Contradictions to decent African jobs under energy transition-related extractivism: The case of graphite mining in Mozambique

Emilinah Namaganda

doi:10.1080/03056244.2023.2288485

Contradictions to decent African jobs under energy transition-related extractivism: The case of graphite mining in Mozambique

Emilinah Namaganda^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

International Development Studies

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The power of African labour to bargain for better terms of employment is an important precondition to ensuring decent jobs under energy transition-related resource (ETR) extraction and the global renewable energy sector more broadly. Through the lens of graphite mining communities in Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique, this article examines the socio-economic contradictions constraining the power of residents to negotiate decent jobs from ETR projects in Cabo Delgado and other regions of the country. Six principal but intertwined contradictions are identified, including regional antipathies and limited livelihood alternatives, engaging energy transition discussions in Mozambique on the issues unfolding at the local level which inhibit workers from negotiating decent jobs. A micro-level perspective to examining challenges to decent African jobs enables critical reflection on the local aptness of climate change policies, such as the energy transition, which are predominantly discussed at the global, regional and national levels.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	439-459
Number of pages	21
Journal	Review of African Political Economy
Volume	50
Issue number	177-178
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/03056244.2023.2288485
Publication status	Published - 19 Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 ROAPE Publications Ltd.

Funding

This study was funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) through the ASPASIA project. The funding body was not involved in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the article; or in the decision to submit it for publication. The author thanks Lúrio University for their administrative support during fieldwork in 2021. Thanks also go to the field research assistants who helped collect data in Mozambique: Carlos Viriato, Lucrécia Fonseca, Miguel Teodoro Sebastião and Joaquina Muroto. The author also expresses appreciation to Utrecht University student Berj Khassab for conducting one of the key stakeholder interviews. Gratitude also goes to the Cabo Delgado Provincial Union for Peasants, with whom the author collaborated on a follow-up study on the labour situation in Balama in 2022. The InFRONT project team, and participants of the 2021 EADI and 2022 IESE conferences offered invaluable feedback on earlier versions of this paper. Finally, thanks go to three anonymous reviewers whose comments and suggestions improved the paper considerably.

Funders
Lúrio University
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 13 Climate Action

Keywords

Energy transition
Mozambique
extractivism
graphite
labour

Access to Document

10.1080/03056244.2023.2288485

Contradictions to decent African jobs under energy transition-related extractivism the case of graphite mining in MozambiqueFinal published version, 2.24 MBLicence: Taverne

Cite this

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Contradictions to decent African jobs under energy transition-related extractivism: The case of graphite mining in Mozambique

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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