Overall targets
The project aims to improve land rights among low-income residents in the slums of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. The intervention will focus on the slum area Maxaquene D, near the center of Maputo.
Immediate targets
To develop an urban plan for Quarteirão 3, a sub-area of Maxaquene D with the residents. Capacitate residents and local leaders in the process. Get the plan approved by the municipality. Initiate a formalization process of the landownership in the neighborhood.
Target groups
The project takes place in Maxaquene D, part of the Maxaquene neighborhood with ca. 90.000 inhabitants. Oxfam characterizes Maxaquene as an “impoverished neighborhood” and an article in the scientific journal, Utilities Policy (vol. 28), claims that Maxaquene is among the poorest areas of Maputo. The neighborhood falls within CISU’s poverty definition, as many of the residents live in deep poverty under inhumane conditions that poses health risks. Much of the neighborhood lacks drainage and floods are frequent during the rainy season, causing property destruction and serious health risks. Maxaquene is subdivided into four areas with the follwing population figures (2007) Maxaquene A: 22.800, Maxaquene B: 30.000, Maxaquene C: 18.800, Maxaquene D: 20.700. According to the 2007 census the area has a slight majority of women. The population is exclusively black and of Christian belief. The intervention operates with two target grops: a large (group 1) and small (group 2), in accordance with the two series of capacity building workshops. The large group 1 consists of all inhabitants in Maxaquene D, with approx. 22.000 people (as of 2017). The smaller target group 2 are the residents of one of the blocks in Maxaquene D, with approximately 500 people, which will be subject to a more detailed intervention (activity 1.2). Maxaquene D consists of 37 blocks with roughly 100 families (500+ inhabitants) in each block. Each of the 37 blocks have a block leader who will participate in the workshop series on land rights. Accordingly, knowledge on the law and the rights of the communities will transpire to the residents through the local authorities. Furthermore, as these block leaders have a platform in the administrative system, they will be a bottom up force in pushing the process through the municipal bureaucracy. The second target group is the residents of one block in Maxaquene D (approximately 100 families). These will be followed through the entire process of obtaining formal land title. Both target groups are made up of random families.
Resume
This project aims at providing formal land rights to low-income residents in the slums of Maputo, Mozambique. The intervention will take place in the slum area “Maxaquene D” where the residents are at risk of being evicted, or forced to leave, when the formal city expands and the land value increases. Providing land rights will safeguard the residents against forced evictions and entitle them to compensation in the case of expropriations. Other benefits include increased public investments in infrastructure and services such as health and education, with a poverty reducing impact. The intervention is a pilot project aimed at initiating large scale formalizing processes. The process involves all necessary steps towards formalization, including capacity building, strengthening local organization, advocacy and urban planning. The project will be implemented in close collaboration with both slum dwellers and municipal planners.