Forestry: Government to distribute 7 million meticais to 68 communities in Zambézia

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Forestry: Government to distribute 7 million meticais to 68 communities in Zambézia

12:21 CAT | 21 Feb 2023

File photo: O País

By the end of 2023, around seven million meticais will have been channelled to 68 communities in 18 of the 22 districts of Zambézia province, where forest resources are abundant. This amount corresponds to the forest exploitation fee of the 2021 logging campaign.

At least 32 of the 68 natural resource management committees have already received amounts corresponding to 20% of the timber exploitation fee for 2021. The process has seen delays, with Easter Razão, manager of the Provincial Environment Services in Zambézia province, explaining that the current payments are those pending from 2021.

“As I said, what we are paying now are pending amounts from the 2021 campaign. What happened is that, when Finance disbursed the 20% amounts, referring to the exploitation fee, the communities in that year had inactive accounts due to lack of bank transactions. To activate these accounts, a long process was necessary. We had to take a consensual decision to avoid extending the period of non-payment of community wages. And because the processes are time-consuming and because of their distance from the banks, the Environment sector has taken a decision to support the communities.

“There was a consensus to transfer the amounts from the Finance system to the account of the provincial environmental services, an entity which, in turn, issues via check. It is this process that we are continuing. We should have closed it in 2022, but it was not possible because of this difficulty with NIB and banking domiciles,” Razão clarified.

READ: Natural resources: Zambézia communities demand increase in timber exploitation and conversion fees

Communities which have received payments are satisfied, and talk about the money management process.

Artur Celestino, chairman of the Socone Management Committee in Ile district, explained that the amount that his community has received – more than 85,000 meticais – would be used to improve the lives of families.

“We have schools that need rehabilitation, inadequate access roads, traditional water holes that need intervention. We will bring together all stakeholders, in the light of transparency, for proper applicability. We are very happy and, for that, we want to thank our government,” Celestino said.

By Jorge Marcos

Source: O País