Almost 150,000 young Mozambicans registered for compulsory military service since January
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The inquiry commission into the shipwreck of a fishing boat in Nampula, in which at least 98 people died, is expected to release conclusions about the incident and measures to be taken in the next 15 days, announced the Government.
“In the next 10 to 15 days, I believe we will have much more consistent information about what exactly contributed to the accident occurring, but also what will be done to minimize that situation and, naturally, other situations,” said the spokesperson for the Council of Ministers meeting, Inocêncio Impissa, after the ordinary session of that body, held yesterday in Maputo.
The shipwreck of the fishing boat, on April 7th, in the province of Nampula, while carrying 130 people bound for Ilha de Moçambique, fleeing an unconfirmed cholera outbreak in the administrative post of Lunga, Mossuril district, on the mainland, was discussed again at the meeting, where “the available information was reviewed”.
“The commission that was working already has preliminary information, and it is now condensing the report. And the report should come with concrete measures about what actions the government will actually implement to alleviate the suffering, but also improve conditions, especially regarding information and the operation of the different weaknesses identified by this commission,” added Inocêncio Impissa, questioned by journalists.
He also stated “that it can be advanced” that “combined measures led to the accident occurring”: “Misinformation [about cholera], yes. But it wasn’t just misinformation that contributed to this incident, including the technical and mechanical conditions of the vessel itself, which was raised in the process. But I think that at the appropriate time, in the next 10 to 15 days, the commission will not only appear with an exhaustive report on what may have happened, but also on how the government will solve or minimize the situations experienced by the population.”
The accident killed 98 people, including 55 children, 34 women, and nine men, with 16 survivors registered. According to Mozambican maritime authorities, the fishing boat was not authorized to transport passengers and did not have the conditions to do so.
The president of Mozambique’s National Resistance (Renamo) said on Monday that the main opposition party will provide “legal assistance” to the owner of the boat that sank in Nampula and criticized the Government.
“The state must begin to pay for its irresponsibility,” wrote Ossufo Momade, after visiting Lunga administrative post over the weekend, from where the fishing boat departed, sinking about 100 meters off the coast of Ilha de Moçambique.
The owner and a person responsible for the vessel are detained, the police spokesperson in Nampula province, Rosa Chaúque, told Lusa at the time.
“It was with sadness that we witnessed the arrest of the boat owner, Mr. Hassane, for authorizing the population’s entry into his boat for free as a way to support the people, mostly children, without, however, verifying maritime safety procedures,” continued Renamo’s leader.
Momade added that the detention “wears down the local population and that the blame for this act was not the sailor’s or his owner’s, but of the population itself, which demanded” the owner of the vessel.
“As a result of his request for legal assistance, we will provide the necessary legal assistance for his freedom and the consequent accountability of the State,” assured the politician.
The Mozambican government announced on April 18 the construction of a road and a bridge in the shipwreck area as a way to prevent the transportation of passengers on boats without conditions.
The Council of Ministers decreed national mourning for three days following the accident, with several partner countries of Mozambique expressing solidarity in the face of the tragedy.
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