraction.
“TIPS has brought a broad vision of the rights of communities, a negotiating strategy in the field of natural resource exploration, and we have gained the courage to dialogue firmly with investors and influence government policies.”
The newfound knowledge has resulted in significantly improved resettlement processes, with Chima noting that, “current resettlements are three times better than the previous ones because we influence the changes. When you have knowledge, you speak with ownership.”
Júlio Chima, journalist and President of the Forum of Civil Society Organizations of Inhassoro.
The already existing triparty meetings held three times a year between government authorities, Sasol, and civil society, have become a critical space where project participants are advocating and discussing the resettlement processes. These meetings serve as a platform to share achievements, but also arrive at important solutions to conflicts between youth from the communities and the company on issues such as employment, access to water and other infrastructure missing in the community. As part of the triparty dialogue, one of the largest meetings in the history of resource exploration in Inhassoro was held, bringing together senior Sasol staff, district authorities, community leaders, civil society, and 150 community members.
According to Chima, it was a space to discuss issues related to unemployment, violation of community rights, and corruption. Another space for dialogue is the community radio programme ‘Impacto Aqui e Agora’ (Impact Here and Now), where project participants are now being invited to join with key stakeholders to come together to debate issues around natural resource extraction. These spaces have empowered communities, granting them a voice in the management of their resources.
TIPS has played an important role in strengthening community competencies by promoting inclusive natural resource management, strengthening leadership, and building the capacity of civil society actors to prevent conflicts based on resource management. In 2023, the focal point in Inhmabane and some members of the provincial forum participated in two district engagements with other civil society actors to discuss best practices in the management of natural resources, oil, and gas. “They need to know their rights so that they can defend themselves,” Chima explains about the local community needs. Undeniably, TIPS has improved relations between communities, civil society actors, government authorities, and investors.
“Before TIPS, and due to a lack of dialogue, the complaints of communities who felt they had been wronged culminated in strikes and arbitrary arrests by the government,”
Chima recalls, noting that today, communities turn to civil society allies to raise their questions and concerns. Civil society then forward these concerns to authorities, “We have the Dialogue Workshop that we set up via WhatsApp where interested parties are connected to share information and experiences.” In this way, TIPS has facilitated the involvement of civil society and created trust within communities.
About the TIPS Project
‘Towards an Inclusive and Peaceful Society in Mozambique‘ (TIPS) is a European Union-funded project implemented between January 2021 to December 2023, which seeks to contribute to conflict prevention, crisis preparedness and response, and peacebuilding through an inclusive nautral resources governance and management in Mozambique. The project is implemented by a consortium of actors comprised of Finn Church Aid and the Peacemakers Network, Institute of Social and Economic Studies (Instituto de Estudos Sociais e Económicos-IESE) and the Institute for Multiparty Democracy (Instituto para a Democracia Multipartidaria) in collaboration with the Council of Religions in Mozambique (Conselho das Religiões em Moçambique – COREM).
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