The Center for Democracy and Development (CDD), a Mozambican non-governmental organization (NGO), today requested clarification on the allocation by the government of 12,000 hectares of land in Cabo Delgado to a state entity, without public consultation.

"Four months after receiving 12,000 hectares of land in Palma," next to the gas projects, "the Cabo Delgado Economic Development Promotion Center (CPD) remains unknown," reads the analysis document that reaffirms requests for information made in May, when the Council of Ministers announced the decision.

The absence of information about the CPD is widespread, "including by some senior officials of the Provincial Executive Council and the Secretary of State" of Cabo Delgado, CDD notes.

Also in May, the Mozambican NGO Centro Terra Viva announced that it was taking steps with the National Land Directorate (DNT) to clarify how it is possible to allocate such an extension of territory without consulting its populations, fleeing because of the war in the region, in addition to other unanswered questions.

The CDD, cited by Lusa, notes that the lack of transparency in the process raises doubts about what will be the fate of the entire area and can "exacerbate tensions" with the communities.

Cabo Delgado province has been terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

In 2021, the attacks led to the suspension of gas projects, the largest private investment in Africa, worth around 20 billion euros.

The French oil company TotalEnergies has postponed a reassessment of safety in the region until the end of this year to decide whether to resume construction of the gas liquefaction plant and the surrounding industrial town.

For a year now, an offensive by government troops, with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), has allowed rebel-held areas near gas projects to be retaken - although attacks continue elsewhere in the province and in the neighboring region of Nampula.

There are about 800,000 internally displaced people due to the conflict, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and about 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.