The presidents of Mozambique’s 65 municipalities have expressed concerns about the insufficiency and delay in making funds available for the rehabilitation and improvement of access roads, the Mozambican Information Agency reported on Tuesday, July 16.

Historically, the government, through the Road Fund, released financial resources in phases for these purposes. However, this year, of the 706.4 million meticais budgeted for the 65 municipalities, only 240.3 million were disbursed, corresponding to 29% of the budget executed in the first half of the year.

The funds are distributed according to the category of each city and town, ranging from seven million meticais for towns to 26 million for category A cities. However, these amounts are considered insufficient, especially due to delays in disbursements, jeopardizing road maintenance works.

The funds are distributed according to the category of each town and village, ranging from seven million meticais for villages to 26 million for category A towns. However, these amounts are considered insufficient, especially due to delays in disbursements, compromising road maintenance works.

João Ferreira, president of the National Association of Mozambican Municipalities (ANAMM), advocated standardization and greater speed in making funds available to ensure that planned activities are carried out. “The value of 7 or 13 million meticais, for example, is a lot for the individual citizen, but for a municipality it means nothing. We have the problem of disbursements, which have sometimes been late, which compromises work at the grassroots,” said Ferreira during the first session of ANAMM’s National Council, held in the city of Chimoio, Manica province.

Ferreira highlighted the frustration of residents who want to see election campaign promises fulfilled. The delay in the arrival of funds in the municipality is little understood by the population, who expect immediate results.

The president of the Maxixe Municipal Council, Hélder Namburete, mentioned that work in his area has been delayed due to the lack of funds. “We have works that are behind schedule and their completion depends on the Road Fund,” said Namburete.

Shafee Sidat, the mayor of Marracuene, in Maputo province, criticized the absence of representatives from the central Road Fund at the meeting, stressing the importance of a clear explanation of the process for disbursing funds to the municipalities. “The road situation is complicated. We can’t discuss it with someone at provincial level. The matter is very serious and we can’t compromise our CVs because of promises we made to the population that must be materialized,” said Sidat.

Robat Jane, the representative of the Road Fund in Manica province, acknowledged the seriousness of the problem and promised to forward the concerns to his superiors, saying that the issues would be clarified within the legal procedures.

At the meeting, ANAMM also discussed issues such as the balance of the implementation of the Road Fund for municipalities for the period 2023-24, the stage and prospects for collaboration between the company Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) and the municipalities, as well as the balance of the exchange and cooperation mission between the municipalities of Mozambique and Brazil.