115 Mozambicans known to have died in rainy season

Maputo, 17 Apr (AIM) – Since the start of the current rainy season, in October 2023, 115 Mozambicans have died and a further 202 have been injured as a result of extreme weather events, Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane announced on Wednesday.

Speaking in the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, at the start of a question and answer session between the government and the deputies, he said that the extreme climate events have affected 229,000 people, more than 42,000 houses, 500 schools and 89 health units.

The storms had brought down 225 electricity pylons and inundated 669,000 hectares of crops.

Maleiane said the government is currently providing aid in food and non-food items to 110,000 people affected by the storms and floods.

“Faced with the effects of extreme climatic events, which have struck our country cyclically, the government is taking action to reduce the risks, and strengthen adaptation and resilience to climate change”, the Prime Minister added.

“We have been building resilient infrastructures, including for sanitation and for draining storm waters, as well as promoting resettlement intended for development in safe areas”, he said.

One of the top priorities, stressed Maleiane, was to repair the country’s roads “to facilitate the movement of people and goods throughout the national territory and so that agricultural products can be taken from farm to market”.

This, he said, included mobilising resources for the rehabilitation of the country’s main north-south highway (EN1). In an initial phase, over 1,000 kilometres of “the most critical stretches” of EN1 will be rebuilt (mostly in the central provinces of Sofala and Zambezia).

Replying to questions from opposition deputies about the cost of living, Maleiane said that annual inflation in Mozambique fell in 2023 to 7.13 per cent, considerably lower than the government’s initial forecast of 11.5 per cent. Mozambican inflation was also lower than the average for sub-Saharan Africa (16.2 per cent) or for the SADC region (9.3 per cent).

The relatively low inflation rate, he said, “results from the positive performance of our economy, and particularly the increase in production and productivity in agriculture, agro-processing, fisheries, livestock, tourism and mining, as well as the reduction in the import of goods and services when compared with 2022”.

“If we are to keep inflation under control, we must remain focused on diversifying our economy, and on increasing production and productivity, which will help generate more jobs and more income”, he added.

Turning to the longstanding complaint about the government’s failure to pay teachers for the overtime they work, Maleiane stressed that overtime pay depends on verifying that the hours of overtime claimed really were worked.

A careful inspection was under way, he said, which showed that in some cases there was no evidence that the overtime claimed had ever existed.

The total amount of overtime pay owing was 457.6 million meticais (about 7.15 million dollars, at the current exchange rate). Of this sum the government has so far paid 324.4 million meticais, or 70.7 per cent.

(AIM)

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