Inhaca island: Government promises new ferry for Kanyaka disctrict

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Inhaca island: Government promises new ferry for Kanyaka disctrict

8:30 CAT | 06 Jun 2016

Trip Advisor / Aerial view of Inhaca island

The Mozambican government has promised to acquire a new boat this year to make the crossing between central Maputo and Inhaca island, replacing the current unreliable ferry, the “Nyeleti”.

The promise was announced on Thursday by Transport Minister Carlos Mesquita when called upon by President Filipe Nyusi to reply to concerns raised by members of the Inhaca public during a presidential visit to the KaNyaka municipal district.

Residents of the island had called for a new boat to carry people and goods to and from the mainland, as well as a vessel for maritime inspection duties. They said that not only does the “Nyeleti” take a long time to make the crossing (four hours), but in recent months the service has been irregular due to constant breakdowns.

Another problem, filmed earlier in the week by the independent television station STV is that the “Nyeleti” cannot dock conveniently at the Inhaca pier – a sandbank prevents it from doing so. Thus the ferry has to end its journey a couple of hundred metres from the beach, and passengers then clamber, with their belongings, onto smaller boats which take them to dry land. This is an unsafe procedure, and occasionally passengers slip and fall into the water.

“The ‘Nyeleti’ was built in 1972”, said Mesquita. “It’s old and a new boat is required. This is serious and urgent work that the government is undertaking. We have to look at where the boat will moor, and the depth of that place. But this year we will have the boat working and that will reduce the cost of living for the island”.

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As for an inspection vessel, Mesquita said that one will be moved from the resort of Ponta do Ouro in the far south to KaNyaka, and he expected it to start work within the next ten days.

“Improving the transport of passengers and goods, by sea, road, rail and air, is among the government’s attentions”, said Mesquita. “Right now, we are minimizing the shortage of road transport in the main cities”.

Nyusi was also faced with demands that the government do something to combat animals which have become serious pests on Inhaca, such as the Indian crow and bush pigs which devastate islanders’ crops.

Asked to reply, the Minister of Land, Environment and Rural Development, Celso Correia, pointed out that the Indian crow is attracted to heaps of garbage, and so better management of solid waste was an important measure.

But it is not enough. Correia promised that the government will bring specialists to deal with the matter and reduce the number of crows on the island. The Indian crow, as its name indicates, is an Asian bird. It is an invasive species that poses a threat to Inhaca’s native birds.

Correia said that shooting the crows has proven ineffective. The new strategy will use traps and poison in an attempt to control crow numbers.

As for bush pigs, Correia said they are a pest in several places, and that the hunting them with dogs is the government’s preferred methods for keeping them out of crops.

Source: AIM