Maputo, Mozambique — The Portuguese government on Wednesday signed an agreement under which it will disburse 18 million US dollars to support flood victims in Mozambique.

The victims in question are those from last year's floods in southern and central Mozambique, and the money was pledged at a donors' conference held in Rome in early May 2000.

The money has therefore arrived a year late, despite the Mozambican government's insistence back in May that the needs were extremely urgent.

The money is broken down by sector as follows: education gets 5.2 million dollars; agriculture has five million dollars; energy and basic sanitation keeps five million dollars; and support for the private sector pockets 2.8 million dollars.

Portuguese Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Luis Amado, and Mozambique's Deputy Foreign Minister, Frances Rodrigues, signed the agreement.

Rodrigues said the Portuguese authorities have promised to disburse it as soon as possible. It will all have been disbursed "by the end of the year," he said.