Mozambique: 65 million dollars available for Beira coastal protection – AIM report

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Mozambique: 65 million dollars available for Beira coastal protection – AIM report

7:33 CAT | 27 Feb 2020

Photo: Conselho Municipal da Beira

65 million US dollars are available for coastal protection work in the central Mozambican city of Beira, according to a report on the independent television station STV, but work will not start for another four months.

This rainy season, Beira has taken a severe battering from storms and high tides. The city was built on a swamp, and parts of it are below sea level. In March 2019, Beira took the full force of cyclone Idai which destroyed parts of the sea wall.

Today, whenever there are high tides or strong winds, the waters of the Indian Ocean penetrate further into the city. The situation is of greatest concern in the coastal neighbourhoods of Ponta-Gea, Palmeiras, Macuti and Praia Nova.

In Ponta-Gea one two storey building has collapsed. Others are under threat, and at high tide the sea comes right up to their walls. To protect their homes, the owners of some of these houses are employing artisanal stonemasons to build barriers to hold back the advance of the waters, but without much success.

Breakwaters have been damaged and not replaced, and so far Beira municipality’s attempts to throw up new barriers have been defeated.

The Mayor of Beira, Daviz Simango, told STV that the Council has sought aid to rebuild the breakwaters and sea walls, and so far has managed to raise 65 million dollars.

“First, viability and environmental impact studies must be launched”, he said. “Under our calendar the work should begin in July”.

Until then the city would continue to suffer incursions from the sea. “However much it would like to act, the municipality can do nothing right now”, Simango said. “Any intervention by the municipality might clash with the studies undertaken. So we ask our municipal citizens to be patient”.

Much of a second central city, Quelimane, is currently under water, thanks to torrential rains on Monday and Tuesday. During these storms 271 millimetres of rain fell on the city, and on the other southern districts of Zambezia province.

The rain, plus Quelimane’s poor drainage system, much of which is clogged with rubbish, has resulted in many of the city’s residents finding that their homes are knee deep in water.

The drainage channels cannot do their job properly because some of the local residents treat them as garbage dumps and throw their trash into them. This anti-social behaviour has continued despite attempts by Quelimane Municipal Council to clean up the channels.

Source: AIM