Africa-Press – Mozambique. The South African company Kawena Distributors, which is dedicated to the transport of goods from South Africa to Mozambique, has announced that it will close its operations in Mozambique, because of the devastating effects of the post-election rioting, and because the government has not paid the promised Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds for several years.
The company’s services are mainly used by Mozambican miners working in South Africa. The company, which has been operating for 37 years, used to transport miners’ possessions from South Africa to Mozambique
In a statement, the company says that “despite all our efforts, we were unable to secure the investment necessary to recapitalize the company. There has been a lack of VAT refunds for several years which is a factor in the lack of liquidity needed to maintain operations in Mozambique.”
The company also pointed to the “devastating financial losses caused by the riots and disturbances” that affected the country after the October 2024 general elections, as one of the reasons for ending its Mozambican operations.
“Over the last eight months, management has worked tirelessly to safeguard the company’s future and has maintained contacts at various levels, including with the head of state, but has not achieved recapitalization”, said the Kawena statement.
The company also believes that the current uncertainty in the Mozambican economy, “compounded by one of the worst liquidity crises in its history”, has made it impossible to obtain external financing.
“We recognize the difficulties this news brings to our employees, miners, and their families. Rest assured that the recovery administrators will continue to oversee an orderly closure process, ensuring that all outstanding issues are addressed fairly and transparently, in accordance with South African law”, reads the statement.
“This was not the desired outcome, but we are no longer in a position to continue operating in Mozambique. Kawena has proudly served the Mozambican mining community for over 35 years, and it has been an honor to walk this path”, the statement added.
FILE – Kawena Distributors’ flagship retail store K-Mercado in Marracuene, Mozambique opened in February 2018, and gave Mozambicans the ability to benefit from Kawena’s product offerings without having to order them in South Africa. [File photo: Transportes Guimar/Facebook]Over the last month, another South African company, the Duys Engineering Group, announced the suspension of pot shell repair and superstructure recovery operations in Mozambique because “the company’s main client, the Mozal aluminium smelter, has cancelled all services related to these activities.”
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