At risk. Communities in riverside areas of the Maputo, Umbelúzi and Incomati rivers

   Radio Mozambique

 National Directorate for Water Resources Management warns communities residing in the riverside areas of the Maputo, Umbelúzi and Incomáti rivers, for the risk of flooding or floods, starting next October.

The alert follows the high level of water stored in the main water retention infrastructure in Maputo province as well as in upstream countries, namely South Africa and Eswatini.

The head of the Department of Hydrographic Basins, Agostinho Vilanculos, said that at the moment, the Pequenos Libombos and Corrumana dams have levels of up to eighty percent of water intake, a fact that could dictate runoff in the upcoming rainy season.

"This period is a little worrying because we have to take some measures in the next few days, depending on what will be the evolution, at least in the first fifteen days of October, which officially starts the rainy season", he said.

The head of the Department of Hydrographic Basins appeals to the communities residing on the banks of the Maputo, Umbelúzi and Incomáti rivers to take precautionary measures, given the risk associated with the approaching rainy season. (RM) Source: Radio Mozambique

“Friendly political parties express their repudiation of terrorist action” - Frelimo SG

Frelimo's Secretary General says that friendly political parties have expressed their repudiation of terrorist action in some areas of northern Mozambique.

Roque Silva was speaking today in Maputo, at the end of an audience he granted to a group of representatives of foreign political parties, who participated in Frelimo's Twelfth.

On the occasion, the Frelimo leader said that he received a clear message, that the fight against terrorism should not be a challenge only for Mozambique. (RM)

Gaza. Budget suspension for municipalities affects works by Xai-Xai municipality

The suspension of the budget approved this year for the Municipalities by the Road Fund is making the rehabilitation and paving of some access roads in the Xai-Xai municipality unfeasible.

A little over thirteen million meticais should be received from the City Hall from the Road Fund for the paving of five hundred meters of the road that gives access to Praia de Chongoene, departing from the tourist area of ​​Praia de Xai-Xai.

The mayor of Xai-Xai, Emídio Xavier, said that the rise in fuel costs and the removal of some tax charges that reverted to the Road Fund dictated the suspension of the budget that was intended for the municipalities.

Emídio Xavier made it known that given the scenario, negotiations are taking place with the central bodies to unblock the situation that affects all municipalities in the province of Gaza. (RM)

In the last 5 years. Rabies killed 230 people in the country

Rabies has caused the deaths of two hundred and three people in the last five years in the country.

23 lost their lives last year, revealed this Wednesday in Chimoio, in Manica province, the inspector general of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Rui Mapatse.

The data was announced as part of the celebrations of the World Rabies Day. (RM)

Zambezia. Three individuals indicted for illegal sale of medicines from the National Health System arrested

Three individuals aged between thirty-five and forty-six years old are being held in the provincial command of the PRM, in Zambézia. for illegal sale of medicines from the national health system.

The arrest took place in the town of Mugeba, district of Mocuba, and the alleged sellers were neutralized in the local market, in possession of unspecified quantities of drugs.

Asked about the origin of the medicines, they alleged that they bought them from private pharmacies in Mozambique and neighboring Malawi, for resale.

The head of Public Relations at the provincial command of the PRM in Zambézia, Miguel Caetano, says that the individuals, now detained, have been engaged in the illegal sale of medicines from the National Health Service for three years. (RM)

Cabo Delgado. 16 individuals who lived with terrorists turn themselves in to authorities

Sixteen individuals, who lived in captivity of terrorists, surrendered to the authorities, last week, in Cabo Delgado.

The fact occurs, a week after the President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, announced in the municipal town of Mocímboa da Praia, pardon for those who voluntarily surrender to the authorities or the Defense and Security Forces.

General Commander of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), Bernardino Rafael, is the one who shared the information, this Wednesday, in a brief meeting with the population at the headquarters of the administrative post of Bilibiza, in the district of Quissanga.

"In Mocímboa da Praia they have already started to return to their homes",  he appealed.

Sixteen people who have been in the hands of terrorists have already returned, including guerrillas, terrorists themselves,” he said.

 Bernardino Rafael took the opportunity to reinforce the appeal of the Head of State.

“Those who have gone into hiding and are afraid to come out can come out at will. We will receive them, with orders from our commander-in-chief," he said.

The General Commander of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique, in addition to Bilibiza, was in the village of Natugo, which was the target of a terrorist attack on the 25th of this month, to find out about the damage.

Yesterday, the Commander-General of the PRM presented to the population of the district of Quissanga, four terrorists captured by the Defense and Security Forces.     

Among those captured is an individual who was dedicated to the recruitment and radicalization of citizens.  Rádio Moçambique 

Park Warden for Maputo National Park nominated for Tusk Conservation Awards 2022

Miguel Goncalves, Park Warden for Maputo National Park – that is co-managed by the National Administration for Conservation Areas and Peace Parks Foundation – has been nominated for the prestigious Tusk Conservation Awards 2022.

Miguel has worked within the Maputo National Park since 1999, becoming Park Warden in 2008. Under Miguel’s inspirational leadership across the last 12 years, the park has changed dramatically from a free-for-all hunting ground to a landscape able to support thriving populations of wildlife and recovering ecosystems, both in the ocean and on land.

His drive and passion, combined with a deep knowledge of his local area, has enabled him to become a leader and advocate for community conservation and education across borders and cultures.

Cholera kills two in Niassa.

Two people have died and a further ten are hospitalised following an outbreak of cholera in the district of Lago, Niassa province, northern Mozambique, health authorities announced yesterday.

The victims who died were transferred from the village of Ngofi to the treatment centre in Cóbue with acute diarrhoea and vomiting, chief doctor of Niassa province, Narciso Rondinho, is quoted by the daily Notícias as saying.

Without giving specific dates, Rondinho said that the treatment centre for diarrhoeal diseases in Cóbue administrative post was set up following the outbreak of cholera in the region.

Rondhino also said that at least 70 people had been admitted to the centre since the start of the outbreak, of whom 63 had been discharged.

Meanwhile, health authorities in Manica province, central Mozambique, have recorded one death thought to have been caused by cholera.

“Samples were taken and sent to Chimoio Provincial Hospital [for analysis],” said Moacite Ibo, head of public health in Manica.

Cholera causes severe but treatable diarrhoea, but can also cause death from dehydration in the absence of prompt treatment. It is usually caused by the ingestion of food and water contaminated as a result of inadequate sanitation.

COVID19 Vaccination reaches more than four thousand teenagers

It is estimated that 4.8 million adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 can take the vaccine against Covid-19, during the immunization campaign that has been running since yesterday across the country.

Leonildo Nhapossa, director of the Expanded Vaccination Program (PAV) at the Ministry of Health (MISAU), said that the second dose of the vaccine should be administered four weeks after the first.

Vaccination, is  being administered in secondary, technical-professional and primary schools, as this is where the target group is.

Immunization will also be administered in health units and communities, through duly identified MISAU mobile brigades, since there are adolescents living in remote areas.

Niassa Province experienses surge in tourists.

More than twenty-two thousand national and foreign tourists visited the province of Niassa in the first eight months of this year. 

This number represents an increase in relation to the more than thirteen thousand who visited this region in the same period last year.

 The data was presented this Tuesday in Lichinga by the director of the Niassa Governor's Office, Mauro Pius, at the end of the World Tourism Week. 

Mauro Pius said that the increase in the number of tourists is due to the slowdown in preventive measures against covid-19. In his words, tourists preferred the beaches of Lake Niassa, conservation areas and historical places. 

On the occasion, Mauro Pius reiterated that the province of Niassa has favorable conditions for the various forms of tourism. This year, World Tourism Week was celebrated under the motto “Thinking about Tourism

Beira: Reconstruction after cyclone Idai

  This year, in  Beira City the reconstruction works of several public buildings destroyed during the passage of tropical cyclone Idai in March 2019 will comence as announced by the executive director of the Post-Cyclone Reconstruction Office (GREPOC), Luís Mandlate.

These are the Provincial House of Culture, Provincial Service of Justice and Labour, 1st Civil Registry Office, Provincial Library, 1st Notary Public, Sports Pavilion, National Public Safety Service, Regional Public Emergency Warehouse, the Office of the Secretary of Sofala State and Provincial Directorate of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources.

The works are covered by financing from the World Bank, to the tune of 12 million dollars. Likewise, they will be applied in 37 other projects in the districts of Nhamatanda, Dondo and Búzi and 21 located in Cabo Delgado province, all affected by the Kenneth storm in 2019.

Drug addiction: Alarming trend.

 

   O País

  2:23 CAT | 27 Sep 2022

Official figures from the Central Office for the Prevention and Fight against Drugs (GCCPD) indicate that drug addiction in Mozambique rose about 14% between 2020 and 2021, with the provinces of Manica, Nampula, Sofala and Maputo seeing the most cases.

The national model of rehabilitation for drug addicts may not be the most appropriate, warns mental health expert Júlio Macamo.

Júlio tried cannabis sativa, aka ‘soruma’, at the age of 14, at the invitation of a friend. By the age of 16, he had already used more than two types of drugs. He stole items from his parents’ house to sell for money to buy drugs, he confesses.

“The evil lies in experimenting. I tried it, I liked the feeling and started to consume it. I met people who got into the world of crime, and I was about to get involved myself, because I hung out with friends, one of whom had his father’s gun, who was a police officer. Little by little, I was trying more things,” the interviewee says.

At a certain point in his life, Júlio realised that he was on a path that could lead to his death, and that was the start of a happy ending. With the help of relatives and friends, he managed to rehabilitate himself.

“One day, when I was drugged, I looked at myself in the mirror and thought: ‘I’m that uncle I always said I didn’t want to be’, because when we’re kids, we look at that uncle from the area, who drinks and creates trouble, and we don’t want to be like him. So I looked at myself and I saw myself as that drug-addict uncle. When I realised this, I started looking for help,” he explains.

Júlio’s testimony is just one example of what happens all over the country, and GCCPD figures point to an increase in drug addiction country-wide.

“In 2020, we had 9,788 [addicts] and, in 2021, this number increased to 11,164, so we are seeing growth of around 14%,” says Orlando Alberto, head of the Department of Public Education at the Central Office for the Prevention and Combat of Drugs.

According to Alberto, the provinces of Manica, Nampula, Sofala and Maputo lead the statistics table.

“Last year, the province of Manica had 2,713 cases, which represents 24% of the total. Nampula, with 2,416, corresponds to 21%, while Sofala had 2,084 and Maputo City had 2,050,” he details.

The GCCPD records 2,050 cases for Maputo city, while the Health Directorate presented a different figure of around 3100.

“Last year, we had 3,057 cases in outpatient consultations, which means that there were around 3,000 people who approached the hospital,” says Maputo City Health Directorate representative Maria de Lurdes Sive.

The health sector is not only concerned about the increase in drug addicts, but also about the number of those mentally ill as a result of drug use. In 2021, 9,000 were admitted to the Infulene Psychiatric Hospital, in Maputo.

“In our largest psychiatric hospital [Infulene], the main cause of hospitalisation is mental and behavioural disorders due to the consumption of toxic substances. In the 2021 report, we learned that about 9,000 people sought mental health services for issues related to mental disorders and substance use,” says Elisa Mfumo, head of the Department of Mental Health at the Ministry of Health.

More up-to-date data from the GCPCD indicate that, in the first half of this year, more than 4,000 people with mental and behavioural problems caused by drug consumption were admitted to health service units.

Cannabis sativa and alcohol are the most-consumed substances, due to their easy availability. Adolescents and young students are among those who consume drugs most, often mixing them.

“It is with great sadness that I report that we have more teenagers and young people, aged 14-17, in the rehabilitation program. At the moment, there are 67,” says Anderson Jesus, representative of the REMAR rehabilitation centre.

The country does not have a hospital specialising in the treatment of drug addiction. Patients are admitted to the Infulene Psychiatric Hospital and this overloads the health unit.

“In addition to treating two people with schizophrenia and mental retardation, we also have to assist drug addicts, as is their right,” says Infulene Psychiatric Hospital director Serena Chachuaio. “A drug addict often has disciplinary problems, which is why they often destroy sponges or clog faucets in order to protest against hospitalisation by their relatives.”

Psychologist Celma Ricardo is critical of the country’s rehabilitation model.

“We don’t have a one-stop centre, so that the individual doesn’t have to go from one hospital to the other. We don’t have a unit that supports an individual for complete rehabilitation, with the ability to provide psychological follow-up, with a psychiatrist providing assistance and activities to occupy them and help them stop using drugs,” she says.

The Maputo City Health Directorate recognizes the problem and promises improvements.

“Together with the government, we are working towards opening a rehabilitation centre for these cases. It won’t happen from one day to the next, so until then we will continue to work with the Infulene Psychiatric Hospital,” Maria de Lurdes Sive explains.

According to SERNIC, during the first six months of this year, close to 400 drug trafficking and consumption cases were registered, against about 300 in the same period in 2021. Narcotics valued at an estimated 50 million meticais were seized.

In 2019, the United Nations cited Mozambique as a major corridor for large volumes of drugs.

Source:O Pais.

New equipment increases handling capacity at Port of Beira – Notícias

File photo: Notícias

The port of Beira has substantially increased its cargo handling capacity, as well as reinforcing safety, with the acquisition of new equipment valued at US$10 million.

Jan Laurens de Vries, Chief Executive Officer of Cornelder de Moçambique, which manages the Beira port complex, announced that the port’s cranes had been modernised with the installation of the ‘C-Gate’ computer system, which is already boosting the competitiveness of the Beira Development Corridor.

The process, he explained, permits the real-time automation of access control for trucks, as well as the registration of the drivers, vehicles and containers which routinely access the container terminal.

This project, whose ultimate goal is total automation, is still in its first stages, de Vries said.

Source: Notícias

Mozambique: Defence, security meeting in Maputo with Tanzania kicks off

2:31 CAT | 27 Sep 2022

The defence ministers of Mozambique and Tanzania, as well as experts from the two countries, are meeting from today until Friday in Maputo, at a time when the two countries are facing a common terrorist threat in Cabo Delgado.

The topic will be on the agenda of this fourth session of the Permanent Joint Commission on Defence and Security, a body that regularly brings the two countries together.

The session will be co-chaired by Ministers Cristóvão Artur Chume, on the Mozambican side, and Stergomena Tax, representing Tanzania.

In addition to evaluating accomplishments to date, the meeting will serve to “design actions to be developed in the fields of Defence, Public Security and State Security, as well as improve cooperation mechanisms”, a statement about the event reads.

The ministerial meeting is preceded, today, by a meeting of defence and security experts from the two countries.

Mozambique and Tanzania signed two memoranda of understanding on Wednesday, one in the area of defence and the other on rescue and salvage operations, during a meeting between Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi and the Tanzanian head of state, Samia Suluhu.

The MoUs are related to the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado, a region in northern Mozambique rich in natural gas.

“We are aware that Mozambique and Tanzania share an extensive border about 800 kilometres long, the longest in the region. Therefore, we are aware that we have to strengthen our cooperation mechanisms,” Samia Suhulu said during her visit to Maputo.

Tanzania is a member of SAMIM, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) military mission supporting Mozambican troops in the fight against the armed insurgency.

Cabo Delgado province has been terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.

The conflict has internally displaced about 800,000 people, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and killed about 4,000 individuals (ACLED conflict registry figure).

Source: Lusa

Mozambique: Frelimo Congress re-elects Nyusi as party president

Photo: Frelimo Moçambique / Facebook

Mozambican ruling party Frelimo on Sunday re-elected Filipe Nyusi, for another five-year term as party president, during the 12° Congress currently under way in the town of Matola, southern province of Maputo.

Nyusi, who is also Mozambican Head of State, was the sole candidate for his own succession, having won 100 percent of the votes.

Nyusi’s re-election was a predictable outcome since he had the unconditional support of Frelimo’s social organizations namely the Mozambique Youth Organisation (OJM), the Mozambican Women’s Organisation and the Mozambique’s Association of Veterans of the National Liberation Struggle (ACLLN). Nyusi also had the support of the Central Committee and the Political Commission.

In all, Filipe Nyusi won 1134 votes from an equal number of delegates who voted for his re-election.

This Monday the Congress is expected to choose the new Political Commission and Secretary General.

Soon after his re-election, Nyusi was sworn into office by the honorary President of Frelimo, Joaquim Chissano, and pledged to faithfully serve both Frelimo and the country, ensure internal cohesion, as well as to fulfill all the missions which will be assigned to him.

‘Thank you very much comrades for your genuine support. I promise work, work and work,’ Nyusi said.

Chissano, for his part, said the re-election is a clear expression of will of party members. He reminded the incumbent president that the country is facing a number of challenges, hence the need for greater inclusiveness and national unity. Also, urged to work on the preservation of peace as an indispensable requirement for national unity.

‘Your mission is to ensure reconciliation at all levels. We also want reconciliation with other parties, because we want them to work on people’s development and unity”, he added.

Chissano recalled that several times as president, he was forced to swallow frogs for the sake of peace and national unity. He, therefore, urged Nyusi to have courage and exercise patience, as well as greater maturity to best represent the country at the United Nations Security Council, as non-permanent member to which Mozambique was elected this year.

Nyusi is the 5th Frelimo President in 60 years. The first was Eduardo Mondlane, who is also known as the architect of national unity. After his death in 1969, he was replaced by Samora Machel, who died in 1986. He was then replaced by Chissano an Armando Guebuza 

Source: AIM 

XII Frelimo Congress. The members of the new Central Committee are already known

The members who make up the new Frelimo Central Committee, elected at the twelfth party congress, that is in progress  in the city of Matola and which are due to close today, are already known.

The new body was elected on Monday night, after a voting process, which involved around 1,500 delegates at the party's twelfth Congress, which  is in progress  in the city of Matola, Maputo province.

The two hundred and fifty members elected to this body will be presented this Tuesday, according to Frelimo spokesman Caifadine Manasse:

 “These are positive results, this is an internal electoral process within our party and the candidates know that when advancing towards this process, there is 60 percent continuity and 40 percent renewal. 

It means that some cadres could be left out of the Committee and others would join and this is a process that happens whenever there is an election. 

We look at this process as the one in which the cadres are reinforced in the party, because there is an injection of new blood and Frelimo maintains its vitality, because it accompanies this type of processes in which there is continuity and renewal”, he said.

Mozambique: Maputo hosts Mphanda Nkuwa Project Bidders’ Conference

 Government of Mozambique, through the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME), represented by the Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project Implementation Office (GMNK), is holding a conference in Maputo on Tuesday, September 27, with potential pre-qualified Strategic Investors, within the scope of the tender process for the selection of the partner for the development of the Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project and associated energy transport infrastructure.

The conference will constitute a technical, interactive session for clarification of project and tender issues, and a stage for reviewing and updating technical, environmental, economic, financial and market studies, including issues of legislation, associated regulations and the legal and institutional structures in the sector.

During the conference, the project’s partner international financial institutions, such as the World Bank (WB) group and the African Development Bank (AfDB), will talk about their role in the project, address issues of financing and guarantees for the venture. In the two days following two days the conference, the competitors will visit the sites in Tete province where the project will be implemented.

This program is included in the Specifications of the Strategic Partner selection tender and will allow investors to find out about the natural conditions of the project implementation site, data fundamental in the preparation of technical, economic and financial proposals in response to the tender process.

Called the Mphanda Nkuwa Project Bidders’ Conference, the event will bring together MIREME, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), the Ministry of Land and Environment (MTA), the Agency for the Promotion of Investment and Exports (APIEX), the GMNK, and the project’s partner international financial institutions such as the World Bank, AfDB and potential pre-qualified project investors.

With an estimated cost of US$4.5 billion, the Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project includes the development of a run-of-river dam 61 kilometres downstream from Cahora Bassa on the Zambezi River in Tete province. 

A hydroelectric power plant with an installed power production capacity of up to 1,500 megawatts and a 1,300 kilometre energy transmission line from Tete to Maputo are envisaged.

The project is being implemented in strict compliance with internationally accepted global standards and tools for social, environmental and governance (Environmental Social and Governance – ESG) compliance for mitigating negative impacts and maximising positive aspects, evaluation and certification of the project, and which prioritise the creation of opportunities for local communities, minimise and mitigate the adverse impact on the biodiversity heritage.

The Mphanda Nkuwa project will be a lower-cost power generation option which will position Mozambique as a regional energy hub, and contribute to universal access, industrialization, job creation and technical training while generating tax and concession fee revenue. 

The project is fundamental for the energy transition and decarbonisation of the Southern region of the African Continent.