Mozambique: Regime to sow 'chaos' in opposition-run areas - Renamo
Photo: Noticias
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Monday challenged the municipal authorities in the southern city of Matola to work towards improving the provision of services to citizens, particularly transport, environmental sanitation, and land planning.
“Matola is a municipality in constant growth where, on a daily basis, great challenges arise due to the expansion of new neighborhoods that need water, roads, energy, health centers, drainage ditches, among others”, said the president, during the inauguration of the new headquarters building of the Matola Municipal Council.
He also made the controversial suggestion of altering the boundaries of Matola which, in its current shape, contains both urban and rural areas. “Because of the size of this municipality we should also reflect calmly on the disadvantages and advantages of downsizing the municipality. People are afraid when we say reflect. But this is not a command, but a call on people to think,” said Nyusi.
He also condemned the large number of extended meetings that compromise the normal functioning of state institutions at all levels.
“There are bosses who always call meetings with their subordinates and forget that these people have their agendas for the day. Therefore, they should reduce these extended sessions at the provincial level, because they make it difficult for each sector to have an individual agenda. This building solves that problem, since it hosts the entire organic structure of the municipality”, Nyusi said.
According to Nyusi, the population of Matola is becoming more demanding in calling for the improvement of public services.
“In the context of decentralized power, it no longer makes sense to hear the famous phrases: come back tomorrow, the boss is not present. Stop that! The accumulation of paperwork is not a style of governance”, he stressed.
Nyusi added that improving the collection of revenue collection does not mean extra taxes. “When you say ‘improving revenue collection’, it does not mean increasing the amount”, he stressed, adding that “It is fundamental to fight corruption in hospitals, schools, stores and other institutions, and on this issue the leader’s example is important.”
For his part, the mayor of Matola, Calisto Cossa, said that the new municipal headquarters was built with resort to a bank loan.
“When we started this project, I took into account that it would be a new house for Matola City. We did not have the funds to go ahead with the construction work, but we resorted to a bank loan, and only 23 percent of the debt remains to be repaid”, he said.
The construction work began in 2015 and concluded in 2019. The building occupies an area of about 19,000 square meters. It includes two administrative blocks, with nine floors on which there is a library, a municipal museum, and a bank, among other facilities.
Watch the TVM report.
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