The Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources (MOPHRH), Carlos Mesquita, made an inspection visit to the Pequenos Libombos Dam on Monday (25) to assess the impact of the heavy rains that have affected the southern region, especially the infrastructure of the cities of Maputo, Matola and the surrounding area.
According to the Carta de Moçambique news portal, on the occasion, the governor highlighted the government’s concern to closely monitor the dams, especially the Pequenos Libombos dam, which has received significant inflows upstream from neighboring countries, such as Eswatini.
In coordination with the National Disaster Management Institute (INGD), the government is monitoring the situation closely, and the minister reaffirmed his call for “precautionary measures to be taken when approaching the Maputo and Umbelúzi rivers, and for people and goods to be removed from the riverbanks, due to the risk of being swept away by the force of the water”. The official said that the situation is also having an impact on crossing the Umpala (Boane), Mafuiane and Mazambanine drifts, and there is a risk of flooding on the banks of the lower reaches of the rivers.
Carlos Mesquita spoke of the uncertainty caused by the El Niño phenomenon and warned of the possibility of surprises in the future. However, he assured that, with the current level of water in the dam, if it doesn’t rain in the near future, there will be reserves for up to two years.
He expressed his concern for the safety of the population, emphasizing that fatal situations can be avoided if people follow the authorities’ guidelines and stressing that, “despite the increase in discharges compared to last year, water management has been successful, and any problems could only occur due to the indiscipline of some people”.
The Administração Regional de Águas do Sul, Instituto Público (ARA-Sul, IP), for its part, called on the population to take precautionary measures and to be attentive to updates from the authorities.
