Abstract
Rather than an integrated project of modernity, the provision of energy in Mozambique is characterized by social and territorial fragmentation. Our concern in this article is with spatial-political projects that enlist energy-related infrastructure as a means of furthering national unity across the national territory. We argue that the Mozambican state’s efforts to knit together its territory through energy provision have heightened divisions, such as between urban and rural areas, subnational regions and socioeconomic groups. We draw on geographical political economy and landscape research to consider the space and territoriality of Mozambique’s energy systems. We use the lens of energy landscapes to examine the spatialities and historical legacies of energy-related infrastructural state projects, and how such spatialities and legacies shape new energy projects. These landscapes are material expressions of the social, political and institutional relations bound up in energy extraction, distribution and consumption. They reflect historical legacies, revealing traces of successive developments. While previous studies have focused on local energy landscapes in a variety of settings, our aim is to examine how such landscapes connect with wider nation-building projects and the operation of political economies. To elucidate these points, we examine two energy-related projects and their landscapes in Mozambique: Cahora Bassa hydropower dam and the Moatize coal extraction zone. The article concludes by reflecting on the ways in which energy landscapes can be used to interrogate the dynamics of power inherent in energy systems, the evolving links between state power and electric power, and the interests being served by these developments.
Highlights
In 1988, an article published in Politique Africaine described the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam in Mozambique’s central province of Tete as a “paralyzed colossus” (Ollivier, 1988)
The article concludes by reflecting on the ways in which energy landscapes can be used to interrogate the dynamics of power inherent in energy systems, the evolving links between state power and electric power, and the interests being served by these developments
Beside Cahora Bassa dam, the regional landscape of Vila do Songo, a town that seems detached from its surroundings, reflects a wider separation, an Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB)-led enclave that is more closely attached to South Africa’s economy—via high-voltage transmission lines—than to Mozambique’s
Summary
In 1988, an article published in Politique Africaine described the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam in Mozambique’s central province of Tete as a “paralyzed colossus” (Ollivier, 1988). This framework enables a detailed analysis of particular energy landscapes in Mozambique in sections 4 and 5, looking at two specific sites linked to the expansion of the electricity grid and the coal exports, respectively. One of the authors frequently travelled from Tete to Moatize on chapas (privately run minibuses), making detailed notes of landscape features along the EN103 road This was repeated from Tete to Songo, in Cahora Bassa district, where this author interviewed HCB officials, employees, and local residents. This primary data is supplemented by online sources including EDM’s and HCB’s websites and annual reports, while drawing on extensive previous research in the country by all the authors
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