The Nampula City Council buses acquired a year ago and vandalized by unknown persons will soon be scrapped.  

According to a "Noticias" publication quoting the president of the Municipal Council, Luís Giquira, there is currently multisectoral work underway between the municipality and the Provincial Directorate of Finance to determine the number of buses to be covered and the amounts involved.

Luís Giquira explained that the buses will be scrapped due to their critical condition.

Since the new municipal government took office, efforts have been made to recover as many vehicles as possible, including light vehicles, but so far only 17 have returned to circulation, seven buses and ten light vehicles.

The source explains that the seven recovered buses were assigned to public transport routes, such as Sipal-Barragem and Hospital Central-Muahivire, while the light vehicles were distributed among the municipality's departments.

Luís Giquira stressed that the advanced state of vandalization and mechanical obsolescence made it unfeasible to recover the buses. According to him, the cost of a new engine for the buses could exceed 500,000 meticais.

According to the source quoted by the newspaper, the municipality plans to buy 50 new buses, ten of which should arrive in the next three months.

The value of the acquisition has not been revealed, but it will be financed by its own revenues and with the support of the central government, through the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

In total, the city of Nampula needs at least 50 buses to cover all the routes. The rest will have to be purchased each year until the end of the mandate.

As soon as the new buses arrive in Nampula, a collection system will be implemented to guarantee the sustainability of the service and reduce the risk of embezzlement by collectors.