Maputo — About 30 hectares of maize, in Chibuto district, in the southern Mozambican province of Gaza, have been lost due to flooding on the Limpopo River, caused by the ongoing discharges from the Massingir dam.
According to the Chibuto district director of infrastructure, Manuel Tivane, quoted in Monday's issue of the independent daily "O País", close to 19,000 people may have been affected by the floods.
"The floods destroyed the maize crop. Other crops were in development, and had not yet reached the ripening stage. Some farmers tried to collect something for consumption", Tivane said, adding that "We have always taken steps to get these people to a safe place."
In view of this situation, says the director, the authorities plan to support the people "with about 750 kilos of maize seed after the floods."
Mozambique's National Water Resource Management Directorate had warned of possible further flooding in the southern region of the country, which could make some of the roads in Gaza impassable.
The authorities in Chibuto district have also urged the public to abandon immediately flood-prone areas in the Limpopo River basin, following a sharp increase in discharges from the Massingir dam, further upstream.
The flood is due to the increased flow of some of the major rivers in neighbouring South Africa and Eswatini. It is also threatening some districts in Maputo province, such as Magude and Moamba in the Incomati river basin.
Some parts of Magude district cannot be reached by road because increased discharges from some dams in South Africa have raised the level of the Incomati.
According to the Magude district administrator, Lazaro Bambamba, the flooding has already affected about 1,500 households in Malemane locality.
"We have lost some crops, including 7.5 hectares of maize, beans and sweet potatoes", he said.
The flood has also interrupted road traffic in Malhanganine, and made it impossible to use the road bridge over the Incomati.
Ad/pf (330) 47123E NYUSI SAYS PACIFICATION WAS MAIN TASK OF HIS GOVERNANCE
Maputo, 16 Jan (AIM) - Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi told reporters on Sunday that efforts to pacify the country were among the main marks of his government's performance during his second five year term of office as President of the Republic.
He was speaking at a Maputo press conference, marking the start of the third year of his second term.
He recalled that when he first took office, in 2015, armed attacks by militiamen of the main opposition party Renamo were continuing in the central provinces. "We had a war and nobody was at peace", he declared.
Peace with Renamo was always a priority, he said. "We had to work and we reached the phase where we are today, when our brothers of Renamo are no longer living in the mountains", Nyusi added.
He had signed a peace agreement with Renamo leader Ossufo Momade in August 2019, under which former Renamo fighters are being demobilized, disarmed and reintegrated into society. Renamo claims it has 5,231 guerrillas to be demobilized under this agreement.
However, the demobilization stalled in December last year, when the final Renamo military base should have been closed. The base was not closed, amid a dispute over the payment of pensions to the demobilized Renamo fighters. Renamo claims that pensions are envisaged in the agreement, while the government says they are not. Since the agreement was never published, it is hard to check who is right.
Nyusi said his second term of office has also been marked by terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, which he regarded as a new challenge for Mozambique.
Although terrorism was "a universal phenomenon", Mozambique had not experienced it previously. "We are containing and managing it to guarantee that the country remains stable", said the President.
Nyusi was speaking shortly before flying to the United Arab Emirates, where he will attend the opening of the "Week of Sustainability", discussing the Energy Transition.
According to a press release from Nyusi's office "the Week of Sustainability is an international business event, organized by the UAE, through a body dedicated to the development of clean energies in the context of the international agenda for zero carbon emissions and containing climate change".
This will be Nyusi's second visit to the UAE in less than three months. The previous visit was in October 2022, and Nyusi described it as "very productive".
Pf/ (404) 48123E NYUSI SETS OFF FOR FOUR DAY VISIT TO UAE
Maputo, 16 Jan (AIM) - Mozambique is taking to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) its vision and experience regarding energy transition, in the context of mitigating climate change, President Filipe Nyusi told reporters on Sunday.
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He was speaking shortly before starting a four day visit to the UAE at the invitation of his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The UAE, he said, "have a programme called the Week of Sustainability, which will deal with zero carbon emissions, the containment of climate change and energy transition, subjects on which Mozambique has a great deal to say".
Nyusi added that Mozambique will continue to deepen its relations with the UAE. The potential areas of cooperation include roads, real estate, agriculture and defence and security. An Emirati team, he said, had recently toured Mozambique from north to south, looking at the condition of the roads.
The two countries are looking at what can be done in the area of roads, "and I am very interested in continuing this", said Nyusi.
This included mobilising investments for the complete rehabilitation on Mozambique's main north-south highway (EN1).
Rehabilitating EN1, said Nyusi, "is one of the great challenges I am taking with me on this visit. Discussions on finance are at a very advanced stage with the UAE authorities".
