The Maputo Municipal Public Transport Company (EMTPM) has announced that it has made an accumulated loss of 29.6 million meticals (around 469,000 dollars) due to the post-election demonstrations that took place between 23 October 2024 and 15 January 2025.
According to the Mozambican Information Agency (AIM) on Thursday (23), the impact included a 30 per cent reduction in the fleet’s operational capacity, with 20 million meticals lost due to the drop in the number of passengers – from 40,000 to 11,000 a day – and 10 million meticals in damage caused by vandalism.
According to Lourenço Albino, the company’s CEO, 26 of the company’s 84 buses were vandalised and one was completely destroyed by fire. Glass, mirrors and bumpers were damaged, adding up to significant damage: ‘The reduction of the fleet to 48 buses has seriously affected the company’s ability to repair the damage, due to a shortage of resources,’ he said.
In addition to the reduction in the fleet, the number of journeys has fallen from 12 to just 4 a day, exacerbating the loss of revenue. The buses that have not been vandalised are operating to a limited extent, while others have been withdrawn from circulation for safety reasons, mainly on the Matola corridor.
The official explained that, at the start of the demonstrations, efforts were made to quickly repair the damaged vehicles, but the lack of financial resources made it impossible to continually replace them.
‘When a bus was vandalised, we would replace the windows and mirrors the next day, but this was no longer possible with the drop in revenue,’ he stressed.
The company is currently facing challenges in guaranteeing public transport, while it waits for the situation to improve before resuming normal operations. Albino pointed out that the reduction in revenue even affects essential obligations, such as the payment of salaries.
