13 January 2008
Maputo — 48 families whose homes were destroyed by the explosions at Mozambique's largest military arsenal last March received new houses on Saturday in the outlying Maputo neighbourhood of Zimpeto.
A warehouse in the arsenal, in the Malhazine neighbourhood, full of obsolete and highly dangerous Soviet-era weaponry, caught fire on 22 March. In the ensuing explosions rockets, mortars, artillery shells and other devices were hurled out of the arsenal, landing up to 10 keilometres away. 107 people lost their lives, 515 were injured, and thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed.
As part of a package of compensation, the government promised to repair the damaged houses, and build new homes for those people whose houses had been completely destroyed.
243 houses were beyond repair. 195 of these have already been rebuilt on their original locations. The final 48, however, form a new condominium in Zimpeto, and each of the homes has running water and is connected to the electricity grid.
Rebuilding is far from over. Cristina Matavel, Director of the Reconstruction Support Office (GAR), said that several houses, initially regarded as among the 5,459 that were only damaged, collapsed when builders tried to repair them. New homes must be provided for these families too.
The GAR was set up in April 2007 and was supposed to operate for just a year. Matavel was optimistic that all the rebuilding and repairs would indeed be completed within the next three and a half months, so that every family affected by the explosions would be living in a decent house.
Matavel declined to reveal how much money had been spent on the Zimpeta houses, merely describing it as "a necessary investment".
The beneficiaries said they were pleased with their new homes. The houses are of varying size (depending on how large the house destroyed was). In addition to a living room and a varying number of bedrooms, they all have a bathroom and a kitchen.
Since the March explosions, these 48 families had been living in tents, facing severe difficulties, particularly when it rained.
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