By Ricardo Dias
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – The week began with crowds blocking major access roads to Maputo and Beira, Mozambique's two most important cities, on Monday.
In Maputo, the protesters were demanding reductions in the prices of basic foodstuffs, while in Beira they called for repairs to a damaged footbridge in the Vaz area.
The blockade at the entry to Maputo began on National Highway number two (EN2), which links Maputo to Eswatini, but then spread to the Maputo-South Africa motorway (EN4). The latter is a stretch of road of about 100 kilometres, operated by the South African company Trans-Africa Concessions (TRAC).
In Beira, the protesters’ demand for a footbridge arises from the fact that the original bridge was destroyed by a truck in November. With the start of the school year, parents are concerned about the safety of their children, who need to cross the road to reach their school and need a safe way of doing so.
In both places, at about 07.00, the crowds erected barricades and demanded that the authorities pay attention to their demands.
In Beira, the authorities promised the protesters that a new footbridge would be installed within 15 days. This was enough for the protesters to lift the blockade so that traffic in and out of Beira could flow normally again.
But in Maputo, at the time of writing the blockade was continuing. In reality, these are the continuation of protests that began in October. Barricades on the roads of Maputo province have become frequent, with damaging impacts on the country’s economy.
Last Tuesday, the main road from Maputo to the rest of the country was blocked at Bobole, just outside the city, for more than 14 hours, and the police responded with tear gas and live ammunition. This generated further chaos, with more looting and sabotage.
Price reductions are among a list of demands made by former presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane. He issued a “decree” which listed some items, notably cement, which Mondlane was demanding should come down in price.
Oher demands include allowing motorists to drive through tollgates for three months without paying, and providing consumers with drinking water free of charge (which would bankrupt the water companies). (RD)
