Industrialists based in Nampula city are complaining about the impact caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, a fact aggravated by the poor quality of electricity.
The concern was presented to the provincial governor, Manuel Rodrigues, who visited several industrial units in the city a few days ago.
Aline Chandra, manager of a frozen fish importer, lamented the weak movement of buyers, which will affect her annual target.
“Because of Covid-19, our sales have dropped drastically. These are difficult times we are going through. Before, we used to import 156 to 200 containers of 25 tons each, but this year I believe we will not be able to reach those numbers,” he said. manager of a corn mill, Júlio Mário, listed several problems that affect his business, among which is the poor quality of electrical power.
“We have been operating since October 2019 and have faced several challenges. We have the installed capacity to produce 50 tons per day, but we are far below that because the electric current we receive is of poor quality,” he said.
He also complained about the shortage of water, stating that his factory needs between 25 and 20 cubic meters to operate at full capacity. He also lamented the fact that the local market is not supplying corn grain in sufficient quantities to meet the demand, since the province has a considerable number of millers.
In response to the concerns presented by the businessmen, the governor told the journalists that the Government has several projects in the pipeline, citing as an example the increase in the supply of corn to the industry.
“The flour producing companies in our province are many and the question of raw material has been raised for months. We have to increase our production”, he noted.
About the poor quality of electric current, Rodrigues recognized that “it is necessary to reflect on this issue because of the emergence of many companies. We will discuss with the supplier to see what we can do in terms of increasing the power supply capacity for the manufacturing sector”.
The governor stressed the need for companies to continue to work without constraints to ensure employment for more citizens and thus ensure the livelihood of their families.
