The African Development Bank (AfDB) has promised about 100 million US dollars to reconstruct those areas of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi that were devastated by cyclone Idai in March.
The pledge was made public in Maputo on Thursday by the AfDB Vice President for Corporate Services and Human Resources, Mateus Magala, shortly after a meeting with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.
Magala said the purpose of the meeting was to transmit a message of solidarity from the AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina to Nyusi in response to the cyclone and ensuing flooding which claimed the lives of at least 598 Mozambicans.
Magala said the money pledged by the AfDB will go to all three countries hit by the cyclone, but he expected Mozambique to be the main beneficiary, since it was the most severely affected.
“We shall be ready to march forward together until we see that lives have been re-established and normality restored”, said Magala. “We have made 1.7 million dollars available for immediate, emergency support. But as I said, we are looking to the future. From this perspective, we are mobilising support for reconstruction, and we have raised about 100 million dollars. We want to participate on a large scale”.
Magala added that the AfDB intends to work with the Mozambican government to bring sustainable solutions, “creating more resilience and restoring normal life and the economic activities of the country”.
