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The Maputo Municipal Public Transport Company bus company (EMTPM) says it was authorised to rent buses, supposed to transport the public, to state institutions, but does not reveal who gave the guidance. The new mayor of Maputo contends that priority must be given to the general population.
In the early hours of the day, EMTPM buses can be seen circulating, but reserved for public institutions, with general passengers left to their own devices at the stops. The scenario repeats itself at the end of the day. Buses that would normally be for general passengers instead serve the so-called “bosses”, that is, the ministries.
Thus, public transport serves the minority during rush hours, when passengers need it most.
EMTPM chair Lourenço Albino has an explanation for this.
“EMTPM buses are for the population, and those that are rented go to company workers who are transported, depending on the company’s mandate. Therefore, there is nothing that can be done without authorization. The buses are the same as the passenger buses because, naturally, they belong to the company,” Albino reasons.
And the ‘person’ who authorises EMTPM to carry out any other activity, other than public passenger transport, is the Municipality of Maputo, in accordance with Article Four of the EMTPM statute.
“EMTPM may, upon approval by the Municipal Council, develop other related and/or subsidiary activities or its main objective; EMTPM may participate in the share capital, management and supervision of commercial and/or civil companies, upon authorization from the Municipal Council,” the document reads.
President of Maputo Municipal Council, Rasaque Manhique, who, according to the statutes, can authorise EMTPM to carry out other activities outside of general passenger transport, states that the priority is to serve the population.
“We must all, who are in charge of this work or the company, accept this,” Manhique says. “Therefore, in relation to these complaints, we have to find a solution. What is certain is that the existing buses were acquired to, first and foremost, serve the population. We will have to improve. Buses must go out to serve the population.”
And how can we overcome this problem that has been going on for years? “The priority should not be that (it should not rent the buses), handing over the buses to private companies. So, we will have to regulate this. You must understand that it is easy for a private entity to make an effort to buy its own bus and allow the population to have transport. Therefore, EMTPM buses must, first and foremost, serve the population,” Manhique reiterates.
Meanwhile, the EMTPM argues that those who benefit from the reserved bus business are also passengers.
“Buses transport passengers, whether from private companies or public entities,” he says.
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