Maputo — Private minibus operators continued their strike in Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola on Monday afternoon, despite repeated appeals, made over radio and television stations, from FEMATRO (Federation of Road Transport Associations) that they should resume their normal activity.

In a 20 minute walk through central Maputo in the early afternoon, one AIM reporter spotted just two of the minibuses (colloquially known as "chapas") ferrying passengers. Normally at this day of day, one would expect to see dozens of them.

Minibus drivers, interviewed by reporters, say they have taken their vehicles off the road because the government has not yet implemented its promise to subsidise the diesel used by the chapas. The government says that the subsidy will only be paid in the first week of March.

Some degree of intimidation has been used. One woman told AIM how the minibus she was traveling in early in the morning was halted by demonstrators (chapa drivers, fare-collectors and their supporters) and all the passengers were ordered to descend, and continue their journeys on foot.

Both the government and FEMATRO believe the strike originated among unlicensed minibus owners. They are the people worst hit by the subsidy scheme - for only licensed and insured minibuses, whose owners are up to date with their tax payments, will be eligible for the fuel subsidy.

The deputy chairperson of FEMATRO, Luis Munguambe, told the private television station STV that many licensed minibus owners took their vehicles off the roads, because they feared they might be vandalized by demonstrators.

The strike does not affect the publicly-owned bus company, TPM - but TPM only has around 40 operational buses, which cannot possibly meet the transport demands of the Maputo-Matola conurbation. Some passengers, waiting at the terminals were offered lifts, sometimes in dangerous, uncomfortable and overcrowded conditions on the back of pick-up trucks. Many walked to work or to school, while others simply gave up and returned home.

STV reported one incident with a barricade of burning tyres on the Maputo-South Africa motorway. It was not clear whether the barricade was the work of chapa drivers, or of angry passengers, frustrated at the lack of transport. The police swiftly removed this obstacle.