Brussels, 05/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has undertaken to disburse a further EUR 67.5 million to help reconstruction in Mozambique, which was devastated by flooding after torrential rain in February. The announcement was made by Poul Nielson, European Commissioner for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, during the International Reconstruction Conference in Rome on 3 and 4 May. This sum would bring total Community aid for reconstruction and rehabilitation of Mozambique to EUR 73.5 million, and would meet around 15% of needs targeted by the government in a reconstruction plan presented on this occasion to international donors. Made available in the form of a grant, the amount will be financed by the European Development Fund within the framework of the Lomé Convention between the ACP countries and the EU.
In March this year, Poul Nielson had announced reconstruction aid of 21 million, which was, at the end of the day, more than tripled (on the basis of the report submitted by the Mozambican government and the detailed examination carried out by the Commission services and by its delegation in Maputo). Globally, the Rome Conference made commitments for $453 million, exceeding even the requests of the Mozambique government. Donors pledged to speed up disbursement. The Commission plans to release EUR 150 million this year, up from EUR 100 million last year (emergency aid and humanitarian aid included).