Africa-Press – Mozambique. Demonstrators contesting the payment of tolls on the main access road to Maputo that connects to South Africa, the N4, on Wednesday vandalised part of the premises of TRAC, the concessionaire for the road, destroying two vehicles inside.
The offices of the South African company, next to the Maputo tolls, were attacked at the beginning of the morning, practically at the same time as the road was blocked by the protesters, who throughout the day refused negotiation proposals, including a cancellation of debts owed to hauliers, which are at the root of the blockade.
TRAC’s facilities, with no employees inside, are under police surveillance, with an armoured Rapid Intervention Unit at the door, while on the N4, alongside, Rapid Intervention Police officers have been firing and throwing tear gas to stop further blockades.
The accesses to the N4 near the Maputo toll road, which connects to the neighbouring city of Matola, are completely blocked by protesters who are contesting the toll charge and have threatened a fuel tanker immobilised next to a petrol station.
The lorry was immobilised after 7am local time (minus two hours in Lisbon) by the protesters, mainly hauliers, immobilised on the road and under threat of being set on fire if the police force the road to be unblocked. The situation remained unchanged more than eight hours later, with the police preventing any loading at the site, despite the strong detachment.
“We’re demonstrating and they’re coming with tear gas and bullets (…) we’re leaving this car there to defend ourselves (…) we’re tired, we’re asking them to sort it out,” explained Nucha Arminda, as hundreds walked along the road, which is usually congested with traffic in and out of Maputo.
The collection of tolls on the road, which is operated by the South African company TRAC, was suspended for weeks due to the post-election demonstrations in Mozambique and was resumed last Thursday.
“We don’t accept tolls. We want to stay without paying tolls for three months and when they resume, let them lower the prices,” said Erisaldo Pedro, as the police approached at intervals to try to negotiate with the dozens of protesters to get the lorry out of the way and unblock the road, to no avail.
“We don’t want any more tolls. This toll doesn’t exist,” retorted Sansão Basima, who joined the protest.
Since tolls were resumed on the N4, which connects Maputo to the Ressano Garcia border, a structural route for South African ore exports, traffic on the road has been restricted by protests and motorists forcing the gates to pass without paying, which led the concessionaire TRAC to install chains next to the payment booths.
In December, the then presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called for tolls not to be paid throughout the country, and after some toll booths were destroyed and vandalised, several were closed, including those of TRAC.
Meanwhile, in a document published on 21 January, 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 demanded that tolls not be charged throughout the country.
“On the N4, the tolls, given how long they have been in place, have been profitable in relation to the investment made,” he says in the document, 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”.
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