MAPUTO 24 January 2025: Protesters yesterday blocked the main access to Maputo, cutting off the EN4 tollroad linking the coastal city to the South Africa economic hub o Gauteng. This followed Mozambique opposition leader Vernancio Mondlane refusal to join the Government and calling for low-intensity protests to support his claim that the Government stole the October 9 elections.
He told the French news agency AFP yesterday that he was not interested in joining the new government formed after a deadly months-long dispute over election results. Mondlane, whose claim to have won the October presidential election led the country into weeks of unrest, said he was ready to help find solutions but “not to be part of the government”.
Daniel Chapo was sworn in as president a week ago, vowing to unite the country after post-election violence that has claimed more than 300 lives.
Meanwhile protests that had declined since the swearing in of a new Parliament are reviving. Yesterday protesters completely blocked access to the Maputo toll booth, the main entrance and exit to the Mozambican capital, with barricades and heavy vehicles blocking the road in protest at the resumption of toll collection after weeks of suspension during post-election protests .
Since around 9:00 a.m. local time, two trucks have been abandoned on the road in the Maputo – Matola direction, with dozens protesting, while in the opposite direction an articulated bus has also been abandoned, completely blocking traffic.
Against a strong police presence in the area, including an armoured vehicle from the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR), the protesters are challenging the resumption of toll fee collections on the N4, the main Mozambican road that connects Maputo to the South African border. The toll road is operated by the South African concessionaire Trans African Concessions (TRAC), which announced that it would resume payment today.
Given the difficulty of circulating, including for public transport vehicles, hundreds of people were walking into the centre of the capital.
TRAC, the concessionaire of the N4 highway, had announced on Wednesday that it would restart toll collection yesterday, after it had been suspended in recent weeks during post-election protests.
The information was contained in an announcement under the title “Maputo toll restarts collections on Thursday”, published by TRAC, the concessionaire of the expressway 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 protests.
TRAC recalls that it operates the N4, considered the best road in Mozambique, “under a concession agreement signed with the road agencies of South Africa and Mozambique”, and that this road is “a vital part of the Maputo Corridor Development Plan, boosting regional economic growth and connectivity”, which ensures the export of South African minerals via the Mozambican coast.
“Toll fees finance the construction, modernisation and maintenance of roads, ensuring international standards”, reads the TRAC announcement.
Mondlane in December called for the non-payment of road tolls across the country, and after the destruction and vandalisation of some toll booths, several were closed and roads, including the N4, had been free to use.
Meanwhile, Mondlane is now calling for a new round of low-key protests to back his claim that the election was stolen from him, and issued the government with “conditions” for peace to be addressed in Chapo’s first 100 days in office.
In a document published on Tuesday, Mondlane announced 30 measures that he demands be implemented over the next 100 days.
“On the N4, the toll fees, given their lifespan, have fulfilled the time of profitability in relation to the investment made,” states the document signed by Venâncio Mondlane, demanding the continued suspension of tolls during this period. Mondlane also stressed that, on several toll roads in the country, “there was no public consultation” about the toll fee collections and that “the principle of an alternative route [to the toll route] was not respected”.
“Many of the roads are in a disastrous state, which offends the idea of [road users] benefiting from services,” he stated.
The post-election protests in Mozambique, called by Venâncio Mondlane, have since October 21 caused 314 deaths and more than 600 shootings, according to organizations on the ground, such as the electoral platform Decide, in addition to violent clashes with the police, looting and destruction of public and private facilities.
He accuses President Daniel Chapo of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) who was declared winner of the October 9 elections and took office as the fifth President of the Republic on January 15 of rigging the election, a claim that has won a groundswell of support and demands for “electoral justice”.
There have been widespread calls for dialogue to end the dispute, but Mondlane told AFP that he had not met Chapo.
“Daniel Chapo and I have not yet had any direct contact,” he said.
Unrest since the election has claimed more than 300 lives, according to local civil society group Plataforma Decide, with security forces accused of using excessive force against demonstrators. Police officers have also died, according to the authorities.
It has caused major losses to Mozambique’s economy, stopping cross-border trade and affecting shipping, mining and industry.
jm/today/24.1.2025/Source: AFP
