The border at Ressano Garcia, in Maputo province, between Mozambique and South Africa, returned to normal on Friday 13 December, after the unrest that took place on Thursday (12), when demonstrators affected the movement of migrants.
Last Friday, the country’s largest land border crossing saw long queues of cargo, passenger and private vehicles heading in the South Africa-Mozambique direction.
According to Fernando Tinga, spokesman for the Mozambican Tax Authority, the migratory flow resumed after the Republic of Mozambique Police intervened to guarantee the security of this border post.
The demonstrators then set fire to the dry dock, a bank branch and a discotheque belonging to a local businessman.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications has recognised limitations in the operation of the border as a result of the protests that have culminated in acts of vandalism for several days across the country.
In recent days, the protesters went so far as to want to define the type of goods that could pass through the border.
In this context, the Ministry clarifies that these incidents, specifically, do not constitute the exercise of the right to demonstrate, but represent an affront to the sovereignty of the state, which has a duty to guarantee the free movement of people and goods and the protection of borders.
Meanwhile, due to the persistence of the riots, the South African government had already announced the closure of this border and called on businesspeople to suspend the transport of goods through the Ressano Garcia post.
Source: Radio Moçambique
