Across time, Tete province ( Mozambique )

The construction of the Cabora-Bassa dam represented, at the time, one of the largest engineering works carried out on the African continent and became a challenge practically unique in the years of military history: to guarantee the military security of the construction of an engineering work of exceptional size and specificities, on which dozens of cadres and thousands of workers from dozens of countries were working, in the service of various companies, whether or not integrated into the consortium awarded the work (ZAMCO), in a war zone (albeit of low intensity), This inhospitable area, with difficult orogeny, almost extreme climatic conditions, served by rudimentary communications, hundreds of kilometres away from a significant civilisation centre (Beira) and, for political reasons, with exceptional limitations, not only to action, but also to the mere presence of military forces or elements.
 The Cabora-Bassa undertaking was part of a major economic and social development plan centred on the Zambezi river valley which, if carried through to a successful conclusion, would revolutionise the economic, social and demographic structures of Mozambique, with significant repercussions on neighbouring territories. The plan was based on in-depth reconnaissance work in the district of Tete and in the regions along part of the lower course of the river, which began in the late 1950s. The reconnaissance and planning work was extended to all areas of economic and social interest (energy, agriculture, forestry, veterinary medicine, subsoil prospecting, industrial potential, potential settlement of settlers, population and land redevelopment, communication routes, etc.) and, due to their size and multidisciplinary nature, that work provided a pool of highly qualified and experienced technical staff from which the country benefited greatly later on, particularly in the development of university education. I remember reports from the time that went as far as to characterise the district of Tete, in the field of energy and mineral resources, as a "scandal of nature", with ores of high economic and strategic value, some of them practically on the surface.
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