A ministerial decree from the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy came into force this month, obliging oil companies with concessions in Mozambique to provide the state with information on salaries, contracting of goods and services, including proof of the bids received in these tenders.

Refers the News that the document approves the Guidance Mechanisms for Obligations to Hire Goods and Provide Services, Employment Programs, Training Programs, Association with Nationals and Right of Preference, Adjustment of Conduct by Concessionaires.

The diploma aims, among other things, to ensure jobs for Mozambican citizens "within the scope of oil operations", to train individuals and companies through national and international cooperation, and to ensure the participation of national suppliers in the contracting of goods and services.

Foreign concessionaires will be obliged to guarantee compliance with obligations relating to association with nationals and pre-emptive rights, as defined in oil legislation. These processes lack evidence.

Concessionaires are obliged to provide the National Petroleum Institute, in its capacity as regulator, with documents proving the number and list of employees by position, with origin, gender and people with disabilities, as well as the salary scale and respective allowances.

Under the law, concessionaires must provide information on the nationality of the companies contracted, the right of first refusal, the names of the suppliers contracted, their association with nationals and their mode, including documents proving the calls for tenders, offers from all the suppliers participating in the processes and contracts for the purchase of goods or services.

With regard to employees, concessionaires must comply with the minimum number of national natural persons, according to the level of competence and specialty, which must be at least 25% in senior positions and 85% in skilled technical positions.

"If there is no qualified workforce and the concessionaire can prove that it is impossible to hire natural persons who are nationals, the hiring of foreign nationals may be authorized." In addition, concessionaires must provide training grants, including at least 1,200 hours in technical-vocational terms and 600 hours of vocational training, but also in higher education.

In addition to the contractual obligations, during the research and development period, the concessionaires must, for every 50 million dollars of investment, ensure "minimum quantities of training scholarships at educational institutions or universities in Mozambique and/or abroad for training" Mozambicans, namely two for higher education courses, five for technical and professional courses, five for vocational training and 200 for "ad-hoc courses", places which double during the production period.