Lichinga: the only provincial capital without public transport

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Lichinga: the only provincial capital without public transport

7:06 CAT | 17 Aug 2017

O País

One year before the end of its mandate, Lichinga’s Municpal Council has built only two roads that together do not total two kilometres.

This is the capital city of Niassa province in northern Mozambique. Its cathedral is one of the few well-preserved monuments in the city, and right next door is the building out of which the provincial government operates.

Praça da Liberdade is, perhaps, its only attractive public place, where young people and adults sit and study or spend some leisure time in a city that moves at a very slow pace.

In Lichinga, roads are the main concern. In almost all of the built-up area, potholes destroy any comfort for those who travel there, in addition to their consequences for the vehicles using the streets and avenues.

Councilor for Urbanisation and Infrastructure, Pius Obcello, acknowledges the problems and blames the financial crisis.

In addition to poor roads, Lichinga Municipality has no public or semi-public passenger transport. It is the motorcycle taxi ranks scattered throughout the city that guarantee the movement of people and goods.

The municipality says people in these parts do not like buses, so those that the municipality owns are either parked up or out of order.

Concerning public hygiene, Lichinga does not itself own a garbage collection vehicle because in 2013 it launched a tender for the purchase of three vehicles, two for garbage collection and another for the provincial hospital mortuary.

The company selected received the 5.7 million meticais of the winning bid but disappeared without trace before delivering the vehicles.

Source: O País