O recrutamento de mão-de-obra e a construção da barragem de Cahora Bassa, 1969-1975

Abstract

With the discovery of the hydroelectric potential of the Cahora Bassa rapids, the Portuguese government, through the Zambezi Development and Settlement Mission (MFPZ) started multidisciplinary studies between 1958 and 1966, that the construction of the hydroelectric dam in the Zambezi Gorge needed to be viable. later taken the name of Cahora Bassa. The design of the dam project was conceived by Hidrotécnica Portuguesa (HP), and implemented by the Zambeze Consórcio Limitada (ZAMCO) between 1969-1977. Before the start of the construction of the dam, the Zambezi Planning Office (GPZ) endeavored to provide minimum conditions for the start of the works, for that purpose, it built the Tete / Estima / Songo road, built on the basis of forced labor. 1 For the construction of the dam, the objective had to be found to bring semi-qualified and experienced skilled labor to Songo without the need for professional training. To this end, a ZAMCO recruited experienced men mostly from southern Mozambique for the mining work. From 1972 onwards, with the opening of the Maroeira Control Post and the end of a large part of the mining works, Maroeira became the main post for selection and hiring of labor until the end of the works. Specialized labor was recruited in Europe by representatives of the companies involved in the construction of the dam. Also recruited were Zimbabwean Africans, Zambians, Cape Verdean Malawians and South Africans who had work experience in carpentry, driving machinery or mining work in the case of South Africans.

From 1969 to 1975 approximately 600 Portuguese nationals recruited in the metropolis and in Lourenço Marques worked, against 150 to 200 of other nationalities. At the time of the same ZAMCO employed an average of 3000 African workers. In Cahora Bassa, the housing situation was far below the criteria adopted by the Occupational Health and Safety Norms 2. The camps were made in order to provide shelter for many workers, but far from satisfying the conditions required by the Norms. Food in particular at the African Camp was a problem during the construction of the dam. It is designed to ensure compliance with workers, not their health. .Class and identity relations were designed to ensure the survival of the ruling class, where Africans, in particular Mozambicans, appeared at the tail of the social hierarchy imposed by colonialism, reusing the fragility of the social fabric among workers, to divide and reign, thus reviving the exploitative agenda of Portuguese sub-capitalism. Hierarchical government structures far from offering decent conditions to workers1 Labor was recruited in Zumbo, Mukumbura, Estima and Chicoa Velha. These workers received at the end of 3 or 6 months of work only a blanket, salt, soap and Portuguese wine. 2 Annex no. 6 of the Contract for the execution of the Cahora Bassa project in Mozambique. See reference in bibliography