Mozambique Land, Housing & Decentralisation - 2008

Mozambique began a process of decentralization in 1998. Thirty-three Municipalities were created in 23 cities (cidades) and 10 towns (vilas). Most responsibility for urban planning now lies with these new Municipalities. The objective of this paper is to examine how the Municipalities have dealt with urban land management and low-income housing questions in the first 10 years of their existence. The paper is the product of a short consultancy which carried out a rapid review of the growing literature about urban planning questions in Mozambique, interviews with key informants during a two week mission to Mozambique in January 2008 and a field visit to Dondo and Beira Municipalities in Sofala Province.