REPUBLIC OF MALAWI

STATEMENT BY MR. CHARLES KALEMBA, COMMISSIONER FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT AFFAIRS,

ON THE OCCASION OF HANDOVER OF 30MT OF BEANS FROM THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI TO THE REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE

HELD IN TETE PROVINCE

5TH APRIL, 2022

Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

• Your Honour, Madam Luisa Celma Meque, President of the Institute for Disaster Management in the Republic of Mozambique;

• Madam Jane Asani, Acting Consul General, Malawi Consulate General, also representing Her Excellency Wezi Moyo, High Commissioner of Malawi in Maputo;

• Senior Government Officials from Malawi and Mozambique;

• Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Let me begin by expressing my profound gratitude for the warm welcome you have accorded to me and my delegation. My standing here symbolizes the solidarity of the people of Malawi with their brothers and sisters of this wonderful country, especially the people of Cabo Delgado Province here in Mozambique who are going through the trauma of being forced away from their homes; and having their livelihoods disrupted in terrible circumstances.

It is in moments of hardship and suffering that societies need to close ranks and assist one another. This is the tie that binds the peoples of our two countries who if not only for the lines that mark the geographical boundaries are but one in historical sense. Hence this moment only serves to underpin the friendliness existing between Malawi and Mozambique as it is also reflected in the unprecedented closeness at the highest echelons of leaderships of the two countries.

Your Honour;

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

The needs of displaced people are many. Practically, the little that Malawi is offering can only go some way toward alleviating the suffering. It is upon this realization that Malawi has welcomed the decision of the SADC Organ Troika to extend the mandate of SAMIM to June 2022. Re-establishing permanent security in the troubled region will enable the dislodged communities to return to their ancestral homes and to pick up their livelihoods again. This is the only truly long-lasting humanitarian support our brothers and sisters can receive.  

Your Honour,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

I would fail in my duty if I do not acknowledge the visit that Your Honour made to Malawi in February during which you cheered the flood victims camped in the bordering District of Nsanje. Malawi and Mozambique are also intertwined through the commonality of challenges the two countries are facing. Natural disasters particularly the effects of harsh climatic conditions have become critical concerns which are having severe ramifications on the two economies owing to their destructive effects. As the two populations were still recovering from the bartering caused by Cyclone Idai in 2018, this year has already recorded an increase in the emergence of violent stormy winds and the ancilliary incessant rains which has once again caused extensive flooding.

As it happened four years ago, this time too Malawians in the Southern parts as well as Mozambicans living in Nampula and Zambezia Provinces have found themselves trapped in the savagery of violent cyclones. Therefore, the humanitarian assistance that Your Honour brought along was timely. The gesture was even more heartfelt since it was given by a hand of a neighbour. 

Lastly, it is for this reason that Malawi welcomes the plans to establish a SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre (SHOC) which will be responsible for facilitating enhanced regional disaster risks preparedness, response and early recovery to support Member States affected by disasters.  Malawi envisages that through the Centre the two countries will build stronger resilience, preparedness, and responsiveness not only against harsh climatic disasters, but also pandemics, epidemics and related hazards through more efficient and effective sharing of information.

I thank you all for your attention and with these few remarks I humbly handover the 30MT of beans from the people of Malawi to the people of Mozambique.

God bless us all

Zikomo kwambiri

Muito Obrigado

REPUBLIC OF GOVERNMENT

MALAWI CONSULATE GENERAL IN TETE, MOZAMBIQUE

A MALAWIAN FAMILY PLUNGES INTO THE RIVER ROVUBUE FOLLOWING THE SWEEPING AWAY OF THE BRIDGE DUE TO CYCLONE ANNA

        The Chuma Family of Traditional Authority Ndindi in Salima district of Malawi, on 12^th March, 2022, at or around 2 a.m. plunged into the Rovubue River because the bridge was cut off as an after effect of the Cyclone Anna. The family was travelling from Malawi to South Africa through Moatize and Tete Mozambique. They were four members of the same family; a father, mother, Son and daughter in-law. Upon arriving at Ruvubue bridge, a river that mark the boundary between district of Moatize and Tete, the one-toner double cabin pick-up they were travelling in, Registration Number NE 3220, plunged in the river. Under normal circumstances, the road will have plastic barriers indicating that the road was not in use.  But the time they were passing the barriers had been inadvertently removed. Worse still the driver, Joseph Chuma did not have prior knowledge of the road and bridge conditions before travelling.

The family was rescued by the community from nearby the bridge using police(marine) boat in the early hours of 13^th March, after spending some hours in the river.  The family was taken to the hospital by the police for medical attention. No life was lost, but the mother to Joseph was diagnosed with two fractures on the left arm.

The Consulate on its part rushed to the scene and started engaging the relevant authorities for the removal of the vehicle from the river. The response from Mozambique Government was positive. A taskforce was formed composed of the following: the Deputy Commandant of Police, Primer Squadra, the Commandant of Marine, the Commandant of Fire Department and Estrada de Zambeze. Out of these meetings Consulate was advised that the Government did not have the right equipment to retrieve the vehicle.

Upon appealing to the political leadership of the Province, a vehicle was deployed to search around the site of the accident.  However, all efforts proved futile. A decision was made to come back in June when the water level would be low and so the family returned home to Malawi on a one-way travel document organized by the Consulate, as the trip could not continue without resources and valid passports.