– About 2.5 million people will be affected by extreme climatic events in the country
– Government hopes to mobilise funding from donors to overcome the deficit
By Aurélio Muianga
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – The Contingency Plan for the 2024-2025 rainy and cyclone season, budgeted at 11.3 billion meticais is due to be approved on Tuesday by the Council of Minister, but with a deficit of 9.3 billion meticais, according to the data presented on Monday at the Disaster Management and Reduction Coordinating Council.
The Contingency Plan was presented by the chairperson of the National Disaster Management Institute (INGD), Luísa Meque, to a meeting of the Council chaired by Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane. The plan forecasts that 2.5 million people will be affected by various climate phenomena between October 2024 and April 2025.
“Of the three scenarios presented to the Coordinating Council, the second Scenario was approved, which presents risks and threats of strong winds, urban inundations, floods and cyclones. As for the number of victims, the forecast is that 2.5 million people might be affected during the current rainy season”, said Luísa Meque.
To close the deficit, the Government is counting on support from donors. “For this deficit to be bridged, we shall count on support from the mobilisation of various resources with our partners, and these are not just financial resources”, Meque explained.
The resources mobilised may be in kind (in food and non-food products) as well as in cash.
Part of the budget needed to put the Contingency Plan into operation is intended for the INGD itself to repair damage caused during the demonstrations called by the presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, in protest against the preliminary results from the general elections held on 9 October which claimed that Daniel Chapo, presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party had won 70.67% of the vote.
The premises of the INGD were looted during the demonstrations. Meque said that, to implement the Contingency Plan, the INGD had been relying on equipment that has now been stolen. She pointed in particular to the loss of some satellite phones valued at 60 million meticais.
The Contingency Plan is initially drawn up after the seasonal weather forecast and is then sent to the provinces and the districts, where meetings are held of the Emergency Operational Council to approve the Contingency Plan at provincial level. The proposal is then submitted to the Disaster Management Technical Council, and then to the Climate Change Scientific and Technical Commission for advice and improvement. (AM)
