Mozambique: Mayor of Maputo laments state of municipal bus company

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Mozambique: Mayor of Maputo laments state of municipal bus company

8:46 CAT | 18 Mar 2024

Photo: Conselho Municipal de Maputo

The Maputo municipal bus company, EMTPM, has less than 90 buses in circulation to cater for a city population of over a million – not including the adjacent municipalities such as Matola, Boane, and Marraquene.

The new mayor of Maputo, Rasaque Manhique, visited the EMTPM headquarters on Friday, and was dismayed at what he saw – even through the critical state of public transport in the capital has been regularly reported over the years in the Mozambican media.

Manhique could see that over 20 EMTPM buses were parked due to breakdowns, with no indication of when they might be repaired.

In almost all the company’s departments, Manhique found “inexplicable” situations linked to management of EMTPM revenue and delays in repairing machinery.

For instance, one piece of machinery, purchased in 2010 for 15 million meticais (about 234,000 US dollars, at the current exchange rate), has been paralysed for the past seven years, and EMTPM has resorted to private mechanics for repairs that its own machine should carry out.

“These outside services cost money”, said Manhique, “and we don’t have money”. He urged the EMTPM management to ensure that this machine is repaired as quickly as possible.

Manhique found extraordinary anomalies in the collection of revenue from bus tickets. “One ticket collector manages to put 8,000 meticais in the machine, and we have another who only manages to make 36 meticais”, he said. “Did he have no passengers?”

“We have to be strict”, the mayor declared. “This company produces revenue, and we must tighten our management. EMTPM cannot be seen as a cow from which everyone takes as much milk as they like. We must discipline people”.

After speaking with the company management, the Maputo municipal government promised urgent intervention, and demanded discipline and commitment from EMTPM staff.

There were similar laments over public transport under Manhique’s predecessor as mayor, Eneas Comiche, who is a member of the Political Commission of the ruling Frelimo Party. Indeed, Frelimo has always run Maputo Municipal Council, and so cannot escape responsibility for the poor state of the buses.

READ: Rental of Maputo public buses: Chairman says EMTPM is authorised to do business

Source: AIM