Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario has reaffirmed that the Reconstruction Plan for the northern province of Cabo Delgado, recently approved by the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), will not replace the efforts underway, carried out under the annual Social and Economic Plan (PES) and by the Development Agency for the North (ADIN).
Rosario made the promise on Wednesday in Pemba, the Cabo Delgado provincial capital, at the presentation of the plan passed by the Cabinet on 21 September to ensure the reconstruction of infrastructures destroyed by ISIS terrorists. The government has also adopted a series of implementation mechanisms.
“The plan does not replace either the PES underway in the province or the reconstruction work by ADIN, either in Cabo Delgado or in (the neighbouring provinces of) Niassa and Nampula. It does not replace the National Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Institute (INGD) which has been delivering humanitarian relief to the displaced people,” he pledged.
The reconstruction plan, Rosario indicated, complements all these initiatives and focuses on the districts which have been directly affected by terrorism.
He also clarified that several actions underway in the province carried out by ADIN, the provincial government, cooperation partners and NGOs to bring life back to normal in the war-torn regions are reflected in the reconstruction plan.
“Presently there is only one document that reflects all the initiatives and we call it the Cabo Delgado Reconstruction Plan,” he said.
Rosario declared that the document is an emergency plan for the districts affected by terrorism and aims to ensure that wrecked infrastructures, as well as basic services such as water supply, electricity and telecommunications, are swiftly restored.
“We want to ensure that the reconstruction is carried out in timely fashion,” Rosario highlighted, adding that in order to ensure its success the government has drawn up coordination mechanisms.
Thus, at central level the coordination will be under the auspices of the Council of Ministers which, through the Foreign Ministry, will coordinate with the cooperation partners, the Ministry of Defence for security issues and the Economy and Finance Ministry for financial issues.
At provincial level, coordination will be conducted by a provincial forum headed by the Secretary of State in direct partnership with the provincial governor.
The forum will also include provincial directors, cooperation partners and the ADIN chairperson, who will be the focal point for reconstruction issues. The INGD chairperson and the administrators of the affected districts will also be part of the forum.
“We shall also invite the UN representatives, cooperation partners, domestic and foreign NGOs as well as civil society,” said Rosario.
The Cabo Delgado Reconstruction Plan is budgeted at 300 million US dollars, of which 200 million are earmarked for short term activities.
