Post-Idai Reconstruction Office: Powers expanded to cover areas hit by Cyclone Kenneth – Govt

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Post-Idai Reconstruction Office: Powers expanded to cover areas hit by Cyclone Kenneth – Govt

9:59 CAT | 03 May 2019

Francisco Pereira (right) is the head of the Reconstruction Office since he was sworn in by Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário. File photo: Noticias

The Mozambican government on Tuesday expanded the powers of its Post-cyclone Reconstruction Office to cover the damage done, not only by cyclone Idai, which hit the central provinces on 14 March, but also by cyclone Kenneth, which struck the northern province of Cabo Delgado last Thursday.

The Reconstruction Office, headed by former deputy minister of public works Francisco Pereira, was set up in the wake of Idai which carved a trail of destruction through Sofala, Manica, Tete and Zambezia provinces. Over 600 people are confirmed dead as a result of the cyclone and ensuing floods, and hundreds of others are still missing. No definite figure has yet been put on the material damage, which was enormous, particularly in the city of Beira, and the Sofala districts of Buzi and Nhamatanda.

Speaking at the end of a meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), government spokesperson and deputy education minister Armindo Ngunga, said the confirmed death toll from cyclone Kenneth has now reached 41, with an estimated 35,208 households affected by the disaster.

He added that the cyclone destroyed 2,930 houses and damaged a further 32,034. 193 classrooms were destroyed, affecting over 21,000 pupils.

The storm inundated 31,256 hectares of crops, and knocked down 330 electricity pylons. Much of Cabo Delgado is still without power.

“The government and its partners are providing assistance to the people affected, and the Council of Ministers has renewed its appeal to all Mozambicans to join efforts in supporting the victims”, said Ngunga.

The areas worst hit, he added, were the Cabo Delgado provincial capital, Pemba, and the districts of Macomia, Ibo, Quissanga, Mocimboa da Praia, Pala and Muidumbe.

The government, he said, is providing fiscal and customs incentives for businesses in the areas affected by Kenneth.

Source: AIM