"FEMATRO BACKS DOWN: We should have demanded a review of the fare, not the subsidies"

The Mozambican Federation of Road Transport Associations (FEMATRO) publicly admitted, with regret, that it had accepted the subsidy package proposed by the Government to mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices. However, several weeks later, the reality in the pockets of the operators remains quite different.

According to the federation itself, more than half of the approximately 5,000 transport operators in the Maputo metropolitan area have not yet received any compensation – which, in itself, has fueled growing unease in the sector.

Given this scenario, FEMATRO now argues that the most appropriate decision from the beginning would have been to revise public transport fares. They explain that while the subsidies, as currently designed, only benefit a portion of the operators, a fare revision would at least guarantee equal treatment for all.

Moreover, the federation is keen to emphasize that it has never asked the Government for subsidies; on the contrary, it has always demanded a structural solution that would ensure financial balance and long-term sustainability for the sector.

It should be recalled that the current crisis had its crux in the heavy increases in fuel prices, which triggered a strike by transporters in Maputo and its surroundings, including Matola. At the time, the discontent translated into a total shutdown and a "silent strike" of semi-collective vehicles – commonly known as "chapas" – with operators immobilizing vehicles and blocking main roads, in a clear effort to force the Government to readjust the fare.

Now, with subsidies proving insufficient and poorly distributed, FEMATRO is once again demanding a negotiating table to restore fairness to public transport – before indignation turns, once again, into blockades.