A total of 94 units in the hotel and tourism sector are considering declaring bankruptcy, jeopardising the jobs of almost two thousand workers in the district of Bilene, in the southern province of Gaza, as a result of the riots that have been taking place since last week.
According to the Agência de Informação de Moçambique (AIM), the protests were initially based on the results of last October’s general elections, which were considered fraudulent. But now the focus of the unrest in various regions of the country is the cost of living.
According to the district administrator of Bilene, Raul Momade, as a result of the unrest, ‘a total of 94 hotel and tourist units are considering declaring bankruptcy’. He emphasised that tour operators are finding it difficult to meet their obligations, particularly the payment of taxes and workers’ salaries.
‘Recently, 35 workers lost their jobs after protesters vandalised three shops. I can recall the situation of Shoprite, the Pep shop and even Vodacom, which were severely vandalised, and more than 30 employees who worked directly in these places lost their jobs,’ he said.
Raul Momade also pointed out that Bilene beach has 94 tourist resorts for almost two thousand workers, ‘and if we put them in a situation of insecurity and unease, we are putting two thousand employees out of work.’
