Chókwè, Mozambique, May 27, 2025 (Lusa) - The president of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, on Tuesday announced the temporary suspension of the operation of three tolls in the southern Mozambican province of Gaza from 15 June, saying of the charges that "they are not paying off."
Speaking at a popular rally in the district of Chókwè, Gaza province, where he is on a working visit, Chapo said that the tolls on the Chókwè-Macia, Chókwè-Macarretane and Macia-Praia do Bilene sections overseen by the concessionaire Rede Viária de Moçambique (Revimo) will be temporarily suspended.
"The suspension is for a very simple reason, the user-pays policy will continue throughout the country, but in the case of these three tolls that I mentioned... these tolls are not yielding anything, only monthly salary and energy costs," he said. "Due to the volume of vehicles that pass through these tolls it's not worth it, that's why we're going to suspend them temporarily.
"A business that spends more than it earns is not a business," he went on. "The volume of traffic that passes through these tolls doesn't justify what is spent and the point of the user-pays policy is when the actual wear and tear on the road from the sheer volume of vehicles passing through can ruin the road so that they can repair it in good time."
Tolls began to be charged again on several roads in Mozambique on 15 May, after several months in which they were suspended following demonstrations in the wake by October's general election.
The government said at the time that it had been applying "extraordinary measures of immediate impact" to "alleviate the cost of living and promote the recovery of the economy, following violent demonstrations," and where roads were concerned it had decided to revise toll rates downwards, "with a special focus on public passenger transport and residents of the areas close to the tolls."
Mozambique has been wracked by widespred social unrest, with demonstrations and stoppages called by former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who rejects the official election results of 9 October, which handed victory to Chapo. The protests resulted in the deaths of around 400 people, according to figures from non-governmental organisations that monitored the process.
On 21 May, Mondlane and Chapo met with an agenda to pacify the country, having earlier had a first meeting on 23 March, when they made a joint commitment to stop the violence in the country.
PME/ARO // ARO.
Lusa
