Rioting will not bring prices down, warns minister

Maputo, 19 Feb (AIM) – Rioting will not reduce the cost of living, the government spokesperson, the Minister of State Administration, Inocencio Impissa, warned on Tuesday.

Speaking in Maputo after the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) Impissa added that the disruption caused by rioters barricading the roads could only hinder the government in is efforts to bring down inflation.

“Today, particular activities cannot be undertaken because we, the citizens, have opted to demonstrate and destroy everything”, he said.

The demands raised in the latest wave of unrest have been for the reduction of prices of basic foodstuffs. All over the country protesters have been barricading roads, in the belief that this will oblige the government to reduce prices, although the main results of the blockades has merely been to prevent the free movement of people and goods.

Protesters have also demanded the electrification of their localities – even sabotaging the electricity grid in areas that already have power.

Impissa declared that barricading roads, sabotaging electricity pylons, and destroying schools, health units of banks will not bring prices down.

“Unfortunately this attitude will in no way help implement the measures being taken by the government”, he said. He urged all citizens to cooperate with the government so that feasible and effective measures can be found and implemented.

Referring to the widespread looting, Impissa said the government cannot reduce the prices of goods which can no longer be found on the Mozambican market. “If the goods are not available in the shops or warehouses, nobody can have access to them, and the few which are available will be sold at speculative prices”, he said.

In the Greater Maputo metropolitan region, over 40 warehouses, mostly storing foodstuffs, were looted – which is one of the reasons for the shortage of some foods, particularly rice, in southern Mozambique.

Official data put the damage caused by the rioting at 200 million meticais (about 3.1 million US dollars). This is certainly an underestimate, since the looting of shops, and the blocking of roads is continuing to this day, albeit on a smaller scale than in December.
(AIM)
Pf/ (360)