INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE CIÊNCIAS E EDUCAÇÃO A DISTÂNCIA

Rosa Maria José Catruza

The Effect of Covid 19 in Public administration in Mozambique

2nd Year

Beira 8th June

2020

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INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE CIÊNCIAS E EDUCAÇÃO A DISTÂNCIA

Rosa Maria José Catruza

The Effect of Covid 19 in Public administration in Mozambique

2nd Year

An assignment to be delivered at Instituto Superior

de Ciencias e Educacao a Distancia (ISCED) as an
evaluation to the subject of English Language

Beira 8th June

2020
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Table of Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1

Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 2

General objective .............................................................................................................. 2

Specific objectives ............................................................................................................ 2

Coronavirus ...................................................................................................................... 3

COVID-19 ........................................................................................................................ 3

The spread of COVID-19 ................................................................................................. 3

Vaccine, medication or treatment for COVID-19 ............................................................ 4

COVID-19 in Public administration in Mozambique....................................................... 4

Impact on the Tourism sector ........................................................................................... 4

Impact on the transport sector .......................................................................................... 5

Impact on the Civil Aviation ............................................................................................ 5

Impact on the road passenger transport subsector ............................................................ 5

Impact on the Agriculture sector ...................................................................................... 6

Impact on the industry sector............................................................................................ 6

Impact on the construction sector ..................................................................................... 7

Impact on Education ......................................................................................................... 8

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 9

Bibliographical references .............................................................................................. 10

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Introduction

The spread of a new epidemic called “Coronavirus” that, so far, has already infected more
300 thousand people and caused more than 16 thousand deaths worldwide, has been the
biggest highlight of the international news and an alert for global public health. According
to the World Health Organization (WHO), the first cases of infection occurred on 31
December 2019 in the city of Wuhan-China, from where the outbreak spread around the
world. In addition to China, the countries with the most critical situations in terms of cases
are Italy, the United States of America, Spain and Germany. In addition to its implications
for the health of the world population, this pandemic is impacting severely affect the
performance of the world economy and destabilize the indicators macroeconomic and
financial conditions, which may put pressure on the level of economic activity
employment and social welfare in the short and medium term.

In this context, the present study aims to present and discuss the impacts of this pandemic
Virus in the Mozambican mainly in public sector and the growth of the country's
economy, as well as reflecting on possible measures to minimize the impacts.

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Objectives

General objective

 To give a clear information about the impacts of Covid 19 in Mozambique,

illustrating the situations in various sector that are being the most infected area of
this pandemic disease

Specific objectives
 Bring out the possible situation of the cases of the disease explaining how it is
acquired;
 Give more details about the situation of the disease in Mozambique specifically
in public administration;
 Explain the length of infection period of the disease.

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Coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause disease in animals or humans.
Several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections in humans, which cause
normal constipation to more serious diseases, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
(MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The very recently discovered
coronavirus causes COVID-19 coronavirus disease.

COVID-19
COVID-19 is the most recently discovered infectious disease caused by coronavirus. This
new virus and disease was unknown until the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in
December2019.
Symptoms of COVID-19

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, dry cough and difficulty
breathing. Some patients may experience pain, nasal congestion, itchy nose, sore throat
or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people are
infected, but have no symptoms and feel good. Most people (around 80%) recover from
the disease without needing supportive treatment. About 1 in 6 people infected with
COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops breathing difficulties. Elderly people and
people who have underlying medical problems, such as high blood pressure, heart
problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness. About 3.4% of people
with the disease died. People with fever, cough and breathing difficulties should seek
medical attention.

The spread of COVID-19

People can get COVID-19 from other people infected with the virus. The disease can

spread from person to person through small droplets that spread out of the nose or mouth

when a person with COVID-19 coughs, exhales, speaks or sings. These droplets land on

objects and surfaces around the person, so when other people touch those objects or

surfaces and then touch the eyes, nose or mouth, they contract COVID-19. People can

also contract COVID-19 if they inhale the droplets that come out when a person with

COVID-19 coughs, exhales, speaks or sings. This is why it is important to be more than

1 meter (3 feet) from a sick person.

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Vaccine, medication or treatment for COVID-19
Not yet. So far, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral drug to prevent or treat COVID-
2019. However, affected people should be cared for to relieve symptoms. People with
severe illness should be hospitalized. Most patients with COVID-19 recover with basic
supportive measures.

COVID-19 in Public administration in Mozambique

COVID-19 is a systemic risk factor that, from the perspective of the business sector
Mozambican economy could significantly affect the Mozambican economy in the short
and medium term. It is clear that this pandemic will affect all segments of the
Mozambican economy, mainly because the national economy is considerably open to the
rest of the world and quite vulnerable to external shocks. This impact may be felt,
essentially, by through the commercial channel, resulting in a reduction in imports and
exports, since most countries, especially those that trade with Mozambique, as is the case
South Africa and China, have been adopting very restrictive measures to trade. Equally,
it is expected that the volume of investment will be affected by the reduction in the flow
of investment foreign direct investment or by postponing business initiatives

However, as a result of listening to administration sector about the likely impacts of this
Pandemic, it was found that the sectors that present themselves as the considerably
affected and potentially affected, depending on the evolution of this pandemic in coming
months, are the Tourism, Transport, Agriculture, Industry, Education, Boarders
Construction sector and government in general.

Impact on the Tourism sector

Luiz (2006, p24) One of the main implications of the Coronavirus is the restriction of
movement of people from one country to another, and this restriction is essentially due to
fear of contamination and constitutes a prevention method recommended by the World
Health Organization (WHO). The restriction on the movement of people that initially
applied only to citizens Chinese, expanded to all countries, as the level of to the extent
that WHO declares the state of the global health epidemic. Similar to what happens
around the world, the tourism sector will be the most affected by this epidemic, with its
most dramatic impact on countries such as Spain, Mauritius and Thailand whose
economies are based on tourism.

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In the case of Mozambique, the Tourism sector is already feeling the effects, and the
volume of reserves has shown a downward trend since the beginning of the year. Data
from most of the tourism sector operators suggest that in January 9 had losses of around
35%, 45% in February and 65% in March compared to equal periods of 2019. Therefore,
on average, over the first quarter, the Tourism sector had losses estimated at 48%
compared to the first quarter of 2019, and if the scenario deteriorates still in the course of
of the 1st Semester, as suggested by the evolution of reservations for canceled tourist
instances, the The volume of losses could double, since most tourist suspend or terminate
its activities.

Impact on the transport sector

The impacts of COVID-19 will certainly be felt in the transport sector, with the civil
aviation and road passenger transport subsectors are the most affected.

Impact on the Civil Aviation

sub-sector The civil aviation sub-sector is one of the sectors that could be directly affected
by the COVID-19, since the restriction in the movement of people that is being
implemented by almost everyone, could cause a considerable slowdown in the level of
economic activity of companies in the civil aviation sector.

According to Guivant (2016, p87) says that the information from the business sector,
between January and March 2020, due to for the purposes of COVID-19, the level of
profitability of civil aviation companies fell by around 60%, which means that the
performance of this sector could fall in this figure in the first quarter of 2020. Therefore,
the optimistic scenario, which assumes that by the end of the first half the level of losses
will remain at 52%, the volume of losses in the sector may amount to about MZN 1.3
Billion. On the other hand, assuming a pessimistic scenario, which assumes that with the
growing spread of this pandemic around the world, companies in the aviation industry
may close down, the sector would experience cumulative losses in the 70%, resulting in
estimated losses of MZN 1.8 Billion,

Impact on the road passenger transport subsector

The road transport sector will also be one of the most affected, mainly by account of the
containment measures that have been introduced, not only in Mozambique but in
everyone. That is, to minimize the level of spread and contagion of COVID-19, several

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countries have introduced measures to restrict the movement of people both in the
domestic territory and as in the international space. These measures, although aimed at
preventing the spread of the virus, result in large losses for companies operating in the
transport sector, mainly the transport of passengers. In the case of Mozambique in
particular, in addition to raising public awareness 12 to reduce the number of journeys on
public transport, a measure that establishes a maximum limit of 34 passengers in a bus,
this limit being it may be even smaller depending on the size of the bus. This measure has
implications for the volume of revenue of road transport operators. This is, considering
that road transport operators on the longest routes, carry out a total of eight (8) trips per
day, in which, in the scenario before the introduction of this measure, on average about
80 passengers per trip, the volume of revenue for an individual operator may amount to
MZN 12,800 / day. However, with the introduction of this measure that reduces the
number passengers to just 34 per trip, the daily revenue volume will be MZN 5,440, which
corresponds to a reduction of about 57%.

Impact on the Agriculture sector

The Agriculture sector has the particularity of being the most vulnerable sector in the
economy Mozambican economy, essentially, due to the high risks that agricultural
activity entails. At the same time, it is the sector that contributes the most to the country's
Gross Domestic Product (with a contribution of 25%) and the one that most employs the
national population. Therefore, as companies in this sector report, the impact of COVID-
19 on their businesses has been increasingly visible with the increasingly alarming
evolution of this pandemic. The subsectors most affected are essentially those that import
raw materials for their production and the that export their production to the rest of the
world.

Impact on the industry sector

The impacts of COVID-19 on the industrial sector are already visible and if the situation
continues for longer, they may be even more conspicuous. The Mozambican
manufacturing industry has the characteristic of depending on imported inputs, both in
the form of raw materials, as well as various machinery and equipment. Therefore, since
most countries are closed to trade due to the spread of COVID-19, such as South Africa
South, China and other countries with a considerable volume of trade with Mozambique,
the supply of raw material may significantly reduce, which will the reduction in the

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volume of production and the slowdown in business activity. In this context, the main
sector directly affected by the spread of COVID-19 is the food and beverage industry.
That is, the food and beverage industries suffer from the fact that this situation of COVID
19 does not allow the import of crucial inputs for the process production, such as
pesticides and insecticides for the production of some crops food. Although there is still
some stock, enough for another 60 days of production in some industries such as the
production of fragments and drinks, with the worsening of this situation,
the impact will be increasing. On the other hand, companies in this sector may be affected
by disturbances on the side of the demand, such as the Oil and Sugar industries, which
since the beginning of the year had already experiencing losses in their revenues in the
order of 55% per month, due to the end of the VAT exemption period for oil, sugar and
soap transmissions, which increased the price of product and repressed demand, as well
as already established supply contracts. Therefore, with the effects of COVID-19 the
effects tend to be duplicated.

Impact on the construction sector

The Mozambican construction sector is mostly dependent on China, mainly in the import
of building materials. In this field, China has been the preferred market for companies in
the construction sector as they present more competitive prices for materials compared to
other markets. Therefore, with the restriction of trade imposed by China due to the spread
growing coronavirus, the Chinese market will be practically closed. So, Mozambique you
should look for alternative markets for the purchase of construction materials. In the
context of the demand for alternative markets, although there is relative flexibility for the
changes in the import market, the main constraint is the fact that the other markets are
less competitive compared to the Chinese market.

Example:

Companies that import construction materials such as Zinc Plates, purchase these
products in the Chinese market at a price of USD 900 / ton. However, with restrictions
on trade, these companies would have to look for alternative markets, with South Africa
being the most viable market as it is the closest to Mozambique (transport costs are
lowest). However, in South Africa South the price of these products is USD 1200 / ton,
33% higher than the price of the Chinese market.

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Impact on Education
GENEVA / NEW YORK - International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health
Organization (WHO) issued on 10 March a Guideline with New Guidelines to help
protect children and schools from COVID-19 virus transmission. The Guideline selected
critical considerations and practical checklists to keep schools safe. They are also
addressed as national and local authorities on how to adapt and implement emergency
plans for educational facilities. In the case of closing schools, such as removal instructions
to mitigate the possible negative impacts on learning and not being well of children. This
means that the plans consist of ensuring the survival of learning, including distance-
learning options, such as online education strategies and radio broadcasts of academic
content, or access to useful services for all children. These plans should also include the
necessary steps for an eventual safe reopening of schools.

When schools remain open and ensure that children and their families remain protected
and informed, the Guideline calls for:

 Provide children with information on how to protect;

 Promote best practices in hand washing and hygiene and provide hygiene

materials;

 Cleaning and disinfection of school buildings, water and sanitation facilities; and

Increase air flow and ventilation.

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Conclusion
Mozambicans as well as citizens from other contexts in the world are in a fight against
COVID-19, and this made me question the factors that shape the actions. In an attempt to
understand, it was possible to identify at least two factors, on the one hand, the
ignorance (it is a new virus) scientific, and on the other, the type of catastrophic
information that the press transmits about COVID-19, taking people to the despair, with
feelings and thoughts that the world is facing a catastrophe that will culminate with their
end - end of the world. It was through the combination of these two aspects that I could
see that the people's actions reflect risk in its dimension subjective. As the government's
actions in Mozambique, regarding the fight against the virus, have panic over your level
of unpreparedness - looking at the case of transport and the obligation of people stay at
home. It is important to monitor the phenomena to be aware of the risks, but it is more
important still control the production of risk, to be able to avoid disasters that would result
from the production of the risk subjective and not the supposed “real” risk in society.

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Bibliographical references
Guivant, J. S. (2016), “The legacy of Ulrich Beck”. Environment & Society, 19, 1, 229-
240.
Luiz, O. D. C., & Cohn, A. (2006), “Society of risk and epidemiological risk”. Public
Health Notebooks, 22, 11, 2339-2348.

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF): An agency of the

United Nations that administers programmes to aid education and child and maternal
health in developing countries.

World Health Organization (OMS) Program of international activists against the new
coronavirus.

World Health Organization (WHO) Central disease assistance for health care.

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