Expats face insecurity as unrest devastates Mozambique economy

Mozambique is on a knife edge on the eve of the inauguration of President-elect, Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo. In this interview, Tertius Jacobs, Focus Group’s Head Analyst for Mozambique and East Africa, describes how the local economy has lost billions of meticals due to protests disrupting road networks, especially between Komatipoort, the Lebombo Border and the Maputo Port, while South Africa - which uses the N4 through Mozambique to the Maputo Port extensively for exports - are losing millions of rands daily. The “massive disruptions” have also devastated the tourist sector - and some travellers, who defied security alerts, have had to be relocated from “threatened locations” to safer areas. Meanwhile, expats are facing growing insecurity with some having suffered threats to their person and their assets. Jacobs says the protesting electorate has been “much more confrontational” than in previous elections. “We've had multiple reports of civilians or protesters overwhelming the security forces and even seizing their weapons.