Donors conference “does not aim to raise money to build houses”

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Donors conference “does not aim to raise money to build houses”

3:14 CAT | 31 May 2019

File photo: O País

The post-Idai and Kenneth Reconstruction Office has made it clear that the donor conference taking place on Friday and Saturday in the city of Beira is not aimed at seeking financing for the government to build houses for the victims of the cyclones.

According to Francisco Pereira, director of the Reconstruction Office, the objective of the conference is not to rebuild the 250,000 houses destroyed by cyclones in the provinces of Sofala, Manica, Zambézia, Tete, Inhambane, Cabo Delgado and Nampula, but to present the report of the impact caused by the natural disasters and launch the reconstruction phase of the central and northern areas of the country after the destruction.

“It is not the end of a process, it is the beginning of a process. We are not waiting, as is the case with some conferences of this kind, for the total availability of the resources we need to be announced (about US$3.2 billion), because it is impossible to recover the total amount needed, according to the assessment made on the damage caused by the two cyclones, in a year or even in five years. So, for us, the conference is the starting point for internal and external mobilisation of funding that will enable us to develop reconstruction programmes over the next few years,” Pereira said.

See the world’s collective empathy in motion at the #Beira #Pledging Conference post-cyclones #IDAI & #Kenneth, damages/losses are ~3 bio EUR. Tomorrow we’ll know the funds available for reconstruction. @AustrianDev highly committed in our focus country #Mozambique pic.twitter.com/9Z704o93gP

— ADC in Mozambique (@ADCinMozambique) May 31, 2019

It is hoped that the conference will find funding models for those affected. “There are people who will be in a position to go directly to the programmes, especially those who have incomes that allow them to enter into financing processes for the reconstruction or construction of the house, but unfortunately there are others who do not enjoy these conditions. We have study groups, involving the United Nations, that are working on this to find possible solutions.”

For Pereira, the most important goal is creating conditions for those affected to return to their home areas. “This choice will have to be made very carefully, by the local authorities and the provincial government, including INGC. It is a complex and important process.”

#Mozambique International Pledging Conference #unitedformozambique opened this morning in #Beira city to mobilize resources for recovery and reconstruction. City Mayor thanked partners for support, hailing .@UNDP for demonstrated commitment including opening a Beira field office pic.twitter.com/hYAgo8PywP

— UNDP in Mozambique (@UNDPMozambique) May 31, 2019

Daviz Simango, President of the Beira Municipal Council, also spoke to the press on Thursday about the International Conference of Donors, noting among other things that the city council is hoping to see the partners build a platform to leverage the private sector.

The city of Beira is thought to need about US$888 million to restore the damages and losses caused by Cyclone Idai. At the press conference the council presented an executive summary of Beira’s recovery and resilience plan that it will present to donors.

The conference has about 600 participants, including central, provincial and local government, foundations, national and international private sector, UN Agencies and international financial institutions.

The conference ends this Saturday and will be closed by the President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi.

By Francisco Raiva

ALSO READ: Mozambique post-disaster donor conference begins today

Source: O País