Mozambique: CPJ and MISA demand information about missing journalists
Administrative authorities in the province say that, at the time of Tropical Storm Chalane in December 2020, they had many food products, including rice, beans and cooking oil, in storage, which were meant to be delivered to the Inhassunge district in southern Zambézia.
Last weekend, the province and the district of Inhassunge were hit by another cyclone – Eloise. A team was subsequently dispatched by the authorities to distribute the food to the families, but found that the warehouse had been practically looted.
“There is almost nothing in the warehouse It is very sad. We have been making a lot of effort and this effort is not being followed by our colleagues. At this moment we need to understand where the food that we pre-positioned went to. We sent kits for the population, but the district did not distribute them to those affected. We have instructed the police to investigate, and give due attention to all personnel involved in this process,” Provincial Secretary of State Judith Caetano said.
Warehouse supervisor among the suspects
Local sources say they consider the supervisor of the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC) warehouse in Inhassunge the main suspect. He was detained for a few hours, but was later released because the order for his arrest was not considered legitimate, according to a police source.
Speaking for the Zambézia provincial prosecutor’s office, Cláudio de Almeida said the PGR was looking into the case. “I don’t have much information regarding this embezzlement that is taking place. We are talking about assets that are being allocated to address a concrete calamity situation. We consider this a criminal matter,” he explained.
Regional INGC director Lurdes Daniel also took a position on the case. “Before the rainy season, the INGC pre-positioned fuel and food in all districts. We had pre-positioned the food, and Inhassunge district had these problems. We have to find out what happened. I have information but it is not official and I need to understand what happened,” she explains.
It is estimated that more than 12,000 people in the province of Zambézia were severely affected by Cyclone Eloise last weekend.
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.