Toll gate was blocked from the early hours by protesters who contest the resumption of toll collection
This Thursday morning, Mozambican police used several shots to reopen access to the N4 Maputo toll, the main entrance to the capital, blocked since the early hours by protesters contesting the resumption of toll collection.
At around 10:30, after the police removed the trucks that were blocking access, groups of young people gathered near the toll gate, trying to prevent traffic from returning to normal, with the police firing several shots to demobilize in the following minutes, who reacted by throwing stones, including at vehicles that accessed the site.
After the police intervened, groups of young people tried to repeat the blockade of the access from Matola to Maputo, preventing trucks from passing, actions opposed by the police.
This morning, protesters completely blocked access to the Maputo toll gate, the main entrance and exit to the Mozambican capital, for more than an hour, with barricades and heavy vehicles crossed, contesting the resumption of charging, after weeks of suspension due to post-2019 protests. electoral.
After police intervention, circulation began to be restored, but at the toll booths it was clear that only those who wanted to pay, with some gates open.
Since around 9am local time (two hours less in Lisbon) two trucks have been abandoned on the road in the Maputo – Matola direction, with dozens of demonstrators protesting, while in the opposite direction an articulated bus was also abandoned, completely blocking circulation during part of the morning .
Faced with strong police reinforcements, including an armored vehicle from the Rapid Intervention Unit, protesters burned tires to contest the resumption of toll collection on the N4, the main Mozambican road, which connects Maputo to the South African border, operated by the South African concessionaire. African Trans African Concessions (TRAC), which announced that it would resume payment today.
Given the difficulty of movement, including transport, hundreds of people walk the route to the center of the capital, without any movement of cars at the toll plazas.
TRAC, which built and operates the expressway under a 30-year contract with the Mozambican Government, announced on Wednesday that it will resume toll collection on that road today, suspended in recent weeks following post-election protests.
The information is contained in an advertisement published by TRAC, concessionaire of the expressway that connects Tshwane, Gauteng (South Africa) and the port of Maputo (Mozambique), via the Ressano Garcia border.
The border was also closed at various times in recent months due to post-election demonstrations.
Former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane appealed in December for non-payment of tolls in the country, and after the destruction and vandalization of some toll booths, several booths were closed, without receiving payments, including on the N4.
Meanwhile, in a document published on Tuesday with 30 measures he demands for the next 100 days, Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognize the official results of the October 9th general elections, once again highlighted the non-charging of tolls across the country as requirement.
“On the N4, the tolls, given the lifetime they already have, have achieved profitability in relation to the investment made”, it says in the document, demanding the extension of non-payment of tolls during this period, also claiming that on several roads with tolls in the country “there was no public consultation” on 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 benefiting from services,” he said.
The post-election demonstrations in Mozambique, called by Venâncio Mondlane, have resulted in 314 deaths and more than 600 people being shot since October 21, according to organizations on the ground, such as the electoral platform Decide, in addition to violent clashes with the police, looting and destruction of equipment public and private.
Daniel Chapo, presidential candidate supported by the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo, in power), was declared the winner of the elections and took office as the fifth President of the Republic on January 15th.
