The Prime Minister, Benvinda Levy, has announced that negotiations are underway with the national road concession companies with a view to curbing protests against the payment of tolls, arguing that the new agreements should include aspects linked to social responsibility.
‘We are negotiating with the companies and, in addition to the issue of toll prices, the discussions also cover issues related to social responsibility, which should be taken into account by the concessionaires,’ she said on the sidelines of the Frelimo Central Committee meeting, which is taking place in the city of Matola, Maputo province, in southern Mozambique.
In recent days, successive toll blockades have been reported, especially in Maputo, with demonstrators demanding an end to the payment in response to a document published by former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, containing 30 measures, among which is the demand that tolls not be charged throughout the country.
On Tuesday (11), the Executive said that a study was underway with the concession companies to subsidise the payment of tolls for public passenger transport, with the aim of reducing their costs after the infrastructure was vandalised.
‘The government is continuing to work with the concessionaires to find alternatives to the cost of paying tolls for public passenger transport, in order to improve the cost of transport for citizens,’ said the spokesman for the Council of Ministers, Inocêncio Impissa.
In January, both Rede Viária de Moçambique (Revimo) and South Africa’s Trans African Concessions (TRAC) released a statement saying they would resume charging tolls. The announcement led protesters to occupy and block access roads.
