The city council of Maputo is responsible for waste management services since coming into force of the autarchy law in 1999. During the initial phase the city council, which was elected in 2004, was faced with some difficulties in taking over the responsibilities, but in the meantime high priority is given to city cleansing activities. However, the sanitation departments of the city councils of Maputo and Matola, which are responsible for waste management, are not adequately equipped and qualified to guarantee regular waste management services (core problem). The main reasons for this are, besides the low budgets of the sanitation departments, their insufficient organisational structure and the lack of qualified personnel, especially at management level.