Friday, January 11, 2008

Parcel 189 Tofo / Tofinho, Inhambane, Mozambique

We have been dealing with Sulemane Cabir for over a year and a half on the purchase of 2000m2 of lot 189 Tofinho, Inhambane, Mozambique. This is a prime piece of beach front property in Tofo - paradise you could say.

The last year has been a stressful to say the least and a year and a half down the line and we are still not sure of our position / status regarding our purchase of lot 189 Tofinho, Inhambane, Mozambique.

From what we have found out in the last few months is that the property (lot 189 Tofo, Inhambane, Mozambique) was reclaimed by the Inhambane Municipality due to non development by Sulemane Cabir. Sulemane Cabir then took the Inhambane Municipality to court to dispute the reclaiming of lot 189 Tofo, Inhambane, Mozambique and won the case in April of 2006 for which he has the Court Sentensa - a detail he did not disclose upfront. This has caused endless problems as the Inhambane Municipality will not issue a DUAT (the right to develop land in Mozambique).

In our dealings with Sulemane Cabir we have found that he is not upfront with all the information and we would warn anybody entering into a proposed deal with Sulemane Cabir for the purchase of property in Barra Beach or Tofo to be very careful . Our advise would be to approach the Inhambane Municipality first before entering in any dealings with Sulemane Cabir. Although Sulemane Cabir's documentation appears to be in order it is the Inhambane Municipality who issue the DUAT and without the DUAT you will not be able to proceed with your development.

As Sulemane Cabir offered to assist / do all our paperwork (which in Mozambique is a nightmare) which included dealing with the Inhambane Municipality on our behalf - as he "had good relationships with the Mayor" - we did not approach the Inhambane Muncipality until the paperwork was not forthcoming. When we did approach the Inhambane Municipality a can of worms was opened.

We have a lot of information regarding our dealings with Sulemane Cabir and should any other party like to correspond with us in this regard please feel free to e-mail us through this site.

Monica

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i recommend you guys get the advice of a reputable laywer or legal advisor. Having been here in Inhambane many years, i have seen many people been ripped off due to there lack of knowledge of the laws of Mozambique. Remember too that if your a foreigner or non-resident you are not allowed to own land in Mozambique. Many people or opening front companies to bypass this law, but i assure you the goverment is closing all those loopholes, so be sure you are not caught with your pants down. Be especially careful with all those so called lodges in Tofo and Barra that are selling holiday houses, it might seem the goverment is ignoring them now but be assured that someting will happen shortly.