MUNICIPALITIES MUST RAISE MORE REVENUE

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Monday challenged Mozambican municipalities to make greater efforts to raise revenue.He was speaking in Maputo at the opening of a national meeting of municipalities, attended by mayors, chairpersons of municipal assemblies and cooperation partners, among others.“The level of revenue collection in our municipalities has been below what is desirable”, said Guebuza. “Additional commitment is required to improve this, because only in this way can resources be generated to finance sustainable local development projects and programmes”.He also called for better management capacity, strengthened local finance and good governance as fundamental elements for the success of the municipalities. Guebuza pledged that the central government will continue to support municipal development by allocating funds to the municipalities through the Municipal Compensation and Investment Funds and more recently the Strategic Programme for Urban Poverty Reduction. “However, the municipalities must continue searching for creative solutions tending to provide services of growing quality and diversity to their citizens”, the President stressed. In addition to the financial challenges, Guebuza stressed the need for the municipalities to improve their handling of informal settlements, the provision of infrastructures, and the management of urban land.  “The development of our cities presupposes the constant strengthening of our capacity to face the challenges of their modernisation”, he added.