Maputo Garbage Cartels and Rescue of Chimoio Municipality Trucks

Paulo Vilanculo "

The crisis in solid waste collection in Maputo led the city council to request, for the first time ever, tipper trucks from
the municipality of Chimoio, managed by João Ferreira, as an emergency measure aimed at containing the collapse of
health care in the outlying neighborhoods, which ended up exposing a certain fragility in the municipal management
capacity of the capital. The gesture of solidarity turned into controversy with the public demand of the mayor of
Chimoio asking for the return of the vehicles or a proposal for a concessionary contract that had not been previously
formalized, raising questions about transparency, institutional autonomy and strategic leadership of Maputo.
The drama of solid waste in the outlying neighbourhoods of the Mozambican capital has
become one of the biggest Achilles heels of the Maputo City Council. Solid waste management in
Maputo has reached a level of institutional embarrassment. This fragility of municipal management
is exposed for all to see, where outlying neighbourhoods live with rubbish in a health and
environmental collapse due to the failure of the city council to fulfil its constitutional obligation to
ensure a clean and safe environment in Maputo. The vicious cycle between municipal inefficiency

and the behaviour of the population turns into a destructive impasse, in which families deposit waste
in inappropriate places, in the absence of viable alternatives, the accumulation of rubbish generates
popular protests due to the risk of health outbreaks, a reflection of a municipal model without
technical autonomy or improvisation.
In the midst of the collapse, the Municipality of Maputo, the country’s capital and
supposedly a model of urban governance, found itself in the uncomfortable position of begging for
logistical support from a smaller municipality. In this context, Maputo turned to the Municipality of
Chimoio to overcome its weaknesses and lack of operational resources, asking “for help from the
Mayor of Chimoio, João Ferreira”, and for a loan of dump trucks. According to informal sources,
the request for support from Chimoio was made as a matter of urgency to reinforce waste collection
in critical areas, a clear demonstration of the institutional fragility of Maputo, a national symbol and
seat of power, which generates criticism and questions about the real management capacity of the
municipal executive, which goes beyond the issue of waste to a problem of lack of strategic
leadership, responsible inter-municipal coordination and a real commitment to the health of
residents in peripheral neighborhoods.
Despite the promises made by the city council during the election campaign, the reality in
the suburban areas shows a scenario of total collapse, with collection trucks that only appear
sporadically, insufficient containers, and communities that are forced to resort to open-air deposits
or dumping on vacant lots, practices that aggravate public health and environmental problems. It is
inconceivable that the capital of the country, with greater access to the State Budget and tax
revenues, should have to ask for help from a municipality in the center of the country. This reveals
the collapse of management and the lack of serious planning; without its own trucks, the urban
cleaning operation will never gain momentum. Instead of relieving the pressure, the improvised
strategy has generated political wear and tear, putting the mayor of Maputo in a delicate position.
The improvised solution, however, turned into a public embarrassment, after the mayor of
Chimoio, João Ferreira, demanded the return of the borrowed dump trucks or the fulfillment of an
alleged concession contract. In addition to the institutional humiliation, the case raises serious
doubts about the transparency of intermunicipal agreements. The episode of the loan and return of
the Chimoio trucks represents more than a logistical crisis. Although neither party officially
disclosed the terms of the alleged concession contract nor the conditions of the loan of the vehicles,
however, Ferreira, when issuing his public communication through the media demanding the return
of the vehicles or the signing of a service concession contract that includes clauses on costs and
maintenance, the gesture can be interpreted as an act of attempted economic gain that exposes the
fragility of the Maputo city council. Moreover, João Ferreira's reaction can also shed light on an
unequal deal between two cities, where those who asked for help are left weakened and those who
gave in, are left stronger.
While the city councillors exchange pleasantries and protagonisms, the peripheral
neighbourhoods of Maputo remain immersed in rubbish. The management of solid waste in the
peripheral neighbourhoods of Maputo is today a true reflection of the fragility of local governance.
Between the neglect of the authorities and the despair of the population, the city is seeing not only
an increase in rubbish, but also in social indignation. Why doesn’t the Municipality of Maputo

consider decentralising waste collection, in public-community partnerships, with investments in
recycling cooperatives and massive awareness campaigns? But none of this will happen without
political will and committed municipal leadership. If nothing is done urgently, the piles of waste
could become the symbol of the silent failure of an exclusionary and inefficient city model.

2025/12/3