TRAVEL AND NEWS OF MOZAMBIQUE

Muslims' march for peace in Ihla de Mozambique

Thousands of Muslims came together last Sunday in the municipality of Mozambique Island and embarked on a march that expressed concern about the political situation of the country

The march, which had as its central objective the celebrating of the birthday of the prophet Muhammad, considered a peace worker, was marked by appeals for reconciliation and stability in the country.

The parade went through the main arteries of the city and flowed at the local municipal stadium, where believers exalted the name of their messenger and prophet.

At the time, it made several interventions in connection with the anniversary, while there was a recitation of several groups evoking the name of the Prophet Muhammad.

On occasion message, Gafar Abdul Gafar, a spokesman for the Muslim community, referred to the importance of the meeting and invited Muslims to pray also for understanding, unity, appealing particularly to the different political actors in the country, especially the Government and Renamo, to an understanding, so that the Mozambican people can live in peace.

Muslims' march for peace in Ihla de Mozambique

Mozambique: Drought Severely Damages Agriculture

Maputo — Agricultural production has been severely compromised by the drought in southern and central Mozambique, the government spokesperson, Deputy Health Minister Mouzinho Saide, announced on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters, at the end of a meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), Saide said that so far the drought has cost the lives of 3,500 head of cattle, and 437,000 hectares of crops are considered lost, which is 8.9 per cent of the total cultivated area. In a normal year, the harvest begins in March - but this year atAt least an estimated 375,900 people in drought hit areas will have no harvest at all, and will need assistance.

That figure assumes the situation does not deteriorate any further. But in a worst case scenario of deepening drought, the number in need of aid could rise to 1.7 million. The current number of people in need of food aid is 176,000. This week there has been some rain in southern and central Mozambique, and Saide was optimistic that if these rains continue, the number of people in need of food aid will decline.

Actions to mitigate the impact of the drought, Saide said, include the organization of agricultural fairs, the production of hay to feed cattle, and moving livestock to low lying areas where there is still some moisture. The government is also publicizing measures to save water, by making rational use of what little is available.

Mozambique: Renamo Accused or Kidnap and Murder in Gorongosa

Maputo — The administrator of the central Mozambican district of Gorongosa, Manuel Jamaca, has accused the former rebel movement Renamo of kidnapping 16 people in recent weeks and dragging them off to Renamo bases in the Gorongosa bush.

Interviewed in Thursday's issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, Jamaca said that only three of these victims had returned alive, and the others are feared dead. He accused Renamo gunmen of murdering and abducting people linked to the ruling Frelimo Party, and turning this into a racket, demanding ransoms of 3,000 to 4,000 meticais (between 65 and 88 US dollars, at current exchange rates).

He added that if Renamo gunmen find anyone with a mobile phone on the slopes of the Gorongosa mountain range, they are tortured and accused of transmitting information to the government about the whereabouts of Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama. Jamaca believed that Dhlakama is constantly on the move between Gorongosa, Maringue and Cheringoma districts.

Bodies, believed to be those of victims of Renamo, are being found in these districts. The most recent case, Jamaca said, was two bullet-ridden bodies, in an advanced state of decomposition, found in the Kanda area of Gorongosa.

Police justify use of live amo against demonstration.

Maputo — The Mozambican police have justified the use of live ammunition against a demonstration in the town of Palmeiras, about 70 kilometres north of Maputo, last Friday. The demonstration was against the alleged complicity of the police with criminals. People in Palmeiras claimed that thieves and rapists are arrested, only to be seen back on the streets two or three days later. Such accusations are common in Mozambique and reflect lack of public awareness of the laws governing preventive detention. The police cannot hold suspected criminals in detention indefinitely, but must bring the suspect before a magistrate within 48 hours to validate the detention. Convinced that the police were bribed by criminals, Palmeiras residents staged a demonstration on Wednesday and threw up barricades of burning tyres on the main north-south highway, which runs through the town. The local police called for reinforcements from Maputo, and in the ensuing clashes one protector was shot dead.

Mozambique: Tete Government to Assess Situation of Refugees

Maputo — The government of the western Mozambican province of Tete plans to seed a team to Malawi in the next few days to assess the needs of more than 3,000 Mozambicans who have fled across the border to escape clashes between gunmen of the former rebel movement Renamo and the Mozambican defence and security forces.

According to the permanent secretary of the provincial government, Lina Portugal, cited by the Beira daily paper “Diario de Mocambique”, the delegation will include the Tete provincial director of immigration, and officials from Tsanano and Moatize districts, where the refugees come from.

“Within a matter of days, we shall send a team which will work with the Malawian government and with our colleagues in the Mozambican consulate, so that we can obtain real information in the accommodation centres, and question people to find out what they need, so that we can support them”, she said.

This survey, Portugal added, will also help the team ascertain why the refugees abandoned their homes, and whether the conditions exist for them to return to Mozambique.

“As a government, what we want is to gauge the reality on the ground, to see how we can intervene to support the refugees”, said Portugal.

Currently the refugees are living in three accommodation centres in southern Malawi, and are said to be desperately short of basic requirements for their survival.

Instability in Tsangano dates back to 2 April 2014, when Renamo gunmen ambushed a unit of the defence forces in Chibaene locality, when they were returning to the district capital after a patrol.

From Chibaene, the Renamo militia extended its action to Nkondezi locality in the neighbouring district of Moatize, setting up a military base in the area of Ndande.

Source :AIM

Cashew nuts seized by customs authorities

Maputo — The Mozambican customs service has seized 38 containers full of raw cashew nuts that were being smuggled out of the country from the northern port of Nacala, without paying the export surtax, reports Wednesday's issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”.

The containers held 589 tonnes of nuts, which were being exported to India. Vicente Marcos, head of the Communication and Image Department in the Mozambique Tax Authority (AT) said the exporters had declared the cargo as beans, which do not pay any export surtax. The fraud was discovered by what he described as routine inspection activities by customs brigades.

The surtax on raw cashews is a measure intended to protect Mozambique's own cashew processing industry. The value of the nuts in the 38 containers was put at just short of 40.58 million meticais (about 891,000 US dollars, at current exchange rates). Marcos said that surtax of 7.3 million meticais should have been paid on this. The case is now with the Customs Tribunal. In the event of proven tax evasion, the exporter will be obliged to pay the surtax owing, and the nuts will be forfeit to the state. At the start of the current cashew marketing campaign, the director of the government's National Cashew Institute (INCAJU), Filomena Muaiopue, speaking in the Nampula district of Muecate, stressed that government policy is to process nuts locally, rather than sending the raw nuts to be processed in India.

After the collapse of the cashew processing industry in the 1990s, caused by the World Bank's onslaught against protection for the industry, there has been a revival, and a substantial number of small and medium sized cashew processing plants have been set up in recent years. “Today we have many factories that process our cashew nuts”, said Muaiopue. “So we don't want our cashews exported raw, while we have industries across the country which can process them, and thus create jobs for Mozambican citizens”.

Source :AIM

Reinforced security measures for cars accessing Port of Beira in Sofala.

Reinforced security measures for cars accessing Port of Beira in Sofala.

The Command of the PRM the Provincial, has just established a police station near Rua Gruss Gomes as a measure to stem the tide of of thefts of trucks seeking access to the rail and port enclosure.

Vehicle robbery and theft of fuel and other types of diverse merchandise in trucks that at grounds of Beira port is a stark reality that even happens in broad daylight.

The subject is not only concern for carriers but also concerns the government.
Less than a half weeks, the Ministers of Interior and of Transport and Communications visitor Beira in order to see this issue resolved.

At this time, the solution seems to be in the view with the just been installed police station reinforceing the presence of the law enforcement agents in the neighborhood of Munhava in Kruss Gomes Street main section giving access to the port of Beira in perspective to contain the activities of criminals.

The police post set up this tent already started to operate and the police says they are already having results.

An individual 40 years of age fell into hands of the law and order agents when trying to rob one of the trucks. The indicted refutes the charge.
The port of of Beira receives daily an average of two thousand trucks coming from the countries of the hinterland and internally.

Mcel to provide Five million meticais for Mocambola 2016

In sport support frame

It is the first step to enable the realization of Moçambola-2016, proving the costs will be increased this year due to the increased number of teams from 14 to 16.

Mcel ,Mozambique cellulars , framework of support to the Mozambican sport, will provide five million meticais at current exchange rates, to make it possible to dispute the national football championship.

This "cake" is four times higher than the amount offered by mcel in 2004, when it began a partnership with the organization managing the Moçambola and the BNI League Cup , and represents an increase of 300 percent.

1200 Rhinos killed in South Africa

Poaching of rhinos still active in South Africa, with almost 1,200 rhinos killed in 2015, indicated yesterday the South African authorities.

"By the end of December 2015, the number of rhinos killed by poachers was 1175",said the Minister of Environmental Affairs of South Africa, Edna Molewa, speaking to the media.

Despite representing a slight decrease compared to 2014, which saw killed 1,215 rhinos, the still high number of deaths is proof that this activity remains active and to respond to the high demand for ivory and rhino horn in illegal Asian markets,particularly China and Vietnam.

These products are sought after because of its alleged medicinal properties.

The rhinoceros horn keratin is a human nail component, and is sold in powder as alleged treatment for cancer and other diseases

Minister of defence assures that the attack on RENAMO SG WILL BE CLARIFIED

Minister of Defence assures that attack on Renamo SG will be clarified .

The Minister of National Defence ensures that the defense and security forces will do everything to clarify the circumstances of the attack on the deputy and General Secretary of Renamo, Manuel Bissopo.

Athanasius Mtumuke, who was speaking on Wednesday , on the sidelines of the ceremony of the launch of the internet portal of the former Head of State, Armando Guebuza, said he accompanied the information about the attack to the number two of the second largest opposition party by media and can not give great reviews since he still had little information.

"First we need to know who are the authors of the act. We only know that there were gunshots, knowing the circumstances in which this has occurred, "said Mtumuke.

Mass grave for the fuel thieves of Matola

Fuel theft in Matola

With no one to claim any of the corpses of the thieves who died in a blaze while trying to steal fuel at a Matola granary,the target could be no other.

The deadline set by the Ministry of Health had already been exceeded.

The five bodies unclaimed victims of the fire in the Matola Grain Terminal were buried in a Mass Grave in Lhanguene cemetery in Maputo. The Health Directorate of Maputo said that the bodies were almost a month in the morgue of the Maputo Central Hospital, and they could not be kept longer, have as their destination the Lhanguene cemetery.

"The standard is that the bodies remain a minimum of 15 days in the mortuary, pending by the complaint. These bodies entered on December 15 and on January 11 were referred to the mass grave. They were 28 days in the morgue, "said the chief doctor of the city of Maputo, Laison Daniel.

36 foreigners arrested in Maputo

The Mozambican police announced on Monday the detention over the past week of 36 foreigners who attempted to enter the country via Maputo International Airport with forged entry visas. The group consisted of 16 Ethiopians, 11 Bangladeshis, four Pakistanis, three Nigerians and two Somalis. The group arrived on two scheduled flights, one of Kenya Airways and the other of Ethiopian Airlines. They will all be sent back to the cities they came from. The detection of false entry visas used by people travelling on these two airlines has become a regular occurrence at Maputo airport. Obviously some organized criminal outfit is selling forged visas to travelers, and those unsuspecting travellers are unaware that the equipment used by Mozambican immigration officials can detect false visas. Source: AIM

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Nacala Port

Maputo Train Station among the nine most beautiful in the world

Erected just over a century ago, the central station of the Mozambique Railways (CFM) in Maputo, was voted among the 10 most beautiful in the world by Finantial Express, international publication based in India.

According to the article published on Saturday, the architectural aspect is impressive, and "the season is a testament to the history of the country." The facade was designed by Gustave Eiffel.

The article also highlights the two locomotives in the early twentieth century that are on display and the spaces of culture and leisure created inside, which gives it a very peculiar atmosphere, and where they organize thematic and temporary exhibitions of great jazz concerts.

The Mozambican station was included in a short list of which includes the stations of Antwerp and Liege (Belgium), London St. Pancras (England), New York Terminal (USA), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Atocha, Madrid (Spain ), Kanazawa (Japan), and Flinders Street Station, Melbourne (Australia).

The station of CFM was built between 1913 and 1916 designed by the architects Alfredo Augusto Lisbon, Mario Veiga and Ferreira da Costa.

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