Maputo — The Mozambican government has announced that the next meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) will be held in Tuesday and Wednesday in the flooded city of Xai-Xai, capital of Gaza province.

This will allow government ministers to see for themselves the devastation caused by the floods.

Although the flood water is beginning to subside, much of the main river valleys in southern Mozambique remains submerged. Helicopter overflights have shown that the Incomati and Limpopo Valleys now look like enormous inland lakes.

A statement from the government said that, with the gradual ebbing of the waters, it has now become essential for ministers to assess for themselves the scale of the damage, while mitigating the impacts and preparing for reconstruction.

The road network in Gaza and Maputo province has been severely mutilated. The government says that so far it has only been possible to estimate the damage done to the stretch of the main north-south highway (EN1) between Incoluane and the 3rd February administrative post, about 100 kilometres north of Maputo city.

This is the largest break in EN1, but there are five other cuts to the road, which have not yet been evaluated.

The government also intends to set up teams that will draw up specialist assessments for the various sectors which will then feed into a Global Post-Flood Reconstruction Plan.