Maputo, 2 Apr (AIM) – The mayor of Maputo, Rasaque Manhique, has handed over a further 50 houses to families who were victims of the collapse of the rubbish dump at Hulene, on the outskirts of Maputo city.
The disaster happened on 19 February 2018 and resulted in the death of 17 people. The dump had been allowed to grow into a monster which towered over the houses built in its shadow. Torrential rains precipitated the collapse, which swept away homes and the people living in them.
These 50 families joined 157 others who have already benefited from new houses with piped water and electricity. All the houses were built in the Possulane neighbourhood, in Marracuene district, just outside Maputo.
In all, the government must allocate houses to 369 families, and the project is budgeted at 620 million meticais (around 9.7 million dollars).
According to Manhique, speaking on Monday at the handover ceremony, these houses are the result of the Central Government’s commitment.
“These are very beautiful houses and we know that the owners will take very good care of them”, he said. “This is just one part and the other is missing because many families haven’t received their houses yet, so we’re going to talk to the contractor to see if they can speed up the process”.
The mayor acknowledges that lack of basic social services in the region, is still the biggest concern.
“We are aware of this and we have also been talking about some of the issues that are lacking, such as a school, hospital and police station”, Manhique said.
The mayor of Marracuene, Shafee Sidat, added that “we are aware of the lack of infrastructure. We also know how concerned our population is about the roads, especially when it rains. Even though we’re a very new municipality, we’re going to work hard to solve these problems.”
(AIM)
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