30
government would ask them to vacate their lands for redistribution (Tanner, Myers, and Oad
1993), while others said that they thought they might be asked to give up the land after
elections.' Some are more secure than others because of political connections or wealth.
Regardless of their status, however, recipients of concessions enjoy a greater level of security
than smallholders anywhere in the country.
Somewhere between these two categories—concession recipient and smallholder—lies a
hidden minority of Mozambicans, both black and white, who lost land and other property
after independence. Many of these people fled the country, but others chose to remain—and
many of those who chose to remain are attempting to reacquire lost property with varying
degrees of success. In some instances, these individuals are in competition with new domestic
or foreign interests for their own confiscated land and property. In the current political,
economic, and legal environment, there are few mechanisms to represent their interests. This
may prove to be an unfortunate development, since this class of local entrepreneurs seems
more likely to invest than those who are currently acquiring and holding land for specula-
tion. '
b. Mining and other concessions
In addition to concessions for agriculture, the government is granting land for mineral
resource exploration. The information collected by the research project reflects only those
mineral concessions granted at the central level of government. Data from the Ministry of
Mineral Resources indicate that the Directorate of Mines has granted approximately 11
million hectares of land for mining concessions since 1991 (see table 2); however, sources
within the ministry claim that this figure underrepresents the mineral concessions granted at
the central level.
It is clear from our research that the provincial governments are also granting land for
mineral exploration. We have limited information indicating the size or number of these
concessions, but unconfirmed cases have been recorded in several provinces, including
Niassa, Nampula, and Zambezia. These cases suggest that at least 1 million hectares
countrywide have been granted in concessions by the provincial governments in the last two
years (see table 3, p. 33).
Some of the mineral rights concessions grant exclusive rights over the land, others grant
nonexclusive rights, and still others grant simple exploratory rights. We do not know what
percent of this land is agricultural land, but one case study in Nampula Province (not
discussed in this paper) revealed that the mining concessions frequently overlap with
smallholder agricultural land. Although mineral concessions do not always grant exclusive
use, it is possible that the recipients may demand that smallholders vacate the area of their
65. Interviews with smallholders and private sector farmers in Chilembene, Chokwe District, November
1993.
66. This conflict between the state and the middle class in Mozambique is the subject of a forthcoming paper
(Myers 1994c).