Mozambique: The filthy aftermath of a Ponta do Ouro festival – Carta

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Mozambique: The filthy aftermath of a Ponta do Ouro festival – Carta

4:06 CAT | 27 Sep 2023

Image: Carta

More than 10,000 people attended a two-day festival in Ponta do Ouro in the small tourist village in Matutuíne district, Maputo province, last weekend (24 and 25 September).

The result was traffic chaos and dangerous driving in Vila da Ponta do Ouro, at the event location and in surrounding areas.

Many of the festival-goers slept in their vehicles and relieved themselves on the public road in the village. There was also plenty of noise pollution from sound equipment, motorcycles and quadbikes and rubbish everywhere.

One consequence of the chaos was that tourist operators such as restaurants, lodges and diving centres were unable to service customers and, to make matters worse, they inherited a filthy village.

According to the Director of the Ponta do Ouro Health Centre, Armiro Pequenino, a traffic accident occurred in the early hours of the 24th, seriously injuring the occupants of a light vehicle heading towards the Ponta do Ouro village.

Without specifying the number of people or the make of the vehicle, Pequenino added that the seriously injured were immediately evacuated to the José Macamo Hospital in Maputo, and others to the Maputo Central Hospital. He also mentioned that one of the victims was an employee of the Health Centre and that the accident happened while they were going to the festival.

The police source and the Director of the Health Centre however denied that any deaths had been recorded during the two days of the Festival, contradicting information circulated on social media stating that eight people had died. “I do not confirm this information,” Pequenino said.

He did however report that a South African individual was found dead on the beach. “We do not have any details as to the cause of death. Maritime authorities do not yet know. However, we have information that family members have already claimed the body,” he related.

Source: Carta de Moçambique