Africa-Press – Angola. The Administration of the Urban District of Sequele, in the municipality of Cacuaco, province of Luanda, has been the target of harsh criticism, for having transferred the bus and mini-bus terminal to a point on Rua 5 in the city of Sequele, considered “unsafe” by public transport users.Despite receiving criticism and requests for annulment of the decision taken, the Administration of the Sequele Urban District does not seem to want to back down, an assumption that results from the fact that the transfer of the termination was a response to complaints made to that State administration body by management of schools and the only public medical center, which operate close to the space where passengers boarded and disembarked, located next to the junction between 3rd and 7th streets.
Residents of buildings that are next to the space where the old terminus was also participated in the chorus of protests from the schools and the medical center, with the allegation that the presence of people attracted street vendors, who turned the place into a space to sell products. various drinks, including alcoholic beverages, creating an “authentic pandemonium”.
“There was already a strong smell of urine and human feces”, commented resident Moisés do Nascimento who, said he applauded the decision of the Sequele Urban District Administration, but also criticized it, for not having In his opinion, the “necessary conditions” have been created in the space where the new bus and mini-bus terminal is located, next to block 12.
However, it seems that it is not so much the transfer that is causing the irritation of residents who frequently use public transport, but rather the lack of conditions in the place where the terminus was transferred.
The weak policing in the area, a deficit that residents say is a reality throughout the city of Sequele, is what stands out most from the “package of complaints” from public transport users, as a result of the decision by the Administration of the Urban District of Sequele.
The transfer of the terminus to Rua 5 has been the subject of conversations in WhatsApp groups, made up of residents of the city of Sequele, the best known and most active being “Sequele Alerta” and “Conselho Morador Sequele”, the first of which has 224 members and the second with 367.
This newspaper had access, for example, to a video, shared in one of the groups, where a human frame could be seen waiting, at night, supposedly on a working day, to get on a bus that was already parked.
The reason for sharing the video is explained through a comment that summarizes the concern expressed, daily, by those who use, mainly at night, the new terminus to enter or leave the city of Sequele.
“This is the bus terminal on 5th Street. There is not enough lighting to guarantee a minimum of security. In addition to the possibility of robberies, one day someone will be bitten by a snake”, can be read in the comment, which also criticizes , passenger accommodation conditions.
The author of the comment states that “the accommodation conditions are inhumane, for our reality, and that more can be offered than the conditions that exist on the ground”.
“(…) Almost nothing of what was promised was fulfilled”, replied another resident, implicitly referring to the Sequele Urban District Administration, currently led by Francisco Tchipilica.
The new bus and minibus terminal is close to an area with a lot of grass and in need of more spaces with shade, natural or artificial, as it only has a small shelter for passengers, with capacity for less than 10 people to sit.
It just got complicated
Driver Manuel Paciência, from the company “Cidrália”, has no doubt that the change of terminus has only made things more complicated, as it is no longer possible to carry, in 10 to 15 minutes, the number of passengers that corresponds to the capacity of a bus. Drivers are now forced to spend longer waiting for more passengers to arrive until the new terminus, something that did not happen at the old one, where, before a bus arrived, there were already many passengers waiting in single file.
Many people avoid reaching the new destination, especially at night, due to poor public lighting, apparent insecurity and distance. For this reason, the stops inside the city of Sequele are now packed with people, waiting for buses and mini-buses leaving the new terminal.
Those who live or work near the new term may have a slightly different position, as is the case of Laura Domingos, a domestic worker in an apartment in block 12.
Laura Domingos recognizes that the new term has made her life easier, as it is close to her place of work, but she does not ignore the risk she runs, due to the fact that it is in an area with a lot of grass, isolated from most of the buildings in the city of Sequele and poor public lighting.
Despite being relatively satisfied, Laura Domingos regrets that the change of term has created disruptions to the lives of people who live or work far from 12th Street.
Laura Domingos was approached while waiting for a bus at the new terminus, where several domestic workers were also present. One of them, identified as Adelaide Afonso, ran and sweated to catch the bus that leaves the city of Sequele at 4 pm.
Adelaide Afonso, a domestic worker in an apartment located in block 2, explains that, when she finishes work early, she leaves work before the established time, so that she can arrive in time to catch the 4 pm bus.
“But I can’t always leave early, so as not to abuse the mistress’s trust”, reports the domestic worker, emphasizing that, despite the sacrifice she makes to get to 5th Street, she will continue to opt for the bus trip, as she doesn’t have a salary to pay. have the luxury of frequently using a taxi service.
João Vicente, a young man who lives close to where the new Cacuaco General Hospital is still under construction, is also one of the voices speaking out against the transfer of the terminus to Rua 5.
The position he defends is the result of the fact that spending on public transport has increased since the day the aforementioned transfer was made.
“Now I’ve been taking a motorbike, to be able to get to the new terminus, something I didn’t do when it was located between 3rd and 7th streets”, emphasizes João Vicente, finishing that, for those who live far away, “the new bus terminus doesn’t make things easier, when you want to leave the house early.”
Caught by surprise
Félix Paulino, secretary of the Sequele Organization, formed by owners of mini-buses that transport passengers with the knowledge and authorization of the Sequele Urban District Administration, states that, in a conversation with the district administrator, at the end of last year, the association was informed about the decision to transfer the terminus to Rua 5, but was not informed of the day, having only heard from the administrator that “it would be done at any moment”.
“It was, for us, a surprise”, emphasizes Félix Paulino, adding that the members of the Sequele Organization only found out on the day of the transfer, when, between the 8th and 15th of January, employees of the Administration of the Urban District of Sequele, to inform that, “from that day onwards”, buses and mini-buses would start to operate from 5th street, where the new terminus is located”.
Félix Paulino criticizes the Administration of the Urban District of Sequele for, as he says, not having prepared conditions in the new terminal, such as improving public lighting and reinforcing patrolling, revealing that, in the first week of the new station’s existence, he witnessed a robbery that a student was the victim at night.
“We have already heard that, in this area, there has been patrolling, something I have never seen”, emphasizes the secretary of the Sequele Organization.
“We will increase public safety, install umbrellas and bathrooms”
To obtain an official reaction, Press contacted the administrator of the Urban District of Sequele, Francisco Tchipilica, who, reassuring the population, revealed that umbrellas and a public bathroom will be installed at the site, in addition to the reinforced police presence.
“The process of transferring the terminus was not an action taken to harm the citizen”, declared Francisco Tchipilica, who confirmed that the need to guarantee tranquility was behind the transfer of the terminus to Rua 5, “in terms of the movement of people ”, in the space where there are schools and a public medical center operating in the city of Sequele, inhabited since 2013.
The person in charge emphasized that, regarding the issue of security at the location where the new terminus is located, the Administration of the Sequele Urban District “continues to work with the district’s defense and security bodies to guarantee security on a permanent basis”.
To a question about maintaining public safety in the area where the new bus and minibus terminus is located, Francisco Tchipilica responded: “This is the second month since the transfer of the terminus was made, and, to this day, the The local police station has not [yet] registered any anomalies related to robbery or theft.”
Information that, however, collides with another, provided by driver Manuel Paciência, from the public transport company “Cidrália”, who said he witnessed, around 7 pm, two robberies in which two ladies were victims, with The criminals fled towards the bush next to the new terminus.
Approached via telephone by this newspaper, quartermaster Josefa da Costa, commander of one of the two police stations in the city of Sequele, reported that the corporation never registered “any complaints” from residents, in the context of commuting or leaving the new bus terminus. and minibuses.
The National Police officer promised, in her conversation, a reinforcement of foot patrols, to increase the feeling of security, in the space where the new terminus is located, right next to block 12.
Josefa da Costa claimed that the police presence has been permanent in the location, where the number of officers on patrol is increased at night.
Jornal de Angola
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