Africa-Press – Mozambique. The newly created Matola-Rio municipality began operating for the first time this Thursday, even though the Municipal Council does not yet have its own facilities and is being obliged to share a building with the administrative post.
It has nonetheless already defined road improvements and waste removal and treatment as priorities.
“I think the municipality should focus on improving our roads,” says resident Maria Helena. “Look at this main [road]. It’s deteriorating, but even worse are those in the interior. The cemetery must be repaired. We have serious transportation problems. This situation must be resolved. We have a bad time with the lack of transport.”
Fernando Salvador, another municipality resident, also says that the priority should be the roads. “The roads are terrible. It’s worse inside. So I believe that the mayor has to resolve the issue of roads first, as he well knows,” he says.
For now, the Municipal Council will share infrastructure with Boane district government, particularly the administrative post of Matola-Rio, where the mayor will share an office with the head of the administrative post, a situation that, according to mayor Abdul Gafur, can only be overcome with the building of new infrastructure.
“It is a challenge to install the municipality. We have reached an agreement with the Boane district government for the sharing of facilities,” the new mayor explained.
Abdul Gafur points to roads as a priority. “Big challenges we also have are access roads, apart from the main road, which is Rua da Mozal, which is also already degraded. We have roads in the neighbourhoods that are in terrible condition, and we have to attack this and offer our residents better communications,” he outlined.
The first day of work in the Matola-Rio was reserved for meetings between the mayor and employees.
“This is a town where solid waste has not been adequately treated and we have to start doing that, talking to people about better handling waste and creating an entire infrastructure so we can work effectively, in order to guarantee the best sanitation for residents,” he explained.
According to the National Statistics Institute, the Matola-Rio municipality has just over 100,000 resident, in six neighbourhoods.
Manufacturing is one of the main economic activities, with emphasis on the multi-national Mozal and the Beluluane Industrial Park.
Mayor Gafur says that various taxes and fees will be introduced, with the emphasis on a personal tax, an economic activity tax and a property tax among others to be defined by the Municipal Assembly.
Six council departments will be created, and some of the councillors will have to work in the building in the main town of Matola-Rio, around five kilometres from the administrative post.
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
