‘Xiculungo’ revisited: assessing the implications of PARPA II in Maputo 2007-2010
According to the World Bank (2010), 70 per cent of the urban population of Mozambique still live in settlements. This report contributes in monitoring and evaluating Mozambique’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PARPA II), focusing on continuity and change in poverty and well-being in the capital city Maputo between 2007 and 2010.
Findings include:
- the last three years witnessed improvements in physical and social infrastructure and reduced consumption-based poverty
- however, they also witnessed unprecedented social uprisings involving large parts of the urban population
- the mentioned improvements seem to have brought further challenges to central and municipal government in the form of increasing demands for employment, income, social security and political accountability
- women are more directly exposed to injustice and poverty than men are, and have taken an active role in their communities and in the uprisings.
The authors deem that to further reduce urban poverty and avoid political unrest, policies and interventions that have implications for peoples’ daily lives must improve. Accordingly, they recommend the following:
- there must be better coordination between the increasing responsibilities vested in the municipalities and the resources that they are given access to
- particularly, the system of municipal taxes must be improved by combining fairness with actual delivery of the services that people pay tax for
- efforts should be made to improve the transportation network and make it less expensive
- the housing market should be formalised and better controlled
- employment should be more strategic and transparent
- further efforts in urban planning should be made transparent and participatory.
In addition, while the strengthening and establishment of associations should be encouraged, the document emphasises that churches and mosques should be more involved in support at the levels of households and individuals.
