Minister of State Administration Lucas Chomera of Mozambique

Chomera said the government was providing 71 million meticais (almost three million US dollars) - which would be enough for 2,000 brick houses.

Interviewed in the weekly paper "O Pais", Chomera denied that such administration would be encroaching on the powers of the municipal authorities.

Mozambiques State Administration Minister Lucas Chomera said Saturday the country will face severe food shortages that could affect up to 550,000 people by October, as it is still recovering from crippling floods, cyclones and drought.

Chomera said the 2007-08 rainy season began earlier than normal in the south and center of the country.

Chomera said that so far about 13,000 people have been evacuated from critical areas and moved to higher ground or to government-run accommodation centers.

Even if the situation is already worrisome, the government, at the moment, has no intention of appealing for international aid," Minister of State Administration Lucas Chomera was quoted in the local media as saying.

Speaking to AIM, Chomera said that, while most attention has been focused on the Zambezi, several other rivers in the province, including the Licungo and the Boas Sinais, have also broken their banks.

Chomera said the Ministry of Agriculture has guaranteed 350,000 dollars to acquire seeds and tools, but the province will require a further 250,000 dollars to cover all the needs.

Chomera said priority should be given to the strengthening of actions aimed at elevating the quality of services in the public and private sectors and reforms of the education system, so as to incorporate processes and practices with impact on the development process.

Mozambique government spokesman Lucas Chomera says that the fires, which started amid high temperatures last week and have been fanned by strong winds, have destroyed four schools and left 3,000 people homeless.