Impact of cyclone will force govt to review state budget, political priorities – economist

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Impact of cyclone will force govt to review state budget, political priorities – economist

7:31 CAT | 22 Mar 2019

Photo: Adrien Barbier / AFP

Mozambican economist and university professor António Francisco told Lusa today that the effects of cyclone Idai will force the government to present a remedial state budget and review political priorities in this election year.

“It is too early to account for the effects, but it is already apparent that the effects of the cyclone will force the authorities to carry out a set of initiatives which were not on this year’s agenda, and will compel the government to review its own state budget and political priorities,” the economist told Lusa, speaking from Maputo.

“The state budget for this year already had a deficit of 90 billion meticais (about 1.5 billion US dollars),” he said, noting the need to channel funds to help the 400,000 or so affected by Cyclone Idai, which last week hit the city of Beira and the whole province of Sofala.

Referring to the hidden debts scandal. concerning loans contracted in 2012 and 2013 and disclosed in 2016, the economist says that the government “was expecting to turn the page this year but an unresolved situation has been there throughout the decade, [a situation] coming from before the cyclone”.

Now, “there is an opportunity to show some commitment and mitigate the effects of the cyclone,” he pointed out.

The provisional death toll of Cyclone Idai keeps rising, and on Thursday (March 21) stood at 557 dead, of which 242 were in Mozambique, 259 in Zimbabwe and 56 in Malawi.

The cyclone affected at least 2.8 million people in the three countries and submerged and area of about 1,300 square kilometres in Mozambique, according to estimates by international organisations.

The coastal city of Beira, in the centre of Mozambique, was one of the hardest hit by the cyclone on the night of March 14, and the UN warns that 400,000 displaced people need urgent help valued at more than US$40 million dollars (EUR 35 million).

Portugal is among the countries that have sent technicians and aid to Mozambique, with two Air Force C-130 planes en route to Beira and a third, a chartered commercial aircraft, scheduled to depart today. Another flight¸ chartered by the Portuguese Red Cross, is due to leave on Monday.

More than a week after the storm, thousands of people are still awaiting rescue in areas battered by heavy rains and winds over 170 kilometres per hour, followed by floods, leaving a trail of destruction in cities, villages and the countryside.

Organisations involved in relief and humanitarian operations have warned that there is a danger of contagious diseases breaking out.