Maputo — The chairperson of the Mozambican Federation of Road Transport Associations (FEMATRO), Rogerio Manuel, has denied that his members have anything to do with demonstrations supposedly being planned against the compulsory inspection of vehicles.

At a Maputo meeting between transport operators and the government's National Traffic Institute (INAV), Manuel said that FEMATRO has not received a proposal from any member association or from any individual transport operator calling for a demonstration or strike.

He knew there were e-mails and mobile phone messages circulating calling for action against the inspections next Monday. "We have nothing to do with that", said Manuel. "We have not exhausted negotiations with the government".

Manuel claimed that private transport companies are in favour of road safety and hence of vehicle inspections - but then hedged this round with a series of reservations. He claimed that the current inspection scheme has "too many parameters" which did not take account of "the reality of the country".

He said that only the "most basic" items should be inspected, which he named as "the brakes, steering, suspension, lighting, tyres and shock absorbers". Implicitly, he was saying that there should be no inspection of the exhaust gases, no checks on how noisy the vehicle is, and not even a cursory examination to see whether it is fitted with safety belts.

Manuel also alleged that corruption has begun in the inspection centres, which are run by the private company Control Gold.

He also complained that the inspection regime did not take account of the state of Mozambican roads, or the alleged poor quality of spare parts on the Mozambican market.

But Manuel's speech was moderate, compared with the interventions of operators from the floor, some of whom openly suggested that there should be "tolerance" for dangerous vehicles and that there should be a different testing regime for rural areas than for cities. The more opposed a speaker was to inspections, the louder the applause he received.

Jaime Cuna, from a transport association in Manhica, 80 kilometres north of Maputo attacked "those Nigerians" who sell pirated spare parts which only last a few days or weeks. He did not explain why he used the illegal Nigerian traders rather than ordering his parts from reputable suppliers in Maputo.

Adriano Moreira complained that the inspection centres were using diagnostic machines to measure faults, "but we don't have any garages with these machines". He claimed that cars maintained at an improvised workshop "under a cashew tree", could not expect to pass muster when diagnostic machines are used.

Alexandre Gove, of the Matola transport association, declared "we are in Africa, and we are being submitted to a first world system".

INAV points out that inspections of exhaust gases will alert motorists if they are burning too much oil, or are burning fuel inefficiently (thus producing extra carbon monoxide). Far from welcoming this, Gove demanded the right to burn oil. "I had a minibus that consumed five litres of oil a day, but I transported the Mozambican people!", he declared.

The most shocking speech came from Laurinda Pequenino, who warned of popular revolt if the inspection scheme drives minibus-taxis off the roads. She came from Inhassoro district, in Inhambane province, and claimed that, if the minibuses providing transport there fail the tests, then the ordinary people would suffer "and they will go on strike against the government".

But Pequenino is not just a transport operator - she is also a member of the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, from the ruling Frelimo Party. She complained bitterly about huge potholes in the roads - but for year after year she has voted for the state budget in parliament, including the capital budget for roads. There is no record of her ever moving an amendment to increase the budget for roads.

The chairperson of the INAV board, Alfiado Sitoe, promised that INAV had taken notice of all the complaints. However, he objected to the "this is Africa" argument, and retorted "there is no European, American or African technology - there is universal technology".

He said that, as a sovereign state, Mozambique could refuse to hold vehicle inspections, but that would have consequences. At some time in the future, FEMATRO members might want to drive their vehicles to other African countries, but they would not be allowed in if the vehicle had no inspection certificate.

The government had not acted out of the blue, he stressed. It had taken account of past dialogue with the private sector, in which private businesses had demanded the introduction of vehicle inspection.

As for corruption, it was not enough to make vague charges. If a motorist had been asked for a bribe, then he should name the corrupt inspector concerned. "We're not going to throw all the inspectors in jail", said Sitoe. If the corruption rally happened, then the person responsible must be named.

Sitoe had little patience for those who moaned about Nigerians and pirated spare parts. "It's not the government's job to sell spare parts", he pointed out. "This is a market economy, and there are opportunities for businesses to import and sell genuine parts".

Over the next few days Sitoe and Manuel will be addressing meetings of transporters in Nampula and Beira.