Maputo, May 27, 2026 (Lusa) – Mozambique's authorities announced on Wednesday that they require €81,000 to restore the vandalised electrical system at the Massingir dam in Gaza province, which has compromised operations at this strategic infrastructure in the south of the country.
Acts of vandalism targeted copper electrical cables, transformers, and equipment connected to the dam's main spillway, Ivan Cuna, director of the Limpopo Basin Management Division at the Southern Regional Water Administration (ARA-Sul) said. The situation has forced the temporary use of generators to ensure minimum system operations.
"They vandalised the entire system with all the cables, known as VAV [underground electrical cables], copper, and they also vandalised our secondary transformer, which boosts the flow to the main spillway," he told journalists.
He explained that the vandalism affected practically every component of the infrastructure's electrical switchboard. This has compromised normal functioning of the dam and requires specialised technical intervention to fully restore the system.
"We estimate the cost at around 6 million meticais [nearly €81,000]. A specialised company is needed to carry out the repair properly," he said.
The Massingir dam, located on the River Elefantes in Gaza province, has an installed capacity of 25 MegaWatts. It is one of Mozambique's largest hydro-infrastructure assets, playing a strategic role in water supply, agricultural irrigation, and flood control across the country's southern region.
Massingir District Administrator Sérgio Costa warned of a rising number of vandalism cases and intrusions into restricted areas of the dam, calling for an urgent upgrade to protection and security measures at the complex.
"The Massingir dam cannot be a place where any individual goes to stroll or fish in the reservoir," he said, noting that a 16-year-old youth recently died after slipping in a restricted area while fishing.
He said that incidents mostly involving the theft of copper electrical cables for illegal sale have become frequent. He regretted the lack of arrests so far and called for new protection strategies to safeguard the infrastructure's integrity.
"The facility needs to have security devices that match the scale and importance of the dam," he said, adding that it is essential to find "new ways to safeguard the integrity of the dam", which remains strategic for the country.
EYMZ/RYOL // AYLS
Lusa
