Mozambique: Licensing of Maputo’s ‘txovas’ starts in October

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Mozambique: Licensing of Maputo’s ‘txovas’ starts in October

1:07 CAT | 19 Sep 2022

File photo: O País

The licensing of ‘tchovas’ in Maputo will begin next month. The municipal council justifies the measure on the grounds of reducing traffic constraints and better organising their activities.

The exact number of the hand-drawn carts on Maputo’s streets every day is not known. What is known is that they for the most part share the road with motor vehicles, often hindering them.

“Yes, we often walk no matter how, sometimes against oncoming traffic, and even perhaps cause accidents,” cart driver Francisco Moisés admits.

The Municipal Council says that the answer is to register the vehicles, issuing a licence plate and obliging them to obey traffic rules.

“Our perspective is that we can start the licensing process very soon. Some of the carters have already approached the municipal districts, and have received a positive response,” explains José Nichols, councillor for Mobility, Transport and Transit at Maputo Municipal Council.

According to city hall, registration will be free for the first six months, after which carters will pay a fee of 1,500 meticais for a licence.

Moisés, who has been pulling a cart for 20 years, said that the measure will improve things, but asks for a review of the fee.

“The amount is not too much or too little – we just don’t have it. The cost of living is quite high, but I think they will reconsider and establish a more affordable tariff,” he says.

On the other hand, some drivers say they do not understand the need to licence the “tchovas” at all. One such is João Vilanculos.

“This can only be a way of taking what little money we have. We who work with ‘tchovas’, where will we get money for this process?” Vilanculos asks. “We’ve been renting our carts, so I don’t know how I am going to oblige if they start asking for documents.”

Along with the licensing, cart drivers in all seven municipal districts will receive instruction in road safety matters.

The new stance on hand-drawn carts was approved by the Maputo Municipal Assembly last year.

READ: Maputo Council to issue “txova” drivers licenses, valid from 4 a.m.to 6 p.m. only

Source: O País