The National Inspectorate of Economic Activities (INAE) has guaranteed that the severe tropical storm “Filipo”, which occurred last week in the provinces of Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane and Sofala, in the south and centre of the country, respectively, did not affect the stock of basic products on the markets.
Speaking on Monday (18), the INAE delegate in the city of Maputo, Gabriel Chongo, explained that there will be no increase in the prices of the main products, with the exception of beans, which will see a slight rise due to the heavy rain that has restricted the access of vehicles to some of the production sites.
He said that the organisation had received no complaints about the quality of the products on sale and urged people “not to sell products that have been spoilt by the storm”.
“We’re going to carry out awareness-raising and inspection activities in commercial establishments and markets to prevent the sale of products that are not of the recommended quality,” he warned.
Preliminary figures released by the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction (INGD) indicate that the storm caused one death, seven injuries and partially destroyed 1152 homes.
“A total of 15 health centres, 23 schools and 44 power poles were also affected, leaving almost 100,000 people without power in the districts located in the provinces of Inhambane, Gaza, Maputo and Sofala,” he said.
The phenomenon entered the continent at 5am on Tuesday (12), in the district of Inhassoro, in Inhambane, heading south-west, specifically towards Maputo.
Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change in the world, facing cyclical floods and tropical cyclones during the rainy season, which runs from October to April.
The 2018-19 rainy season was one of the most severe on record in Mozambique: 714 people died, including 648 victims of cyclones Idai and Kenneth, two of the biggest ever to hit the country.
In the first quarter of last year, heavy rains and Cyclone Freddy caused 306 deaths, affected more than 1.3 million people in the country, destroyed 236,000 homes and 3,200 classrooms, according to official government figures.
