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Maputo — Most mobile phone subscribers in Mozambique have found it impossible to send any text messages since Monday, but both mobile phone companies, Mcel and Vodacom, insist that they are doing their utmost to restore the messaging service.

Because last week's riots against price rises in Maputo and Matola were mobilized via text messages, it was suspected that the government may have ordered a shutdown of the messaging function. If so, this would have been a classic case of shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted.

But the government insists that there was no such order. The Minister of Transport and Communications, Paulo Zucula, whose brief covers the mobile phone companies, told television reporters on Tuesday that he was unaware of anybody issuing instructions to the companies.

"I'm the minister in charge of communications, and I have no knowledge of any government instruction to suspend the messaging services", he said.

Zucula added that, since both companies have frequent technical problems, the block on text messaging was a problem likely to be located within their networks. He is certainly right that both companies are plagued with technical difficulties - which arise from neglecting the interests of their customers in favour of a bitter advertising war.

When AIM spoke to an M-Cel representative on Wednesday, she said that the problem affects many, but not all, M-Cel subscribers, both those on contracts, and those who use the pre-paid cards. She said the company's technical staff are working to restore the service, but could not say when this might happen.

A Vodacom spokesperson said the problem has been identified and that the messaging service will soon be restored. Both companies said the problems were technical, and they had no knowledge of any order given by the government to turn off the messaging service.

Anyone who relied for their information on the M-Cel and Vodacom websites would be deceived into imagining there is nothing amiss. There is not a word on either website about the block on sending messages.