The Mozambican government will pay disability grants of up to R500 per month to victims of last month’s Malhazine armoury blasts, Vista News reports.
Government spokesperson Luis Covane told independent television channel STv on Wednesday that the grants will be paid after an assessment to ascertain the degree of injury. The payments will range from R240 to R570 per month ”depending on the gravity of the injury”.
However, some residents who spoke to Vista News in a snap survey felt the money ”does not correspond with the losses people suffered because of the blasts”.
Jose Albino (34), whose aunt lost an arm in the explosions, said the money is not enough. ”Some people will not be able to work for the rest of their lives because of the injuries and they need to be paid more than this amount,” he said.
Lawyer Maximo Dias said: ”The problem with compensation is it’s never enough in most cases. However, people can approach the courts if they feel they are not well compensated.”
Alice Mabota, the president of the Mozambique Human Rights Association (LDH), said the government should also consider paying for property loss.
The issue of compensation will give hope to 10 people who lost limbs in the armoury explosions last month and who are still in Maputo Central Hospital.
Joeta João, a mother of two who lost a leg in the blasts, told STv channel on Tuesday that she did not know if she would receive an artificial leg. Another woman, a widow and mother of four, who also lost a leg, said she was concerned over how she would fend for her children. She said her youngest child was three months old.
The victims have been in hospital since March 22, the day of the blasts.
Authorities said the death toll from the explosions was 102, while more than 500 were injured. Forty of the severely injured remain in Maputo and Matola hospitals, while five children were sent to South Africa for specialised treatment.
The military blamed the blasts on high temperatures, while government critics and international analysts alleged negligence. President Armando Guebuza has appointed a commission of inquiry into the blasts. Its report is expected this week.
Meanwhile, the army has started destroying 4 000 items of munitions with the assistance of engineers from the South African National Defence Force.
Military spokesperson Joaquim Mataruca said more than 400 tonnes of obsolete arms had been collected from the country’s independence and civil wars. The devices were in military installations in Maputo, Nampula and Sofala provinces. — Sapa