Nine million people benefited from water and sanitation programs in rural areas

PRONASAR 2010 - 2016


The rural water supply and sanitation program, PRONASAR benefited about nine million people, since its launch, 2010.

The same resulted in the improvement of sanitation and hygiene in rural communities, announced yesterday, the Minister of public works, housing and water resources .

Carlos Bonete said that, during the six years, were built more than 11 thousand sources to 30 water systems in the country, a job that had the involvement of communities in both the identification of appropriate solutions as in the maintenance of infrastructure erected.

"We are the following the correct approaches ,though we need some updates and eventually some corrections off", stressed the Minister, speaking at the opening of the seminar on the National program for rural water supply and sanitation (PRONASAR) 2017-2030.

However, Carlos Bonete noted that Mozambique has not fulfilled in its entirety the goal for water supply and rural sanitation of the objectives of the Millennium development program, it needs accelerated effort and coordination, especially with the support of cooperation partners.

In fact, ambassador of Japan in Mozambique recognized that, despite the improvements, there is still more room for enlargement, over the next decade, access to water and sanitation, especially in rural areas.

The goal of the government is to achieve the goal of sustainable development objectives 2015-2030 (ODS) of establishing 100 percent coverage in access to water and sanitation .

In the area of water and sanitation, Japan implemented through the Japanese agency of international cooperation (JICA), seven cooperation projects to 17 community projects as a way to improve the conditions of life in communities.

posted from Bloggeroid

Over 1,300 leprosy cases diagnosed last year

Over 1,300 leprosy cases diagnosed last year

Although leprosy was declared as no longer constituting a public health problem in Mozambique in 2008, pockets of the disease continue to occur, and last year 1,364 new cases were diagnosed.

Speaking at a meeting in Maputo on 27 January to mark World Leprosy Day, the National Director of Public Health, Francisco Mbofana, said that 415 of the new cases were among children.

 In 585 cases the victims were already suffering from deformities caused by the disease.

Mbofana expressed concern that the number of cases of leprosy among children meant that the disease remained active in communities but undiagnosed and untreated.

In 2008, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared leprosy defeated in Mozambique. This did not mean that every last case had been eliminated, but that the disease was no longer a public health concern.

However pockets of the disease still exist, and may even be on the rise. Between 2015 and 2016 the number of districts recording more than one case per 10,000 inhabitants rose from 23 to 34, particularly in the central and northern provinces.

Nonetheless, there have been significant advances. Up until 2000, Mozambique was one of the six countries in the world most affected by leprosy (the others were Brazil, India, Madagascar, Tanzania and Nepal). These six countries accounted for 90 per cent of leprosy cases.

But, by 2008 the fight against the disease had succeeded in bringing the prevalence of the disease down to less than one in 10,000 inhabitants, the level at which the WHO considers the disease no longer a public health problem.
Diagnosis is simple, and anyone with a clear, painless patch on his or her skin should go to the nearest health unit where an examination will check whether it is leprosy. 

Treatment is free of charge and takes between six and 12 months on an out-patient basis. Patients will only require hospitalisation if they have left diagnosis late and are suffering from complications such as mutilations to fingers and toes.
SOURCE: AIM 

Bad weather plagues Inhambane

Torrential rains accompanied by strong winds
Overturned power poles, bumpy roads and damaged infrastructure. This is the situation in the province of Inhambane, as a consequence of intense rains accompanied by strong winds.
Even without official data on the weather, it is predicted that the damage will be enormous.
On roads, besides craters, it is possible to see chopped coconut trees making it difficult for pedestrians to pass in some places.

Traders revolt against municipal decisions in Beira

Municipality of Beira destroys tents built along public roads

Dozens of people who make food on the roadsides and on the sidewalks of the Maquinino neighborhood in the city of Beira are angry with the local council. They local council is alleged of having destroyed tents and confiscated all the material that the merchants use to prepare food as well as the food itself.

It all started with the decision of the Municipality to remove from the public places stalls that make urban processes unfeasible. In order to avoid that the residents resume their activities in these places, the Municipality positioned the municipal police in the neighborhood of Maquinino, fact that displeased still more the vendors.

The Municipal Council of Beira, through Joaquim Manuel, Director of Markets and Fairs, considers that citizens are being dishonest because they were warned to leave the site several months ago, because the institution intends to rehabilitate the public highway.

In addition, Joaquim Manuel said that at a meeting convened by the building to discuss the process, only two people attended and they received blocks where they are carrying out the activity.

The Municipality refutes the allegations that the town hall has broken into stores at night and has ensured that all street vendors will be removed from the rides

Companies awarded natural gas supply

The Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy has awarded large quantities of natural gas for projects in the domestic market to be undertaken by Yara International, Shell Mozambique BV and GL Energy Africa.
These three companies have been awarded a total of 462 million cubic feet a day of natural gas. They are the successful bidders from a tender launched on 26 August last year which brought in 14 bids.
Shell requested between 310 and 330 million cubic feet of gas a day to produce 38,000 barrels a day of liquid fuels (gas-to-liquid diesel, naphtha and kerosene), plus 50 to 80 megawatts of electricity.
The Norwegian company Yara International requested 80 to 90 million cubic feet a day to produce between 1.2 and 1.3 million tonnes of fertilizer a year. This project will generate between 50 and 80 megawatts of electricity.
The London-registered GL Energy Africa has a much larger electricity project. It requested 41.8 million cubic feet of gas a day to generate 250 megawatts of power.
Although the Ministry does not state specifically the origin of the gas, it will almost certainly come from the huge fields of natural gas, discovered in the Rovuma Basin off the coast of the northern province of Cabo Delgado. The fields in areas one and four of the Rovuma Basin, operated by the US company Anadarko and ENI of Italy, respectively, are known to hold at least 160 trillion cubic feet of gas between them.
SOURCE: AIM

posted from Bloggeroid

Gaza,the breadbasket of Moza

Gaza is a province of Mozambique.

 It has an area of 75,709 km2 and a population of 1,333,106 (2006). 

Xai-Xai is the capital of the province.

 Inhambane Province is to the east, Manica Province to the north, Maputo Province to the south, South Africa to the west, and Zimbabwe to the northwest. 

Geography 

Most of the district lies in the basin of the Limpopo River, which runs from northwest to southeast through the district, emptying into the Indian Ocean near Xai-Xai. 

The Changane River, a tributary of the Limpopo, forms part of the province's eastern boundary. 

The Rio dos Elefantes (Olifants River) flows into the district from the west through the Massingir Dam, to empty into the Limpopo. 

The Save River forms the northern boundary of the province. 

The Limpopo railway, which connects Zimbabwe and Botswana to the port of Maputo, runs through the province, entering Zimbabwe at the border town of Chicualacuala. 

The province, including the towns of Xai-Xai and Chokwe, were greatly affected by the 2000 Mozambique flood. Limpopo National Park lies within the province, bounded by the Elefantes and Limpopo rivers and the South African border. 

Banhine National Park lies in the east-central portion of the province.

 The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park and its associated conservation area, which is in the process of being formed, will cover the northern part of the province, including both national parks, and extend into adjacent parts of Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Administration 

The province was created on October 20, 1954.Gaza is made up of Bilene ,Macia ,Chibuto,Chicualacuala,Chigubo, Chókwè ,Guijá ,Mabalane,Manjacaze,Massagena ,Massingir and Xai-Xai andd the municipalities of: Chibuto ,Chókwè Macia,Manjacaze and Xai-Xai

CTA asks greatest alignment and cooperation between governmental reforms and the Bank of Mozambique

The Confederation of economic associations of Mozambique (CTA) considers that measures taken, Monday, by the Bank of Mozambique are not sufficient to economic recovery, though recognize that return some confidence to the market. for example, limiting the​ annual use of Bank cards outside the country, set at 700 thousand meticais per person, is seen by the CTA as a good sign but considers that it takes largest alignment between the reform of the Bank of Mozambique and the government. "the Central Bank feel that the market is to respond in relation to your measurements, although not enough. If the adjustments were chain and coordinated in some ways, speak of fiscal policy, where the expense had reduced as should have been probably the magnitude of the adjustment on the side monetary might be less and then the cost to the private sector also could be lower," said the deputy executive director of CTA, Eduardo Sengo. The private sector expects the decisions serve to relieve interest rates, aggravated by the Bank of Mozambique during the peak of economic instability. The deputy executive director of CTA understands that even though the new interest rates to be introduced in April, is some good news that will discipline the banks,it is this new Exchange rate only that CTA considers will create situation of largest predictability in the market, but alert for the difficulty of implementation and daily updating of this instrument.

posted from Bloggeroid

CTA asks greatest alignment and cooperation between governmental reforms and the Bank of Mozambique

The Confederation of economic associations of Mozambique (CTA) considers that measures taken, Monday, by the Bank of Mozambique are not sufficient to economic recovery, though recognize that return some confidence to the market. for example, limiting the​ annual use of Bank cards outside the country, set at 700 thousand meticais per person, is seen by the CTA as a good sign but considers that it takes largest alignment between the reform of the Bank of Mozambique and the government. "the Central Bank feel that the market is to respond in relation to your measurements, although not enough. If the adjustments were chain and coordinated in some ways, speak of fiscal policy, where the expense had reduced as should have been probably the magnitude of the adjustment on the side monetary might be less and then the cost to the private sector also could be lower," said the deputy executive director of CTA, Eduardo Sengo. The private sector expects the decisions serve to relieve interest rates, aggravated by the Bank of Mozambique during the peak of economic instability. The deputy executive director of CTA understands that even though the new interest rates to be introduced in April, is some good news that will discipline the banks,it is this new Exchange rate only that CTA considers will create situation of largest predictability in the market, but alert for the difficulty of implementation and daily updating of this instrument.

posted from Bloggeroid

Laboratory tests confirm that Frozy refrigerant is not harmful to health

The results of laboratory tests on samples of Frozy, a soft drink produced in Mozambique, show that the product does not contain any harmful ingredients, according to the director of the National Institute for Standardization and Quality (INNOQ), Alfredo Sitoe, in Maputo Monday .
According to Sitoe, the tests were carried out by the Ministry of Health, after the Malawian authorities decided to ban the commercialization of that soda in that neighboring country, for allegedly having a high content of citric acid.
In fact, the Mozambican government, after a Council of Ministers meeting held in November last year, guaranteed that the product was not harmful to health.
Examinations carried out at the time indicated that the product had a citric acid content of 0.1 to 0.5 mg / 100 ml. "The Ministry of Health did the laboratory tests and concluded that there was no problem with the product. As a way for the country to obtain the absolute assurance that, in fact, there are no problems, the sample was collected and sent to laboratory tests outside the country. "These tests also confirmed that the product was good," Sitoe said.
The director of INNOQ also said that the results were sent to Malawi, who also decided to send another team to Mozambique to collect samples of the product. "At the end of December, Malawi sent a technician who collected samples of 13 flavors. They went through the tests and they confirmed that the product is not harmful to health, "Sitoe said.
However, the Malawi Bureau of Standards required the company to affix a label in English or Chichewa (local language) in accordance with the laws of the country.
According to the source, the company Frozy promised to do the label until April 20 this year. "Unfortunately, we have never received any official response from the Malawi Bureau of Standards. We were waiting for an official response because the initial said that the product could enter Malawi by putting a label in English and indicating the distributor in English or Chichewa, "he said.
Frozy, according to Sitoe, says it has never exported the product to Malawi, so it believes that the product may have entered the country illegally.

posted from Bloggeroid

Renamo brigades promote awareness campaigns for the return of displaced persons

Several brigades linked to the Renamo party are involved in campaigns to raise awareness among the people of four districts in the central province of Zambézia, displaced due to military hostilities, to return to their areas of origin and resume their productive activities.
According to the Renamo political delegate in Zambézia, Abdala Ossifo, quoted by AIM, the sensitization targets the districts of Mopeia, Morrumbala, Dere and Gurúè.
Likewise, the Renamo political delegates in these same districts, who lived in hiding places, are returning to political work.
According to Ossifo, the return of Renamo district delegates to their activities is clear proof that the truce has come to stay.
President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, and Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama reached understandings that culminated in the suspension of hostilities for two months after a seven-day truce.
The present suspension of hostilities, which will last until 4 March this year, aims to create a favorable environment for "speeding up" the political dialogue, the aim of which is to achieve effective and lasting peace.
However, for a peaceful coexistence nationwide, Ossifo underlined the need for Mozambican society to "reform minds."
"From the top, we must begin to reform our minds. Because we are all brothers and we think that the truce benefits the entire Mozambican people. There are no military columns anymore and people travel from one point to another at will. This is good for all Mozambicans, because war does not solve anything, "said Ossifo.
The actions promoted in Zambézia are being replicated a little by all the provinces of the country that were the scene of acts of armed confrontation during the political-military tension, namely Sofala, Manica and Tete.
The first offensive was launched about two weeks ago in the province of Sofala at a meeting between a delegation of the largest opposition party and the government of that province. On the occasion, Renamo announced the resumption of political activities in all of the party's delegations at the Sofala level.
The Sofala government expressed its readiness to ensure that all political parties work safely, ensuring that "there is room for all"

posted from Bloggeroid

Road accident kills one in Sofala

Episode involved a passenger transport bus from Maningue Nice

One person died and another 10 were seriously injured following an accident this afternoon in the Nhamatanda district of Sofala province. The accident involved a passenger transport bus from Maningue Nice.
The accident occurred around 2 pm at the Muda administrative post, 75 km from Beira City. At the time, the bus that made the route Quelimane - Beira flipped in circumstances still to clarify.
In addition to the dead person and the 10 seriously injured, there are 35 slight injuries. The victims were evacuated to the Central Hospital of Beira and the Rural Hospital of Nhamatanda.
Police detained the bus driver for investigations.

posted from Bloggeroid

prices of goods and services rise 20% in the start of 2017

Cost of living

The cost of living in the country remains high, although it is registering a relative reduction in relation to the last months of last year. Data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) indicate that the general price level (inflation) increased by 20.56% in January this year when compared to January 2016 (year-on-year inflation). This is a reduction of 3.11 percentage points (pp) compared to the same period last year, ie the price increase in December 2016 when compared to the December 2015 price increase.
The data refer to the behavior of prices in the three largest cities in the country, namely Maputo, Beira and Nampula, also known as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Mozambique and show that in monthly terms, that is, inflation in January compared to December, there was an increase of 2.15%, a deceleration of 0.39pp compared to a rise of 2.54% in December compared to November 2016.
According to the INE's newsletter, from the point of view of annual inflation, the price increases of the clothing and footwear divisions with 30.65% and food and non-alcoholic beverages with 29.95% had significant weight.
On a monthly basis, ie January inflation compared to December, there was a rise of 2.15%, a deceleration of 0.39pp compared to a rise of 2.54% in December compared to November 2016. Between December 2016 and January 2017, food and non-alcoholic beverages are again among the products whose prices increased the most with a contribution of 1.39pp.
Considering the increase in prices per product, the increase in prices of tomato (20.0%), coal (13.1%), coconut (17.6%), peanut (12.9%) , Horse mackerel (4.6%), and butter beans (7.8%). These products were responsible for about 0.97pp positive
Total monthly inflation.
INE also noted that the city of Beira registered the highest monthly inflation (2.97%), followed by Nampula with 2.92% and Maputo, with 1.46%. In year-on-year terms, the trend was similar: the city of Beira was the one that had the greatest worsening of the general price level with 24.20%. Nampula and Maputo registered price increases of 22.97% and 18.13%, respectively.
Last year was characterized by a historic price hike in the country, which significantly reduced the purchasing power of households and businesses. Inflation closed the year with an average of 19.85%, one of the highest in recent years. The cause was linked to the deterioration of almost all the macroeconomic indicators, mainly the depreciation of the metical against the US dollar and the rand of South Africa. One dollar saw a jump of 30 meticais to more than 80 meticais in a period of approximately one year, which significantly increased imports, in a scenario of deep domestic production deficit and consequent high import dependence.
For this year, the Central Bank establishes an inflation target in the order of 14%, well below the levels that occurred last year.

posted from Bloggeroid

Mozambique and China strengthen cooperation in parliamentary area

Veronica Macamo will hold a meeting with the chair of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference.

Parliamentary delegations from Mozambique and China will hold bilateral talks tomorrow on the current stage of cooperation between the two countries.
The talks are part of
an official visit by a team of Mozambican parliamentarians since yesterday to the People's Republic of China.
During the talks, the two parliaments could initiate a memorandum of understanding with a focus, inter alia, on organizing regular meetings between parliamentarians from both parliaments and exchanging experiences on matters of common interest.
Veronica Macamo will hold a meeting today with the chairman of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference, Yu Zhengsheng, according to a note from the parliamentary press, ahead of the bilateral talks.
The Mozambican delegation is led by the President of the

Assembly of the Republic, Verónica Macamo, and includes the deputy head of the Frelimo bench, Sérgio Pantie; The heads of Renamo's benches, Ivone Soares; And MDM, Luther Simango; In addition to the rapporteur of the Commission for International Relations, Cooperation and Communities, António Niquice.

posted from Bloggeroid

Gaza and Inhambane could be affected by heavy rains within three days

The tropical depression that will be felt within 72 hours, in the provinces of Gaza and Inhambane, will be characterized by heavy rainfall and may cause flooding.
The National Meteorological Institute also warned that the phenomenon could affect the province of Maputo, as of Friday, and the rains could have the intensity of 75 ml in 24 hours.
In view of this situation, the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) will activate all Local Risk Management Committees in order to alert the population to take precautions and provide assistance if necessary.
The tropical depression that will be felt in the country is similar to the climatic phenomenon named Dando, which affected the provinces of Gaza, Inhambane and neighboring South Africa in 2012, leading the Limpopo to overflow

posted from Bloggeroid

LAM opens Gaza airline ticket office

Agreement between LAM and the Mozambican Post Office
It is now possible to buy air tickets from the Mozambique Airlines (LAM) from Gaza province, with the opening of a sales unit in Xai-xai city yesterday. This is an old idea, which today is materialised through a partnership with Correios de Moçambique, whose focus is to cover several other points in the country. The ticket sales unit was inaugurated by Gaza's Gov. Stella Zeca.
The agreement that symbolised the partnership was initialed yesterday in Xai-Xai City between the representatives of the two companies, namely the Chairman of the Executive Committee (PCE) of LAM, António Pinto, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors (PCA) of the Correios de Moçambique, Valdemar Jessen.
In light of the agreement, the Mozambican Post will facilitate the sale of air tickets from the city of Xai-xai, capital of the province of Gaza, one of several points in the country where access to an airplane ticket required a trip to Maputo , Further increasing travel costs.
"We are certain that conditions are now in place for residents of Gaza province to purchase tickets at Xai-xai, going to Maputo just to make the flight and not to buy the ticket, return to Gaza and return to Maputo to do the Travel, "said LAM's PCE, while the PCA of the Correios de Moçambique assured its institution's commitment to guarantee a" work of excellence "in this area.
For the Governor of Gaza, the offer of LAM services is an important factor for the tourist attraction for the province, although an airport is not yet installed.
"With this store, it will be very easy to make our tourist and economic potential much more valued. But we know that LAM is directly or indirectly linked to airports, and an airport is still a great dream for us and we believe that what happened today indirectly reinforces our hope of having an airport here in Gaza.
The partnership between LAM and Correios de Moçambique is an initiative that seeks to cover all points in the country where it is not possible to purchase products and services from the national air carrier. Already in the coming weeks, more units like this will be opened in the Center and North.

posted from Bloggeroid

President of the Republic will inform Daviz Simango on developments in political dialogue

The Head of State and the leader of the MDM held today a meeting in the Presidency of the Republic, where the focus of the discussions was peace.
And because the president of the MDM understands that the political dialogue should not only involve the Government and Renamo, Filipe Nyusi and Daviz Simango agreed that the MDM leader will be informed of the developments of the talks on a regular basis.

The president of the MDM said last week that the new model of political dialogue was not going to produce results because, in his view, it diverted away from the essential points that can bring peace to the Mozambicans.