A challenge that requires experience and precision with dozens of pieces.
“We need to open the crankshaft”, he shouted, already under the vehicle, with one of the tools in his hand, amidst the roar of other cars in the repair area.
He gets up and picks up the toolbox he was carrying.
Carefully select each one to open the engine compartments one by one, rhythmically.
The cars are being repaired and people walking through what looks like a huge motor sports ‘box’ are maddening.
But Praça da Paz in Maputo is an open space full of mechanic aces, sledding in the mud with old cardboard on their backs, cars with used parts under their arms – here, nobody has new parts.
“I couldn’t relate school and work”, says Alferes, a common account of school dropout among young Mozambicans.
A full engine repair job costs “only” four thousand medicos (62 euros), significantly cheaper than the typical workshop you’ve always dreamed of.
“I have a very big idea, but I don’t have the funds. I wanted to open a company and have at least three or four assistants”, but everything comes against the difficulty of accessing credit (with more than 20% fees), an underdeveloped financial market and low public literacy. .
Mozambique’s population is expected to double to 60 million by 2050, with 55% under the age of 25.
As many international organizations point out, this is a demographic opportunity, but there are structural problems: “Population growth continues to outpace the expansion of education and employment opportunities for young people,” warned Andrea Wojner, representative of the United Nations Population Fund. Mozambique in 2021.
Even those who pretend to be a mechanical ace are more likely to end up working dangerous jobs in the open, rain or shine, in prasa da pas, motivated by the desire to support their families.
Oil-stained floors, parts strewn everywhere and dozens of vehicles parked with open hoods show a perennial reality of parent-to-child transmission.
Alferes is one of dozens of young people who have decided to embrace mechanics to escape unemployment, repairing vehicles with used parts on the streets of the Mozambican capital, in an increasingly “complicated” economic environment with global inflation.
Among the main problems identified by “Street Mechanics” are bumpy streets that create shock absorbers and suspension inconsistencies.
“But everything is solved here”, says Francisco Candido, 30, as he prepares to replace the spark plugs of another car in Praça da Paz.
The spark plugs required by Francisco can be found and traded in any corner of the square, and guarantee that if there are any problems after the vehicle is repaired, the customer can always come back.
“We work on trust. The customer can always come back,” he adds, opening one of the engine boxes to check its condition.
“They charge us fair prices, that’s why we come here”, explains one of Cândido’s customers, Alírio Junior, shortly after replacing one of his car’s headlights.
“People don’t have money to go to the workshops. That’s why they want our services”, another young mechanic in the square, Lusa Joao, tells Tempe.
Tempe learned to be a mechanic from his father and has been in business for 15 years: he set up a “body repair shop” very close to the square.
“The challenge is huge, but it is possible to support children. As young people we cannot fold our arms and cry, we have to face life”, stresses Jono Tempe.
EYAC // VM
Lusa/End
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”