Drainage works in Maputo: The "necessary sacrifice" to end the flooding

With each rainy season, the city of Maputo is put to the test regarding its capacity to drain rainwater. To solve the chronic problem of flooding, large-scale works have been underway on several avenues of the capital since January of last year. However, the Mayor of Maputo, Razaque Manhique, admits that the interventions are causing traffic disruptions, but warns: not all congestion in the city is due to the excavations.

The interventions are part of a project financed by the World Bank, worth just over 35 million dollars, which aims to modernize the city's drainage system. The undertaking covers 26 critical points on avenues such as Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, and Samora Machel, and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026.

 Despite the disruptions, the mayor asks for the understanding of the residents, arguing that it is a necessary "sacrifice" for the future of the city.

"The desired quality of life cannot be achieved or promoted without this sacrifice, which we must all agree to. We have waited a long time, many years, partly because we lack resources. It is a sacrifice that we ask everyone to agree to, because the days of pleasure, the days of happiness, will come," said Manhique.

Although he acknowledges that the construction work impacts mobility, Razaque Manhique is keen to distinguish the causes of the traffic jams. According to him, not all the traffic chaos can be attributed to the ongoing projects.

"Naturally, there are points where we assume, therefore, when we find excessive traffic we assume the cause is the roadworks, but we have points where it is not caused by the roadworks. For example, we need to solve the problem on the marginal road; these days with the rain, the traffic is intense, even with the additional lane being used for traffic management," explained the Mayor.

Despite promises of improvement, the population's distrust is understandable. Over the years, several interventions have been made in the city of Maputo to minimize the impacts of the rains, but the results have been limited, as the flooding persisted. It remains to be seen whether this package of works, which demands such sacrifice from citizens, will finally be the definitive solution to one of the capital's biggest problems.