9 November 2008
Maputo — The candidate of Mozambique's ruling Frelimo Party for mayor of Maputo, David Simango, on Saturday promised residents of Catembe that a bridge will soon be built across Maputo Bay, linking Catembe to the centre of the city.
"Let's have no doubt about it - the bridge is going to come", Simango promised at an election rally in Catembe.
Currently residents of Catembe who work or study in Maputo use a ferry to make the crossing (a distance of less than a kilometre). The possibility of building a bridge to Catembe has been raised for many years, but only now is a serious attempt being made to mobilise funds for the bridge.
The scale of this task, however, means that the bridge will be a responsibility of the central government, not of Maputo City Council.
"Yesterday I was working with some members of the government", Simango declared, "they assured me that I could promise you that in the near future we will have the bridge. Though I'm not saying it will be tomorrow".
He said that such a bridge would be very important for the circulation of people and goods. Simango added that he would work to ensure that the 120 kilometre road from Catembe to Ponta de Ouro, on the border with the South African province of Kwazulu-Natal is tarred in the near future.
Simango's sole rival in the mayoral election, Eduardo Namburete of the former rebel movement Renamo, continued to visit suburban markets on Saturday. He insisted that only urbanization of the outlying suburbs would allow real improvements in sanitation in the city.
"It's not enough just to open drainage channels", he said. "Unless the suburbs are properly urbanized, the stagnant waters will continue to gather there".
He said that, if elected, he would work to bring modern streets, street lighting and proper water supply to the poor suburbs. He would also work to replace houses built with flimsy materials such as reeds with brick houses.
The current state of the suburbs assisted the spread of diseases such as malaria, while the absence of street lighting was a boon to criminals. "I know that this is a major challenge", Namburete said. "But if elected I shall start to do something about it".
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