Exports of scrap metal harm Mozambican economy
Monday, 20 August 2007
MAPUTO, Aug 19 (Xinhua): The increasing demand of base metals on the international market could be one of the reasons fueling the "race" for scrap metals in Mozambique, an activity that often is being supplied with stolen materials, the official AIM reported yesterday.
Stolen materials mainly include iron angle from power lines, electrical cables, among others, the new agency said.
The publicly owned companies such as Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM), the Telecomunicacoes de Mocambique (TDM), the Mozambique's Railway Company (CFM-EP) and the Mozambican Army, are the main victims of this trade that is inflicting huge losses to the Mozambican economy, it said.
Large residential areas are often thrown into complete darkness for days in a row, with companies also forced to close their business because of the damage inflicted to power transmission lines or theft of aluminium and copper cables that are later exported to the regional markets such as South Africa or Asia.
Earlier this week, the daily paper "Diario de Mocambique" reported that the theft of 400 meters of electrical cables in the Muchatazina area, in Beira, the capital of the central province of Sofala, left five neighborhoods and about 4,000 residents without electricity.
Stolen materials mainly include iron angle from power lines, electrical cables, among others, the new agency said.
The publicly owned companies such as Electricidade de Mocambique (EDM), the Telecomunicacoes de Mocambique (TDM), the Mozambique's Railway Company (CFM-EP) and the Mozambican Army, are the main victims of this trade that is inflicting huge losses to the Mozambican economy, it said.
Large residential areas are often thrown into complete darkness for days in a row, with companies also forced to close their business because of the damage inflicted to power transmission lines or theft of aluminium and copper cables that are later exported to the regional markets such as South Africa or Asia.
Earlier this week, the daily paper "Diario de Mocambique" reported that the theft of 400 meters of electrical cables in the Muchatazina area, in Beira, the capital of the central province of Sofala, left five neighborhoods and about 4,000 residents without electricity.