Covid 19: Impact, reactions and the new normal

COVID19: Impact, Reactions and the “New Normal”

If there is a benefit to having a more remote population such as that of Mozambique, it’s that the country has suffered less of the contagion that has characterized more urbanized countries during the coronavirus pandemic. In terms of deaths per capita, at the time of writing, Mozambique has performed fourth best of all African countries, with less than 39 deaths registered in its population of 31.4 million people.

While the figures are cause for positivity, they’re tempered by the fact that, with 3 doctors per 100,000 people, Mozambique has one of the lowest doctor to patient ratios in the world. Many cases of Covid-19 are probably going unreported. Indeed, at the time of writing, new cases were on an upward trajectory within the country, with over 2,500 new cases reported in August - a monthly record. Like everywhere else, Mozambique could be facing a ‘new normal.’

For Mozambique, the ‘new normal’ in whatever form it takes, will need to prioritize logistics. As a country with two landlocked neighbours, it bears more responsibility than most countries to ensure that logistics continues to function normally. It will need to do this against a backdrop which is complicated to say the least. As the Head of Research at Allied Shipbroking has grimly pointed out: “Demand is caving and supply chains are in distress,”

Inevitably, there has been some disruption. Most airlines have limited flights in and out of Mozambique to one a week, with significant amounts of air freight remaining in standby at warehouses all over the country. Sea freight is fully operational, with all documentation being submitted electronically. Meanwhile, road freight is largely closed with exceptions made for the entry of certain goods and medications.

In the short-term, the negative economic impact is significant: The CTA (Confederação das Associações Económicas), a Mozambique Trade Association, estimates that Covid 19 could cost the domestic economy up to a billion dollars - or 7% of the country’s GDP. CTA President Álvaro Massingue is on record as saying that a new range of government-backed measures are required to stimulate the Mozambican economy in the post-Covid period.

What stimulus measures might these include? Massingue suggests a tax holiday for

many of the country’s citizens and businesses. Some essentials such as sugar and oil are already subject to this holiday, and customs barriers are being eased on several others. The cost of electricity is also being discounted and the government is implementing a financial aid package to the country’s SMEs. Unfortunately, the package amounts to less than $50 million.

These changes may prove to be shortterm. Perhaps the biggest contribution to the ‘new normal’ will be an increased emphasis on improving Mozambique’s telecommunications network - a major asset to its transport industry. The country has seen a 13% increase in internet usage during the Covid 19 pandemic, as well as a surge in the use of the country’s postal services. All of this points to a more central role for logistics.

In the short-term, the Mozambican government has ordered the closing of all frontier crossing points, excluding:

Frontier crossing points – Land:

• the Negomano, in Cabo Delgado Province; • Mandimba, II Congress and Entrelagos, Niassa

Province; • Melosa, in Zambezia Province; • Cassacatisa, Cuchamano and Zóbwè, Tete

Province; • Machipanda, Manica Province; • Chicualacuala, Gaza Province • Ressano Garcia and Namaacha, Maputo Province

Frontier crossing points – Airports:

• Pemba Airport, Cabo Delgado Province; • Lichinga Airport, Niassa Province; • Nampula and Nacala Airports, Nampula

Province; • Quelimane Airport, Zambézia Province; • Chingodzi Airport, Tete Province; • Chimoio Airport, Manica Province; • Beira Airport, Sofala Province; • Inhambane and Vilanculos Airfields,

Inhambane Province; and • Maputo Airport, Maputo City.

Frontier crossing points – Maritime ports:

• Port of Pemba and Mocímboa da Praia, Cabo

Delgado Province; • Port of Nacala, Nampula Province; • Ports of Quelimane and Pebane, Zambézia

Province; • Port of Beira, Sofala Province; • Port of Maputo, City of Maputo

20 https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/mozambique/overview 21https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-pushes-shipping-companies-into-survival-mode-11585819800 22https://www.bollore-logistics.com/en/Pages/COVID-19.aspx 23https://www.dw.com/pt-002/covid-19-mo%C3%A7ambique-suspendeu-30-mil-contratos-de-trabalho/a-54558693 24https://www.rangel.com/pt/infohub/covid-19-impacto-nos-mercados/mocambique/ 25https://www.cmjornal.pt/mundo/africa/detalhe/trabalho-remoto-em-mocambique-devido-a-covid-19-contribuiu-para-aumento-de-13-nastelecomunicacoes