Normality returning to Ressano Garcia

Maputo, 17 Nov (AIM) – The situation at Ressano Garcia, the largest border post between Mozambique and South Africa, is gradually returning to normal, after three days of virtual paralysis when anti-government demonstrators blocked the main road between the two countries.

Independent presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane had called for marches in all provincial capitals, and a shutdown of the country’s borders and ports from Wednesday to Friday in the latest phase of protests against allegedly fraudulent election results.

Nothing much happened at most of the provincial capitals and frontiers, but the closure of the Ressano Garcia border was a resounding success for Mondlane. On a live broadcast, transmitted on his Facebook page, Mondlane had promised to inflict damage on the Mozambican economy, and a three day closure at the main border post certainly deprived the State or large amounts of tax revenue. The exact losses have yet to be calculated.

Unlike demonstrations elsewhere in the country, there was no violence at Ressano Garcia. Demonstrators formed a human chain across the road, and the police and the military made no attempt to clear the road.

Indeed, judging from the television footage of events, relations between demonstrators and soldiers seemed friendly. By Thursday, the environment was festive with demonstrators drinking beer on the tarmac.

The blockade was not total. The demonstrators allowed pedestrians through, and cars for funeral services. Other vehicles were able to pass through at the moment when the demonstrators withdrew for the night to rest. But hundreds of trucks, on both sides of the border, simply had to wait for up to three days until the blockade was lifted.

After negotiations between the defence and security forces and the demonstrators, the border was re-opened at 18.00 on Friday. The shift chief on duty at the immigration post, cited by the electronic publication “Mozambique Times”, said “the frontier did not really close, since that would require a government decree. What happened was a reduction in movement, due to the conditions imposed by the demonstrators”.

During the three day blockade, the number of people crossing the border fell to 150-200 a day, compared with more than 5,000 on a normal day.
Gradually the trucks that had been held up in South Africa, in a queue that was 15 kilometres long, began to move again. Truck drivers who spoke to reporters said they had been forced to sleep for days in their cabs “under inhuman conditions”.

During the disturbances the homes of immigration and customs officials came under attack. The immigration residence was looted, reports the independent daily “O Pais”. Even doors and windows were ripped out for later resale.

The immigration staff no longer feel safe in Ressano Garcia, because they are being blamed for the death of one of the demonstrators supposedly shot by the police. When they go onto the streets, they take off their uniforms for fear of attack, said the “O Pais” report.

Last week’s border shutdown could have serious consequences, given the large amount of South African food that is imported into Mozambique via Ressano Garcia.

Sudekar Novela, head of the Association of Informal Importers, warned that, as the festive season approaches, the country could be facing shortages of potatoes, onions and tomatoes, if the demonstrations urged by Mondlane continue.

“We are facing difficulties in importing goods”, said Novela, “because of the fear reigning among both us, the traders, and our clients”. The demonstrations had made people afraid to go and buy supplies at the Zimpeto wholesale market, on the outskirts of Maputo, with the result that huge quantities of vegetables, especially potatoes, are rotting on the Zimpeto stalls.
(AIM)
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