Mozambique (Hansard, 28 February 2000)

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, with the leave of the House, I should like to repeat in the form of a Statement a Private Notice Question on Mozambique answered in another place by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development. The Statement is as follows:
"Over the last two weeks, the worst floods in over 50 years have hit southern Mozambique. Cyclone Eline also caused substantial damage in the central provinces. Over the weekend, water deposited by Eline in Zimbabwe and South Africa has filtered through to Mozambique causing further massive flooding of the Limpopo and Save rivers.
"The Government of Mozambique estimate that over 500,000 people have been affected, with over 100,000 still awaiting rescue following the recent flood surge over the weekend. Regrettably, further showers and possible flooding from the Cabora Bassa dam are likely to make the situation worse over the next few days.
"The first phase of the relief operation, involving rescue and evacuation of people stranded by flood water is still ongoing. Co-ordination of rescue activities has been problematic. We are doing all we can to make available extra helicopters and boats. As the flood water subsides, the relief operation will move into a second phase. Priorities will be urgent repairs to essential infrastructure, shelter, food delivery and medical services
"DfID deployed two humanitarian specialists to the region during the initial stages of the flooding on 11th February. They conducted rapid assessments and liased with the Mozambiquan authorities and humanitarian organisations to plan the rescue operation needs. We despatched a consignment of over 400 tents from the UK to Maputo for the Red Cross to distribute for emergency shelter to those made homeless. We also supported the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Co-ordination Team, who are assisting the Mozambiquan authorities with the targeting and co-ordination of relief efforts. Given the deteriorating situation over the weekend, we are deploying a humanitarian specialist to assist with assessments and prioritisation of needs. We are also strengthening the World Food Programme with the secondment of two logistics experts to assist with the effective tasking of helicopters.
350 "DfID has already contributed nearly £2.2 for rescue and immediate relief, including the provision of shelter, water, sanitation and health support. This funding has been channelled through the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, the Red Cross, ActionAid, Oxfam, Save the Children Fund and World Vision. These activities are being co-ordinated with the Mozambiquan authorities. We stand ready to provide further assistance".

§ Baroness Rawlings
My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating, in the form of a Statement, a Private Notice Question answered in another place giving details of the Government's response to the flood crisis in Mozambique.
None of us can fail to be moved by the effect of the worst floods to hit Mozambique in years. What discussions did the Minister's department have with the authorities in the two years prior to the flooding to prepare for a co-ordinated response should a natural disaster occur?
The Minister referred to the swift reaction of the aid agencies and the Government of Mozambique to deal with the crisis. I should like to associate these Benches with the tribute paid to relief agencies such as the Red Cross for the outstanding work that they do in this field. Sadly, according to some aid workers, both the UN and DfID would not allow the Mozambique relief bodies a free hand to cope with yet another disaster to hit them. What assessment has the Minister made of the criticism of her department? Does she think that, wherever possible, UK funding should be supporting local plans drawn up to cope with such disasters and not the imposition of our own plans? Is she satisfied with the co-ordination of the relief effort?
When a hurricane hit Nicaragua and Honduras, there was confusion in the Government's position on debt relief. Here, too, there appeared to be confusion on the ground about the Government's humanitarian relief action plan. Was a plan drawn up for Mozambique, and did the Government stick to it?
Finally, we on these Benches recognise that Mozambique is one of Africa's success stories. Its privatisation programme is one of the most active in Africa: more than 900 state enterprises have been liberalised. However, according to Jubilee 2000, Mozambique is still having to pay 1.4 million dollars a week in debt service. What plans do the Government have in the future to take no more debt repayments in the future from the Mozambiquan Government until the country has got back on its feet again? Will the Government support the idea that Mozambique should be rewarded for sticking for so long to the very severe IMF structural adjustment programmes?

§ Lord Steel of Aikwood
My Lords, five years ago I had the great pleasure of monitoring the first multiparty election in Mozambique in precisely the area north of Maputo which has been devastated by the floods caused by the overflowing of the Limpopo and Save rivers. Your Lordships will understand, therefore, how distressed I feel at seeing the pictures of that same area in the condition that it is in today.
I begin by thanking the Government for the response that they have made, quickly, in assisting the South African authorities and the local voluntary agencies to cope with this terrible disaster. Sadly, the forecast is that more rains and another cyclone are approaching.
Mozambique is a fairly new member of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Secretary-General has appealed for neighbouring Commonwealth countries to send immediate assistance. I know that Malawi has responded. Does the Minister have news of any response from other neighbouring countries? Do we have, in our military training areas in Kenya, any suitable equipment—for example, helicopters or inflatable boats—which might be made available directly by the Ministry of Defence?
That leads me to ask the Minister a further question. We had several days' warning of the flood conditions in Mozambique. I wonder whether DfID and the Ministry of Defence have sufficient forward planning co-ordinated to be able to provide effective help in situations such as this, given that the MoD has massive resources compared with the limited resources that DfID inevitably has.

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness and the noble Lord for their positive comments about the relief effort to date. I thank the noble Baroness in particular for the tribute that she paid to the relief agencies that are working so hard in the area at present.
The noble Baroness asked a number of questions. The first related to whether or not there had been a plan for Mozambique and any assessment by this Government, with the Government of Mozambique, in relation to planning for such an eventuality. I can assure the noble Baroness that we have a very good relationship with the Government of Mozambique. There have been ongoing discussions with the Government of Mozambique over a long period of time regarding ways in which this Government can best support the Mozambiquan Government's efforts in a variety of areas.
In Mozambique, the National Institute for Disaster Management is the central government body for coordinating relief efforts within which relevant government ministries are represented. They have worked in co-operation with the United Nations Disaster and Co-ordination Team in relation to the current crisis.
352 We consider the Government of Mozambique to have been, up until this time, one of our success stories. We are deeply concerned about the long-term implications of the current crisis. The Government of Mozambique are a reforming government. They have been putting in place strategies to assist the poor in Mozambique and have been putting resources into areas such as education and health. I agree with the noble Baroness that it is important that, where we can, we should support local efforts.
The noble Baroness asked me to respond to specific criticisms that had been made of the department. I can assure the noble Baroness that in our discussions with the Government of Mozambique concerns have been ironed out. In the short term, our assessment team together with a UN team made a number of recommendations which the Government of Mozambique felt unable, given their relatively limited capacity, to put in place immediately. As a result of discussions, a way forward has been agreed.
As to co-ordination on the ground, we are doing everything that we can to ensure that all of the agencies that work in Mozambique do so in a coherent way. But the noble Baroness will understand that Mozambique's infrastructure is poor and the floods have made it much worse. We are doing everything that we can to obtain and pool the available data so that all the agencies work on the same information. However, it is a somewhat difficult task.
I share the distress of the noble Lord, Lord Steel, about what is happening right now in Mozambique. I visited that country very recently. Mozambique had been making very good progress. As to neighbouring Commonwealth countries, I am aware that Malawi and South Africa have to date given assistance. Malawi has provided two helicopters and South Africa has also given assistance with helicopters. I am not aware whether Zimbabwe has responded to the calls for support. We have had an ongoing dialogue with the Ministry of Defence on these matters. That department has advised us that its nearest resources are located 3,000 miles away. I understand that my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development is having discussions with her counterpart my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence on these matters.

§ The Lord Bishop of Guildford
My Lords, I have three reasons for taking an interest in this matter. First, the Christian Churches have partners and brothers and sisters in Mozambique with whom they are in close touch, and the first messages to come back are ones of considerable distress. Secondly, I chair the Board of Christian Aid which has worked for a number of years with partners in Mozambique. Thirdly, in that role I visited Mozambique last April. Standing here one has a sense of the deep distress about a dreadful disaster to befall a country which is just beginning to pick itself up after a long civil war. We should not under-estimate the serious implications for the economic, social and cultural infrastructure of 353 that country. I call to mind the faces of the people I met last year whom I fear may themselves have been caught up in this matter.
Projects that we visited run by the people of Mozambique, who have just begun to move from emergency relief to development, have been swept away by the floods in a matter of days. I suspect that some of the British Government's and European funding has been swept away as roads and bridges have disappeared. Suddenly, the community is back to square one. It is essential that we do everything we can to provide relief quickly and efficiently, that we persist in our relationship with Mozambique and ensure that we put things back at least to the beginnings of development. In my role as chairman of Christian Aid, the aid agencies want to work collaboratively with the Government and all the authorities to see what can be done in the immediate but, more importantly, the long term to help the people of Mozambique to recover from an appalling disaster.

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, I agree entirely with the right reverend Prelate. We cannot under-estimate the seriousness of the current situation and its long-term impact on the development of Mozambique. I can assure the right reverend Prelate that we are doing everything that we can to support the Government of Mozambique through this crisis and to work with other donors to ensure that we target resources in the most effective way. We have a growing aid programme with Mozambique to ensure that we contribute to the long-term development of the country once it emerges from the current situation. I can assure the right reverend Prelate that we shall collaborate with the aid agencies. A key part of the role of the Department for International Development is to work in partnership. We are aware that we cannot work in isolation. We seek long-term sustainable development in Mozambique and need to draw in all the stakeholders so that we work towards the same goal.

§ The Earl of Onslow
My Lords, at lunch time the South Africans said that they could not give very much more help because they were themselves threatened by flooding. Obviously, the shortage lies in helicopter pilots. There was a report on the wireless that the helicopter pilots were exhausted and could not fly any more. What can we do about either moving Air Force or Army helicopter pilots to that area or even hiring local civilian helicopters? I am sure that that would be the most immediately helpful action that could be taken.

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, the shortage lies not only in helicopter pilots but in helicopters with appropriate equipment. At the moment 10 helicopters are operating in Mozambique and a further four are expected. However, only three of them have winches. We are doing all that we can, even if we have to make commercial arrangements, to get the right kind of helicopters into Mozambique. As I said in answer to an earlier question, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development is 354 engaged in ongoing discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on the best way in which our Armed Forces can assist the effort.

§ Lord Tomlinson
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for repeating the Statement made in another place. Does my noble friend accept that, while what she says is a welcome initial Statement, ultimately this country and the rest of the world will be judged by the enthusiasm with which we mobilise resources not only for humanitarian relief but also for the redevelopment of the development projects that have now been rendered null and void? Does my noble friend agree that, unless we are seen to do that with at least the same enthusiasm with which we muster resources for military purposes, we shall be viewed by many in the world to have failed?

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, I agree with my noble friend that it is important to mobilise resources for the long-term redevelopment of Mozambique. We have a growing development programme in Mozambique, elements of which will go into redevelopment, but it is also important to note that Mozambique received a debt reduction of 1.7 billion dollars in July 1999 under the original HIPC initiative. Therefore, the Government of Mozambique can themselves download resources for long-term redevelopment. The revision of HIPC agreed in September 1999 provides deeper debt relief for qualifying countries, and therefore Mozambique is eligible for another reduction in its external debt. Once the immediate crisis is over, we must do all that we can to ensure that, in addition to the Government of Mozambique and the British Government, other donor countries pull together to ensure that Mozambique has sufficient resources to enable it to move forward in the long term.

§ Lord Alton of Liverpool
My Lords, I welcome the Government's intention to provide an additional half a million pounds towards the immediate situation in Mozambique. I welcome, too, the Minister's remarks about the remission of debt charges. Nevertheless, I am sure that the sight of many victims clinging to wreckage, trees and buildings will be on the minds of everyone in this House.
Has the Minister seen the speculation that the Mozambique Government may not be able to afford to pay for the continued assistance of helicopters from Malawi? Will the noble Baroness ensure that that does not become an issue? Will she do all she can to ensure that more helicopters and boats are made available in Mozambique as a matter of urgency?
Does the Minister agree with the statement of her honourable friend, Mrs Ann Clwyd, on her return from Mozambique that the situation underlines the need for a rapid deployment force which can be put into operation as soon as such a disaster occurs?

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, we are doing all we can to get helicopters and boats into Mozambique. I assure the noble Lord that money is not the problem at this 355 point in time. The real problem is the lack of capacity on the ground in Mozambique to mobilise the resources which are available as efficiently and effectively as possible. The other major concern is that the Zambezi area to the north of the central area—it is not currently flooded—has the potential to be flooded within the next week or so given that another storm has been predicted. We are doing all we can to mobilise resources to ensure that in that event—we all hope that it will not occur—additional helicopters and boats are available. The population in that area is something like 3 million.
We have been working with other international agencies to ensure that there is better co-ordination when such crises occur. The question of a rapid deployment force has been, and continues to be, discussed. If the relevant organisations consider that such a force is the best way forward, I am sure that we shall take the necessary steps.

§ Lord Elton
My Lords, at this stage any comment must start with a cry of sorrow that so much that was hopeful has been swept away so soon and with expression of sympathy for the whole country.
The noble Lord, Lord Alton of Liverpool, may have heard something in the Minister's answer about rescheduling of debt relief which I did not hear. My noble friend on the Front Bench asked whether debt payments of 1.4 million dollars per week were being paid by the Mozambiquan Government. If ever there were a case for suspending payment, this is it. This is a good occasion on which to consider our policy of debt management towards the least fortunate countries in the world.
My other question is entirely separate. What is the estimate of malaria incidents which may follow in the wake of these floods? What steps are being taken to prepare for them? What contribution are we making to those steps?

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, as regards debt relief, perhaps I should repeat the figures I gave earlier. Mozambique received a debt reduction of 1.7 billion dollars in July 1999. A second phase of debt relief is being discussed currently. A decision point is expected in March at meetings of the international financial institutions.
The Department for International Development cancelled all Mozambique's aid debts in 1983. They were worth some £21.8 million. We are doing all we can to put pressure on other countries to do what we have done where there is bilateral debt.
There is difficulty in getting data about what is happening. We have a small office in Maputo from which we receive information all the time. However, it has made clear that the information is patchy given the difficulties of the infrastructure. All the aid agencies are seeking to share data. I am unable to answer the specific question about projections of the incidence of 356 malaria. Health is one of the areas on which we have given, and continue to give, support. If I receive further information, I shall write to the noble Lord.

§ Lord Judd
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the greatest test—my noble friend Lord Tomlinson and others referred to it—will be the renewed commitment to the reconstruction of Mozambique after this terrible disaster? When there is much talk about the restructuring of military forces on a European basis so that they can move more effectively to military situations where there is demand, does my noble friend agree that we need to consider the closest possible collaboration between development ministries and the military so that equipment can be moved as rapidly as necessary in situations such as that in Mozambique?
Does the Minister agree that we should send our warmest congratulations and good will to the heroic pilots from South Africa? They have been doing fantastic work over the past few days.

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, my noble friend will be aware that the United Kingdom has taken a lead in the matter of collaboration between development ministries and the military. The Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence have been working together in considering areas upon which we can take greater action. However, the issue is not limited to the United Kingdom Government. We have to do all we can to ensure that our broad-based approach is replicated in other countries throughout the world.
I agree with my noble friend. We should thank the pilots from South Africa and Malawi who have worked so heroically to rescue those in peril.

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, I welcome the British Government's efforts in this tragic situation. It is important that the Commonwealth is seen to rally round and help in any way possible. However, can the Minister tell us what the European Union plans to do in particular as regards its overseas development role and the special relationship with ACP countries?

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, the European Community humanitarian office has committed 1 million euros for relief and initial rehabilitation. There will then be ongoing discussions about the European Commission's response in terms of the long-term rehabilitation of Mozambique.

§ Lord Hardy of Wath
My Lords, does the Minister agree that three winch-equipped helicopters are not enough? The need will be even more acute if the floodwaters rise. Since we lack heavy-lift capacity, cannot the United Nations be asked to suggest that the American air force, which is amply equipped in that direction, provides some resources to assist this crying, urgent need?

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, the USAID has been involved with other donors in supporting the 357 Government of Mozambique in terms of the current humanitarian crisis. I shall pass on my noble friend's suggestions to the appropriate authorities, but I cannot speak for the American Government.

§ Baroness Thomas of Walliswood
My Lords, I associate myself with all the expressions of sympathy for Mozambique. Clean water has not been mentioned. Am I right in thinking that apart from people who are stranded in small groups, others have reached refuge in large numbers? What efforts are being made to ensure that they are receiving clean water?

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, I assure the noble Baroness that we are doing all we can. However, we are hampered by logistical problems on the ground. Many roads in Mozambique are cut, so we have to use other means of transport. That is where the helicopters without winches can be used. However, it is a matter of ongoing concern because it is linked to the possible health effects on the population of Mozambique should they not have access to clean water, adequate sanitation and so forth.

§ Lord Tordoff
My Lords, like my noble friend Lord Steel, I was in Mozambique for the first round of elections, and I am equally sad about the situation there. However, we have not mentioned the presence of landmines. How far has the demining process gone in Mozambique and how far will the lack of it make it logistically more difficult to transport materials across country when there are no roads worth using?

§ Baroness Amos
My Lords, I am able to answer the noble Lord's question only in part. The Government of Mozambique asked the British Government to be responsible for demining in the northern part of the country and the majority of mines in that area have been removed. The area is not flooded, although there is a threat of flood, and we have a small team operating in-country in the event of further problems. There have been reports about the possibilities of landmines in other parts of the country which are currently flooded, but our information is not clear. Again, I shall be happy to write to the noble Lord once we receive clear information.

§ Baroness Rendell of Babergh
My Lords—

§ Lord Bach
My Lords, I am afraid that the time is up. I know that other noble Lords want to ask questions, but the convention provides for 20 minutes.