H. Res. 431
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
March 14, 2000.
Whereas in February 2000, the southern Africa nations of
Botswana, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Zam-
bia, and Zimbabwe began to experience severe flooding
caused by days of heavy rain;
Whereas the Republic of Mozambique bore the brunt of the
torrential rains and experienced the worst flooding in 100
years;
Whereas roads, homes, bridges, the energy infrastructure,
and crops were destroyed;
Whereas many towns are without potable water and the cor-
responding public health threat from water-borne dis-
eases is severe;
Whereas on February 22, 2000, tropical cyclone Eline blew
full force into Mozambique, exacerbating an already ter-
rible humanitarian crisis;
Whereas continued rainfall from swollen rivers in neighboring
southern African countries threatens to bring more flood
waters into Mozambique;
Whereas thousands of Mozambicans have lost everything and
are in desperate need of water, food, and shelter;
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Whereas in 1992 Mozambique ended a bloody 16 year civil
war and has made substantial progress on democratic
freedoms and multi-party elections;
Whereas Mozambique is one of the world’s poorest countries
where 27 percent of all babies born die before the age of
5;
Whereas the flooding has virtually wiped out the significant
economic recovery the Mozambican people have worked
hard to achieve over the last 8 years;
Whereas large segments of Mozambican crops were spared
from the cyclone and flooding and could be utilized to
feed needy citizens later this year;
Whereas the Government of Mozambique will require massive
international assistance over the next 90 days and the
growing international relief effort must remain on high
alert for the next several weeks;
Whereas prior to the flood disaster, Mozambique was one of
the first countries to qualify for benefits under the World
Bank/IMF Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative;
and
Whereas the total amount of Mozambique’s external debt is
$5.3 billion: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) commends the Government of the Republic
of South Africa for its quick response and assistance
to the Mozambican people;
(2) commends the Government of the United
Kingdom for announcing debt cancellation for Mo-
zambique so that precious financial resources may
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be dedicated to the national relief and recovery ef-
fort;
(3) commends the Administration for its grow-
ing involvement and leadership in coordinating
America’s disaster assistance package to the Repub-
lic of Mozambique;
(4) supports the efforts of the United States
Government to assist in coordinating international
efforts to help the Republic of Mozambique salvage
what remains of this year’s food crops and to pro-
vide seeds for rural agricultural growers;
(5) encourages the international community to
continue to provide emergency relief, airlift capacity,
and other disaster assistance to the Republic of Mo-
zambique for the next 90 days;
(6) urges the international community to take
all necessary steps to locate and demarcate areas
that may now harbor semi-buoyant plastic land
mines transported to new locations by the flooding
in Mozambique;
(7) requests that the international community
develop a coordinated response to the Government of
Mozambique’s request for recovery and reconstruc-
tion assistance for buildings and transportation in-
frastructure;
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(8) encourages the international community to
assist the nations of southern Africa to increase
their capacity to respond to national emergencies
and natural disasters; and
(9) urges the International Monetary Fund and
other international creditors to fully accelerate debt
reduction efforts with respect to Mozambique’s ex-
ternal debt in the aftermath of the severe flooding.
Attest:
Clerk.