100 million dollars for urban and local development in Gaza, Sofala, Zambézia and Niassa

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100 million dollars for urban and local development in Gaza, Sofala, Zambézia and Niassa

8:23 CAT | 24 Oct 2018

In file CoM

The World Bank has 100 million dollars available to put into operation the National Urban and Local Development project that will run between 2019 and 2024, and cover four Mozambican provinces.

The project is designed to cover 17 municipalities and 64 districts in the central provinces of Sofala and Zambezia, Gaza in the south and the northern province of Niassa.

In Zambezia, the project will be implemented in all 22 districts and all six municipalities, according to the independent consultant for the project, Eduardo Macuacua.

He was speaking in the provincial capital, Quelimane, on Monday, during debates to harmonise relevant aspects of the province. Macuacua and his team have been consulting local leaderships and civil society organisations.

The purpose of the project, he said, is to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Mozambican State to promote and implement decentralisation policies and improve the performance of districts and municipalities so that they provide facilities and basic services that boost the well-being of the public.

During the five year period, implementation will concentrate on the infrastructure component, working on the areas of local transport and accessibility, water supply and sanitation, and storm water drainage systems.

“We are gathering contributions from the interested parties so that we can improve this document”, stressed Macuacua. A final version should be ready for approval in November.

Participants at the Quelimane meeting agreed to harmonise the project by including aspects that might help reduce the levels of social conflict in the areas covered.

The administrator of Chinde district, near the mouth of the Zambezi river, Pedro Virgula, stressed the need for clarity in cases where people have to be resettled. “The final harmonisation of this project must be clear about the criteria for compensation to avoid opportunism during implementation”, he said.

Abilio Mussoco, of the Zambezia Business Association (ASEZA) urged that when building contracts are awarded, local companies should be taken into consideration. He called for local labour quotas in order to reduce the levels of unemployment among young people in Zambezia.

Source: AIM