The political and social instability in the country continues to prevent the recovery of petrol stations that were vandalised during the post-election protests. According to the Association of Mozambique Fuel Retailers (ARCOMOC), the reconstruction of the infrastructure depends on an improvement in the political environment, since entrepreneurs fear investing in the recovery and facing new episodes of destruction.
The images in the affected areas still reveal the effects of the violence: shards of glass scattered on the ground, equipment destroyed and convenience stores completely looted. The destruction forced the closure of several petrol stations, leaving hundreds of workers without jobs.
‘The photo actually shows petrol stations that have been completely vandalised, some that have been partially vandalised. And this situation, for those that have been totally vandalised, there is no way for them to return to operations,’ said Nelson Mavimbe, president of ARCOMOC.
During the violent protests, at least 30 petrol stations were totally or partially destroyed. Of these, ten remain inoperable due to the extent of the damage suffered. ‘The recovery process is very complex and, at the moment, it’s difficult to guarantee the replacement of the damage that was created at the petrol stations, because we’ve been watching the repercussions of the demonstrations, which are happening every day,’ explained Mavimbe.
The closure of the petrol stations led to the suspension of the contracts of around 400 workers, who depended directly on these establishments for their livelihoods. ‘On average, a petrol station has around 40 workers. So if we assume that around ten petrol stations were completely vandalised, we’re saying that at least 400 employees had their contracts suspended,’ said the president of ARCOMOC.
Fear of further attacks puts the brakes on reconstruction
The association warns that without guarantees of security, any attempt to rebuild could be in vain: ‘There is a risk here that the damage will be repaired and the next day the protesters will return to the same posts and vandalise them again. Stability needs to be restored so that the damage can be repaired,’ Mavimbe warned.
In addition to insecurity, ARCOMOC sees no advantage in the 10 billion metical credit line recently announced by the government to support companies affected by the protests. For the fuel retailers, this solution does not meet the needs of those who have lost all their assets. ‘We don’t think that these lines of finance are sustainable for those who have lost everything. In fact, it’s not even starting from scratch, because the investment that is currently underway was the subject of a request for bank finance,’ he explained.
As long as the political situation doesn’t stabilise, the managers of the vandalised petrol stations still have no plans to resume operations. The future of the destroyed infrastructure remains uncertain, and the decision to rebuild depends on the political scenario in the coming months.
Source: O País
