Maputo — The new mayor of Maputo, David Simango, on Saturday pledged that his governance will centre on improving the quality of urban infrastructures.

Speaking immediately after he was sworn into office, Simango said that the quality of infrastructures is a determinant factor in the well being of citizens in any city. So for his five year term of office, he intended to improve the existing roads and open new ones n the city's periphery, to ensure a safe and rapid flow of traffic.

Simango added that an efficient transport system was key to ending "disorganisation" on the city's roads. "I shall work to ensure that the passenger transport system is more orderly, more efficient and can respond to growing demand from municipal citizens, and from workers in particular", he promised.

For years Maputo passenger transport has been dominated by overcrowded and unsafe privately owned minibus taxis (known colloquially as "chapas"). But recently dozens of new Volkswagen buses have been imported to boost the fleet of the publicly owned Maputo bus company, TPM, and this seems to be the strategy that Simango wishes to continue.

The new mayor also wanted the municipal markets to offer better services to citizens. He said they should be better structured and more attractive, both to sellers and to their clients. "It is urgent that we adopt mechanisms that guarantee the full functioning of the markets and a better framework for informal trading activities in the municipality", he stressed.

Simango declared that his governance will be guided by the principles of transparency, accountability and the participation of citizens. He promised to decentralize municipal services down to neighbourhood level, making neighbourhood consultative councils operational, so that services will be closer to citizens.

Simango also guaranteed that he will strengthen the City Council administrative and financial inspection capacity, thus improving the ability to prevent and crack down on acts of corruption.

"All the work we propose to do to improve living conditions in our municipality depends, to a great extent, on improved management of financial and material resources", he added. "For this reason, we must work to increase revenue, and ensure that expenditure is efficient and effective".

Also on Saturday, the newly elected Maputo Municipal Assembly met to approve a new structure for the Municipal Council, increasing the number of city councillors from 15 to 17.

There is a new portfolio, of transport and traffic, and the health and cleaning portfolio has been split in two - a portfolio for health and social welfare, and one for cleaning and cemeteries.

Simango explained that the separate health portfolio was necessary because, as part of the government's decentralisation programme, primary health care is now a municipal responsibility.

Most of the councillors appointed by Simango are new to municipal administration, with the exceptions of Mario Macaringue, who remains councillor for infrastructures, Luis Matsinhe, the councillor for Catembe district, and Celina Cossa, who leaves the education portfolio to become the councillor for Urban District number three.

Simango was previously Minister for Youth and Sport. President Armando Guebuza relieved him of his ministerial responsibilities on Friday, and appointed Tourism Minister Fernando Sumbana to replace him. For the time being Sumbana will head both the Tourism and the Youth and Sports ministries.