Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 10.9 Following independence, apartment living was unfamiliar and uncomfortable for
many of the new occupants of the City of Cement, where many accustomed practices were pro-
hibited, such as cooking on open coals, pounding cornmeal, and keeping chickens and goats. Pic-
tured is a detail from an undated poster demonstrating the proper use of fl ush toilets, distributed
by Mozambique's Health Ministry. (Credit: Ministério de Saude/DNMP)
Butcontinuities withcolonial-era mentalities canbeoverstated.Thepractical reasons
to favor more privileged Mozambicans in the distribution of City of Cement housing
were obvious: the City of Cement would likely fall apart otherwise. Given the limited
numberofapartmentsrelativetotheurbanpopulation,occupationoftheCityofCement
was never going to be more than a partial solution to Maputo's housing problems in any
case (Jenkins 1990). And much was beyond Frelimo's ability to control. There was little
the government could do, after lowering rents, to make apartment living affordable, or
for that matter, livable.
It should be noted that the new tenants of the City of Cement were not all the so-
called petit bourgeoisie. Many new residents (it is difficult to estimate how many) had
come directly from the countryside, such as the many families of ex-guerillas. Or they
were among the poorer households from the shantytowns, such as those evacuated from
flooded neighborhoods. For them, the City of Cement was an uncomfortable fit. Des-
piteprohibitions,manyoftheseresidentscontinuedwiththeirdailyroutines:cookingon
open coals, raising goats and chickens in their apartments, and pounding grain on their
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