Cabo Delgado governor calls on businesspeople to return to affected districts
Lusa (File photo ) / A view of Maputo
The Mozambican government on Tuesday announced the abolition of the publicly-owned Beira Bus Company (TPB), in a move intended to transfer responsibility for passenger transport in Beira and the nearby town of Dondo to the municipal councils.
Management of the staff, finances and assets of TPB will now pass into the hands of the Beira and Dondo municipalities.
Speaking to reporters after the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), the government spokesperson, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ana Comoana, said the measure is part of the government’s decentralization policy.
The resources currently owned by TPB will be shared between the two municipalities, she said, each of which must create its own routes within its own area of jurisdiction. The municipal bus company that will be set up in Beira, however, will be allowed to operate routes not only inside the city, but in adjacent areas.
The nuts and bolts of deciding exactly which resources go to Beira and which to Dondo will be decided jointly by the Ministries of Economy and Finance, and of Transport, said Comoane.
Entry visa policy
The Council of Ministers also announced a change in entry visa policy. To facilitate the entry of tourists and investors, visas can now be purchased at the border.
Previously, people living in any country which has a Mozambican embassy or consulate, had to buy their visas before setting off on their journey. This might entail lengthy journeys and considerable expense in reaching the embassies. Only residents of countries where there is no Mozambican diplomatic representation were allowed to obtain their visas on arrival.
The new frontier visas, Comoane said, would be valid for two entries. 44 border posts are currently authorized to issue frontier visas. Only 14 border posts are unable to issue visas, because they lack the appropriate equipment.
The new visa rules, said Comoane, “will encourage visits to our country, the movement of tourists, and will also stimulate investment in tourism”.
Gambling
A further measure intended to encourage tourism is the liberalization of the rules on gambling. The new regulations, Comoane said, reduce the minimum distance between competing casinos from five kilometers to 100 metres.
She added that Maputo could have up to four licensed casinos (currently it has just one), while the central cities of Beira and Chimoio could have three and two respectively.
The change in the minimum distance, she added, is precisely in order to concentrate gambling houses in the same part of the cities concerned.
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