Judge Paula da Conceição Machatine Honwana sworn in as RSCSL Justice
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After the demonstrations and expressions of revolt of the last week, the payment of subsidies to the victims of Cyclone Idai resumed in the city of Beira on Tuesday (01-09).
People were already checking in at the pay points early in the morning, and some who still had doubts about whether their names were on the lists consulted those posted on the spot.
The authorities had called for social distancing to be observed, and the atmosphere was calm.
Although there was some concern about the process, in the wake of the unrest in Beira, those who had just received their grants professed themselves satisfied with the process.
The INAS delegate in Sofala said that, if things carried on like this, the process would be concluded in this part of the country by Friday.
In the city of Beira, 32,000 families will be covered.
Abdul Razack, INAS delegate in Sofala province, told Lusa that the institution distributed the lists of the 32,000 beneficiaries across all 26 neighbourhoods of the Beira district, to speed up the process.
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The distribution of lists would also help prevent people who are not eligible for grants from unduly receiving aid, he added. “This interruption helped to identify opportunists who wanted to benefit from Idai funds,” he observed.
The payment of subsidies to Cyclone Idai victims in Beira was suspended on August 19 after just two days, because of fears of Covid-19 spreading in the large crowds that gathered.
“We fear infections with the new coronavirus and have suspended the payment of subsidies, while we are studying the best mechanism for safely reaching out to those who are registered,” Abdul Razack said at the time.
The queues were bloated by the presence of people not registered to receive grants, he added.
But the suspension of payment infuriated hundreds of beneficiaries, who demonstrated in front of the office of the governor of Sofala province, Lourenço Bulha.
In total, around 74,000 families from 10 of the province’s 13 districts are expected to receive the grant in Sofala . The Mozambican government has approved the payment of a monthly allowance of 2,500 meticais (€29.30) to each of the beneficiaries.
Cyclone Idai hit central Mozambique in March 2019, killing 604 and affecting 1.8 million people.
Shortly thereafter, in April, the north was affected by Cyclone Kenneth, which killed 45 people and affected another 250,000.
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