Demonstrators on Thursday have completely cut off access to the Maputo toll road, the main entrance and exit to the Mozambican capital, with barricades and heavy vehicles blocking the road, protesting against the resumption of toll collection after weeks of suspension due to post-election protests.
Since around 9am local time ( two hours less in Lisbon), two lorries have been abandoned on the Maputo – Matola road, with dozens of protesters, while in the opposite direction an articulated bus has also been abandoned, completely blocking traffic,
In the face of heavy police reinforcements, including an armoured vehicle from the Rapid Intervention Unit, the demonstrators are burning tyres to protest against the resumption of tolls on the N4, the main Mozambican road linking Maputo to the South African border, operated by the South African concessionaire Trans African Concessions (TRAC), which announced that it would resume toll collections today.
Due to the difficulty in getting around, including transport, hundreds of people are walking to the centre of the capital, with no traffic at the tolls.
TRAC, the concessionaire for the N4 road – it built and operates the motorway under a 30-year contract with the Mozambican government – announced on Wednesday that it would resume collecting tolls on the road today, which had been suspended in recent weeks following the post-election protests.
The information is contained in an advert entitled ‘Maputo toll restarts collections on Thursday’, published by TRAC, the concessionaire of the motorway that connects Tshwane, Gauteng (South Africa) and the port of Maputo (Mozambique), via the Ressano Garcia border.
The border has also been closed at various times in recent months due to post-election demonstrations.
The company recalls that it operates the N4, considered to be Mozambique’s best road, “under a concession agreement signed with the South African and Mozambican road agencies”, this road being “a vital part of the Maputo Corridor Development Plan, boosting regional economic growth and connectivity”, which from the outset ensures the export of South African ores via the Mozambican coast.
Former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called in December, during the post-election protests in Mozambique, for tolls not to be paid in the country, and following the destruction and vandalisation of some collection booths, several booths were closed without taking payments, including on the N4.
Meanwhile, in a document published on Tuesday with 30 measures he is demanding for the next 100 days, Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognise the official results of the general elections on 9 October, once again pointed to the non-payment of tolls throughout the country as a demand.
“On the N4, the tolls, given how long they have been in place, have been profitable in relation to the investment made,” says the document signed by Venâncio Mondlane, demanding the extension of the non-payment of tolls during this period, also claiming that on several toll roads in the country “there was no public consultation” about this charge and “the principle of the alternative route was not respected”.
“Many of the roads are in a disastrous state, which offends the idea of the benefit of services,” he said.
The post-election demonstrations in Mozambique, called by Venâncio Mondlane, have led to 314 deaths and more than 600 people shot since 21 October, according to organisations on the ground, such as the electoral platform Decide, as well as violent clashes with the police, looting and the destruction of public and private facilities.
Daniel Chapo, the presidential candidate supported by the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo), was declared the winner of the 9 October elections and was sworn in as the country’s fifth president on 15 January.
Lusa
