Abstract:
Labour migration has long been a recurrent topic in southern Africa, owing to the appearance of industrialised mining
production in the mid-nineteenth century, and its overall effects on land and agriculture. In Mozambique, historically one of the
main suppliers to mines, the debate on labour migration has been a constant one. I draw on fieldwork research done in
southern Mozambique to show the impact of a change in recruitment policies by the South African mines in the 1970s, and
how the consequences last until the present. I suggest that the case study presented here helps us to build a broader picture on
migration processes in southern Africa, as well as to be aware of the regional challenges underlying local realities.
