Former Maputo beach vendors protest against City Council’s delay in market delivery

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Former Maputo beach vendors protest against City Council’s delay in market delivery

12:51 CAT | 25 May 2021

Photo: O País

Dozens of chicken and “magumba” sellers demonstrated on Maputo’s Costa do Sol beach on Monday in protest at delays in delivering market facilities whose deadlines have passed unfulfilled twice.

Wielding posters and chanting, the former vendors, women and men who used to trade on the beach, demanded that Maputo City Council deliver the infrastructure as soon as possible.

“Sometimes we act and speak inappropriate words. It is not out of ill will; it is really the absence of conditions that leads us to have this attitude. Many women here are suffering because they don’t even have anything to eat,” Sandra Matsinhe, one of the protesters, said.

Matsinhe and other vendors were removed from Costa do Sol beach in February 2020, firstly to avoid crowds in compliance with Covid-19 prevention measures, but also in line with Maputo’s municipal reorganisation programme.

The municipality promised to build a market near the beach for the vendors, to be delivered in December last year. After the first deadline failed, Maputo City Council set a new delivery date for last February, which also failed.

In response to this Monday’s demonstrations, the City Council has now guaranteed the infrastructure delivery for the end of June, which protesters fear is just “another false promise”.

“Work on the market is underway at an accelerated pace. We are now finalising the assembly of the containers, toilets and grills. Everything will be ready by the end of June,” Municipal Councillor for Local Economic Development Danúbio Lado promised.

But the delay in the delivery of the market is not all that worries vendors. They also complain about a 1,200 meticais subsidy which, in addition to not being enough to defray expenses, is not reaching all those entitled.

“I am a mother of three, it is a huge responsibility. The 1,200 meticais that the municipality distributes as a subsidy is very little. We asked for the market at least, to improve our situation,” Silésia Mondlane said.

The protesters now have to hold out for another 30 days, and have promised to protest again if the Maputo Council fails to meet its deadline again.

Source: O Pais