Macia
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| Macia | |
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 Macia
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| Coordinates: 25°02′S 33°06′E / 25.033°S 33.1°E | |
| Country | Mozambique |
| Provinces | Gaza Province |
| District | Bilene Macia District |
| Population (2008) | |
| • Total | 24 153 |
Macia is a small town in Gaza Province, Mozambique, and the seat of the Bilene Macia district. In 2008 its population was 25153.[1]
[edit] Features
It caters to the areas of Mazivila, Dzimbeni, Macuane, Machimba, Ghombane, Zukula, Nuampaku, Incaia, and Machenganyane. During the Mozambican Civil War, people around these villages used to live in town, as it was safer, compared to other villages. However, since Renamo forces targeted the towns most, it apparently appeared to the villagers that towns were not the ideal places to hide. As such, they started going back to the bush for the night, going back to town in the morning. Students from the villages of Mazivila and others attended high school there because it had the only secondary school in the area. The town has a market where people from the small villages come to buy and sell their products.
Macia owes much of its economic vibrancy to its location on the intersection of the main highway of Mozambique (EN1) with the road to Chokwe, Massingir, and Chicualacuala, and with the road to the coastal resort of Praia do Bilene (Bilene Beach).
The town is also a home to one of the most famous traditional musicians of the country, Domingo Honuane, known as Xidiminguani, though he originally hails from Vuthu, a nearby village. This small town is starting to develop after being badly destroyed during the Civil War, which lasted more than a decade.
The town has now been elevated in status being a mere district to a municipality. Its surrounding villages are still in absolute poverty. People there are estimated[by whom?] to be living on less than a dollar a day. Almost a year and some months after the municipal election, the ruling frelimo incumbent mayor, who is known to be from the village of Macuana, has done nothing good or bad for the town.[citation needed] Instead, he is still understood to be at school studying for him to be able to run the day-in day out business of his office.
The roads remain untached[clarification needed] in the CBD. In fact it is even hard for one to identify the CBD of Macia. Where it was supposed to be the CBD, one will find informal residential slums. Some of the roads do not just have permanent potholes, but they are just untarred. The people of this area do not keep livestock such as sheep and cattle, if not, one wouldn't be surprised to see the animals grazing in the CBD since the grass is a common feature of the place. Grass there grows as tall as 130 centimetre. Macia is geographically situated in a most suitable place where no floods can ever terrorise it even if it could rain for the entire year without stopping.[citation needed]
Two schools have just been built recently[when?] in the outskirts of the town as one proceeds towards Xai Xai.
