Maputo — The National Alliance for a Free and Autonomous Mozambique (Anamola), led by former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, had called for a meeting of the Council of State, meeting aimed at assessing the humanitarian crisis caused by floods that have engulfed much of southern and central Mozambique.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, in Maputo, Mondlane, as a member of the Council of State, a body that advises the President of the Republic, said that the meeting would also assess the possibility of declaring a state of emergency as a result of the humanitarian crisis caused by the floods.

"We believe that the Council of State should be convened to assess, for example, whether or not there is a need to declare a state of emergency in certain specific areas', he said.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

He also demanded that, instead of reducing the fare normally paid by passengers by 50 per cent, the publicly-owned Ports and Rail Company (CFM) should not charge any money at all to people living in the areas affected by floods.

Mondlane also accused the government authorities of preventing his party from providing assistance to flood victims by blocking the acquisition of goods in warehouses, "and some households were expelled from the accommodation centres for being members of our political party.'

"The Anamola party was prevented from providing assistance in several places', he claimed. "The most serious thing was that members of Sernic (National Criminal Investigation Service) were deployed to monitor deliveries, so that all products purchased by our party were prevented from being transported from warehouses'.

According to the country's relief agency, the National Disasters Management Institute (INGD), the known death toll from the storms and floods in Mozambique's current rainy season now stands at 112.

________________________________