The Confederation of Mozambican Economic Associations (CTA) recently reiterated the need for the oil company Total to speed up the process of paying invoices to national companies contracted to supply goods and services in the natural gas project.

The organization representing the private sector justifies its position with the weak financial situation in which many Mozambican companies find themselves and by the urgency of liquidity injection that they need, "at a critical moment when they are still facing the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic."

It should be noted that recently the multinational Total and its contractors have concluded the process of raising the invoices pending since the suspension of operations in the natural gas exploration project in the Rovuma Basin in March of last year.

In an analysis of the process, the Confederation of Mozambican Economic Associations considers that, after almost nine months, "it was characterized by having been broad and inclusive, and the subsequent phases must now follow.

"The work began in March last year, the month in which Total suspended its operations in Palma following attacks by terrorist groups. Following this, a series of actions were triggered with emphasis on the evaluation of the impacts of the terrorist attacks on the business fabric, where it was found that about 410 companies operating in the target areas were affected," says the CTA in a statement.

The source adds that after Total declared a situation of force majeure and consequently suspended its activities, "a survey was made of the impact of this decision, and it was found that 38 companies had outstanding invoice payments.