News

Mozambique Airlines (LAM) has promised a thorough investigation into an accident that occurred on Sunday night, when one of its aircraft, a Boeing 737-200, skidded off the runway when landing at the central city of Beira.

The French and Mozambican governments signed in Maputo on Monday an addendum to a "Debt reduction and development contract" of 2004 for a further relief of Mozambique's debt to France.

So far efforts to make the business environment in Mozambique simpler and more constructive for the economy have not met even half the expectations of national and foreign businesses working in the country, warned Salimo Abdula, chairperson of the Confederation of Mozambican Business Associations (CTA), on Thursday.

The death toll from last week's explosions at the military arsenal in the outer Maputo suburb of Malhazine now stands at 102, and 515 people have been treated for injuries, according to Mozambican Defence Minister Tobias Dai.

Mozambican Defense Minister Tobias Dai told AIM this Tuesday that the government is raising about 600 million meticais (about 24 million US dollars) to build silos to store obsolete weaponry.

The Mozambican government reiterated on Monday that the reconstruction of social and economic infrastructures destroyed by natural disasters is to cost about 71 million USA dollars.

Drought is affecting 25 of Mozambique's 128 districts as a result of irregular rainfall during the 2006/07 rainy season, according to Public Works Minister Felicio Zacarias, cited in Monday's issue of the Maputo daily 'Noticias'.

The European Union (EU) is prepared to grant more money than the pledged 600 million Euros (about 817 million US dollars) of aid to the Mozambican poverty relief programme.

Mozambique is set to face water shortages in the coming years because of its dependence on water from rivers that it shares with other countries.

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza promised on Friday that the military arsenal located in the outer Maputo suburb of Malhazine will be moved.

About 350,000 people, affected by flooding in the Zambezi valley in central Mozambique, and by Cyclone Favio, that hit the southern province of Inhambane in late February, may face a shortage of food in the near future.

A series of powerful explosions rocked Maputo on Thursday afternoon, as once again obsolete military equipment stored in an arsenal of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM) in the outer suburb of Malhazine blew up.

A libellous document is currently circulating in Maputo claiming that, although prominent lawyer Albano Silva, husband of Prime Minister Luisa Diogo, has not paid off a debt to the public treasury, he has purchased a "luxury apartment" in Lisbon.

The encroachment by the Indian Ocean into some Maputo coastal neighbourhoods is leading Maputo City Council to study measures to deal with the problem before it reaches alarming proportions.

A further six companies were certified on Tuesday with the "Made in Mozambique" stamp, as part of the campaign undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to promote Mozambican goods and services.

Mozambican Health Minister Ivo Garrido on Monday denounced a wave of thefts in health units - and even in the ministry itself.

The Japanese embassy in Maputo on Friday signed an agreement with the Mozambican Foreign Ministry, under which Japan will provide Mozambique with 3,497 million yen (about 29.8 million dollars) for food aid and development assistance.

Despite the major political and economic gains Mozambique has made in recent years, their impact on vulnerable social groups still leaves a lot to be desired, according to the country's former First Lady, Graca Machel.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has launched an emergency appeal for a further 17.7 million US dollars to support the Mozambican government's work to meet the needs of those hit by the flooding in the Zambezi river basin and by Cyclone Favio.

Mozambique has strengthened its capacity to deal with natural disasters, and this is beginning to pay dividends as shown by better planning and greater internal cooperation during the 2007 flooding season.