Macia is a small town in

Gaza Province Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75,709 km2 and a population of 1,422,460 (2017 census), which is the least populous of all the provinces of Mozambique. Xai-Xai is the capital of the province. Inhambane Province is to t ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, and the seat of the

Bilene Macia district Bilene Macia District is a district of Gaza Province in south-western Mozambique. Its principal town is Macia. The district is located at the south of the province, and borders with Chókwè District in the north, Xai-Xai District in the east, a ...

. In 2008 its population was 25153.

Location

It caters for the areas of Mazivila, Dzimbeni, Macuane, Machimba, Ghombane, Zukula, Nwampaku, Incaia, and Machenganyane.

History

During the

Mozambican Civil War The Mozambican Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Moçambicana) was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992. Like many regional African conflicts during the late twentieth century, the Mozambican Civil War possessed local dynamics but was a ...

, people around these villages used to live in town, as it was safer, compared to other villages. However, since

Renamo RENAMO (from the Portuguese , ) is a Mozambican political party and militant group. The party was founded with the active sponsorship of the Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) in May 1977 from anti-communist dissidents oppose ...

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. The town is starting to develop after being badly destroyed during the Civil War, which lasted more than a decade.

Commerce

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, located by the

Massingir Dam Massingir Dam is a dam on the Rio dos Elefantes (Olifants or Lepelle), Gaza Province, Mozambique. It is named after the town of Massingir, in Massingir District. The Shingwedzi River flows close to the northeastern side of the reservoir and join ...

, and

Chicualacuala Chicualacuala is a town located in the province of Gaza in Mozambique. The town is better known by this unofficial name (and the name of the district to which the town belongs) than by its official toponym Vila Eduardo Mondlane. History The c ...

, and with the road to the coastal resort of Praia do Bilene (Bilene Beach). The town has now been elevated in status to a municipality. Its surrounding villages are still in absolute poverty.

References

{{coord, 25, 02, S, 33, 06, E, display=title, region:MZ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Bilene Macia District Populated places in Gaza Province