MAPUTO, Mozambique (PANA) - Namibia
has donated 40 tonnes of canned pilchards to flood-stricken Mozambicans.
The donation was flown Wednesday to
Maputo aboard an Air Namibia's Boeing 747, specially chartered by the Namibian
government, the country's news agency reported.
The 40 tonnes of fish was the first of three consignments totalling 120 tonnes which the Namibian government pledged to Mozambique.
The next deliveries will be made Friday and Monday, the agency added.
The donation was handed over by the fisheries and marine resources minister, Abraham Iyambo, who also delivered a letter of solidarity from the Namibian President Sam Nujoma to his Mozambican counterpart, Joaquim Chissano.
Iyambo told Chissano that the Namibian government has set aside five million Namibian dollars to assist the flood victims.
He said it was a pity that the international community was initially slow in responding to the calamity, but expressed appreciation that assistance was now coming in big numbers.
Chissano expressed his appreciation for Namibia's assistance, saying the gesture was an example of African solidarity.
Detailing the extent of the damage caused by cyclones Eline and Gloria, Chissano said major roads were damaged, as were about 300 schools and houses.
Over 250,000 people, especially in the eastern Gaza Province, were left destitute as a result of the floods.
A large part of the country was also without electricity as power lines were completely washed away. Railway lines were also destroyed to the extent that communication between provinces was non-existent.
The president said there was also the danger of many people catching diseases such as malaria and cholera once the floods have subsided.
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