Rede Viária de Moçambique (Revimo), the company responsible for the construction, maintenance and operation of several national roads, has suspended the contracts of 1,380 employees following the destruction of several tolls during the post-election tension. The company, which has already accumulated losses of 655 million meticals, saw 12 of its 16 tolls nationwide become inoperable due to acts of vandalism that occurred in the context of the post-election demonstrations.
Of the 1,380 contracts suspended, 380 were direct employees of the tolls affected, while the remaining 1,000 were outsourced employees who provided services such as surveillance, cleaning and picketing. The measure came into force on 1 March, as part of Revimo’s efforts to contain the financial damage caused by the crisis.
Despite the suspension, Revimo guaranteed that all the workers affected had received their salaries by February this year. The company hopes that, with the resolution of the political conflict, it will be possible to reintegrate employees and resume operations at the damaged tolls.
In the meantime, only four tolls remain in operation across the country, reflecting the profound impact of the post-election crisis on the infrastructure and the local economy, a situation that highlights the challenges faced by the company and the workers, who are waiting for a solution to restart activities.
In January, Revimo was unable to resume collecting tolls, after an interruption of more than two months due to the post-election demonstrations in October. At the end of January, it tried to negotiate with the authorities and community leaders to restart work, but the efforts were not enough to guarantee the normalisation of services.
Text: O País
