The Movement for Freedom in Mozambique - Page 18.
most conservative estimates of students of African migrant labour.
In South African mines alone there are mere than 150,000 Mozambican
workers, 100,000 of whom are directly recruited in Mozambique by
the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association 0*NLa), authorized by
the Portuguese government.
In order to facilitate the flow of Mozambique African labour
into the South African mining industry, and at the same time enable
the Portuguese government to derive the maximum benefit from it,
the two colonialist governments signed a number of agreements
which commit both governments to specific obligations.  These include, inter alia, authorizing the South African Chamber of Mines,
through a subsidiary company, the vYNLA, to establish recruiting
centres at strategic points in Southern Mozambique;  a joint
responsibility in establishing and maintaining a railway line between the main industrial area of South Africa and Lourenpo Marques,
the capital cf Mozambique;  the use of the Port of Lourenpo Marques
by South Africa to export and import about 48 per cent of its
merchandise;  assuring the Chamber of Mines of South Africa at
least 100,000 Mozambican labourers every year.  Further more,
Portugal was given the right to collect onehalf of the wages of
each of the Mozambican mine workers for the first four months,
supposedly in order to defray expenses incurred by the Portuguese
government while conveying the workers from their places of
residence to the South African border.  These monies have to be
deposited in South African banks in gold bullion.  For the rest
of the two year contract, the Chamber of Mines deducts half of
the African workers' wages and deposits them in South African
banks in favour of the Portuguese government (also in gold bullion)
to be paid back to the worker in Mozambique when he returns home,
but this time in Portuguese currency without interest.  Included
also in the agreement is the obligation for the South African
government to round up any and all Mozambican black men who may
be found working in secondary industries or European homes or
in private business in any part of South Africa, and force them
to take up employment in the mines.
This agreement, which has been revised every ten years since
its inception at the turn of the last century, greatly profits
both colonialist governments.  The South African mining interests
are thereby enabled to acquire one-third of their work force very
easily at practically no cost, while the Portuguese government
is in a position to earn a sizable amount of foreign exchange
without investing anything.  Also, Portugal assured herself of a
steady flow of South African goods through its port of Lourenpo