Maputo's new rubbish fees postponed.

Payment of the new, higher rubbish collection tax in Maputo is to begin in March rather than in January as originally announced, the state news agency AIM has said. The delay is due to problems with the computerised billing system, which is reportedly struggling to cope with the new differentiated tax regime.

Under the new system, the present monthly flat rate of 20 meticais per household is to be replaced by a variable tariff that is linked to the amount of electricity consumed on the assumption that wealth, electricity consumption and waste production are proportional to one another. Households that consume 200 kilowatt hours or less a month will continue to pay 20 meticais a month, while those that consume between 201 and 500 kilowatt hours a month will pay 45 meticais a month and over 500 kilowatt hours 65 meticais a month. The new tax will be attached to the monthly electricity bill as at present to facilitate collection.

People who are not on the electricity grid will be charged 10 meticais per month rather than the current 15 meticais, although it is unclear how the authorities propose to raise this tax, which in the past has often gone uncollected.

Joao Schwalbach, the city councillor for health and sanitation, has said that 7.5 million meticais are needed per month to manage the city