15 January 2008
Maputo — The Mozambican relief agency, the National Disasters Management Institute (INGC) on Monday signed an agreement with Mozambique Airlines (LAM), under which the INGC will enjoy reduced tariffs, for goods and passengers, on LAM flights.
Under the agreement LAM has also pledged to support the INGC in any emergency situation. LAM has immediately pledged to transport, free of charge, two tonnes of assorted relief supplies for the victims of the current floods in the centre of the country.
According to the commercial director of LAM, Aderito Macaba, the discount that LAM will normally offer to the INGC ranges from nine to 15 per cent, depending on the type of service.
The agreement, signed by INGC national director Paulo Zucula, and the chairman of LAM, Jose Viegas, is renewable annually.
Zucula declared that, by cutting the INGC's transport costs, LAM was making a major contribution to its budget, and was greatly assisting people in need in the flood-stricken areas.
Also on Monday, Barclays Bank Mozambique offered a cheque for 100,000 US dollars to the Mozambican Red Cross (CVM) to support its flood relief work. The chairperson of Barclays-Mozambique, Casimiro Francico, took advantage of the occasion to urge the government to build more dams on the main rivers of central Mozambique.
He pointed out that these river valleys are regularly flooded, and the problem "will not be solved until new dams are built". He hoped that the current drama would "awaken the conscience of those whose dissonant voices perpetuate the suffering of the people" - presumably a reference to those environmental groups who have opposed the construction of further dams on the Zambezi.
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