Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican government has called on the population of the southern province of Gaza not to use water from the Limpopo River, before laboratory results are available, following reports of a significant change in the colour of the water, which suggests possible contamination.
According to the government spokesperson, and Minister for State Administration, Inocêncio Impissa, who was speaking to reporters on Tuesday, in Maputo, the population should avoid the use of water from the Limpopo for human consumption, agricultural irrigation or watering animals before the laboratory results are available.
“Preliminary results and samples have been submitted to laboratories at the Eduardo Mondlane University and the Health Ministry to ensure that the preliminary results, which were obtained through the Ministry of Public Works, are accurate, so that the report can prove that it is not harmful to human health. That’s our expectation”, he added.
The results from the Public Works Ministry were encouraging in that they indicated there is no serious threat to public health. Nonetheless, tests are continuing to confirm the initial results.
Impissa also said that a joint commission consisting of representatives of the governments that manage the Limpopo basin and river will discuss the measures to be implemented to manage the situation and ensure that the algal bloom does not spread.
However, the South African authorities, cited by the local press, guaranteed that the results of laboratory tests on water samples from the Limpopo were negative on July 15, and the water has been confirmed as safe for consumption.
The Limpopo is the second largest river in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), with a length of about 1,600 km. The Limpopo basin covers about 415,000 square kilometres. The river is the main water source for millions of people living in Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
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