According to information provided by the director-general of the National Roads Administration (ANE), Elias Paulo, the government needs more than 6.3 billion meticals (100 million dollars) a year to maintain the accessibility of the roads in Zambézia province, central Mozambique.
According to Notícias, due to the lack of financial resources, the authorities have given priority to the most important roads, in order to guarantee the smooth movement of people and goods to strategic points, urban and commercial centres, allowing road connections between the main production areas and points of sale.
Elias Paulo, who provided the information a few days ago in the district headquarters town of Serra, stressed that ‘the budget that has been made available for rehabilitation, maintenance and art structures does not meet all the needs’, emphasising that ‘the floods have also been destroying roads and bridges that are vital to the economy, which means that more funds need to be mobilised to replace the infrastructure’.
The province has a road network of more than 5,000 kilometres and almost 80% of these are earthen roads. In some cases, inter-district connections are almost impossible, such as Luabo-Mopeia, Ligonha-Gilé, Morrumbala-sede-Chire, among others. Natural disasters, such as cyclones Gombe, Ana and Freddy, have worsened the traffic situation, affecting the mobility of people and goods.
Budget constraints are preventing the roads from being improved. News reports indicate that in 2023 more than 600 million meticals were invested, and this year the budget has fallen to 400 million meticals.
According to the ANE official, these figures, for the real extent of the province’s road network, ‘are a drop in the ocean’. Elias Paulo pointed to the recurrent interventions on National Road Number 1 and the periodic maintenance work on the Nampevo-Guruè, Lioma-Mutualle Molumbo-Milange roads as examples of the government’s and partners’ commitment to improving road access within the financial capacities available.
‘The data we have indicates that road mobility in the province has risen from 27.2% last year to 57.49% this year, thanks to routine interventions on 319 kilometres of district roads covering Mulevala-Nturo, Mulevala-Mus Sarawa, Mocuba-Milange, Mugeba-Muaquiwa, Magige-Lioma, Mulevala-Gilé, Malei-Maganja da Costa, Mocubela-Pebane, Namacurra Macuse, Recamba- Abreu, in Inhassunge; Bive-Maganja da Costa; Mopeia-Luabo; among other sections,’ he concluded.
