A basic factor for fighting poverty in the rural areas in Mozambique (and many other african countries) is to strengthen the small and medium cities, as these cities are important fix-points for the large rural areas around them, and these cities are already in a leading role for growth and development. (compare: Susan Parnell, African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town)
One of the most urgent and important work that has to be done within these cities today is to develop and improve the public basic infrastructure. (e.g. roads, access to clean water and energy / electricity, to name only a few important aspects)
According to this, it is one of the basic questions for the area of Urban Design and Urban Planning, how to plan the basic Infrastructure for small and medium cities in Mozambique? At a meeting of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Chimoio in March 2011, it was also this question that has been discussed by the participants.
Mr. Rodolfo Cândido and Mr. Georg Jahnsen gave an overview about the experiences already made in this area in the Municipalities of Manica and Catandica. In addition to this Mr. Georg Jahnsen explained the main tasks in these cities today and some ideas and strategies for the medium and longterm future.
>>>See the slides of the full presentation (pdf 1MB)
Image top: Georg Jahnsen speaking to the "GIZ Munizipien AG" (Foto by Els Keunen).
Image below: Infrastructural Planning (Water) in Catandica, a small city in Mozambique.