"The cost of land grabbing in Mozambique's Tete Province"

[L]arge scale resettlements are forcing ... out [local farmers]. Communities faced problems accessing food and water, as documented by Human Rights Watch... They were relocated to distant villages [...] with agricultural land of uneven quality and unreliable access to water... When locals gathered [to protest], Vale Mozambique called for police intervention... As the tension grew, police ... opened fire, [killing] Hussene Antonio... The company supported the funeral ceremonies [...] after which a community meeting was held in the presence of Wilco Uys, Vale’s head of operations in Moatize. Wilco Uys asked the locals to respect the boundaries of the concession area... However, he did not comment on the lack of communication between the company and local government, as well as the breach of continuing agreement on the gate. Instead, he said: “People are opportunists and want to take advantage of the gate to steal from the company. Why are they building their houses next to the forbidden zone?" ...The company is [...] negotiating both with the community leaders and the local government at the district level to overcome the dispute. [also refers to Rio Tinto, Riversdale Resources Limited, Jindal Steel and Power Limited]

*Sourced by RepRisk due diligence on ESG and business conduct risks,www.reprisk.com.