Since the beginning of the year, power theft and vandalization of electrical equipment in the city of Beira, Sofala province, has caused losses of 58 million meticais to Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM).

"From January to the present, we have recorded more than 7,000 frauds," said EDM's Customer Service Area Manager, Aníbal Barca, quoted by Notícias, and assured that some cases have already been tried.

Speaking as part of the institution's 46th anniversary celebrations, he said that these practices were jeopardizing the goals set by the government.

"With the losses that EDM has made, there are projects that have not been developed. Any company that makes losses suffers financially, and some projects are postponed, as is happening with EDM," he said.

However, EDM is raising awareness among the population to adopt practices that contribute to the abandonment of activities that are harmful to the electricity supply.

The community awareness campaign in Beira was officially launched on Saturday. The first phase will cover the neighborhoods of Munhava, Manga and Chota. According to Aníbal Barca, these three areas have the highest incidence of fraud.