Beira, Mozambique being a favourite holiday destination for white Rhodesians. One reminder of this is the Grande Hotel, built by the Portuguese, near the shore of the Indian Ocean. By 1970, the city of Beira had 113,770 inhabitants. After independence from Portugal in 1975, many white ethnic Portuguese left the city. Mozambique was ravaged by a civil war from 1977 to 1992, opposing Marxist FRELIMO, which controlled the government, to the rebels of RENAMO, descending to near total chaos in a couple of years. The famine, disease and poverty-stricken country collapsed. In Beira, the famous Grande Hotel was occupied by around 1,000
Mozambique into 405 "postos". "Postos administrativos" (administrative posts) are the main subdivisions of districts. This name, in use during colonial times, was abolished after independence and was replaced by "localidades" (localities). However, it was re-established in 1986. Administrative posts are headed by a "Secretários" (secretaries), which before independence were called "Chefes de Posto" (post chiefs). Administrative posts can be further subdivided into localities, also headed by secretaries. Mozambique operates a small, functioning military that handles all aspects of domestic national defence, the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces. The official currency is the New Metical (as of March 2018, US$1 is roughly equivalent