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 t ...
,
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
, 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, and ...
. 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 () was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992 due to a combination of local strife and the polarizing effects of Cold War politics. The fighting was between Mozambique's ruling Marxist Front for the Liberat ...
, 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 oppos ...
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 joi ...
, and
Chicualacuala
Chicualacuala is a town located in the Provinces of Mozambique, province of Gaza Province, 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 ...