Defense Minister Tobias Dai revealed this figure on Tuesday, during a ceremony to launch a week of commemorations that will culminate on 25 September, the 43rd anniversary of the launch of Mozambique's armed liberation struggle against Portuguese colonial rule.
Dai announced that new arsenals in the central region of the country have already been completed, and handed over by the contractor to the government. The transfer of weaponry to these arsenals has already started. The cost of the arsenals in central Mozambique was estimated at 34 million meticais.
Dai added that the new arsenals in the southern region (in Maputo province) are set to be completed and handed over before the end of this month. Dai did not reveal the location of any of the new buildings.
The construction of new arsenals, remote from population centres, was precipitated by the tragedy of 22 March, when one of the warehouses in the FADM's largest arsenal, in the outer Maputo suburb of Malhazine, caught fire. In the ensuing explosions, tonnes of munitions were scattered across Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola, killing over 100 people and destroying or damaging hundreds of houses.
Dai said that work is continuing to locate unexploded munitions that may still be lying around Maputo and Matola neighbourhoods.
He said that, thanks to the cooperation of the residents, it was possible for soldiers to detect and collect hundreds of such devices.
'I'm calling on people to keep up this attitude in order to deactivate all the explosive devices that may still be hidden.
Only thus can we contribute to strengthening the safety of the people', he said.
Among the problems involved in collecting the artilery shells and other munitions that rained down on Maputo on 22 March is that some of them struck the ground with such force as to be buried a metre or more deep in the soft soil.
Once all the obsolete equipment is destroyed, the next phase is to move any useable weaponry into the new Maputo arsenals. Dai said this operation should end in December.
Turning to the question of regional integration, which will shortly take the form of a southern African free trade area, Dai declared 'Let us capitalize on the fact that the country is enjoying an environment of peace and political stability, to create conditions to promote and exploit comparative advantages that will derive from the integration process'.
He said that to accomplish this challenge, military commanders at all levels should be able to imbue their staff with a spirit of a mission, and readiness for any task they may be called upon to perform.
He explained that the recent launching of the Rapid Reaction Brigade of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is the result of the commitment of the organization's member states to the African Union's agenda of peace, security and political stability.
'This is an agenda that aims at creating conditions for the establishment and consolidation of peace and security in the African Continent, and at strengthening the ties of solidarity between African countries', he said.
The SADC Brigade, Dai added, also resulted from the fruitful relations in the area of defense and security between the member states, aiming at establishing a platform for peaceful resolution of any differences.
SOURCE: AIM
